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THE APOCRYPHA 
AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA 


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Mite INTRODUCTIONS AND CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES 
TOSRHE SEVERAL BOOKS 


EDITED IN CONJUNCTION WITH MANY SCHOLARS BY 


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FELLOW OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD 
FELLOW OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY 


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TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY 


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PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY 


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For students both of the Old and New Testaments the value of the non-Canonical 
Jewish literature from 200 B.c. to A.D. 100 is practically recognized on every side 
alike by Jewish and Christian scholars. But hitherto no attempt has been made to 
issue an edition of this literature as a whole in English! Indeed, such an undertaking 
would have been all but impossible at an earlier date, seeing that critical editions of 
some of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha have not been published till within 
the last few years. 


The method observed in this work. 


In all the contributions one and the same method has been observed. Each 
contribution consists of an introduction, an English translation from the best critical 
text—in a few cases the Revised Version has been adopted and emendations suggested 
in the notes—and of a critical and exegetical commentary.?, As regards the intro- 
ductions, the subjects dealt with in them have, so far as possible, been treated in 
the same order to facilitate the use of the work. Though a large discretion has 
naturally been given to the various editors, the following order has more or less 
been observed as a guide or been actually carried out. 


§ 1. Short account of the book, embodying its leading features and the editor's 
chief conclusions. 
Title of the book. 
The MSS. 
The Ancient Versions. 
Date of (a) the original text, (4) of the Ancient Versions. 
Integrity or composite nature of the text. 
Authorship. 
Influence of the book on later literature—(z) Jewish ; (4) Christian. 
Theology of the book. 
ο. Bibliography— 
(2) Chief editions of the text (and of the Ancient Versions). 


NO 


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(ὁ) Chief critical inquiries. 
(c) Chief editions of the book. 


1 Kautzsch published an edition in German in 1900, but on a smaller scale than the present work and embracing 
fewer books of this literature (vol. i. 1- 507 ; vol. ii. 1-540). 

2 In the case of Sirach and Tobit the editors have been allowed much beyond the normal number of pages for 
their critical apparatus, which they have used to good purpose. 


lil a2 


PREBACE 


The extent of the present work. 

The first volume contains what is generally known as the Apocrypha Proper, 
which constitutes the excess of the Vulgate over the Hebrew Old Testament, which 
excess was in turn borrowed from the LXX. But this volume differs from the 
Apocrypha Proper at once in the way of excess and in the way of defect. 3 Maccabees 
has been added after 2 Maccabees, since it is contained in many MSS. of the 
LXX, and 4 Ezra has been transferred to Volume ii since it is essentially a 
Pseudepigraph. 

Volume ii contains all the remaining extant non-Canonical Jewish books written 
between 200 8.6. and a.p. 100 with possibly one or two exceptions. The greater part 
of these books have hitherto been accessible only in expensive editions—such as 
Jubilees, 1 Enoch, Testaments of the XII Patriarchs, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, Psalms 
of Solomon, Pirke Aboth, the Story of Ahikar, &c. As regards the last two, it is 
not necessary to make any apology for their introduction into the present work, 
although they do not properly fall within the true limits above defined, but they 
were used, at all events partially, by Jewish readers within this period, nor can they 
be rightly designated Pseudepigraphs. The Fragments of a Zadokite Work are of 
an historical character, and are valuable in throwing light on a lost chapter of Jewish 
religious history. They contain likewise apocalyptic material of an interesting nature. 


The General Editor, in conclusion, wishes to express his thanks to the Delegates 
of the Press for undertaking this work, and to the Officers of the Press, whose help 
and counsel were always ready to meet each difficulty as it arose. The Editor is 
also under deep obligations to the many scholars who, notwithstanding the pressure 
of other duties, have yet given themselves so unsparingly to the tasks they had 
undertaken, that in every instance most valuable service has been rendered to the 
student and the scholar, while in not a few instances their contributions form actual 
monographs within the limits assigned. His thanks are due to Messrs. A. and C. Black, 
the publishers of his editions of Jubilees, Martyrdom of Isaiah, Testament of the XII 
Patriarchs, Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, for permission to reprint the translation 
and make use of the introduction and notes contained in those editions. Finally, he 
would acknowledge his indebtedness to the Rev. A. LI. Davies, who has acted 
throughout as his secretary and also made the General Index. 


“ΕΚ. He CHAR Es 
24 BARDWELL ROAD, OXFORD. 
March, 1913. 


CONN 195 OF: VOLUME. I 


PAGES 
CONTRIBUTORS . : , : é : : : 3 ᾿ : : Ξ ‘ vi 
ELE OC REA OF shh OLD TESTAMENT 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION (Charles) . ; Γ ; : : Σ : : : vii 
ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA : : : é : : . : : : xi 

HISTORICAL BOOKS— 
1 EspRAs (Cook) : : : : : : : : d : : 1-58 
1 MACCABEES (Oesterley) . : ‘ ‘ : Σ : ; : : 59-124 
2 MACCABEES (Moffatt) . : : : : 3 : : : : 125-154 
3 MACCABEES (Emmet) — . : : : ὃ : : : : : : 155-173 
QUASI-HISTORICAL BOOKS WRITTEN WITH A MORAL PURPOSE— 
ToBIT (Simpson) : : Ἔ : : : =) ὦ: Z : Σ : 174-241 
JupitH (Cowley) . : ᾿ : : : : : . : ; ὃ 242-267 
WISDOM LITERATURE— 
- SIRACH (Box and Oesterley) . : : : : : ὃ : } ; 268-517 
WIspOM OF SOLOMON (Holmes) : : : : : : : : 518-508 
ADDITIONS TO AND COMPLETIONS OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS— 

1 BARUCH (Whitehouse). : 5 j : : ὃ : : 2 569-595 
EPISTLE OF JEREMY (Ball) : : . : : : : : i Ἷ 596-611 
PRAYER OF MANASSES (Ryle) . 5 : . ὁ : : : ; . 612-624 
ADDITIONS TO DANIEL— 

PRAYER OF AZARIAH AND SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN (Bennett) . 625-637 
SUSANNA (Kay) . 1 ¢ : : : : : é A P : 638-651 - 
BEL AND THE DRAGON (Witton Davies) . : ; : Σ : ; 652-664 
ADDITIONS TO ESTHER’ (Gregg) i eh eats : ae rake 665-684 


CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUN 


BALL, C. J., M.A., D.Litt., Queen’s College, University Lecturer in Assyriology, Oxford: The 
Epistle of Jeremy. 

BENNETT, W. H., Litt.D., D.D., Professor of Old Testament Exegesis, Hackney College, London: 
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Children. 


Box, G. H., M.A., formerly Scholar of St. John’s College, Oxford ; Lecturer in Rabbinical Hebrew, 
King’s College, London ; Rector of Sutton, Beds.: Szrach (along with Dr. Oesterley). 


Cook, S. A., M.A., Ex-Fellow and Lecturer in the Comparative Study of Religions, and Lecturer 
in Hebrew and Aramaic, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge: 1 Esdras. 


Cow ey, A. E., M.A., D.Litt., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford: Judith. 

Davis, T. WiTTON, B.A., Ph.D., Professor of Semitic Languages, University College, Bangor: 
Bel and the Dragon. 

EMMET, CyriL W., M.A., formerly Scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; Rector of West 
Hendred : 3 Maccabees. 

GREGG, J. A. F., D.D., Archbishop King’s Professor in Divinity, Trinity College, Dublin: The 
Additions to Esther. 

HOLMES, SAMUEL, M.A., Lecturer in Theology, Jesus College, Oxford: The Wisdom of Solomon. 

Kay, D. M., B.D., Professor of Oriental Languages, St. Andrews: Szsanna. 


MOFFATT, JAMES, D.D., Yates Professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis, Mansfield College, 
Oxford : 2 Maccabees. 


OESTERLEY, W. O. E., D.D. (Cambridge): 1 Maccabees, Sirach (jointly with G. H. Box). 


RYLE, RIGHT REv. BISHOP HERBERT E., D.D., Dean of Westminster ; formerly Hulsean Professor 
of Divinity, Cambridge, and Bishop of Exeter and Winchester: The Prayer of Manasses. 


Stmpson, D. C., M.A., Lecturer in Theology and Hebrew, St. Edmund Hall, and Reader in Hebrew 
and Old Testament in Manchester College, Oxford: Tobit. 


WHITEHOUSE, O. C., M.A., D.D., Theological Tutor, Cheshunt College, Cambridge: 1 Baruch. 


vi 


Pero MmyerlON TO" VOLUME: I’ 


δι. The origin of the term apocryphal. 


How the term ‘Apocryphal Books’ (améxpugda βιβλία) arose has not yet been determined. It did 
not, as Zahn (Gesch. des Neutestamentlichen Kanons 1. i. 123 sq.), Schurer, Porter, N. Schmidt, and 
others maintain, originate in the Late Hebrew phrase ow1 O85, ‘hidden books.’* But Talmudic 
literature knows nothing of sucha class. The Hebrew word ganaz (111) does not mean ‘to hide’, 
but ‘to store away’ things in themselves precious. Indeed, so far is it from being a technical term 
in reference to non-Canonical writings, that it is most frequently used in reference to the Canonical 
Scriptures themselves. When writings were wholly without the pale of the Sacred books—such as 
those of the heretics or Samaritans—they were usually designated /zsonzm, i.e. ‘ outside’ (Sanh. x. 1 
DN OM|D and on AD). To this class the Apocrypha were never relegated, save Sirach, 
according to a statement found only in Sanh. x. 1 in the Palestinian Talmud, where it is stated that 
‘whoso reads the outside books would have no part in the life to come’. But it is clear that there 
is some error either in the text or the interpretation; for Sirach is very frequently cited by the 
Rabbis (see the Origznzal Hebrew of a Portion of Ecclesiasticus, Cowley and Neubauer, pp. xix—xxx), 
and two passages of it (Sir. vii. 10 in Erubin 65? and xiii. 16 in Baba Qama 920) are cited as 
belonging to the Hagiographa. The facts show that Sirach was read —read at all events for private 
edification though not in the synagogues. 


§ 2. Extent of the Fewish apocryphal writings. 


We are not here of course concerned with all Jewish apocryphal writings, but with those which 
were written between 200 B.C. and A.D. 120. The most notable of these in the past centuries were 
those which we may define as the Apocrypha Proper, i.e. 


1 Esdras Epistle of Jeremy 
2 Esdras Additions to Daniel—The Prayer of Azariah and the Song 
of the Three Children 
Tobit ᾿ Fe Susanna 
Yadith 7 3 Bel and the Dragon 
Additions to Esther Prayer of Manasses 
Wisdom of Solomon 1 Maccabees 
Ecclesiasticus or Sirach 2 Maccabees 
1 Baruch 


If we compare the collection of the Sacred books as they are found in the Hebrew Old 
Testament, the LX X, and the Vulgate, we shall find that the Apocrypha Proper constitutes the 
excess of the Vulgate over the Hebrew Old Testament, and that this excess is borrowed from 
the LXX. But the official Vulgate (1592) does not include 1 and 2 Esdras (i.e. 4 Ezra in this 
edition) and the Prayer of Manasses among the Canonical Scriptures, but prints them as an appendix 
after the New Testament. The Roman Church excludes them from the Canon.* Only 1 Esdras is 


1 This Intreduction is not intended to be a General Introduction to the Apocrypha, but only to bring forward 
a few important points in connexion with the Apocrypha. 

? This error appears to have arisen from Aboth Κα. N., I. i, where it is said, ‘Formerly because Proverbs, the Song 
of Solomon and Ecclesiastes, contained only proverbs, and did not belong to the Hagiographa, they were stored away 
(O23) until the men of the Great Synagogue explained them.’ Here many scholars have rendered the Hebrew word 
wrongly as ‘hidden’. 

* The rest of the Apocrypha Proper was declared to be Canonical by the Council of Trent (1546), which 
pronounced an anathema on the man who did not accept bros zpsos integros cum omnibus suis partibus, prout tn 
Ecclesia Catholica leg? consueverunt et in veteri vulgata Latina editione habentur, pro sacris et canonicis, 


vii 


INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME I 


found in the LXX. That 2 Esdras (i.e. 4 Ezra) was not incorporated can only have been due to 
an accident. Further, it is to be observed that, whereas 3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151 are 
found in most manuscripts of the LXX, they are absent from the Vulgate and the Apocrypha 
Proper. 

Thus the difference between the Protestant Canon and that of Rome represents the difference 
between the Canon of the Palestinian and the Alexandrian Jews. This difference is not due, as 
it was thought at one time, to the difference in the language of the originals—a view which appears 
as early as the controversy of Africanus with Origen; for, as we are now aware, the bulk of the 
Apocrypha was originally written in Hebrew. 

But besides the Apocrypha Proper there was a vast body of literature in circulation in Judaism 
to which is now generally attached the term ‘ Pseudepigrapha ’, i.e. books written between 300 B.C. 
and A.D. 120 under the names of ancient worthies in Israel. Since these will be briefly dealt with 
in the Introduction to vol. ii we shall not discuss them here. 

To the Apocrypha Proper in this volume we have added 3 Maccabees—a quasi-historical work 
—which is found in very many manuscripts of the LXX. It might have been advisable to have 
included also Pseudo-Philo’s Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, which was written originally in Hebrew 
and possibly soon after A.D. 70. But this work has not yet been critically edited. Of lost apocrypha 
we might mention the //istory of Fohannes Hyrcanus, mentioned in 1 Macc. xvi. 23, 24, Fannes and 
Mambres (i.e. Jambres), Book of Foseph and Asenath. 


ᾧ 3. Various meanings of the term ‘ apocryphal’. 


(1) In its earliest use this term (ἀπόκρυ φος) was applied in a laudatory signification to writings 
which were withheld from public knowledge because they were vehicles of mysterious or esoteric 
wisdom which was too sacred or profound to be disclosed to any save the initiated. In this sense 
it is found in a magical book of Moses, which has been edited by Dieterich (Adraxas 169) and may 
be as old as the first century A.D. This book is entitled ‘ A sacred secret Book of Moses’ (Μωυσέως 
ἱερὰ βίβλος ἀπόκρυφο»). 

But we have still earlier indications of the existence and nature of the Apocrypha in this sense. 
The Book of Daniel is represented as withheld from public knowledge until the time came for its 
publication: xii. 4,‘ But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even unto the time 
of the end.’ The writer of 1 Enoch speaks of his revelations as designed not for his own, i. 2, cviii. 1, 
but for the elect of later generations: xciii. 10 


And at its close shall be elected 
The elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness, 
To receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation. 


Similarly, the writer of the Assumption of Moses enjoins that his book is to be preserved for a later 
period, i. 16-17. That with large bodies of the Jews this esoteric literature was as highly or more 
highly treasured than the Canonical Scriptures is clear from the claims made by the Rabbis on behalf 
of their oral, which was originally in essence an esoteric, tradition, since it was not to be committed 
to writing. Though they insisted on the exclusive canonicity of the twenty-four books, they claimed to 
be the possessors of an oral tradition that not only overshadowed but frequently displaced the written 
Law. In 4 Ezra xiv. 44sq. we have a categorical statement as to the superior worth of this esoteric 
literature: ‘So in forty days were written ninety-four books. And it came to pass when the forty 
days were fulfilled, that the Most High spake unto me saying: The twenty-four books! that thou 
hast written publish, that she worthy and the unworthy may read (them): But the seventy last thou 
shalt keep to deliver to the wise among thy people. 


* The twenty-four books are, of course, the Old Testament: the seventy are the apocryphal, but especially the 
apocalyptic books. 


Vili 


᾿ 


——— | adnate Qin me 


INTRODUCTION: TO VOLUME ΣΙ 


For in them is the spring of understanding, 
The fountain of wisdom, 
And the stream of knowledge.’ 

In a like laudatory sense Gregory of Nyssa reckons the New Testament Apocalypse as ἐν 
ἀποκρύφοις (Oratio in swam ordinationem, 111. 549: Ed. Migne). 

(2) But the word was applied to writings that were withheld from public circulation, not on the 
ground of their transcendent worth, but because their value was confessedly secondary or question- 
able. Thus Origen differentiates writings that were read in public worship from apocryphal works 
(Comm. in Matt. x. 18, xiii. 57). This use became current, and prepared the way for the third and 
unfavourable sense of the word. 

(3) The word came to be applied to what was false, spurious, or heretical. This meaning 
appears also in Origen, Prolog. ix Cant. Cantic.: Lommatzsch, xiv. 325). 


$4. The attitude of the Christian Church to the Apocrypha. 


The degree of estimation in which the apocryphal books have been held in the Church has 
varied with age and place. 

(1) The Greek Fathers such as Origen and Clement, who used the Greek Bible, which included 
these books, frequently cite them as ‘ scripture’, ‘ Divine scripture’, ‘inspired’, or the like. Later 
Greek Fathers! rejected in various ways this conception of the Canon, but it was accepted and 
maintained in the West by St. Augustine. Where the Greek differed from the Hebrew Augustine 
held that the difference was due to Divine inspiration, and that this difference was to be regarded as 
a sign that in the passage in question an allegorical—not a literal—interpretation was to be looked 
for. Since he habitually used a Latin Bible, which embraced the Apocrypha, he appealed to the 
authority of these books as of the rest of the Scriptures. The Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) and that 
of Carthage (A.D. 397), at both of which Augustine was present respectively as a presbyter and 
a bishop, drew up a list of Canonical writings, which, though formed by Latin-speaking bishops, was 
the chief authority on which the Council of Trent based its own decision. In fact the list authori- 
tatively issued by the Council of Hippo and that of Trent agree in nearly every respect, save that 
the Tridentine divines appear to have misunderstood the meaning of 1 and 2 Esdras in the list of 
the African Council. That in this list 1 Esdras meant the apocryphal book which Augustine 
acknowledged as Scripture (De Civ. Dei, xviii. 36) and 2 Esdras meant the Canonical Ezra and 
Nehemiah there is no reason for doubt; but the Tridentine divines, taking 1 Esdras as = the 
Canonical Ezra and 2 Esdras as = the Canonical Nehemiah,’ through a misunderstanding declared 
1 Esdras (i.e. the apocryphal Esdras) apocryphal. 

(2) On the other hand, teachers connected with Palestine and familiar with the Hebrew Canon, 
like Africanus and Jerome, declared all books outside the Hebrew Canon as apocryphal. 

(3) Alongside these two opposing views arose a third which held that, though these books were 
not to be put in the same rank as those in the Hebrew collection, they nevertheless had their value 
for moral uses, and should be read in the Church services. Hence they were called ‘ ecclesiastical ’— 
a designation that is found first in Rufinus (ob. A.D. 410). Notwithstanding many variations in the 
attitude of different authorities and councils these three opinions maintained their ground down to 
the Reformation. 

At the Reformation the above ecclesiastical usages were transformed into articles of belief, 
which may be regarded as characteristic of the Churches by which they were adopted. As we 
have already remarked, the Council of Trent adopted the Canon of the Council of Hippo and of 
Augustine, declaring : ‘If any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with 

1 Tn the next century Athanasius, in an Easter letter (A. Ὁ. 365), states that the books of the Old Testament were 
twenty-two in number according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Other books not included in the Canon, such 
as Wisdom, Sirach, Esther, Tobit, Judith, might be used for the instruction of catechumens. It is noteworthy here 
that the Maccabees are omitted, and Esther is treated as an apocryph. 


2 Zahn, Gesch. des N. T. lichen Kanons, 11. 1. 246-253. ae) 
5 Council of Trent, April 8, 1546. ‘Testamenti veteris ... Esdrae primus et secundus, qui dicitur Nehemias.’ 


ix 


INTRODUCTION TO" VOLUMEG 


all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained — 


in the old Latin Vulgate. . . let him be anathema.’’ All the Apocrypha except 1 Esdras, 4 Ezra, 
and the Prayer of Manasses belonging to the Apocrypha Proper were declared Canonical. 

On the other hand, the Protestant Churches have universally declared their adhesion to the 
Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament. Yet amongst these a milder and a severer view prevailed. 
While in some Confessions, i.e. the Westminster, it is decreed that they are not ‘to be any other- 
wise approved or made use of than other human writings’, a more favourable view is expressed 
regarding them in many other quarters; e.g. in the preface prefixed to them in the Genevan Bible: 
‘As books proceeding from godly men (they) were received to be read for the advancement and 
furtherance of the knowledge of history and for the instruction of godly manners: which books 
declare that at all times God had an especial care of His Church, and left them not utterly destitute 
of teachers and means to confirm them in the hope of the promised Messiah’; and in the Sixth 
Article of the Church of England: ‘the other books the Church doth read for example of life and 
instruction of manners.’ 

In addition to the spiritual and moral service rendered by these books, the modern student 
recognizes that without them it is absolutely impossible to explain the course of religious develop- 
ment between 200 B.C.and A.D. 100. In this respect the Apocrypha is to be regarded as embracing 
the Pseudepigrapha as well. If the Canonical and Apocryphal Books are compared in reference to 
the question of inspiration, no unbiased scholar could have any hesitation in declaring that the 
inspiration of such a book as Wisdom or the Testaments of the XII Patriarchs is incomparably 
higher than that of Esther. 


ᾧ 5. Lditions—partial or complete—of the Apocrypha. 


Fritzsche und Grimm, Kuragef. exegel. Handbuch gu den Apokryphen des A. T., 1851-60. Fritzsche, Lief. I, 
3 Esra, Zusatze zu Esther und Daniel, Gebet Manasses, Baruch, Brief Jer.; 11, Tobit und Judith ; 
V. Strach. Grimm, Lief. III, 1 Afakk. ; TV. 2-4 Makk.; V1. Wesdom. 

E, C. Bissell, Zhe Apocrypha of the Old Testament, with historical Introductions and Notes Critical and 
Explanatory, New York, 1880, This work contains the Apocrypha Proper (though 2 Esdras (i. 6. 4 Ezra) 
is added in an Appendix); also 3 Macc. and a summary of 4 Macc. In a second Appendix a short 
account is given of some of the Pseudepigrapha. 

Wace, Apocrypha (in the ‘Speaker’s Commentary’), 2 vols., London, 1888, This edition is furnished with 
a good introduction by Salmon. The various books are edited by different English scholars, 

O. Zockler, Die Apokr. des A. 7. nebst einem Anhang iiber die Pseudepigraphentiteratur, 1891. 

Ball, Zhe Ecclescastical or Deutero-Canonical Books of the Old Testament, commonly called the Apocrypha (1892). 

Kautzsch, Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testaments, 2 vols., Tiibingen, 1900. This is the best 
work that has hitherto appeared on this literature as a whole. But many parts of it are already antiquated. 


§ 6. General literature dealing directly or indirectly with the period of this literature 


Weber, Sys/em der allsynagogalen palistinischen T: heologte (1880). The last edition of this work was published 
under the title Lehre des Talmuds, 1897. 

Bacher, Die Aggada der Tannaiten, 2 vols., 1884-90. 

Stade, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, vol. ii, Das Ende des jiidischen Staatswesens (by O. Holtzmann). 1888. 

Drummond, Philo Judacus, 2 vols., 1888. 

Bois, Essa? sur les origines de la philosophie judéo-Alexandrine, 1890. 

Toy, Judaism and Christianity, 1890. 


1 This decree of the Council of Trent was ratified by fifty-three prelates, ‘among whom (Westcott, Bzb/e in the 
Church, 257) there was not one German, not one scholar distinguished by historical learning, not one who was fitted 
by special study for the examination of a subject in which the truth could only be determined by the voice of antiquity.’ 

* This list includes only a few of the works interesting to the student of this literature. 


xX 


» [INERODUCTION TO’ VOLUME I 


Smith, G. A., As/orical Geography of the Holy Land, 1894, tgo1". 

Mahaffy, Zhe Empire of the Ptolemies, 1895. 

Bertholet, Die Svellung der Israeliten und der Juden zu den Fremden, 1896. 

Schechter, Svudzes zn Judazsm, 1896. 

Cheyne, Jewish Religious Life after the Exile, 1898. 

Streane, Zhe Age of the Maccabees, 1898. 

Kent, A History of the Jewish People, Part II, 1899. 

Wellhausen, /sraclitische und jiidische Geschichie®, 1901. 

Schiirer, Geschichte des jitdischen Volkes*, 1898-1901. 

Bevan, Zhe House of Seleucus, 2 vols., 1902. 

Volz, Jiidische Eschatologie von Daniel bis Agiba, 1903. 

Bousset, Die Religion des Judentums im neutestamentlichen Zertalter, 1903, 1906”. 

Baldensperger, Dee Messtanisch-Apokalyptische Hoffnungen des Judenthums, 1903. 

Porter, Zhe Messages of the Apocalyptical Writers, 1905. 

Friedlander, Dée religidsen Bewegungen innerhalb des Judenthums im Zettalter Jesu, 1905. 

Marti, Geschichte der tsraelitischen Religion®, 1907. See Sections V and VI. 

Oesterley and Box, Zhe Religion and Worship of the Synagogue, 1907. 

Kent, Zhe Sermons, Epistles, and Apocalypses of Israel’s Prophets from the Beginning of the Assyrian Period to the 
End of the Maccabean Struggle, 1910. 

H. Pentin, Znternational Journal of Apocrypha. 


ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME I 


. 60 (1 Macc.), 1. 28 from bottom, delete comma after ‘although’ 
. 99, 1. 29 from bottom, read ‘v. 25’ for “Ὁ. 25” 
. 118, 1. 20 from bottom, vead ‘Sion’ for ‘Zion’ 
. 123, 1. 3 from top, read ‘enemies’ ’ for ‘enemies’ 
. 174. The evidence referred to in ὃ 3 will be published in the /. 7. (δι, July, 1913, under the title : 
‘Original Text of Tobit’. 
Ρ, 197 (Tobit), 1. 26 from top, read ‘eternal’ for ‘ external’ 
P. 534. To the literature add ‘Goodrick, Zhe Book of Wisdom, 1913’—a very valuable commentary. 
P. 559 (Wisdom). In xv. 5 for ‘leadeth fools into lust’ (which gives the sense well) render more 
literally ‘for fools leadeth into lust’. 
P. 579 (1 Baruch), 1. 25 from bottom, read ‘130 a.D. for ‘130 B.C. 


ge} Iq): ἘΠῚ tno} lao] 


; 


ΧΙ 


SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS EMPLOYED IN INTRODUCTIONS, 


TEXT AND NOTES 


See special lists as under :— Sirach vol, I. 315. Test. XII Patr. vol. IT. 295. 
1 Esdras vol. I. 19, 20. Prayer of Manasses_ ,, I. 620. 2 Baruch Ὁ IL 475. 
Tobit spielen 201. 1 Enoch sp ΝΠ Ht 4 Ezra ede 500. 
See also under Versions and MSS. in the different books. 
ΑἹ &c. See 2 Bar. § 7 Hiph Hiphil | Sir. Sirach 
A.J.Th. American Fournal of Theo- Hom. Homer Slav. Bar. See vol. ii. 131 
Aboth Pirké Aboth (logy Il. Tliad , Slav. Vit. Slavonic Vita Adae et Evae 
Ab. R. Nathan = Aboth Rabbi Nathan Int. Crit. Comm. = Jiternational Critical See Books of Adam ara 
dm. dey. orelp. ἅπαξ λεγόμενον Or εἰρημένον Commentary Soph. Sophocles, {Eve 
Apoc.Abrah, Apocalypse of Abraham Intr. Introduction 4 Stob. Stobaeus 
Apoc. of Baruch =2 Baruch ἢ J.-E. Jewish Encyclopaedia | Symm. Symmachus 
Apoc. Zeph. Apocalypse of Zephaniah J.Q.R. Jewish Quarterly Review Ὁ Syncell. Syncellus| 
Aq. Aquila J.R.A.S. Journal of the Royal Astatic Syr. Syriac 
73 Arabic Society ᾿ ; Syr. H. Hexaplaric Syriac 
Aram. Frag. AramaicFragment. See Test. J.T.S. Journal of Theological Studies | Syr. W. Syriac Version in Walton’s 
* App. IL Jalkut Schim. = Jalkut Shimeoni ῦ Polyglot A 
Arm. Armenian Jashar Book of Jashar Sok. Sokoloy’s Text of 2 Enoch 
Asc. Is. Ascension of Isaiah Jer. Joma &c.=Joma in Jerusalem Tal- Τ.Α. &c. See under ‘ Testaments’ in 
Ass. Mos. Assumption of Moses mud list of symbols prefixed to 
Aug. Augustine Jerus. Targ. Jerusalem Targum Index. i 
B! &c, See 2 Bar. § 7 Jos. Ant. δες. Josephus, Arntzguities, &c. Tb. Babylonian Talmud 
B.D. Bible Dictionary Jub. Book of Jubilees Targ. Jer. Jerusalem Targum 
B.S. Deissmann, /2b/ical Studies Jiid. Theol.? iidische Theologie® (Weber) Targ. Jon. Targum PeendGenonathn 
1 Bar. Apocryphal Book of Baruch κ. Kautzsch ; Th. Gram. Thackeray, Grammar of Old 
2 Bar. Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch K.A.T. Schrader, Die Ketlinschriften Testes Greek 
3 Bar. Greek Apocalypse of Baruch und das Alte Testament Theod. Theodotion i 
Ber. Rabb. Bereshith rabba Kit. Kittel Theoph. Theophilus 
Berach. or Berakh. = Berachoth L.A.E. Deissmann, Light from the Tebt. P. Tebtinehileaneee 
Beresh. Bereshith Ancient East Tert. Tertullian ᾿ 
(ΕΣ Corpus Inscriplionum Grae- dai. Weber, Dze Lehren des Tal- Test. Givectannent 
carum ἘΝ ᾿ muds ἢ Test.Sim. See vol. ii. 153 
Com Cuneiform Inscriptions and | L. δὲ 5. Liddell and Scott ‘Test. XIU Patr aulectaraenteobthednela 
the Old Testament. See LXxX. Septuagint Version iPattnecne eS 
K.A.T. Lact. Lactantius Tisch. πε στην 
Cat. Niceph. Catalogue of Nicephorus Io, Welt Le Veteris Testamenti Tobe Tobit 
Chag. Chagigah (Talmud) Luc. ucian 7 ae as : 
Chron, Pasch. = ee Paschale Lucr. Lucretius Melis αν | or oe 
Clem. Alex. Clement of Alexandria MS. Manuscript Vit. Ad. Vin Agke : 
Clem.Recog. Pseudo-Clementine Recogni- MT. Massoretic Text Vulg. Vul ri 
Cod. Codex [Δίογις 1 Mace. ὅς. First, &c., Book of Maccabees Wp Walton's ῬΟΙΤ ΤΟΪ 
1.8. Dictionary of the Bible Macrob. Macrobius Wellh. Wellh bia ys 
Dan. Daniel Mart. Is. Martyrdom of Isaiah Wisd. Bost Achwiedor 
Diod. Sic. Diodorus Siculus Mass. Massoretic " on i Na ὭΣ 5 
Diog. Laert. Diogenes oe 4 3 Megill: Meuills eee Z.A.T.W. ἘΠ ee AT. Wis- 
BSAC See 4 Ezra, § 7, and 1]. 560 Menach. enachoth (Talmud) Dee is Sas δῇ 
EB. or Bi, Lncyclopacdia Biblica Mg. Margin τς τονε τ τς ἐπ 
τας Enon Enoct ΝῊ W Neue hes Worterbuch schaft As 
1 En. 1 Enoch or Ethiopian Enoch ~H.W. euhebratsches Worterbuch τ ; ᾿ς agg Cee - 
2 En. 2 Enoch or ἘΠΕ ἢς Enoch N.T. New Testament BESS ὅς ae ae die NT. 
Encye. Brit. Ezcyclopaedia Britannica Ok Old Testament eels = : 
ἘΝῚ Bali Epistle a Barnabas Onk. Onkelos, Targum of Z.W.T. or Ζ. eM ae σον 7 
Ep. Jer. Epistle of Jeremy Onom. Sacr. Onxomasticon Saci une 3 Uae 
Epiph. Epiphanius Or. Sibyll. Sibylline Oracles fad Ἶ οι 
Eth. Ethiopic Orph. Frag. Orphic Fragment [ 1 indicate an intrusion into the 
Eus. Eusebius PLE. EP: Palestine Exploration Fund original text 
Ἐν. Nicod. Zvangelium Nicodemz PRs Petrie Papyri + + indicate that the word or 
4 Ez. Fourth Book of Ezra P.R. Eliezer Pirke Rabbi Eliezer passage so enclosed is cor- 
FayumP. Fayum Papyri ΡΒ Real-Encyclopadie fiir pro- rupt τ 
Fr. or Frag. Fragment test. Theologie und Kirche Ras D so. 
{τ Greek Version BiS:Be A. Proceedings of the Society of ( ) 98 ivalics indicate that the 
G.d.Jud. Geschichte des Fudenthums Biblical Archaeology word or words/so enclased 
G.J.V. Schiirer’s Geschichte des ju- Pesikt. Pesikta or printed are supplied for 
dischen Volkes Ps. Clem. Recog. = Pseudo - Clementine the sake of clearness. 
G.V.1. Geschichte des Volkes Israel Recognitions + indicates that the authority 
Gen. rabb. Genesis rabba Ps. Jon. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan or authorities quoted insert 
Gk. Greek Ps. of Sol. Psalms of Solomon the word or words follow- 
Gk. Frag. Greek Fragment. See Test. R. Rabbi ing this mark. 
App. I RE Real-Encyklopidie a - 
Gr. Gane R.E.J- Revue des Bicdes Juives a indica ae auneue 
Gr. of O.T. Greek Grammar of Old Testa- Rel. des Jud. Religion des Fudenthums ana ay aa allow 
ment Greek (Thackeray) Sam. Samaritan ine this mare 
H.D.B. Hastings’ Dictionary of the Sam.Chron. Samaritan Chronology = ΚΑ ΤᾺΝ 
Bible Sanh. Sanhedrin « » indicate a restoration in the 
ἘΠῚ: History of the Fewish People Schiirer,E.T. Schiirer’s Hestovy of the Few- text. 
Heb. Gr. Hebrew Grammar ash People, English Trans- Thick type indicates an emendation in 
Herm. Hermas, Pastor Sept. Septuagint [lation ὲ the text. 
Hes. Hesiod Shabb. 


Shabbath 
ΧΙ 


EE 


ΕΘ Θ 


INTRODUCTION 


δι. PRELIMINARY ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK. 


THE first book of the Apocrypha stands in a class by itself in that it is, with the exception of 
one portion, a somewhat free Greek version of the biblical history from Josiah’s Passover (2 Chron. 
xxxv.) to the Reading of the Law by Ezra (Neh. viii.). It differs, however, in several important 
particulars both from the corresponding canonical passages and from the more literal Greek trans- 
lation of them (also preserved in the Septuagint), and an adequate treatment of its text and contents 
belongs properly to the commentaries and handbooks on Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Con- 
sequently, in order to keep the Introduction and Notes within limits, it has seemed desirable to 
print the Revised Version of the ‘apocryphal’ and ‘canonical’ passages side by side, and to restrict 
all remarks to those points which appeared to be essential for the study of the relation between the 
texts and their significance for the period which they cover. Further reference to the commentaries 
and other works dealing with the period in question is therefore recommended. 

The contents of 1 Esdras comprise :— 

Εἰ. = 2 Chron. xxxv. I-xxxvi. 21. Josiah’s passover and death; the last kings of Judah to the 

fall of Jerusalem, 586 B.c. 

ii. I-15.= Ei. The decree of Cyrus permitting the rebuilding of the Temple and the return of 

Sheshbazzar with the temple-vessels and a band of exiles, 538-537. 

ii, 16-30. = E iv. 7-24. The Samaritan opposition to the rebuilding in the reign of Artaxerxes, 
465-425. 

iii. I-v. 6. wanting in E. The successful oration of Zerubbabel, one of the bodyguard of Darius, 
in the second year of his reign (1). I, Hystaspes, 521-486), and the king’s decree 
permitting a return of exiles to rebuild the city and Temple; brief statement of the 
journey. 

V. 7-73. = E ii. 1-iv. 5, 24 (υ. 6 is wanting). List of Zerubbabel’s band, the rebuilding of the Temple 
hindered by the Samaritans from the time of Cyrws to the second year of Darius (520). 

vi-vii. = E v.-vi. The successful rebuilding of the Temple through the intervention of Darius in 
520, and its completion in 516. 

viii. I-ix. 36 = E vii—x. The decree of Artaxerxes in his seventh year (458), the return of Ezra 
and a body of exiles, the separation of the people from the foreign wives. 

ix. 37-55 = N vii. 73-viii.13 a. The reading of the law by Ezra, placed in Ν ὦ Ἂς. after the return 
of Nehemiah in the king’s twentieth year (444). 

The outstanding features are :— 

(1) The presence of the Artaxerxes record before the reign of Darius, whether after the return 
of Sheshbazzar (£ ii. 16-30) or after the commencement of the rebuilding by Zerubbabel (E iv. 7-24), 
both of which are placed in the time of Cyrus. 

(2) The inclusion of £ iii. 1-v. 6, the story famous for the Praise of Truth and the well-known 
dictum ‘magna est veritas et praevalet’, and the decree of Darius (which excludes any prior return). 

(3) The confusion caused by the presence of this section (£ iii. 1—v. 6) in the history of the 
exiles who returned in the time of Cyrus (1 ii. 1-15 = E 1) and at once commenced the work of 
rebuilding (Z v. 7-73 = E ii.—iv.). 

(4) The omission in £& of N i.-vii. 72, with the result that the continuation of the story of Ezra 
(N viii.) is placed in immediate connexion with E vii—x., whereas the canonical books leave a gap 
of twelve years between E vii—x. and N i. seqq. 

(5) Numerous readings in & of greater or less value, which are often important for the textual 
criticism of the MT, and sometimes affect the literary and historical problems of the sources. 

£ ceases abruptly ; cf. the close of 2 Chron., ‘and let him go up’ ( =E i. 3), also Mark xvi. 8. 
The R.V. rendering of ix. 55 implies that this is intentional (so Ewald, Bissell, Lupton, Bayer, and 
others). Hence it is often supposed that £ is a self-contained work, written and compiled for some 


1 For the abbreviations £, E, N, &c., see below, p. 19 seq. 
1105 I B 


) 
I DRAS 


specific purpose, e.g. to influence Gentiles in favour of the Jews, or (Lupton) to prepare the way for 
the building of the temple of Onias at Alexandria, or simply, perhaps, to bring together narratives 
relating to the Temple ; cf. the conclusion of £¢ ‘ explicit Esdrae liber primus de templi restitutione *. 
But the feature may also be explained on the view that the book, which begins somewhat abruptly, 
is merely a fragment of a larger work (Michaelis, Eichhorn, Trendelenburg, Rodiger, Treuenfels, 
Howorth, Torrey, and others). This raises several interesting questions ; in particular, ix. 38-55 
belong in N viii. to the concluding chapters of Ezra’s history, and it is very noteworthy that 
Josephus finishes his account of Ezra before his introduction of Nehemiah—what was the original 
sequel of £? Moreover, not only was & used by this orthodox Jewish historian, the book was 
important enough to find a place in the Greek Bible, it was known to early Christian writers, and is 
referred to in terms which indicate that its canonicity and value were not doubtful (see § 2). 

Now, the criticism of the O.T. has advanced sufficiently to prove that the biblical records E-N 
bristle with the most intricate and serious difficulties, the extent of which is manifest in the widely- 
differing conclusions that prevail. As can be seen from other sources (see § 4, iv. 2), the history of 
the Persian period is plunged in obscurity, upon which some light has only recently been shed by 
contemporary records (Babylonian inscriptions, Jewish-Aramaic papyri from Upper Egypt). It can 
no longer be assumed that the MT necessarily represents a more trustworthy record of the age, 
and that £ is necessarily arbitrary and methodless. Both share fundamental imperfections. 4, 
therefore, in any case deserves impartial consideration, and its problems involve those of E-N. 
These problems, owing to the absence of decisive and independent evidence, can be handled only 
provisionally ; but enough is clear to permit the conclusion that & represents a text in some respects 
older than the present MT, to which, however, some attempt seems to have been made to conform 
it (cf. Ewald, 138 n. 6; Howorth, P.S2BA, xxiii. 306 seq.). From a comparison of both with Jos. 
and other sources (notably Daniel) it would further appear that & represents one of the efforts to 
give an account of a period, the true course of which was confused and forgotten, if not intentionally 
obscured ; different attempts were made to remove difficulties and inconsistencies, and the desire to 
give greater prominence to the priestly Ezra than to the secular governor Nehemiah is probably 
responsible for the arrangement of the extant texts. 

E-N and & (with Jos.) exhibit diverging views of the history. But £, even in its present 
incomplete form, overlaps with Chronicles-Ezra~Nehemiah, and since it provides a distinctly para- 
phrastic and free rendering of the MT, it seems probable that when it was superseded by the more 
literal Greek translation—of Theodotion (cf. the two Greek texts of Daniel)—this confused and self- 
contradictory book (or fragment) was preserved mainly on account of the excellent story of Zerub- 
babel (cf. Howorth, P.SBA, xxiv. 167). To the Jews, both Zerubbabel and Nehemiah pale before 
the growing majesty of Ezra; to the early Christians, the Praise of Truth was a familiar passage, 
and Augustine (de Czv. Dez, xviii. 36) saw in it a prophecy of Christ.! Dating, apparently, about 
the first century B.C.. £’s view of history was familiar to Josephus and his readers, to the Hellenist 
Jews, and to the Christians. The form in E-N, with the omission of the story of Zerubbabel (and 
the chronological confusions which attend it), represents that of the Rabbinical schools, and subse- 
quently (through Jerome) of the Christian Church. Through these vicissitudes Z fell into unmerited 
neglect, and by this omission (apparently intentional) there was removed a story which could not 
fail to interest the Christians—for it is surely significant that although the two genealogies of Jesus 
are hopelessly inconsistent, the two lines of ancestry of ‘David’s greater Son’ converge in the 
person of Zerubbabel. 


§ 2. TITLE AND STANDING. 


The book is known as (1) Esdras A or 1 Esdras, so G*4, LZ, S, and English Bibles since the 
Geneva edition of 1560 (where the name ‘ Ezra’ is reserved for the canonical book) ; or (2) as 
Esdras B or 2 Esdras, so (δ΄ (where 1 Es. = Ezra and Nehemiah) ; or (3) as 3 Esdras, so Latin 
Bibles since Jerome, the ‘Great Bible’ of 1539, and also the Anglican Article VI in the Prayer- 
book. The name 3 Paraleipomenon (i.e. Chronicles) is found in a Florentine Greek MS., cf. the 
title Sermones Dierum (the Heb. title of Chron.) Esdvae in Hilary’s list (H. B. Swete, /ztrod. to 
O.T. in Greek, 210). It is also styled Zertins Neemiae by Franciscus Robles, 1532 (Lupton, 4). 
A convenient name for the book is the ‘Greek Ezra’, to distinguish it from the other and literal 
translation of the canonical books.? 


_? A late Midrash (Jellinek, ii. 54-7) makes Zerubbabel the centre of ‘a short apocalypse on the certainty of the 
ultimate appearance of the Messiah son of David, on his precursor the Messiah son of Joseph, and on their friends 
and foes (Ew. 128). 

* On the title ὁ ἱερεύς in G4 (to distinguish & from 2 or 4 Esdras of the Apocrypha 3), see Nestle, 29. 
2 


INTRODUCTION 


It is a significant fact that, as emphasized by Whiston in 1722, the Jewish historian Josephus 
uses & for his account of King Josiah, follows its order of events, and is influenced by its language, 
although for the other books he employs the LXX. Equally significant is the appearance of & with 
the canonical E-N in the best Greek MSS., either before (@"4, and presumably δ) or after (@") 
these. It is quoted by several early Greek and Latin Fathers) and Augustine and Origen cite 
iv. 41 and 59 respectively from ‘ Esdras’ without indicating that another than the canonical book is 
meant. Moreover, a Greek synopsis (Lag. 84) and a Syriac Catena (see on £ ix. 55) treat E as 
τ Esdras, and give the title 2 Esdras to N*. But-Jerome meanwhile had condemned the two 
apocryphal books of Esdras with their ‘dreams’ (Praef. Esd. et Neh.), and his ruling was confirmed 
in due course by the Church. £ is wanting in the early MSS. of the Vulgate, and it was rejected 
by the Council of Florence (1442). It is found in the Latin bibles of 1474, 1480, &c., but is regarded 
as apocryphal by De Lyra (1498), Karlstadt (1520), and Stephanus (1528). It is wanting in the Com- 
plutensian Polyglot (1514-17), and Luther ignored it—though not perhaps primarily (Bayer, 6 seq.) 
—for its triviality. There was even a belief that it did not exist in Greek (Torrey, 13 n. 1). The 
Council of Trent rejected it in 1546, but it is printed in an appendix in small type in the Tridentine 
edition of the Vulgate. Although it appears as 1 Esdras in the 1587 edition of the Septuagint 
(Rome), it was omitted three years later from the Sixtine Vulgate (Rome, 1590). In spite of the 
occasional attention paid to it by a few scholars, / has since too often been overlooked and neglected, 
and has only recently come into deserved prominence through the persistence of Sir Henry H. 
Howorth from 1893 onwards (see further Torrey, 13 seqq.). 

E, on closer inspection, proves to be no free or less careful treatment of the Greek translation 
of the canonical books, as had been held by Keil, Zéckler, Bissell, Konig (Z7zzlectung, § 97), and 
formerly Schiirer (contrast his Gesch. Volk. Isr., 3rd ed., iii. 328). There is an overwhelming body 
of opinion that it is translated from a Semitic (Hebrew and Aramaic) original. There are, it is true, 
various readings, identical or apparently connected with the literal Greek translation, but they do 
not outweigh the many considerable and characteristic differences of rendering, the variations in the 
transliteration or translation of proper names, and the numerous readings in & which can be ex- 
plained only from the MT (see especially Bayer, 156 seqq.). That & is an independent version older 
than the (δ of the canonical books was suggested by Grotius (1644, see PSBA, xxv. 139), Whiston 
(1722), Pohlmann (1859), Ewald (1864), Lagarde (1874), and others, and has since been more 
cogently shown by Howorth and Torrey. It is pointed out that the @ of E-N presents features 
characteristic of Theodotion’s translation (viz. transliteration of gentilics, and of difficult or uncertain 
words) and parallel to his translation of Daniel. The @ of £, on the other hand, as Gwynn also 
noticed, finds parallels in the ‘ Septuagint’ text of Daniel, especially the first six chapters. Moreover, 
the S of £ claims to be made from the Septuagint, and it is very probable that & took the place 
of the @ of Ε-Ν in Origen’s Hexapla. Volz, however, has properly drawn attention to the varying 
quality of the different sections of £,a feature which ‘ excludes the supposition that the Greek version 
can have been produced aus einem Guss’. In general, all the evidence tends to show that & held 
a more authoritative position than has been usually conceded to it (in consequence of Jerome), but 
that its unevenness as a translation and the complexity of its contents make its true origin and 
structure a more intricate problem.® 


§ 3. TEXT VERSIONS, DATE, ETC. 


(a) Character of Translation. £,on account of its peculiar relationship to the O.T., cannot be 
studied textually apart from the versions based directly upon the MT (see more fully, Torrey 62-114). 
While the @ of E-N is un-Greek, literal and mechanical, 15 is the very reverse of servile, and its 
language both elegant and idiomatic. The vocabulary is extensive, containing several words that 
occur nowhere else in ‘ Septuagint’ Greek, or only in other books of the Apocrypha, notably 2 Macc. 
(see Moulton’s list, 7A TW, xix. 232 seqq.). Semitic idioms are usually happily replaced by natural 
Grecisms. There is often a free treatment of the article, pronouns, and conjunctions ; hypotaxis for 
the parataxis of MT; active verbs for passive. Condensation, paraphrase, and re-arrangement are 
frequent, and the translator has generally made the best of the original text, gliding over or 
concealing the difficulties. Sometimes he has misunderstood the original; but the rendering is 
carefully worded and thus presents an apparently plausible result (see e.g. i. 10-12, 38, 51). He 


1 e.g. Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Athanasius ; see Pohlmann, 263 seqq., and the tables in André, 22 seqq. 

? Augustine, also, in a list of canonical books (de doctr. Christ. ii, 8) enumerates two books of Ezra ‘ of which our 
1 Esd. was certainly one’ (Volz). See, on the other hand, Bayer, 4. 

* See Howorth, PSBA, xxiii. 156 seqq., xxiv. 164 seqq., xxix. 31 seqq., xxxili. 26 seqq.; Torrey, ib. xxv. 139 seqq., 
and his Ezra Studies, Chap. 1; J. Gwynn, Dict. Christ. Biog., ‘Theodotion’, and Lxtracts from the Syro-Hex. 
Version of the LX X (London, 1909), xx. seqq. 

3 B 2 


I ESDRAS 


manifests his intelligence when the skilful paronomasia ἄνεσιν καὶ ἄφεσιν (iv. 62), suggestive of a Greek 
composer, goes back none the less to a Semitic original (cf. Susanna, 54 seqq-), and the use of the name 
Sisinnes (vi. 3) in place of the MT Tattenai is typical of his care. E, it is clear, was made to be 
read, it is a version rather than a translation, and its value for the criticism of the MT must not blind 
us to its imperfections (on which see Bayer, 11 seqq-). Consequently, a mean must be sought 
between a promiscuous and haphazard use of & and a whole-hearted though indiscriminate reliance 
upon its readings and paraphrases. The attempt must invariably be made to distinguish between 
the underlying text and the features which (as in the Septuagint elsewhere) are due to the translator 
alone, and the difficulty of this task in certain crucial cases is vital for the disentanglement of the 
roblems of £7 2 

Ἶ (2) E and the MT. It is abundantly plain that 5 is not derived from the © (Theodotion) of 
the Canonical Books. Where there is agreement, the evidence points to accident or absence 
of intention, and is not strong enough to prove dependence (see the most recent study by Bayer, 
156-61). In certain cases where they agree against the MT they sometimes are due to an easy 
misunderstanding, and sometimes point to a preferable reading ; now and then the more literal 
version alone preserves an older text. It is highly significant that IP, 15 occasionally conflate, and 
presents simple doublets (e.g. ii. 25, vi. 29, ix. 8, 46), or more elaborate combinations made with some 
little care (e.g. v. 50, 58, 72 seq., vi. 5, 10, &c. [see Marq. 44-7]). This revision appears to 
have been made from the MT, and & vi. 25 actually presents the incorrect ‘new’ (n7n) of the MT 
by the side of the correct ‘one’ (7m). Revision has also been made for the purpose of removing 
difficulties (so, probably v. 734, in view of the date in vi. 1), or of making identifications (Zerubbabel, 
vi. 18,27, 29). These adjustments, which are not found in Theodotion, seem to have been made first 
in the Greek version, and thus might appear to confirm the view that £ is based upon an earlier 
Greek version (Ewald). The question of the underlying original, however, would still remain, and 
it is very important to notice that not only does £& often presuppose a better text than the MT, but 
that some of the readings raise questions of literary structure and historical criticism. Consequently, 
E is not directly based cither upon Theodotion’s literal translation or the extant MT; the marks 
of revision point rather to an attempt to adjust to the MT an earlier version which differed from it 
in some material respects, large (nos. 1, 2,4, on p. I above) and small (e.g. v. 39 seq., 47, Vi. 28, vii. 1, 
ix. 38, 49)2 

“2.155. and Versions. The GREEK MSS. fall into two main classes, (1) Lucianic (MSS. 
19, 108), and (2) B,A, &c. The former stand in a class by themselves, reveal many signs of 
correction and improvement in order to agree with the MT, and can be used only with great caution 
(see Torrey, 106 seqq.). The latter comprise two main subdivisions, B and A. Β is distinctly the 
inferior, but shows fewer traces of correction. For a full grouping of all the MSS., see the elaborate 
discussion by Moulton, ZA7 IV, xix. 211 seqq. W, it may be added, lacks #, but its subscription 
Εσδρας β (N xiii. 31) presupposes an ‘Esdras A.’ 

Two old LATIN translations were printed by Sabatier (470/. Sacr. Lat. 1. 1041 seqq.), with 
a collation of MS. Sangermanensis—¥ZL¢ (Cod. Colbertinus ; no. 3703), and a later which in a revised 
form was used as the Vulgate. A summary from a Lucca MS. was edited by Lagarde, Sept. «δ 2 κά. 
ii. 16 seqq. (# Lag.). These differ from, and, on the whole, are purer than (δ. 

The SYRIAC Peshitta is without Chron., Ezra, and Neh. & © is the Syro-Hexapla of Paul of 
Tella, printed in Walton’s Polyglot and by Lagarde (Lib. Vet. Test. Apocr. Syr., 1861). It is 
explicitly said to be from the Septuagint, and the same is stated at the head of a collection of 
excerpts in the old Syriac Catena, British Museum, Add. 12168 (see on ix. 55). The variants of the 
latter and its selections from N are printed by Torrey, 5 seqq., and these selections, with a retransla- 
tion into Greek, collation, and complete introductory discussion by Gwynn (see p. 3 ἢ. 3). 5 has 
many points of contact with (δ᾽, especially in i. 1-9, but on the whole a relationship with G® is 
more distinct. 

The ETHIOPIC translation (ed. Dillmann, Vez. Test. Aeth., Vol. V) represents the text of G3, 5, 
&c., in contrast to ©‘, and, according to Torrey (101), ‘is a valuable witness to the Hexaplar text. 
It must have been made with unusual care from a comparatively trustworthy codex.’ 

The Arabic translation awaits study (PSA, xxiv. 169) ; the Armenian is valueless (Volz, § 2). 

(4) Fosephus. The Jewish historian (first cent. A.D.), with his continuous history of the mon- 
archy and post-exilic age, stands nearest (of extant compilations) to the chronicler in point of 
antiquity. He isa valuable exponent of the attempt to weave heterogeneous material into a read- 
able and more or less consistent whole, and his greatest claim to attention lies in the evidence he 


? On the general features of Z’s version, see further Moulton, 226 ; Thackeray, 7602; Torrey, 83 seq. 


_® For the textual value of Z see, in addition to the commentaries on E-N, the discussions by Riessler (Bzb/ische 
Zeitschrift, v. 146 seqq.) and Bayer. 
4 


ai ωρϑθϑεν κοπὐκοιψανσαι ἊΝ = nie 


pavnisiebenneatac 


| 
‘i 


INTRODUCTION 


furnishes for a comparative study of the traditions encircling the names and events of the period from 
Josiah to the Samaritan schism. Jos. is the earliest witness to /; the relationship is unmistakable 
as regards material and even language (Eichhorn, Eznlett. Apokr. [1795], 347 seqq.; Treuenfels, 
Der Orient [1850-1]; H. Bloch, Quellen d. Fl. Fos. [1879], 69 seqq.). There are several points of 
agreement with (δ᾽ as against (δ᾽ (Thackeray, 762 4), and also with (δ΄; Torrey (103) assigns the 
text an intermediate position. Unfortunately, Jos. is often extremely paraphrastic, and is therefore 
no safe guide for restoring the original of &. None the less, it is noteworthy that he is without the 
faults of Z i. 29, 34 seq., he presupposes a text more complete and older than that in vi. 18, viii. 55, 
he uses a slightly different version of iii. (see Biichler, 64, 100), and, while obviously harmonizing in 
some places, elsewhere presents singular divergences or additions which do not appear to be arbitrary. 
In particular, his treatment of the stories of E and N is highly suggestive (see appendix to note on 
ix. 55). Besides utilizing the canonical sources (Jer., Dan., Est.), he has had access (as in Est.) 
to other Jewish traditions (see on vii. 15), and possessed some acquaintance with external history 
(see p. 11, and oni. 25). But although Jos. is not a direct witness to 4 5 text—and ἃ. Hoélscher 
has suggested that he made use of Alexander Polyhistor (Quedlen d. Fos. [1904], 36, 43 seqq., 51)— 
he testifies to the authority of Z’s history, and it is unnecessary to assume (Swete, Thackeray, 
Bayer, 140) that he used it simply because it was written in good Greek. 

(6) Date and place. While Jos. is evidence for the earlier existence of /, it is not certain that 
it then had precisely its present form. As a translation the linguistic features suggest that it belongs 
to the time of the old Greek translation of Daniel, and was perhaps due to the same translator 
(Torrey, 84 seq.). The date of the original is bound up with that of Chron.-Ez.-Neh., and must be 
some time after 333 B.C. The Persian period was past, and its history had become obscure, the 
identity of Darius and Apame (iv. 29) was forgotten, and the points of contact with Dan. and Est. 
(not necessarily in their present form), would suggest the late Greek age. The problem also involves 
the question whether iii. 1-v. 6 is a secondary insertion or part of the original compilation, and this 
naturally affects the discussion of the home of the book (see pp. 29, 32). Although the section seems 
to some scholars to point to the influence of Alexandrian thought and philosophy (Lupton, André, 
Thackeray, Volz), to others it is Palestinian (Zunz), or not necessarily Alexandrian (Torrey). The 
identification of Apame speaks for Egypt or Antioch ; the knowledge of the topography of Jerusalem 
(v. 47, ix. 38) is not that of the compiler or translator but of his source, and therefore cannot be 
claimed to support a Palestinian home. Egypt is suggested by the free irony in iii., iv., the unveiled 
women (iv. 18), the references to navigation (iv. 15, 23), and piracy (v. 27), and elsewhere by the use 
of Coelesyria (see ii. 17). Thackeray (762 4) compares the ‘friends’ of the king (viii. 26; E G 
σύμβουλοι) with the ‘first friends’ who were third in scale of the courtiers at Alexandria, and with 
ay φαίνηται σοι (ii. 21, not in E) the phrase ἐὰν φαίνηται in Aristeas and frequently in Egyptian 
papyri. In so far as these data point to Egypt one may recall the interest in history-writing among 
the Hellenists Demetrios, Eupolemos, Artapanos, Alexander Polyhistor and others. 

(75) English versions. ΤΊ may be added that the old Geneva Bible, according to Lupton (6), is 
‘in some respects closer to the Greek than that of 1611’. Various improvements to the A.V. are 
suggested by Ball in the Variorum Apocrypha, and even the R.V. is not such an advance as might 
have been anticipated. Note, for example, the archaic ‘ Artaxerxes his letters’ (ii. 30), ‘ cousin’ (iii. 7), 
‘Jewry’ (v. 7), and the gliding over of the obscurities of an imperfect @ in viii. 8, and especially in 
the concluding words, ix. 55. 


§ 4. PROBLEMS OF LITERARY AND HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 
I. The Period. 


The problems of & and its relation to E-N involve that more complete and continuous series 
Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah which is united by sequence of contents and the recurrence throughout 
of similar features of language, interest, standpoint, and compilation. The ‘chronicler’s history’? 
of the post-exilic period deals with the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), the return from exile under 
Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the reorganization of the Jewish people, the restoration of the Temple and 


1 By ‘chronicler’ is meant the hand which, by writing, compiling, or revising, brought the three consecutive 
books into practically their present form. Owing to the complexity of the compilation the term may not be an 
adequate one, but there seems no reason to doubt that there has been a single editorial process af some stage in the 
literary growth (the objections of Jampel, i. 108, 112, 115 seqq., and Davies, 16 are unnecessary). In any case, 
historical criticism cannot start from the untrustworthiness of Chronicles, and minimize the extent of the ‘ chronicler ’ 
in E-N (Davies, 16 seq.), or exaggerate it (Torrey, 145 Seqq., on the E-story), or assume that all other records are 
necessarily relatively superior (so apparently Meyer, Ex/stehung). See below, pp. 17-19. 


5 


T ESDRAS 


the furtherance of religious conditions, the separation from the Samaritans and one ne 
neighbours, and the inauguration of a church under the Mosaic Law. It is the perio poe ic 
a considerable portion of the O.T., after passing through the hands of Judaean writers and editors, 
was reaching its present form, and the sole consecutive canonical source for this period, the 
chronicler’s work, cannot be dated before the Greek age (333 B. C.). This source ignores all events 
between 586 and the decree of Cyrus, and omits other details which also refer to the period (see 
e.g. 2 Kings xxv. 22-30, Jer. xl.—xliv., lii. 28-34, Daniel, Esther). This feature, like the failure to 
record the history of (north) Israel after the fall of Samaria, cannot be wholly unintentional. Interest 
is concentrated upon exiles and reformers from Babylon, and upon their labours in rebuilding the 
Temple and in purifying religious and social conditions in the face of opposition within and without. 
A new and reformed Jewish community with its new Temple is linked historically with the old 
Judah of the Monarchy and the Temple of Solomon. The climax is reached partly in the great 
Covenant inaugurated by Ezra (N x.). after the Introduction of the Law (444 B.C.), and partly in 
the Samaritan schism initiated by Nehemiah (N xiii.) But such are the gaps and the one-sided 
standpoints that the records cannot be said to give us objective history. We have, rather, specific 
representations of certain events of vast importance for post-exilic Judaism, and, just as the account 
of the settlement of the old Israelite tribes in the land of their ancestors is found to contain con- 
flicting traditions and the gravest difficulties, so also here, the compilation as a whole is dominated 
by certain larger views which tend to obscure the contradictions and intricacies that arise in any 
critical study of the data. In both cases the method of criticism is similar, and unfortunately the 
evidence is frequently insufficient for any confident recovery of the actual events during that period 
which is of such profound importance for the study of the O.T." 


Il. The Age of Cyrus and Darius. 


(a) Paucity of trustworthy evidence. It is evident that the fall of Jerusalem could not have 
had the catastrophic effects that the traditional view assumes. We cannot picture Judah between 
586 and 537 as half-empty.? Neither the number of deported Judaeans nor that of those who 
returned points to any depopulation, and even the events under Gedaliah’s governorship and the 
account of the flight of the survivors into Egypt indicate that the disasters ending in 586, when 
taken by themselves, had no ruinous consequences for the land. Subsequent history is ignored in 
Chron., but it is known that Jehoiachin in later years received some favour, and that Tyre had once 
more a king. The thread is resumed in E i—vi. (£ ii—vii.), in the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, but 
the narratives contain serious difficulties and conflicting representations (ᾧ 6, @) which are increased 
by the independent prophecies of Haggai and Zech. i—viii. (see on £ ii. 1 seqq.). Not until we reach 
the time of Artaxerxes are the sources more extensive, and the light they throw upon preceding 
years renders the value of E i—vi. extremely doubtful. That is to say, between 586 and 458 (E’s 
return), or rather 444 (N’s first visit to Jerusalem), there is a lengthy period of the greatest signifi- 
cance for the internal history leading up to Judaism and Samaritanism, and the only continuous 
source is both scanty and untrustworthy (see Margq., 67, Torrey, 156, and, partly, Meyer, 74). 


(6) The evidence of the prophets. The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, dated in the second year of 
Darius, 520, mention neither any previous important return nor any earlier attempt to rebuild the Temple. 
Zerubbabel now resumes dynastic history (Hag. ii. 23, contrast Jehoiachin, Jer. xxii. 24), and the high-priest 
Jeshua (grandson of Seraiah, 2 Kings xxv. 18-21), whose return in Dan. ix. 24-26 dates an epoch, is now 
officially installed. Yahweh had been angry seventy years (Zech. i. 12, cf. Jer. xxix. ro seq., Dan. ix. 2); but 
is aroused and returns to Jerusalem (i. 16, il. ro—13 ; contrast his departure in Ezek. x. 18 seq., xi. 23), He 
is jealous for Zion and full of wrath against her enemies; they shall be punished and his people shall 
enjoy increased happiness (i. 15, ii. 9). City and temple shall be rebuilt and the land re-inhabited (i. τό seq., 
ii. 4, cf. vil. 7). The dispersed shall be rescued and again dwell in Jerusalem. The community in Babylon 
is bidden to escape to Zion (ii. 7, cf. Jer. li. 45). Babylon is threatened (vi. 1-8), and a passage which suggests 
that small bands of exiles might occasionally return heralds the forthcoming building of the temple (vi. 9-15). 
Haggai declares that the Temple is waste (i. 4, 9, Aa7é, cf. the term in N ii. 3, 17) and he stirs the people to 
the work of rebuilding. The appeal is to the ‘remnant’ (i. 12, 14, ii. 2, cf. Zech. viii. 6), that is, not the 

* Modern criticism is influenced by the radical conclusions of W. H. Kosters and the forcible defence by E. Meyer 
(Entstehung) whose own position, however, is in many respects opposed to the purely traditional ; see 8. R. Driver, 
Lit. 552 (and on the introductory literary questions, ib. 544 seqq.). A striking advance has recently been made by 
Torrey (Z2ra Studies), to whose work the present writer gratefully records his indebtedness, and since reasons are 
given in these pages for adopting certain radical conclusions of Kosters, Torrey, and others, it may be well to refer 
readers to the writings (see § 8) of Davies, Driver, Holzhey, Jampel, Nikel, Ryle, and G. A. Smith, for the arguments 
adduced in support of a generally consistent traditional position. 

* See Wellhausen, GG, 1895, p. 185 seq.; Kosters, 7%. 7: xxix. 560; G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, ii. 268 ; Torrey, 
290 seq., 297 seqq.; Kennett, Journ. Theol. Stud., 1905, pp. 172 seqq. 


INTRODUCTION 


40,000 of E ii., but those who had escaped deportation (cf. Zeph. il. 7, 9, Jer. xlii. 2, 15, &c., see Jahn, 
p. xxxviii.). Zerubbabel is the one to rebuild and complete the undertaking (Zech. iv. 8-10, vi. 12 seqq.). 
The people fetch wood and the work is begun on the twenty-fourth of the sixth month (Hag. i. 14 seq.) ; as 
yet one stone had not been set upon another (ii. 15). The foundations are laid on the twenty-fourth of the 
ninth month (ii. το-- 19), and two years later, in 518, Zech. vili. 9 seqq. look back upon the happier period 
which had thus been inaugurated. But the exilic fasts were still being celebrated (vii. 3-5), the return of the 
dispersed was still an event to be anticipated. From these data it is reasonable to infer—with an influential 
number of scholars—that ‘no considerable band of exiles can have returned—none that was able materially to 
influence the Jewish community’ (Cheyne, Zvcy. διό. 1481 n. 4). 

(c) Objections. Various counter-arguments, influenced by the chronicler’s history in E—-N, have been brought 
forward (see p. 6 n. 1). Those based upon a representation of events which has perplexed a generation of 
scholars naturally tend to beg the question. For example, it is urged that the prophets address returned exiles 
and it was unnecessary to describe the people as such; that they do not say that the builders were not 
returned exiles ; that only E i—iii. explain the events of 520-516 and subsequent history; that the Temple 
could not have been built by the native ‘heathen’ Judaeans ; that the main stream of Jewish life had been 
diverted to Babylon and only the presence of a Babylonian ‘leaven’ explains the prophecies of Hag. and, Zech. 
While some scholars recognize and seek to explain the silence of the prophets touching a return and rebuilding 
before 520, others contend that there are indeed references to these events. Some, observing the profound 
difference between the promises of the ‘ Deutero-Isaiah’ (xl.-lv.) and the history in E ili. seq., are of opinion 
that, since ‘the reality was a bitter disenchantment,’ the disillusionment so great, the prophets naturally do 
not refer to the events. But others argue that unless these promises had been essentially fulfilled there would 
have been so fatal a falsification of popular expectation that the oracles of Is. xl. seqq. would scarcely have 
survived. It is obvious that the preservation of prophecies is hardly conditioned by their fulfilment, however 
partial, and the difference between the anticipations and the reality was surely sufficient, on the most 
conservative view, to throw Is. xl. seqq. into oblivion. Haggai, it is objected, ignores a future return and may 
well have ignored previous events—but his contemporary Zech. excludes a previous return, testifies to the 
continuation of the exile, and looks forward to a return. The avgumentum ὁ silentio is undoubtedly valid. 
Zech. (i. 2-6), in appealing to the people to repent, alludes to past experience, but does not refer to the return 
—which would have been the most immediate proof of the might of Yahweh. Was there a wish to put courage 
into the poor hearts of the returned exiles? There was one practical illustration of divine grace, but there is 
no allusion to it. In fact, the urgent supplication to Yahweh (i. 12) is unintelligible had a new era dawned 
as in E i-iii. ; one may note Daniel’s prayer for divine intervention (Dan. ix., cf. also N i.) and the prayers of 
E after his return (E ix. 8, N ix. 30 seq.). In point of fact, Zech. sees the punishment and misery of the past 
(vii.), and the ‘decalogue of promises’ belong to the future (viil.). Did the prophets intentionally refrain from 
mentioning the material help the exiles had received in the time of Cyrus, in order to emphasize the necessity 
of relying upon spiritual help? The very passage which has been quoted in support of this view refers to the 
small beginnings recently inaugurated by Zerubbabel (iv. 6, 9 seq.), and ignores E i-iv. 

There is no explanation of the gap between 537 and 520; there is no hint of any hindrance, cessation, or 
of any more or less continuous rebuilding (see ὃ 6 a): the people are negligent and remiss, and according 
to Haggai the distress caused by the failure of the rains was a punishment for not rebuilding the Temple 
(i., cf. 2 Sam. xxi. 1-10, Zech. xiv. 17). It hardly required a Babylonian exile to teach this. Haggai 
certainly refers to an altar (ii. 14, ‘there’), but this does not prove the accuracy of E iil. 3 or its context. 
A holy place is not necessarily deserted when the sanctuary is ruined, and Jer. xli. 5 already presupposes an 
altar ; to contend that the existence of this altar throughout the exile ought to have been mentioned in the 
O.T. is unreasonable. Indeed, the references to priests and sacrifices (Hag. ii. ro—14, cf. Zech. vil. 3 5666.) 
go further and suggest that the cult of Yahweh was independent even of the existence of a Temple (cf. Sellin, 
Stud. 53 seq. ; Torrey, 305). There is, moreover, no good reason for believing that native Judaeans would 
be ‘heathenish’, and that if they had rebuilt the Temple they would have been treated otherwise by the 
reformers E and N. If Jer. and Ezek. bear witness to low religious conditions, Hag., Mal., and Is. lvi.—Ixvi. 
indicate no great improvement after the return ; and the degenerate community which all scholars recognize in 
the latter sources and which needed the reforms of E and N include—on the traditional view—the Babylonian 
‘leaven.’ Yet the Judaeans and Samaritans felt themselves to be heirs of Israel and the latter could claim to 
‘worship Yahweh (2 Kings xvii. 32 seq., 41, Jer. xli. 5, Ezek. xxxiii. 24, Εἰ ἵν. 2). The fall of Jerusalem and 
the Exile do not exclude the presence—even among ‘the poorest of the land’—of men who might follow in 
the footsteps of the Rechabites (Jer. xxxv.), or of such seers as Amos, Hosea, Micah or Jeremiah ; and 
considering the piety of the Jews in distant Elephantine (Sachau-papyri), there is clearly no necessity to deny 
the possibility of the continuous worship of Yahweh during the exile, or to demand after 538 the presence of 
a ‘leaven’ which nevertheless did not preclude the abuses confronting E, N, Mal., and the writers in Is. lvi. seqq. 
It is obviously impossible to start with presuppositions of what was orthodox Yahwism and what was heathenism 
whether in Elephantine or in Palestine (before or after 536). If, too, Meyer’s argument (177) is valid, that 
the Levitical family of Henadad (E iii. 9, wanting in E ii.) was indigenous, indigenous also was the family of Iddo 
to which Zech. belonged (see Z vi. 1) ; and this scholar’s recognition of the prominence in and around Jerusalem 
of Calebite and other families who had never tasted exile (see ὃ 5 ¢) is extremely important for any estimate 
of the internal conditions. The evidence of Hag. and Zech. outweighs other evidence which might appear to 


ἦ 


I ESDRAS 


be contrary ; hence one can hardly assume that the deliverance of Jeshua (Zech. iii. 2) necessarily refers to his 
return seventeen years previously, or that the xame Zerubbabel suggests that other Jews with him were 
necesssarily ‘ begotten in Babylon’. Nor can decisive objections be based upon references in E vii—x., N 1. seqq. 
to an earlier return. That men (? exiles) should come and assist in the rebuilding of the Temple is a promise 
for the future in Zech. vi. 15. The references in E ix. 4, x. 6 seq. present their own peculiar difficulties on any 
view, and in all probability the story of E should come after N i—vi. (see III.a@). Ν 1. 2 seq. are inconclusive : 
they may be used to support a theory (Kosters, 45, Berth., 47, Torrey, 301 ἢ. 27, Davies, 161), although Ryle 
(149), who maintains an independent, though strictly conservative position, refers the passage to the people 
who had escaped the exile—the passage, in any case, must be considered in the light of evidence for some 
disaster between the age of Zerubbabel and the return of N (see further, ὃ 5 /). It is to be remembered, also, 
that the belief in a great return under Cyrus (or Darius) might influence the description of subsequent events 
even as the complete Mosaic legislation appears at first sight to be confirmed by the form which the revised 
and redacted history has taken in the books that follow the Pentateuch. ὶ ‘ : 

(41) Summary. The account of a large return to rebuild the Temple, whether in the time of Cyrus or Darius, 
must be tested by the independent Hag. and Zech. Great weight is often laid upon the circumstantial list in 
E ii., and its genuineness has been upheld, particularly by Meyer (73; 98 seqq., 191 5666: ; note the criticisms of 
Kosters, ZZ. Z. xxxi. 530-41); see below, p. 35. He, however, rejects in the main the rest of the Cyrus-history 
(49, 73, 99, 191, 193; Driver, 222, 552), although the decree of Cyrus is in itself entirely plausible (Nikel, 
31-7; Torrey, 144 n. 12), and the list is closely bound up with the whole series E ivi. His position 
appears inconsistent from any traditional standpoint (see Nikel, 42 seq., Davies, 14, 80 seq.), as well as from 
one more consistently critical, although his recognition that the list (which contains names recurring throughout 
E-N) is fundamental for the criticism of the post-exilic history is thoroughly sound. But the list stands or 
falls with its context, and when it is admitted that the success of the opposition in E iv. proves that the return 
has been exaggerated (see Sellin, Stwd.1; O. C. Whitehouse, /sazah, 11. 228; G. A. Smith, Jerws. 11. 298 seq.), 
or that the list has been re-edited (Holzhey, 15 ; Davies, 51), it is necessary to determine what details in 
Ei.-vi. may be regarded as even essentially accurate. The tolerance and kindness of Amil-Marduk (to 
Jehoiachin), Nabunaid (who sent back Merbaal to be king of Tyre), Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius’ certainly 
allow the probability of the return of bands of exiles, even as the Sachau—papyri show how Cambyses might 
favour native Jewish communities. But E i.—vi. are so closely interconnected as a piece of history that if we 
accept—as we must—the testimony of Hag. and Zech., it is difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct from E 
the course of events. On the one hand, we gain new presuppositions regarding the internal conditions of the 
age. On the other, there is remarkable confusion in the traditions of Cyrus and Darius in E and Z, E i. is 
repeated in the history of the time of Artaxerxes, and a narrative of this later period is actually inserted in 
E1.-vi. ; these combine with other features to extend the problems of E i.—vi. to those connected with the work 
of Eand N. 


Ill. Zhe Work of Ezra and Nehemiah. 


(2) Ezra. In the story of E there is considerable intricacy in the description of the separation 
from the heathen on the part of the ‘children of the captivity’ (i.e. E’s small band of exiles, or the 
congregation presumably formed in 536-516), and the inauguration of the new community, consisting 
of these and the elect of the ‘seed of Israel’. The whole story is closely interconnected, and much 
difficulty is caused by N i.-vii. which sever E vii—x. from N viii. seqq. by twelve years. There is, 
moreover, a very strong presumption that the Reading of the Law was originally described shortly 
after E’s arrival (cf. & ix.), and not (as in N viii.) after this lengthy interval, during which we hear 
nothing of him. Finally, on independent grounds there seems to be no place for E before the first 
visit, at all events, of N. It is indeed allowed that ‘it is impossible to decide upon the evidence 
at our disposal’ (G. A. Smith, Eafosiéor, July, 1906, p. 16), or that this jater position of E is only 
a possibility (Wellhausen) ; but it seems very doubtful whether the story is trustworthy (H. P. Smith, 
Torrey, Jahn), and, even if it be historical, many agree that it cannot be placed before N ivi. 
(Berth., Buhl, Cheyne, Guthe, Hoonacker [esp. Rev. Bibl., x. 15 seqq.], Kennett, Kent, Kosters, 
Marq., Sellin, Wildeboer). See further the notes on & viii-x. 

(ὁ) Nehemiah. N was governor from the zoth year of Artaxerxes (Jos. xi. 5 7, 25th of Xerxes) to 
the 32nd (N v. 14), i.e. 444-432, and we hear of a return to the king and a second visit (xiii. 4-6). 
But N xiii. is joined to xii. so closely as to imply that only on the occasion of the datey visit were 
the walls dedicated, although the ceremony is ostensibly the immediate sequel of their completion, 
two months after his frs¢ visit (vi.).2 This must be due to defective compilation (cf. Nikel, 196 n. 1), 


* For the external evidence see Berth., 26 seq. ; Jampel, i. 502 seqq., ii. 11 5666. 
8 Rawlinson and Klostermann (so Davies, 267), Howorth (PSBA, xxv. 18 seq.), G. A. Smith (of. cit. 10-12), 
R. H. Kennett (Camb. Bibl. Essays, 120) ; the dates N vi. 15, vil. 73, ix. I were evidently meant—by the compiler— 
to be consecutive. That the walls were actually completed in 52 days may be ‘hardly credible’ (Ew. 157 ἢ. δὴ» 
Jos. (§ 179) aliows 2 years and 4 months (hardly an invention, Ew.), and dates the completion in the ninth month 
(cf. 2 Mace. i. 18) of the 28th year of Yer-ves. 
8 


INTRODUCTION 


which will also explain the description of N’s social reforms (v.) amid the intrigues during the 
hurried rebuilding of the walls, where N looks back upon the period of his governorship (ν. 14). In 
fact, his strong position as reformer in v. seems more in harmony with that in xiii. than with the 
picture of suspicion and hostility represented in iv., vi., and this serious difficulty touching the course 
of N’s work (vii. 2 may hint at his departure) hampers every attempt to trace the history of his period. 
Consequently N, even with the elimination of the E-story, cannot be in its original form, as is clear 
also from the literary features of xi. and xii. (see also Torrey, 225 seq., 248 seq.). 

(c) The List N vit. N’s-proposal to summon the people in order to augment Jerusalem 
(vii. 4 seqq.) is severed by part of the E-story (N viii—x.) from the list of inhabitants (xi.), other lists 
(xii. 1-26), the dedication of the walls and arrangements for the Temple officials (xii. 27-47), &c. 
His story is no longer autobiographical (contrast, however, xiii. 4-31) and fresh sources are to be 
recognized. Since the list found by him (vii. 5) is that of the return of Zerubbabel (E ii.), it is often 
assumed that the sequel in xi. must also refer to this earlier period (Ewald, Smend, Stade, Meyer, 
&c.). But xi. differs so widely from vii. 6 seqq. that both cannot be authentic (Meyer, 189). It is 
more probable, however, that xi. belongs to the story of N and follows upon vii. 4, ‘though the 
narrative is hardly continued wo tenore’ (Driver, 551). Yet, on any theory, the presence of 
N vii. 6-73 is inexplicable, since it is difficult to see why even a compiler should quote an azczent 
list which excluded the more recent return of E (E viii. 1-14; cf. Holzhey, 37). If ‘a genealogical 
register was necessary’ (Davies), this would have been out-of-date, and although lapse of time and 
later adjustment might explain—on this view—the various differences between E ii. and N vii. 
there are far more significant differences in N x. 1-27, a list which is referred to N’s time. Now, its 
conclusion (N vii. 73 6) is the proper introduction to the Reading of the Law (viii.), which is in 
a more natural position between E viii.and ix., and Torrey (256 seqq., cf. Kent, 369) points out that 
N vii. 70-3, also, are more in harmony after the account of E’s return. Indeed, vii. 66-9 (the 
enumeration) and 61-5 (the expulsion of the impure in Zerubbabel’s time, see on & v. 38) would 
be useless for N’s purpose, and in fact H. P. Smith would place the entire list (from vii. 5) after 
E viii. 36 (393 n. 1; see, however, Torrey 259 ἢ. 9). Accordingly, through compilation and revision 
the account of N’s work, with its own chronological embarrassments, has been broken bya portion of 
the story of E, the first part of which is now found before N i., while the list in vii. (vv. 5 a, 73 suggest 
a gathering of the people) records details which are not in keeping with the context, whereas in E ii. 
it is in a consistent context, albeit an unhistorical one. While the Reading of the Law (vii. 73 d-viii.) 
abruptly introduces E, the preceding material is partly (at least) connected with E’s return in 
E vii. seq., and partly belongs to the (unhistorical) account of Zerubbabel’s return. A considerable 
portion of the E-story is sundered from N viti. seqq., but the description of the separation from the 
heathen is confused and closely interrelated, and the list of those who had married strange women 
(see on £ ix. 21-36) includes families who are not mentioned in E’s band (E viii. 1-14), but appear 
in the list of E ii., which in || N vii. is connected with the return of E! Finally, this great list, though 
used for the time of Cyrus (or Darius, & v.) and treated in N vii.asa document of that period, reveals 
traces of the age of N himself, and of having been adjusted to the earlier context (see on ἢ v. 
24 seq., 40, 44 seq., 46 seq.). Hence it would seem that E ii. N vii. originally belonged to an 
account of a return in some record of the history of the times of N, E, and Artaxerxes. On its 
repetition, see p. 19 (§ 6). 

(ὦ) The Ezra-story. The well-supported view that E came to Jerusalem after N i.—vi. implies 
some rearrangement of the material; and the suitability of N vii. (some portion) and viii. between 
E vii. seq. and ix. suggests, not that the /atzer part of the E-story has been removed from E x. and 
placed after N vi. but that the whole once stood after that chapter. The complexity of the list vii. 
(which overlaps with E viii.) still remains, and it is at this point in the book that the critical problems 
become most intricate. But it must be noticed that the E-story is certainly composite and not in 
its original form, and some of the confusion may have arisen when it was divided and part of it 
placed before N i! If, moreover, the E-story stood after N vi. itmay be observed that there is 
a certain relationship between the stories of E and N: the reference to the son of Eliashib, E x. 6, 
cf. N xiii. 4,28; the suitability of N xiii. 1-2, between E x.g and 10 (W. R. Smith; Berth., 89); the 
coincidence in the day of arrival of each (see 25 viii. 6); the twelve-years’ gap in the history of each, 
and the parallel features in their measures on behalf of temple, priests and people. E, however, 
is mentioned only incidentally in the story of N (xii. 36, doubtful, see the comm.), and it is impossible 
that the two laboured together. On the other hand, the Tirshatha is prominent at the Reading of 
the Law (N viii. 9) and the signing of the Covenant (x. 1), and also in the list, vii. (v. 65, the degrada- 
tion of the priests; v. 70, gifts to the treasury) ; he is identified with N (see on £& ix. 49), and N is 


1 For the interrelation between the now sundered portions see p. 47, and cf. JE in Ex. xxxiil, seqq. and Num. x. 
29-36, xi.; and also the contents of 2 Sam. v.—vill., xx1.-xxiv. 


9 


I ESDRAS 


equally prominent in his own story (especially v., xiii.). N was not the only governor in post-exilic 
Jerusalem (N v.15, Mal. i. 8), but it is noteworthy that the E-story, especially in the narrative- 
portions, shows no interest in either the governor or the high-priest ; the story seems to be written 
from an independent standpoint, and is focussed upon the austere figure of E alone. The story 
represents a period of divine favour and royal clemency after the sufferings of Israel (Dan. ix., N 1 
presuppose an earlier situation); it obviously comes after the disappearance of Zerubbabel, but it 
cannot be placed before the introduction of N. There are independent arguments for the tradition 
of a return under N and religious reorganization (see § 5 ὁ, 2), and this appears to be supplemented by 
the account of E. The latter describes the return of E and a representative community to a temple, 
but one sorely in need of replenishing (E vii. 15-27, viii. 36); to an ecclesiastical body (note 
E viii. 17), but a negligent one (N x. 32 seqq.) ; to a community that worshipped Yahweh, but had 
fallen from the ideal. It can hardly be called an Autobiography (Meyer, 205) or a Memoir, and 
there is no evidence to prove it to be a mere invention or fiction. Rather is it based upon facts 
which link the energy of N with the subsequent appearance of an established orthodox Jewish 
Church. It may be regarded as an ideal description of the inauguration of Judaism, and the intro- 
duction of the ‘Book of the Law of Moses’ (the Pentateuch is probably meant) is a later parallel 
to the story of the (re-)discovery of the ‘ Book of the Law’ (Deuteronomy) in the reign of Josiah ; 
cf. also the chronicler’s accounts of Asa, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah (2 Chron. xiv. 4, Xv. 3, 10-13, 
xvii. 7, 9, xxix. 10). It does not seem to have been written by the compiler of the series Chron.- 
E-N; it appears rather as a tradition of independent origin, written around the age of N, combined 
with the story of N and ultimately with the great post-exilic history of Jerusalem and the Temple. 


IV. Jnterrelation of Data. 


(a) Intricacy of parallels. The intricacy of the list E ii. N vii. for the history of Cyrus, Darius (Z) and 
Artaxerxes does not stand alone. The close connexion in the narratives relating to Cyrus and Darius appears 
in E iii. 7 compared with Z iv. 48, in iii. 1 with Z v. 6, and in E ui. 2 with & v. 4-6. The Temple, 
according to Hag. and Zech., was not commenced before the time of Darius, in contrast to E ii.; but 
the laments in E iii. 12 in the time of Cyrus curiously recall Hag. 11. 3 seqq. The social and religious 
reorganization implied in E 11. 59, 62, vi. 21 finds a parallel in the reforms of E, and while E ii. 7o, iii. 1, 
introduce the erection of the altar, the text in & ν. 46 seq. presupposes a later period, and in fact these verses 
in N vii. 73, vili. 1, form the prelude to the Reading of the Law. The latter event is the sequel to the record of 
a return (N vil.) which in Z ix. is that of E himself. ἘΣ iii. is unhistorical, and has probably been influenced 
by material relating to the time of N; thus Meyer (73, 99) points to N viii. 17 seq., and Jahn compares 
iii. to-13 with N xl. 40-3. The account of the opposition in E iy. is untrustworthy, and there is a marked 
resemblance between the details and N iv., vi., enhanced by the insertion in E iv. 7-24 of a record of the time 
of Artaxerxes. This record attests a return of some importance, which, however, has yet to be identified, and 
while the decrees of Cyrus and Darius agree (cf. also Artaxerxes and E) in presenting several very similar 
features (Torrey, 125 seqq., 158; Bayer, 117 seqq.), the historical basis for any decree on the lines they take 
cannot be found in their reigns. For parallels in the stories of E and N see above, p. 9 (d). Such is the 
interrelation of the contents that it is hardly surprising that later sources should not infrequently combine 
Zerubbabel and Ezra (Lag. 18 ; Torrey, 49 n. 17) and that both should be united with Jeshua in a return in 
the time of Darius (Lag. 84). Even N xii. 47 looks back and mentions together Zerubbabel and N (see 
Berth.) ; and if Hashabiah and Sherebiah in N xii. 24 may be identified with the names in E viii. 18 566.» 
Joiakim (son of Jeshua) and E appear to be correlated much in the same way that N xii. 12-26 seem to 
confuse the times of Joiakim, N and E (see also the view of Kosters, 91 seq.). 

(ὁ) Some modern views. The endeavour to recover the historical facts has led to very divergent 
conclusions among modern scholars. One favourite view has retained Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes in E iv., 
between Cyrus and Darius, by the simple device of changing the names or of assuming an alternative 
nomenclature. Equally popular has been the theory that Artaxerxes and Darius are to be identified with the 
second bearer of each name, and, indeed, this may have been the view of the compiler or writer (see Torrey, 
38 seq., 178 seq:). Although this leaves an astonishing gap between Cyrus and Darius II, the belief that the 
Artaxerxes of the stories of N and E was the later king (404-359 8.6.) has found very weighty support (de 
Saulcy, Maspero, Hoonacker, and Howorth [partly], Marq., H. P. Smith [382], &c., see further Berth., 30 ; and 
PSBA, xxiii. 319 seqq.). It has also been proposed to identify the Cyrus of the narratives with Darius and 
Darius with Art. I, and so close is the interconnexion of events that N viii.—x. has been placed in the time of 
Zerubbabel, and the whole of E-N (extending from 537 to 432) has been compressed within a few years (see 
H. Winckler, Helmholt’s World’s Hist. iii. 216 seq., and the summaries in Jampel, ii. x seq.). Others hold 
that Zer. first returned in the time of Darius, and that E iii. 8 seqq. properly belongs to that later period. More- 
over, the historical and prophetical writings are necessarily co-ordinated, and thus Hag. and Zech. have 
appeared to some to be of or about the time of Cyrus, although if Darius be D. II they are brought down 
to (about) 423-404 (see Howorth, PSBA, xxiii. 324). So, also, the prophecies in Is. xl.—-Ixvi., are sub- 
divided and connected with the history of the times of Cyrus and Artaxerxes, although, under the influence of 

10 


INTRODUCTION 


another theory of the history, the chapters are once more treated as virtually a whole, either relatively early 
(c. 537-520; Sellin, Stud. 160; Rothstein) or relatively late (H. P. Smith, 371 n. 1, 379 ἢ. 3; Torrey, 
288 n. 8, 314; Kennett). In contrast to these efforts to overcome the difficulties are the views of those 
scholars who do not admit the intricacies but continue to maintain the essential trustworthiness of E-N, 
the unhistorical character of Chron. itself being, nevertheless, almost unanimously realized. In so far as this 
is based upon the manner in which the narratives appear to be mutually confirmatory—cf. the conservative 
attitude to the criticism of the Pentateuch—and superficially, at least, consistent, it is necessary to observe 
that the chronicler’s history is singularly simple compared with the forms taken in £, or in Jos., or in the 
traditions that prevailed elsewhere in ancient times. 

(c) Some ancient views. Jos., who is well-informed on the last Babylonian kings, asserts that the kingdom 
fell to Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Mede; the two were kinsmen and the latter, whose father was 
Astyages, had another name among the Greeks (x. 11, 2, 4). | Cyrus, son of Cambyses, was the father of the 
better-known Cambyses; his mother, according to tradition, was the sister of Cyaxares and daughter of 
Astyages. Astyages, the last Median king, was the son of Cyaxares and was defeated by Cyrus. But this 
name is also given by Alexander Polyhistor and others to Cyaxares (¢. 624~584), the founder of the Median 
empire, who took part with Nabopolassar in the attack upon Assyria.!| When the father of Darius is called 
Ahasuerus (Dan. ix. 1; cf. the synopsis, Lag. 15, where he is born of Vashti), and the latter and Nebuchad- 
rezzar capture Nineveh (Tobit xiv. 15), the names Ahasuerus and Cyaxares have evidently been confused 
(Rawlinson). The Ahasuerus of Esther was certainly placed soon after the deportation of Jehoiachin by 
Nebuchadrezzar (so ii. 5 seq.), but in Judith iv. 1-6 the last-mentioned reigns over the Medes at a time 
when the Jews had recently returned from captivity and the high-priest was one Joiakim. The historical 
foundation for Esther’s king can only be Xerxes, although Jos., LX.X, and early writers identify him with Artaxerxes. 
Jos., moreover, states that he was also called Cyrus—in Dan. v. 31, vi. 28, Darius the Mede becomes king 
after the fall of Babylonia and is followed by Cyrus—and gives the name Xerxes to the Artaxerxes of the 
stories of E and N. The difficulty of distinguishing the names would obviously be increased by the fact 
that Darius I was actually followed by Xerxes (485-465), and D. IT (423-404) by Art. II (404~359), and that 
D. 11 had a son Cyrus, famous for the unsuccessful expedition against his elder brother Art. II. Not to pursue 
the confusing details further, it is enough to notice that the later historians had behind them a series of events 
of vital importance. During a relatively brief period the power of Assyria was broken up, Scythians and 
Medes entered into W. Asiatic politics, a new Babylonian empire was restored only to fall before the Persian 
régime under Cyrus ; a little more than a century later another Cyrus created a turmoil in W. Asia (400), and 
finally the Greeks, who had been gradually coming into closer touch with the Oriental world, established 
a new age under Alexander the Great. How soon history became enwrapped in legend is obvious from 
Herodotus and Xenophon (fifth century B.c.) and from Ctesias, who is even said to have drawn upon Persian 
records. Jos., for his part, endeavoured to reduce the confusion into some order; the Seder Olam (ch. xxx) 
ingeniously identifies all the Persian kings: Cyrus, Darius, Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes—Dan. xi. 2 knows only 
of four—and the whole of the Persian age from the restoration of the Temple to the time of Alexander the 
Greek was even compressed into a few decades. The appearance of simplicity in the chronicler’s history of 
the period is misleading; see further § 6 e. 


§ 5. DATA FOR RECONSTRUCTION. 


The foregoing survey of the intricacies of E—N, the prevailing confusion in regard to the period, 
and the efforts made by ancient and modern writers to present the historical facts, will perhaps be 
convincing proof that the difficulties in E-N are genuine. They concern both E-N and Δ᾽, and any 
attempt to discuss the origin and structure of £ must form some preliminary conception of the 
underlying history. For this the story of N seems most fruitful. 

(a2) The Samaritans. N’s age was one of intermarriage and close intercourse between the 
Jews, Samaritans, and other neighbours (vi. 18, xiii. 3, 4, 23, 24, 28). The elliptical repulse of the 

“Samaritans in N ii. 20 implies that they, as in E iv. 2 seq., had some claim ‘to a share in the fortunes 
of Jerusalem’ (Ryle, 171), and that they ‘ would have had no quarrel with the Jews if they had been 
permitted to unite with the latter in their undertakings and privileges’ (Davies, 177). These details, 
the character of the intermarriages, the efforts to compromise with N (vi. 2-4), the close relationship 
presupposed by the subsequent bitterness after the schism, the fact that Samaritanism was virtually 
a sister-sect of Judaism—these preclude the present position of E’s return and marriage-reforms 
and make it extremely doubtful whether there had as yet been any serious Samaritan hostility. 
They also suggest that the records of E-N have been written and revised under the influence of 
a bitter anti-Samaritan feeling, the date of which can hardly be placed before N xiii. Indeed, it is 
not improbable that the Samaritan schism should be placed (with Jos. xi. 7 seq.) at the close of the 
Persian period (see further Marq., 57 seq.; Jahn, 173 seqq.; Torrey, 321 seqq., 331 seq.). 

(6) Place of Ez. iv. 7-23. This undated record of the reign of Artaxerxes, in spite of some 


1 See Ency. Brit., 11th ed., on these names. 
II 


I ESDRAS 


internal difficulties (see criticisms in Berth., 18 seq., Nikel, 182), probably illustrates the story of N 
when ‘ Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear’ (vi. 19). It points to some new reconstruction of the 
city by returned exiles—evidently after an earlier disaster—and requires the assumption that the 
story of N is focussed upon the governor alone and that N and his military escort (ii. 9, cf. & v. 2, 
contrast ib. viii. 51 seq.) brought back a band of exiles (so Jos.) ; see below (@). Against this the 
objection has been brought that N, in spite of the royal command (E iv. 21 seq.), continued to build 
and actually did complete the walls. On the other hand, the walls were already practically finished 
(vi. 1, vii. 1, see Ryle, 219), and some time would necessarily elapse before letters could reach 
Artaxerxes and his reply come to hand (cf. the situation in Εἰ v. 5). The king does not order the 
walls to be destroyed or weakened; N naturally had other building operations to attend to in 
addition to the walls, and these may well have been stopped ‘by force and power’ (E iv. 23). The 
letter to Artaxerxes urges that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would be detrimental to the security of 
the province (iv. 13, 19 seq.), and disloyalty was the strongest charge brought against the governor 
(N ii. 19, vi. 6-7). In fact, N vii. 2 seq. may suggest that the perturbed governor left his brother in 
charge of the city while he visited the king—his leave had been limited (ii. 6)—and although the 
sequence of events is admittedly obscure there is a distinct gap between his position in N 1.-ἰν., Vi. 
and that as represented in xiii. (cf. v.). The formal steps of the Samaritans in E iv. 7 seqq. 
(similarly the satrap in E v. seq.) stand in contrast to the confusing account of the hostility in 
N iv., vi. against one who had come armed with royal authority, and undue weight must not be laid 
upon the present form of the N-story (see above [a]). All in all, the evidence does not exclude the 
helpful conjecture that E iv. 7-23 illustrate the troubles of N at that stage where the continuation 
of the book (after vi. 19) is almost inextricably complex. : os 

(6) The semi-Edomite population. In the list of those who helped to rebuild the wall (N iii.) it is 
noteworthy (1) that very few of the names can be at all plausibly identified with the families who 
apparently returned with either Zerubbabel or Ezra (Kosters, 47), and (2) that some of the names 
have Calebite affinities. The list is evidence for the poverty of the Babylonian section of population 
and for the prominence of the Judaeans, who include both the natives and those Calebite and allied 
groups who moved up from the south of Judah some time after 586. The presence of the latter is 
only to be expected, and the fact, pointed out by Meyer himself in 1896, is obviously fundamental 
for the criticism of the book of Ezra (see Kosters, 7%. 7. xxxi. 536).? In this Calebite or semi- 
Edomite Judah—and to call these groups ‘ half heathen’ (with Nikel, 56,64) is to beg the question— 
we may find a starting-point for our conception of the district from the time of their immigration 
northwards to the date of the far-reaching reorganization associated with the names of N and E. 
Further, the list of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in N xi. recurs, though with variations, in 1 Chron. ix., 
where it represents the compiler’s conception of the post-exilic population after the captivity. 
According to his perspective of history, there was an old Israel which included a Judah of Calebite 
and Jerahmeelite origin (1 Chron. ii. and iv.) and some later stage which corresponds closely with N xi. 
N xi., however, differs widely from the lists in E ii. and viii. and ignores the return of Zerubbabel 
and Ezra. Its disagreement is hardly a proof that these lists are authentic ; what is significant is 
the agreement between the Judaean clans Perez, Shelah and the semi-Edomite Zerah in N xi. and 
the mixed genealogies in 1 Chron. ii. and iv. The chronicler, it will be observed, knows of no earlier 
Judah ; his evidence in ii., iv. is (in his view) pre-Davidic, and it agrees with this that his lists of the 
Levitical orders of David’s time illustrate the close bond uniting these ecclesiastical bodies with 
people of south Palestinian and Edomite affinity.* 

(d) A decree and a return. The introduction to the Jerusalem list reads like the sequel to the 
account of some return (N xi. 3,1 Chron. ix. 2; cf. E ii. 70, N vii. 73, and see Ewald, 159 n. 2). 
The list itself, after dealing with priests, Levites, &c., proceeds to refer to those who dwelt in the 
country, and it is noteworthy that N xi. 23 seq. have in view the fulfilment of some royal decree 
touching the singers (cf. & iv. 54 seq., E vii. 24). The singers, also, are subsequently collected from 
the Netophathite and other villages which they had built at some unspecified period (xii. 28 seq. ; 
cf. the Levites in 1 Chron. ix. 16), and the explicit references to the rest of Israel and their cities 
(xi. 20, 25), before the assembling at the dedication of the walls (xii. 27), recall the situation before 


* H. P. Smith, 348; Kent, 358; see also the remarks of Sellin, Sev., 53 seqq., Stud. 16-35. With Tobiah, cf. the 
Aram. form Tabeel, E iv. 7 (Hoonacker, Rev. Bibl. x. 183 n. 6; Sellin, Sz. 33). 

* See for (2) Meyer, Evt., 114-19, 147, 167, 177 seq., 181, 183, and his /svaediten, 352 τι. 5, 399, 402, 409, 429 n. 5, 
430. See also on & v. 26. 

* Cf. also H. Guthe, Z. Bz. 2249; T. K. Cheyne, ib. 3385; H. P. Smith, “7257. 354 n.1; R. Kittel, Chron. 14, 16; 
Jahn, 99; Kennett, Essays, 117, 123; Torrey, 328, ἢ. 53; E. L. Curtis and A. A. Madsen, Chron. 89, 98, 104. 

_ * See also E. Meyer and Β. Luther, /svae/., 442 seqq., for evidence connecting Judah and the Edomites ; in their 

opinion, however, the data, found in literature relating to pre-monarchical times, refer to pre-Davidic conditions. 


I2 


INTRODUCTION 


the exiles were assembled in Jerusalem after their return and settlement in the Zerubbabel-story 
(E ii. 70, iii. 1). Thus, the difficult and much revised narratives of N’s work, between vi. and xiii., 
are connected with the list of the return in vii., with the return of E (see p. gc), and with some return 
associated with the figure of N himself. ἃ. A. Smith observes that the reforms of N ‘are best 
explained through his reinforcement by just so large a number of Babylonian Jews under just such a 
leader as Ε (Expos., July, 1906, p. 7 seq.). On the other hand, there is insufficient historical evidence for 
the presence of E and his band, and the above details strongly suggest that there was an account of 
some other return in connexion with the activity of N, although it is still impossible to reconstruct 
the course of N’s work (see § 4, III. δ). 

(e) The Temple. The history after the rise of the Davidic Zerubbabel is a blank which can be 
filled only by conjecture (see e.g. Ewald; Sellin, Sev.; Nikel, 142-6, and others), The situation 
in Jerusalem at the return of N cannot be explained by the disasters at the fall of Jerusalem about 
140 years previously. The city was in great affliction and reproach, and N’s grief, confession, and 
prayer recall E’s behaviour at the tidings of the heathen marriages. The ruins of Jerusalem were 
extensive (N i. 3, ii. 3, 8, 13, iii., cf. Ecclus. xlix. 13), and it is disputed whether the dzraz (ii. 8) refers 
to the fortress on the north side of the Temple (G. A. Smith, Fervs., ii. 347 seq., 461), or the Temple 
itself (cf. 1 Chron. xxix. 1 and see Jahn, pp. iv, 93). According to 2 Macc. i. 18, N built both the 
Temple and the Altar, and Jos. (independently) asserts that he received permission to build the 
walls of the city and to finish the Temple. An old Latin synopsis (Lag. 18 seq.) states that E 
restored the foundations of Zerubbabel’s temple, and an old Greek summary of ‘Second Esdras’ 
refers to N as a builder of the Temple (Lag. 84, 1.27: αὐτὸς ἠξίωσε περὶ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τοῦ ἱεροῦ). 
These can scarcely all be based upon the references to the Temple in the Artaxerxes-record in δ 
ii. 18, 20. It is at least noteworthy that, both in & and E, compilers have placed this episode in 
the history of the Temple, and the different readings in Εἰ iv. 12, 14, might be due to the alternative 
position of the story (see below, ᾧ 6 (c)) after the account of the opposition in the time of Cyrus.' 
Moreover, the mention of the ‘ decree of Cyrus,and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia’ (E vi. 14, 
see & vii. 4) is unintelligible—for even a gloss or interpolation must express some plausible belief— 
unless there was a tradition associating Artaxerxes with the building of the Temple. Again, in view 
of the parallels between E iv. and N ii. iv., vi., in the account of the Samaritan opposition, it is surely 
significant that the abrupt allusion in N ii. 20 to the repudiation of the Samaritans can only be 
explained in the light of E iv. 3, where the building of the Temple is concerned.’ Finally, the 
E-story represents a period of favour during which the Temple had been restored or repaired 
through God’s mercy and the clemency of Persia (E ix. 8 seq.). This brief ‘moment’ (v. 8) cannot 
date back from the decree of Cyrus and the work οἵ Zerubbabel, rather must one read the whole 
situation—the strengthening of a neglectful community, the furthering of a poor temple—as a 
supplement to the disorganization and confusion in the story of N’s measures. Hence, it may be 
concluded that there is sufficient evidence for some tradition of a rebuilding of the Temple and 
of a return in the time of N. 

(f) The recent disaster. The disaster which explains N’s grief, anxiety, and energetic labours 
may probably be ascribed in part at least to Edom. Friendly or neutral relations between Judah 
(and its semi-Edomite population, see c) and the ‘brother’ Edom appear to have continued at 
a relatively late period, until for some reason Edom is denounced for its unbrotherly conduct.’ The 
origin of the enmity is generally connected with the fall of Jerusalem in 586. But it cannot be found 
in the time of Jehoiakim (the conjecture ‘Edom’ for ‘Aram’ in 2 Kings xxiv. 2 is against Jer. 
xxxv. 11), or of Zedekiah (when Edom was among the allies of Judah ; Jer. xxvii., Ezek. xvii. 11 seqq.) ; 
the Chaldeans alone destroyed the Temple, and Jews had even taken refuge in Edom and elsewhere 
(Jer.xl.11). The very explicit statement that the Edomites burned the Temple ‘when Judaea was 
made desolate by the Chaldeans’, and occupied Judaean territory (£ iv. 45, 50), points to the reality 
of a tradition which, however, has been connected with the events of 586. The various allusions to 
Edom (Obad., Ezek. xxv. 12, χχχν. 10, 12, xxxvi. 5, Lam. iv., Ps. cxxxvii. 7), though possibly 
referring to different periods, cannot be based upon the history of the Chaldean invasion. The very 
circumstantial references to Edomite aggression (1 iv. 50, Ezek. xxxv. 10, xxxvi. 3, 5) have led to 
the view that the Jewish exiles recovered their land through Persian aid.* This, however, finds no 
support in the history of either Cyrus or Darius. But may it not be later (Nikel, 57 n. 1), before 


1 See also Sellin, Sev. 56 ἢ. 1, 58; Stud. 18 seq.; Griinhut, Zinlettung (cited by Jampel, i. 105). 

2 Parallel traditions elsewhere explain each other, cf. Ex. xvii. 6 with Num. xx. 8; Ex. xvii. τὸ with Num. xiv. 
40, 44; Ex. xxxili. with Num. xi. 

® Mal. i. 2-5 ; see Kennett, Essays, 117. 

* See the discussions of Ewald, 80 seqq., 88; Herzfeld, Gesch. (1847) i. 475 seq.; Smend, 22, 24; Stade, Gesch. ii. 
112; Ε΄. Buhl, Gesch. α΄. Edomiter (1893), 77- 


13 


I ESDRAS 


the prophecy of Mal. i, 2-5, and between the times of Zerubbabel and N ? : If so, it is tempting to 
associate the relatively simple and unadorned decree attributed to Darius in E iv. 48-56 (which 
points to a return to rebuild the Temple after a period of Edomite hostility) with the situation that 
underlies the narratives of N, cf. d above. k ᾿ 

(Ὁ) Summary. The internal difficulties of Ε--Ν are exceedingly complex owing to the numerous 
untrustworthy features, the remarkable and suspicious parallels, and the intricacies of rearrangement, 
adjustment, and revision. The sources throw little (if any) light on the period before gee return of 
N, and traditions originally associated with him or his age appear to underlie the rest.” His story 
forms the starting-point for the problems of E—N, but it has too many serious difficulties for any 
confident theory of the order of events. Yet it seems clear that in N’s time there had not as yet 
been any previous Samaritan hostility of any extent, any separation from the ‘heathen’, any important 
return of exiles. It is not improbable that in the time of Zerubbabel there was a monarchy of some 
size (cf. Sellin, Sev., 89), and it is interesting to notice that the Samaritan opposition in the time of 
Artaxerxes is aimed especially at the apparent political pretensions of N (ii. 19, vi. 6—8, cf. E iv. 13). 
The population in and around Jerusalem consisted partly of the old indigenous stock and partly of 
the southern groups of Edomite affinity who moved northwards after 586. This semi-Edomite people 
had suffered from a disaster, due, in some measure, to the ‘ brother’ Edomites who had burned the 
Temple and occupied Jewish territory, and to repair the lamentable conditions was the object of N’s 
return. The southern groups in question are only to be expected after 1 Chron. ii. and iv., and the 
history in Chron. seems to reveal some traces of their perspective: their presence in the Levitical 
bodies, the stories of the reconstruction of Temple and cult, and the traditions of invasions of hostile 
southern peoples. On independent grounds it is probable that other traces of the presence and 
prominence of these groups may be observed elsewhere, and we may notice that the O.T. preserves 
the tradition of the high reputation of the eponymous Caleb, the ‘servant of Yahweh’, and that late 
traditions even ascribe a southern origin to some of the prophets.® 

In the chronicler’s compilation the rise of the new Jewish Church and the opposition of the 
Samaritans are dated at the commencement of the Persian age, and in the light of this the later 
history was meant to be read, even as other writers presuppose the patriarchal ancestors of pre- Mosaic 
days or the elaborate Levitical ritual associated with Moses and Aaron. Although this view shapes 
the compilation, the study of the age of Artaxerxes throws a different light upon its value. There 
are persistent and independent traditions of some return in his reign, and of some reconstruction of 
the people. Subsequent to the situation represented in N iii. (see c above) a new community was 
formed, and since it would be composed of elements of exilic (Babylonian) and non-exilic ancestry, 
some of the names of the latter class (found e.g. in N iii.) might naturally recur in (the later) lists 
referring to earlier periods (for such names, see Nikel, 154 seqq.). From 1 Chron. ii. and iv., and 
from the place of Caleb and Jerahmeel among the ‘sons’ of Perez—Gen. xxxviii seems to record 
his superiority over the rival and semi-Edomite Zerah—it is obvious that there has been a genea- 
logical readjustment of the groups of southern origin. Moreover, elsewhere, the specific traditions 
of such groups as these have been revised or mutilated, and it is probable that all these features may 
be connected with the intricate development of the priestly and Levitical figures, suggestive of rival 
representations and compromise.* 

E-N is written from the standpoint of a reorganized community which admitted no relationship 
with the semi-Edomite or native Judaean groups. The Babylonian exiles piqued themselves on 
their superiority to the Judaeans, who none the less could boast of their father Abraham—the hero 
of the Calebite city of Hebron (Ezek. xxxiii. 24). To the exiles from Babylon and thence 
(E ii.) to the old Judah which fell in 586, the community persistently attributed its origin. The 
Jews of the post-exilic theocracy laid most weight upon an ancestry from the deportation by Nebuchad- 
rezzar, even as the old Israel ignored the large indigenous and mixed element in Palestine, and 
descent was claimed from the immigrant tribes from Egypt and thence from the pre-Mosaic sons of 
Israel. Different disasters were focussed upon 586, and traditions of return and rebuilding were 
concentrated upon the return of Zerubbabel. Consequently, by thus passing over the native groups, 
whether akin or not to the hated Edomites, the mixed origin of the Jews was rendered less con- 
spicuous. The significance of this has been well pointed out by Torrey (155, 236 seq., 321 seqq., and, 


Ξ Some later Edomite invasion has been inferred by J. Ley, 77. Jesaéa (1893), 150; T. K. Cheyne, Zntvod. 75.» 
210 seq. ; & Bz. col. 2701; H. Winckler, Keilinschr. u.d. A. T.295; R.H. Kennett, Journ. Theol. Stud., 1906, p. 487. 
Note also the earlier views of Kuenen and Sellin (Ser., 82) that Is. Ixiii. 18, Ixiv. 10 seq., point to another destruction of 
the Temple after 516. 

ξ Note the tradition in 2 Mace. li. 13 that N collected writings and ‘letters of kings about sacred gifts’. 

Habakkuk and Zephaniah of Simeon, Obadiah an Edomite proselyte, Nahum of Elkosh. 

* See further Ency. Brit, 11th ed., artt. ‘Genesis’ (xi. 584 seq.) ; ‘ Jews’ (xv. 387, 389-91); ‘ Levites’ (xvi. 513 seq.) ; 

* Palestine’ (xx. 615 seq.), and art. ‘ Edomites’ in Hastings’ Dict. of Rel. and Ethics. 


14 


INTRODUCTION 


especially, 328 n. 53). Both Jews and Samaritans were of mingled ancestry, but the latter could at 
all events claim to have been associated with the land longer than the former. The question of 
kinship between the two divisions was, as we see from Jos. (ix. 14 3, xi. 8 6, xii. 5 5), always a debatable 
one, and the knowledge of past history would only increase the bitter enmity at the rise of the rival 
cult on Mt. Gerizim. But the chronicler’s compilation very carefully conceals the course of events 
and upholds for Judah alone the sole right to be the legitimate descendant of the ancient confederation 
of Israel.! 


§6. STRUCTURE OF THE SOURCES. 


It may often be possible to point out conflicting data, to indicate traditions which seem to be 
older or more original, and to arrive at positive or negative conclusions regarding the underlying 
facts; but the endeavour to trace the literary growth of complex sources which are certainly the 
result of intricate reshaping and revision is a delicate problem of literary criticism and distinct from 
the historical criticism of the period they describe. 

(a) The Sheshbazzar-Cyrus Tradition. The story of Zerubbabel and the first return of the 
Jews in the time of Darius (Z iii. 1-v. 6) is the pivot upon which the problems turn. Our starting- 
point is the Aramaic section E v. seq., where Darius confirms and extends a decree of Cyrus, who 
had ordered the rebuilding of the Temple and had sent back the vessels with Sheshbazzar (v. 13-15). 
This tradition is supported by E i., which refers also to Mithredath the treasurer who apparently 
was once mentioned in E v. (see on & vi. 18). But E i. is written ina different style and in Hebrew ; 
it gives a highly-coloured form of the decree (note the parallels with the story of E, Marq. 56, 
Torrey, 157 seq.), and tends to minimize the importance of Cyrus by emphasizing the direct influence 
of Yahweh (contrast the initiative of Darius in # iv., E vi. 8-11 ; see also on £ vii. 1). Consequently, 
E v.seq., which have various marks of incompleteness (see on £ vi. 7 seq., 23), presuppose an account 
of Cyrus and the return of Sheshbazzar (probably also in Aramaic), some part of which at least has 
been replaced by E i. Further, Sheshbazzar returned to build the Temple, but instead of any 
account of his work, Jeshua and Zerubbabel are abruptly introduced in the great list, E ii. 2. These 
two erect the altar (iii. 2), and (mentioned in the inverse order) commence the rebuilding (iti. 8-10), 
repulse the ‘adversaries’ (iv. 2 seq.), and subsequently, in the time of Darius, are encouraged by the 
prophets to begin operations (v. 2, note the repetition of the ancestry). Zer., as in & iii. τον. 6, is 
the leading figure, whereas the Shesh. tradition in v. seq. refers to the ‘elders’ (E v. 5, 9, vi. δ. iy: 
in vi. 7 G® omits the unnamed governor, see Berth., 19). From the point of view of historical criticism 
Shesh. and Zer. are two distinct individuals, but it seems obvious that the compiler of E i.—vi. 
regarded them as the same, although it was left for ancient and modern harmonists to make the 
identification. And in fact it is implied and made in £ vi. 18, 27, 29, after the introduction of Zer. 
in iii. seq., but naturally not in Z ii. 1-15 (=Ei.); yet in E, strangely enough, it is nowhere made, 
although the return of Shesh. in E i. 11 evidently corresponds to the appearance of Zer. in ii. 2 
(|| Z v. 8 immediately after the Zer. story). Hence Jos. is obliged to harmonize (xi. I § 14, 
3 ὃ 32). Moreover, it is noteworthy that the Aramaic sources (v. 3-vi. 12) do not clearly indicate 
that the Jewish builders were exiles (contrast E iv. 12), and that there is no explicit reference in 
E v.15 to any return of exiles under Sheshbazzar ; on the other hand, the conflate text of Z vi. 5, ὃ 
clearly alludes to the Jews as being of the Captivity (cf. vii. 6, 10), and £ ii. 15 shows more distinctly 
than E i. 11 that exiles returned with Shesh. That there is a gap after this verse has often been 
suspected. Accordingly, there are two important features: (1) the Shesh. tradition has been 
mutilated and otherwise adjusted in order to give the greater prominence to Zer. and /zs return, 
and (2) while it is not certain that Shesh. was originally the leader of a band of exiles, the text in & 
partly identifies him with the more illustrious Zer., and partly seems to treat his return as that of 
the ‘captivity’ also. Finally, the Shesh. tradition is that of a continuous building of the Temple 
since the time of Cyrus (E v. 16). This may be supported by E iv. 4, 5, which refer to unceasing 
troubles and intrigues, and by v. 6, where the accusation in the reign of Ahasuerus means, in this 
context, that the Temple was still under construction. On the other hand, the presence of the 
Artaxerxes-episode would imply that the work was definitely brought to a stop (see iv. 21-24), and 
with this agrees the statement in v. 2 that Zer. and Jeshua, encouraged by the prophets, ‘rose 
up ... and Zegan to build the house of God’. Since the presence of these conflicting views can 
hardly be original, the Artaxerxes-episode and the cessation of the building may probably be 
regarded as foreign to the Shesh. tradition. Hence, although E does not present f’s remarkable 
confusion of the sequence of events in the reigns of Cyrus and Darius—a confusion which Jos. has 


1 In so far as the foregoing paragraphs bear upon the prophetical writings, it must be remembered that the dates 
of the latter depend upon our knowledge of the historical conditions in the light of which they are to be explained. 


15 


I ESDRAS 


done his best to remedy—it contains, on closer inspection, a very singular combination of conflicting — 
traditions of the Temple, and of Shesh. and Zer. ' Mie A f 

(6) The Zerubbabel-Darius tradition. Since Jewish tradition has it that Darius was the son of 
Ahasuerus the Mede (Dan. ix. 1), and the Ahasuerus in Esth. was called Artaxerxes (although, 
historically, Xerxes must be meant), and since the sequence Art.-Darius is true of Art. I-Dar. II 
(or even of Art. III-Dar. III), compilers might be justified in placing the story of the opposition 
before a tradition of Darius, whether in Z ii. 16 seqq., iii, or E iv. 7-24, V. But it is not easy to 
decide which of the two is the earlier position. The cessation of the building of the Temple would 
be intelligible before 25 iv., which really describes a new era in the history, and would equally agree 
with the commencement of work mentioned in E v. 2. In either case it leads up to Zerubbabel. 
But whereas in & it forms a necessary link between Cyrus and Darius, in E it breaks the connexion 
(iv. 5, ν. 1) and conflicts with the Shesh. tradition. The assumption that £& gives the older 
position of the episode may be suggested by the fact that its text presents some features distinctly 
sounder than that in E iv. (note, however, the textual relation of Chron. to Sam.-Kings). On the 
other hand, in & v. 66 seqq. (E iv. 1 5644.) the compiler has made use of iv. 1-5, 24, and it is possible 
that he found iv. (6?) 7-24 before him, but naturally omitted the passage he had already used. 
In any case, iv. 1-5 is obviously most closely connected with the preceding chapters, and since 
these presuppose certain material found only in £& iii. 1-v. 6, E’s account of Sheshbazzar and 
Zerubbabel in the time of Cyrus thus presupposes data in & of the time of Darius! The simplest 
explanation of these intricacies is that the MT has suffered by excision (see Torrey, 27 seq.), and it 
remains to determine whether the material in question originally belonged to the Darius period (as 
in £) or to that of Cyrus (as in E). Torrey alone has discussed this problem, and he has presented 
a complete, clever, and attractive hypothesis. He treats the Darius-Zer. story in £ iii. I-iv. 42 as 
an interpolation in the history of Cyrus, rejects or emends all that is impossible in such a context, 
and regards £ ii. 16 seqq. as a transposition from E iv. made by the interpolator (see p. 32). But 
this leaves the complexity of E i—vi.untouched. It treats as redactional certain passages that have 
by no means that appearance (viz. £ iv. 43-7a@, 57-61), and if E iv. 7-24 was deliberately borrowed, 
it is strange that no effort was made to form a reasonable link between ii. 15 and 16, as Jos. has 
done. The compiler used £ ii. 16 seqq. to link Cyrus and Darius, but this theory assumes that for 
no apparent reason whatsoever a story of Darius has been introduced into the Cyrus-history and 
combined with it by (redactional ?) material, which is partly of considerable independent value, and 
partly introduces a zezw tradition of Cyrus (iv. 44, 57) in conflict with all other evidence. The story, 
moreover, would hardly have been used in Jewish history unless it was associated with Zerubbabel, 
Darius, and the return of the Jews; hence its presence, general character, independence, and the 
confusion arising from the attempt to unite it with o¢ier traditions plead for the view (also held 
by Howorth and Bayer) that it is original. 

(c) Result of combination. On this alternative theory, then, & preserves a Zer.-Darius nucleus 
corresponding to a Shesh.-Cyrus nucleus in E, and it seems probable that the intricacies in & and E 
have arisen from the endeavour to combine and compromise. £ iii. I-v. 6 commence like an indepen- 
dent story, presupposes no prelude, and quite excludes any current story of Cyrus. iv. 44, 57, it is 
true, refer to his inability to fulfil a vow, but this has neither any foundation in history nor support 
in extant tradition, and appears to be an early effort to connect the section with Cyrus. Thenceforth 
we apparently have the building-up of narratives. The Artaxerxes episode was taken from a source 
relating to the time of N (ᾧ 50), and the sequel of the story, the list v. 7 seqq., also has a Nehemian 
background. The connexion between v. 1-6 and 7 8646. is not close (note repetition 4, 7a, the 
preliminary vv. 5 and 7), and it is possible that iii. 1-v.6 once had another sequel, or that there has 
been later adjustment. In any case, the references to Cyrus (iv. 44, 57), the treatment of the Shesh. 
tradition, and the fact that £ ii. 1-15 are not in their original form, unite to show that there has been 
much revision, the stages in which cannot be traced. The list itself, partly connected with E’s 
return in N vii., has been applied to the return of Zer., and then treated (in N) by the compiler of 
E_-N as a quotation from the earlier period. It presents a materially older text, and its immediate 
continuation in & v. 47 seqq. (E iii.) is also based upon N viii. 1, and describes events in which one 
may recognize the influence of other passages in N (Meyer, 73, 99; Marq., 58 seq.; Volz,§g). But 
the material is adjusted to Zerubbabel and Cyrus, with the result that while & v. 8 (the introduction 
of Zer.) is explained by the preceding story, and v. 47 (the date) by v. 6; v. 55 has in view iv. 48 
(Darius), but its context is of the time of Cyrus (note the harmonizing efforts of Jos., xi. 4 1, 3 seq.). 


Haggai and Zech., in the second year of Darius, know of no return or earlier rebuilding. So far this 
agrees with the Zer. story, which, however, while excluding any earlier rebuilding, describes the first return of 
the Jews. The Shesh. story throws back the commencement of the temple, but in E does not clearly point to 


16 


INTRODUCTION 


any return (contrast Z). In so far as Darius is concerned, these stories are mutually contradictory, and neither 
is supported by the prophets, and in so far as the fortunes of the temple are concerned, it is possible that 
a compromise was found in the belief that the work was brought to a stop and that the building was 7e-com- 
menced in the time of Darius. This explains the motive of the Artaxerxes episode, and if the references to the 
Temple in Z ii. 18, 20 are reliable, their absence in E iv. 12, 14 may be due to its new position. Further, if 
E v. 1 once had (as in & vi. r) the precise date, this would be in order after iv. 5 (see Berth., 19), but might 
naturally be omitted after the insertion of iv. (6) 7-24; and since also the retention of the date in Z vi. 1 
would be unnecessary after v. 73 (=E iv. 24), the present unintelligible wording of the latter verse may be due 
to intentional alteration and not to corruption of the text. Thus, & partly presents material in an older text 
and form than E, partly shows signs of revision (apparently in the Greek), either to harmonize details or to 
conform with the MT, and partly is influenced by the form of E, whose imperfections it shares. The root of 
the problem lies in the two nuclei: Zerubbabel-Darius, Sheshbazzar-Cyrus-Darius, and in the endeavour to 
co-ordinate them ; but in addition to the complexity touching Cyrus and Darius, it is obvious that the present 
form of the narratives cannot be viewed apart from the literary treatment of the events of the time of Artaxerxes. 


(4) The Ezra-story. The narratives involved are an account of N’s work, partly autobio- 
graphical, but now in a much revised and intricate form, which is divided by the E-story, also not 
from one hand, and itself split into two. These have suffered various changes and adjustments in 
the course of being combined with each other and with the great history of the ‘chronicler’. On 
both literary and historical grounds we may postulate a stage when the whole of the E-story was 
found after the first appearance of N (p. 9 d). To suppose that N viii—x. also once stood before 
N i. (Torrey, 265 seq.) only increases the difficulties. E appears relatively late in tradition, but 
continues to grow in reputation. He is absent from both Ben Sira xlix, 12 seq. and 2 Macc. i. seq., 
and here N is particularly prominent ; but N’s prominence, though in agreement with all the evidence, 
has not been made so obvious in the E-story (see § 4. III. ὦ). Moreover, the effort has apparently 
been made to give greater significance to E by placing the most important part of his mission—the 
Reading of the Law (and the sequel, the Covenant)—in the account of the completion of the walls 
of Jerusalem, and also by introducing the rest of the story before N’s arrival. £& has gone further, 
and in ix. 37 seqq. has read part of N viii. after E x. Now, although # presents in some cases 
a better text, it is noteworthy that in reproducing N viii. and the introductory vii. 734, the compiler 
has also unnecessarily removed v. 73a, which can hardly stand after / ix. 36 = E x. 44 (cf. Volz, 1492). 
This deliberate transference perhaps explains the text in vv. 38, 49, and suggests that Z’s recension 
is here based upon the MT, with the E-story divided as at present. Consequently, both & and E-N 
share that complicated treatment of the purification of Israel which seems to have arisen when the 
story of E was rearranged. It is uncertain how 25, if more complete, would have continued. There 
is indeed some evidence, perhaps not of great value, for an account of E’s passover, suggesting that 
some portion of the story has been lost (see on ix. 55). However, if the whole of the presen¢ story had 
been placed before N i., both N i.—vi., xi.—xiii. and E vii—x., N viii—x. (or in any rearranged form) 
would still be in a confused, and certainly not original shape. The one source which actually effects 
this transposition is Jos., who finishes the life of E before dealing with N. His treatment is brief and 
paraphrastic, but it seems to be extremely significant that he does not point to the existence of the 
story of N in either the form or the sequence which it now has. To reconstruct the continuation 
of & is to make the overlapping with N more conspicuous; this is clear from the synopses cited 
below on p. 58, and it is interesting to notice that an old Syriac catena, which follows £, endeavours 
to readjust to N—it passes from Z ix. 1-10 to 466-47 ( = N viii. 6) and thence to N i. 1~4, and places 
the Reading of the Law (N viii.) in the context it now has in the MT. 4, it is evident, does not 
enable us to go behind the MT, but, together with Jos., it tends to show that the MT is the late 
outcome of a very intricate literary development. 

(e) The Compilation. At the stage when the stories of E and N were shaped in their present 
form, and when the traditions of the time of Artaxerxes had been used directly or indirectly for the 
age of Cyrus and Darius, we reach the complete historical work Chron.-E-N., and the structure 
of E-N really involves close attention to that of Chron. itself. Here it must suffice to observe that 
both Chron. and E-N furnish evidence representing different stages in the vicissitudes of the priests 
and Levites (see on £& viii. 28), and it is noteworthy that there are several traces of textual variation 
and confusion where these are concerned (see, e.g., i. 5 S€qq., 10, 15, Vv. 56, vii. 9, viii. 42, ix. 43 seqq.). 
It is also significant of the relative lateness of E-N that the age at which the Levites serve agrees 
with secondary passages in Chron. (see on v. 58), and that an apparent anti-Aaronite bias has found 
its way into both (see on vii. 10-12). Perhaps the most important feature in the compilation is the 
presence of gaps (e.g. before E v. 1, N i.), the more striking when we observe that the chronicler has 
ignored pertinent material in Kings, Jer., Daniel, and Esther. The book of Daniel was familiar in 
the Greek age and later (cf. 1 Macc. ii. 59 seq., and, for the Targums, Prot. Kealency., ii. 107 seq), 

1105 Ly ( 


I ESDRAS 


and was used by Jos. The story in & iii. seq. has literary points of contact with both Dan. and Est. 
(Marq. 66, 68, 72; Torrey, 47 seq. ; Bayer, 110 seqq.), and the former of these records traditions of 
the Temple-vessels (see on ii. 10).} The sacrilegious use of the holy objects by Belshazzar was 
followed by the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians, and forthwith Darius the Mede, son of 
Ahasuerus, became king (v. 31, ix. 1). He was led to proclaim the God of Daniel (vi. 25-7), and to 
the first year of his reign is ascribed the prayer of Daniel (ix.). Here, the seventy years of desolation 
foretold by Jeremiah are complete, and Daniel prays on behalf of the Jews in Jerusalem and 
afar off, and on behalf of the ruined sanctuary. The tradition—irrespective of its present setting— 
is so far in harmony with Z iii. seq., the story of Zerubbabel in the second year of Darius (cf. Biichler, 
7 seq.), where, as in Daniel's prayer, an earlier return is excluded. ΤῈ is difficult not to believe that 
these traditions are related, and it is noteworthy that while the references to Cyrus in the story 
of Zerubbabel appear to be due to later revision, Cyrus, according to Dan. vi. 28, x. 1, reigned after 
Darius. Thus, not only is it more intelligible that the Cyrus tradition is relatively the later, and 
probably grew out of the Darius tradition, than the reverse, but a tradition evidently once prevailed 
which placed Darius before Cyrus. 

But it was also known that Cyrus preceded Darius, and in Bel and the Dragon he follows after 
Astyages (see above, p. 11) and—like Darius in Dan. vi.—becomes convinced of Daniel’s God. This 
correct sequence is that represented by Jos. and the ‘chronicler’, with one important difference, 
that while the former does his best to combine all the varying traditions of Cyrus and Darius, the 
present MT ignores Dan. and £ iii. 1-v. 6 and the complications these would introduce into the history. 
Accuracy of sequence does not necessarily prove greater antiquity of source. It depends upon 
accuracy of information, and if Jos. (xi. 2) knows that Cambyses and not Artaxerxes (£ ii. τό seqq.) 
reigned before Darius, he is confused in his treatment of Xerxes and Artaxerxes, and while the 
chronicler wrongly retains these two between Cyrus and Darius, he has, however, avoided the 
incorrect sequence of the latter two in Daniel. The traditions of this period (ὃ 4 IV. c.) combine in 
an inextricable manner trustworthy and untrustworthy data with the result that mere mechanical — 
rearrangement of material or correction of names is inadequate for the recovery of the historical — 
facts. Whether or no there was a continuous chronicle of the Kings of Media and Persia (Est. x. 2), — 
if a compiler of Jewish history followed the tradition which also appears in Dan., Darius the Mede 
reigned before Cyrus, and Darius, after / iii. seq., was the first to permit the Jews to return. On — 
the other hand, Cyrus was really the first king, and it is easy to understand the endeavours to 
adjust the traditions. It may not be possible to trace all the steps in the process, nevertheless, Z's 
recension is a valuable witness to the efforts made to effect a compromise, and it is significant that 
while all the evidence points to the relative iateness of the Cyrus tradition in the form it now has 
in # ii. 1-15 or E i., the immediate prelude in Z i. represents a text materially older in some 
respects (though more corrupt in others) than the corresponding 2 Chron. xxxv. seq. 

(f) Conclusion. In the nature of the case, any explanation of the structure of £ and E—N must 
be a provisional one. At all events, Bayer’s view (93 seq., 102, 139), that & is a secondary and 
deliberate self-contained compilation dealing with the Temple, is inadequate, in that it accounts for 
only a small proportion of the textual features. Howorth, whose merit it has been to force the 
attention of biblical students to the importance of /, undoubtedly goes too far in championing the 
textual and historical value of &. As regards its text, used by Jahn with a certain lack of discrimina- 
tion and by Bayer somewhat unduly underestimated, Torrey and Volz support an intermediate 
position, pointing out the general relative superiority of MT. Torrey justly observes, also, that as 
a history £ is not in its original form, and he has proposed a hypothesis of its relationship with E-N 
which he works out with much skill and thoroughness (18 seqq., 30 seqq., 255 seqq.). He starts from 
the chronicler’s history in almost its present form (dated c. third cent. B.C.), and assumes two 
important changes: (1) the transference of N vii. 70-x. 39 from their ‘ original’ position between 
F viii. and ix. to the place where they now stand, and (2) the interpolation of the story £& iii. I-iv. 42, 
in the history of Cyras, with redactional expansion, alteration, &c., and with the transposition of the 
Artaxerxes episode from E iv. 6-24 to £ ii. τό- 50. Subsequently, two rival forms arose: one (Δ) 
with the retransposition of N vii. 73—x. 40, this time between E x. and N i.; the other (B) with the ¢ 
excision of the Story of the Three Youths (£ iii. seq.) together with a part of the ‘ original’ history. 
The latter is represented by the MT; the former, after being translated into Greek, survives only in — 
the fragmentary £, which is defined as ‘simply a piece taken without change out of the middle of — 
a faithful Greek translation of the chronicler’s History of Israel in the form which was generally 
recognized as authentic in the last century B.C.’ (18). This hypothesis is complicated (see Bayer's 
criticisms,143 seq.), though not unduly so. On the other hand, there are objections to the view that 


It is disputed whether Z iii. se 


: 4. is later than these (Bayer, 128 seq.), or earlier (Torrey); in any case the 
canonical books, whatever their date, ae cor Pg " 


may well incorporate or be based upon older traditions. 


18 


INTRODUCTION 


the Story of the Three Youths is an interpolation in the alleged original Cyrus-history, viz. in E i., 
E iv. 47-56, iv. 62-v. 6, E 11. seqq. (see p. (6), and to the assumption that the place of the E-story 
before N i. is the earlier (see p. 17). Further, although £ is obviously imperfect, to restore a 
complete work in which it should correspond to E in the chronicler’s series necessitates the belief 
that Jos., the only early source which places the E-story before N, is witness to the MT form of the 
stories of both E and N, and this cannot be said to be certain (see p. 57 seq.). The latter part of 5ὶ 
presupposes the present structure of E vii-x., N ... vil. 73-viil. 13 . . ., whereas the first half 
presents older traits in i., ii. τό seqq. (the position of the Artaxerxes episode), iii. τον. 6 (the Zerub- 
babel story), v. 7-70 (the background of the list, E ii.), and v. 71 (the immediate sequel, the prelude 
to the work of the returned exiles). Finally, the criticism of /& inevitably raises the problem of 
the entire series Chron.-E-N, which at one stage was a literary whole, and consequently we cannot 
take the chronicler’s history as a fixed starting-point. Asa matter of fact, apart from the literary 
questions arising out of Chronicles alone, it seems that the books were regarded by the Rabbis with 
some suspicion (Curtis and Madsen, Chrox. 2),and now stand after E—N ‘as if it were an afterthought 
to admit them to equal authority’ (W. R. Smith, Old Test. Few. Church, 182). It is not improbable 
that this severance involved some subsequent alteration and revision (cf. Marq., 29). Moreover, 
the recurrence of τ Chron. ix., N xi., in a single work hardly looks like an original feature; like 
the more remarkable repetition of the list E ii., N vii. (see Jampel, 1. 306 ; Howorth, PSA, xxvi. 26 ; 
Holzhey, 37 n. 2) the feature seems to point to the combination of sources which were primarily 
distinct. 

All the data suggest that £ and E-N represent concurrent forms which have influenced each 
other in the earlier stages of their growth. They are rivals, and neither can be said to be wholly 
older or more historical than the other. The endeavour was made to correct & to agree with the 
MT—and @" is a conspicuous example of the extent to which the revisers could go—and the 
presence of such efforts and in particular the doublets (see § 3 6) are of essential importance in 
indicating that Z’s text does not precisely represent a Heb.-Aram. work, and that when all allowance 
is made for correction and revision of the Greek, problems of the underlying original text still remain. 
But it was impossible to make any very satisfactory adjustment, Z diverged too seriously from the 
MT, which had cut the chronological knot by the excision of the story of Zerubbabel, and we 
may suppose that this facilitated the desire for the more literal translation of Theodotion (p. 3 seq.). 


§ 7. VALUE. 


Although our O.T. has lost the story of Zerubbabel and the Praise of Truth, there is no doubt that 
there is something ‘ unbiblical’ in the orations. In the course of the growth of the O.T., compilers 
and revisers have not unfrequently obscured or omitted that to which they took exception, and some 
light is thus often thrown upon other phases of contemporary Palestinian or Jewish thought. While 
the orations themselves remind us of the old ‘ Wisdom’ literature (Proverbs, Ben Sira, Wisdom), 
their combination with narrative will recall the interesting story of Ahikar. remains ‘apocryphal’ 
in so far as it was deliberately rejected by Jewish and Christian schools. It had indeed found a place 
in the Bible of the Greek-speaking Jews, and was familiar to Jews and Christians, either indirectly 
through Jos., or directly as a separate work. To the Christians the prominence of Zerubbabel must 
have been of no little interest (see § 1, end). But the value of & does not lie merely in this story. 
The book (or fragment) furnishes useful evidence for the criticism of the text and contents of the 
canonical passages, and illustrates methods of compilation and revision, swing of traditions, and play 
of motives. It clearly indicates the importance of the comparison of related traditions as apart from 
the ultimate question of the underlying facts, and shows, in conjunction with Jos., how a relatively 
straightforward account of history as in E-N may be the last stage in the effort to cut the knots 
formed by imperfect compilation. In its final form, the MT, the result of ‘ Rabbinical redaction ’ 
(Marq., 29), is ascribed by Howorth to the School of Jamnia in the time of Rabbi Akiba (PSEA, 
xxvi. 25), and although it is difficult to find decisive arguments in favour of this conjecture—or 
against it—it is not impossible that the chronicler’s history, as it now reads, may be dated about the 
beginning of the Christian era. It is significant that it is wanting in the Syriac Peshitta. Such 
a view, it should be observed, no more expresses an opinion on the dates of the component sources 
or sections than it would were the work in question a composite and much edited portion of 
Mishnah or Midrash. 


ᾧ ὃ. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS. 
A, &, B = Codices of the Greek version. 


André, L. E. T. = Les Apocryphes del A. T. (1903). 
Ball, C. J. = The Variorum Apocrypha (1896). 


Ω 
to 


19 


I ESDRAS 4 


Bayer, E. = ‘Das dritte Buch Esdras und sein Verhiltnis zu den Bichern Esra-Nehemia’, in Biblische Studien, ed. 
Bardenhewer, vol. xvi. (1911). 
Bertholet, A. = Die Biicher Esra und Nehemia (1902). Ὁ 
Biichler, A. = ‘ Das apokryphische Esrabuch’, 270 1777, xli. (1897), 1-16, 49-66, 97-103. 
Charles, R. H. = ‘Third Book of Ezra’, Ency. Brit. 11th ed., vol. x. 104-6. ᾿ ᾿ : 
Cheyne, T. K. = Zntroduction to the Book of Isaiah (1895). Jewish Religious Life after the Exile (1898). See also 
sub Kosters. 
Davies, T. W. = ‘ Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther’, 7he Century Bible (1909). 
Driver, S. R. = Introd. to the Lit. of the O.T. (1909). 
E = Ezra (the book or man). 
£ =1 Esdras. 
E Bi. = Encyclopaedia Biblica (1899-1903). 
Ew. = Ewald, H., History of Israel, 2nd ed. (1880), vol. v. 
Fr. = Fritzsche, O. F., Comment. on 1 Esdras in Kuragef. exeget. Handbuch (1851). 
(ἃ = Greek version. : i 
(τ Chron., GE, ἄς. (or Chron. G&, Ei, &c.) = Greek version of Chronicles, Ezra, &c. 
GPA“ — Codices of the Greek. 3 
Geissler, J. = Die litterarischen Beziehungen der Esramemoiren (1899). . : 
Guthe, H. = z Esdras, in Kautzsch, Die Apok. τι. Pseudepig. d. A. T. (1898). See also 5207. 
Holzhey, C. = Biicher Ezra τι. Nehemia (1902). : 7 
Hoonacker, A. van = Wéhémie et Esdras (1890). Zerubabel et le second Temple (1892). Nouvelles Etudes sur la 
Restauration juive (1896). Articles in Revue Bibligue, 1901, January, April. ; 3 
Howorth, Sir Henry H. = Academy, 1893, January-July (passim), Transactions of Oriental Congress, London, ii. 
69-85 (1893). Proceedings of Soc. of Bibl. Archaeology, 1901-10 (passim). 
Jahn, C. = Die Biicher Esra (A πε. B) τε. Nehemja (1909). ἢ y " Ε΄. 
Jampel, 8. = ‘ Die Wiederherstellung Israels unter den Achimeniden’, 776 W7, xlvi. and xlvii. (1902-3); here cited 
as i. and ii. 
Jos. = Josephus, ed. Niese. 
Kennett, R. H. =‘ Hist. of the Jew. Church from Nebuchadnezzar to Alexander’, Cambridge Biblical Essays (ed. 
Swete, 1909), 91-135. Journal of Theological Studies, 1905, January, 161-86 ; 1906, July, 481-500. i 
Kent, C. F. = Lsvael’s Historical and Biographical Narratives (1905). 
Kosters, W. H. = Die Wiederherstellung Israels in der persischen Periode (Germ. ed., by Basedow, 1895). a 
» Th. T. = Articles in the Theologisch Tijdschrift, xxix. (1895), 549 5664. ; xxx. (1896), 489 seqq., 580 seqq. ; 
xxxi. (1897), 518 seqq. ‘a 
rH E Bi. = Articles ‘ Cyrus’, ‘Ezra’, ‘Ezra-Nehemiah’, ‘Nehemiah’ (with additions by T. K. Cheyne), in 2 Bz. 
L = Lucian’s recension of the Greek version. : 
H, UH Lag. = Latin Versions, see above, ὃ 3 ¢. 
Lag. = Lagarde, P. de, Seftuaginta-Studien, ii. (1892). 
Lupton, J. H.=1 Esdras in Zhe Apocrypha, ed. H. Wace (1888). 
Marq. = J. Marquart, Pavdamente israel. u. jiid. Geschichte, pp. 28-68 (1896). 
Meyer, E. = Die Entstehung des Judentums (1896). 
» 757. = Die Israeliten u. thre Nachbarstdimme (1906), by E. Meyer and B. Luther. 
MGW] = Monatsschrift f. Gesch. u. Wissenschaft des Judentums. 
pte = ‘ Uber die Uberlieferung u. d. textkritischen Wert d. III. Esr.’ in ZA TW, xix. 209-58 (1899) ; xx. 1-35 
1900). Ἷ 
MT = Massoretic Text. 
N = Nehemiah (the book or man). 
Nestle, E. = Marginalien τε. Materialien (1893), 23 seqq. 
Nikel, J. = ‘Die Wiederherstellung des jiid. Gemeinwesens nach den bab. Exil’, in Bzblische Studien, ed. Barden- 
hewer, vol. v (1900). 
Pohlmann = ‘ Uber das Ansehen des apokryphen Buches Esra’, 7zbinger Theolog. Quartalschrift, 1859. 
PSBA = Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. 
Ryle, H. E. =‘ Ezra and Nehemiah’ in the Cambridge Bible (1901). 
& = Syriac version. 
Sachau, E. = ‘ Drei aram. Papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine’ (Adhandl. hinigl.-preuss. Akad. Berlin, 1907). 1 
alee a Sacred Books of the O.T., ed. P. Haupt: ‘Ezra and Nehemiah’, by H. Guthe (and, pp. 56-71, L. W. 
atten). ᾿ y 
Schrader, E. = ‘Die Dauer des zweiten Tempelbaues’, Zheolog. Stud. und Kritiken, 1867, pp. 460 seqq. 
Sellin, E., Sex. = Serubbadbel (1898). 
» Stud. = Studien zur Entstehungsgeschichte d. jiid. Gemeinde, vol. ii. (1901). 
Smend, R. = Die Listen der Biicher Esra u. Nehemia (1881). 
Smith, G. A.=In The Expositor, 1906, June-August. 
Smith, H. P. = O.7. Héstory (1903). 
Th. 7. = Theologisch Tijdschrift. 
Thackeray, H. St. J. = Art. ‘Esdras’, Hastings’ Dict. Bible, i. 758-63. 
Theis, J. = Gesch. τι. literarkrit. Fragen in E i-vé (1910). 
Torrey, C. C. = Ezra Studies (Chicago, 1910). 
on Comp. = ‘Composition and Historical Value of Ezra-Nehemiah’, Betheft sur ΖΑ͂ ΤῊΣ, 1896. 
Trendelenburg = ‘ Apokr. Ezra’, Eichhorn, Allgem. Bibl. d. bibl. Litt. (1787), 178-232. 
Treuenfels = Articles in Dery Orient (ed. J. Furst), 1850-1. 
Volz, P. = ‘ The Greek Ezra’, E Bi. vol. iv, cols. 1488-94. 
Wellhausen, J. = ‘Die Riickkehr der Juden aus dem bab. Exil’, in Wachrichten d. Géttinger Gelehrten Gesellschaft, 
1895, pp. 166 seqq. Review of E. Meyer, Lntstehung u.s.w., in the Gott. Gel. Anzezgen, 1897, pp. 89 seqq. 
ZATW = Leitschrift fiir Alttest. Wissenschaft. 


20 


Bee SDRAS: 
2 CHR 


HAS 35 


-y AND Josias held the passover in Jerusalem 
unto his Lord, and offered the passover the four- 
2teenth day of the first month; having set the 
| priests according to their daily courses, being 
arrayed in their vestments, in the temple of the 
3 Lord. And he spake unto the Levites, the 
temple-servants of Israel, that they should hallow 
themselves unto the Lord, to set the holy ark of 
| the Lord in the house that king Solomon the son 
| 4 of David had built: απ said, Ye shall no more 
have need to bear it upon your shoulders: now 
therefore serve the Lord your God, and minister 
unto his people Israel, and prepare you after your 
| 5 fathers’ houses and kindreds, according to the 
| writing of David king of Israel, and according to 
the magnificence of Solomon his son: 
and stand- 
ing in the holy place according to the several 
divisions of the families of you the Levites, who 
minister in the presence of your brethren the 
6 children of Israel, offer the passover in order, and 
make ready the sacrifices for your brethren, and 
keep the passover according to the commandment 
|70f the Lord, which was given unto Moses. And 
unto the people which were present Josias gave 
thirty thousand lambs and kids, avd three thou- 
sand calves: these things were given of the king’s 
substance, 
according as he promised, to the peo- 
9 ple, and to the priests and Levites. And Helkias, 
| and Zacharias, and Esyelus, the rulers of the 
temple, gave to the priests for the passover two 
thousand azd six hundred sheep, avd three hun- 
ΟΝ calves. 
And Jeconias, and Samaias, and 
ΠΝ his brother, and Sabias, and Ochielus, 
and Joram, captains over thousands, gave to the 
Levites for the passover five thousand sheep, ἀγα 


| seven hundred calves. 
2 And when these things | 


including Daniel, 2, and unknown sources). 


The paraphrastic 5-7 represent a rather different MT. 


_Josiah’s passover and death, the last kings of Judah, and the exile. 
XXlll. 2I-xxv. 30 and the relevant portions of Jeremiah), cf. Jos. Azz. x. 4 5-xi. 
On the text and contents, see the Geen on Chronicles, also, for the 
versions, Moulton, ZA TW, xix. 234 seqq. The whole chapter when compared with MT and & of Chron. and Kings 
furnishes an instructive illustration of the methods and merits of the translator. 

2. arrayed (ἐστολισμένους), cf. ν. 59, vii. 9. Perhaps an Aramaizing mistranslation (Nestle, 24). 
3. temple-servants, mg. the Nethinim,a misreading of MT 0°27. Note the indirect narration in £ and Chron. (τ. 
5. magnificence (μεγαλειότητα), Gee (cf. 33) and Chron, (θὰ διὰ χειρός, perhaps interpreted ‘by the might’. 


Ι conj. "1" ὃν for MT 3323 (a repetition of 2})2), misread in Z as $493 (private communication). 


AND Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord in 1 
Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the 
fourteenth day of the first month. And he set 2 
the priests in their charges, and encouraged them 
to the service of the house of the Lord. 

And 3 
he said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, 
which were holy unto the Lord, Put the holy ark 
in the house which Solomon the son of David 
king of Israel did build ; there shall no more be 
a burden upon your shoulders: now serve the 
Lord your God, and his people Israel. 

And 4 
prepare yourselves after your fathers’ houses by 
your courses, according to the writing of David 
king of Israel, and according to the writing of 
Solomon his son. And stand in the holy place 5 
according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses 
of your brethren the children of the people, and 
let there be for each a portion of a fathers’ house 
of the Levites. And kill the passover, and sanc- 6 
tify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, 
to do according to the word of the Lord by 
the hand of Moses. And Josiah gave to the 7 
children of the people, of the flock, lambs and 
kids, all of them for the passover offerings, unto 
all that were present, to the number of thirty 
thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these 
were of the king’s substance. And his princes 8 
gave for a freewill offering unto the people, to 
the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and 
Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of the house of 
God, gave unto the priests for the passover offer- 
ings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, 
ἘΠῚ three hundred oxen. Conaniah also, and 9 
Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brethren, and Hasha- 
biah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the 
Levites, gave unto the Levites for the passover 


| offerings five thousand small cattle, and five 


hundred oxen. So the service was prepared, 


Ch. 1. = 2 Chron. xxxv. seq. (cf. 2 Kings 
7 (who uses the canonical books, 


Charles 


8. Esyelus ((& ‘Joel’), mg. Jehie/ (after MT) ; perhaps Haziel is intended (Fr., Guthe; cf. 1 Chron. xxiii. 9). 
21 


SDRAS 


were done. the priests and Levites, having the un- 
leavened bread, stood in comely order according 
to the kindreds, 


Il and according to the several 
divisions by fathers’ houses, before the people, to 
offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of 

12 Moses: and thus dd ¢hey in the morning. And 
they roasted the passover with fire, as apper- 
taineth: and the sacrifices they sod in the brasen 

13 vessels and caldrons with a good savour, and set 
them before all the people: and afterward they 
prepared for themselves, and for the priests their 

14 brethren, the sons of Aaron. For the priests 
offered the fat until night: and the Levites pre- 
pared for themselves, and for the priests their 

15 brethren, the sons of Aaron. The holy singers 
also, the sons of Asaph, were in their order, 
according to the appointment of David, Zo zz, 
Asaph, Zacharias, and Eddinus, who was of the 

16 king’s retinue. Moreover the porters were at 
every gate; none had need to depart from his 
daily course: for their brethren the Levites pre- 

17 pared for them. Thus were the things that be- 
longed to the sacrifices of the Lord accomplished 


18 in that day, in holding the passover, and offering | 


sacrifices upon the altar of the Lord, according 
19 to the commandment of king Josias. So the 
children of Israel which were present at that time 
held the passover, and the feast of unleavened 
20 bread seven days. And such a passover was not 
held in Israel since the time of the prophet 
21 Samuel. Yea, all the kings of Israel held not 
such a passover as Josias, and the priests, and the 
Levites, and the Jews, held with all Israel that 
were present in their dwelling place at Jerusalem. 
22 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was 
23 this passover held. And the works of Josias were 
upright before his Lord with a heart full of godli- 
24 ness. Moreover the things that came to pass in 
his days have been written in times past, concern- 
ing those that sinned, and did wickedly against 
the Lord above every people and kingdom, and 
how they grieved him exceedingly, so that the 
words of the Lord were confirmed against Israel. 


Io-12. A good example of misunderstanding and adjustment. 
ΤῊΣ), morning (cf. v. 50) = oxen (0P3, & in Z and Chron., for 9P3) ; good savour = favs (εὐωδίας for εὐοδίας [cf. A.V. 
mg.]|, (ἃ in Chron. εὐωδώθη ; a misunderstanding of the root ἸῸΝ in NINN}; for parallels, see Ecclus. xliii. 26, Ascens. — 
Isaiah, vi. 17, and Journ. Royal Asiatic Soc., 1901, p- 169). Ἷ 

15. “Τὸ wit’, implying that these choir-masters were at Josiah’s passover (cf. Chron. &) is of course erroneous. 

Zacharias, may be supported by 1 Chron. xv. 18, xvi. 5, 
was, mg. weve (Gr). (τι. Uc+ the prophets (so & in Ch 

23 seq. An addition partly with reference to 1 Kings xiii. 2, 32, 2 

See further Nestle, 27; Torrey, 88 seq. ; Bayer, 95 seq. 
24. Better: ‘and the things pertaining to him had been written in times past, on account of those . 


Chron.). 


him ...and the words . . .’ (after Ball). 


exceedingly (Ui ἐν αἰσθήσει [cf. 33], Ge ἔτι), mg. sensibly ; cf. Judith xvi. 17. 


confirmed (ἀνέστησαν), a Hebraism, cf. Jer. xliv. 29. 


22 


I ESDRAS 1. 10-24 


ron.) ; some MSS. of MT read ‘seers’, cf. 1 Chron. xxv. I. i 


and the priests stood in their place, and the 
Levites by their courses, according to the king’s 
commandment. And they killed the passover, rr 
and the priests sprinkled the blood, which they 
received of their hand, and the Levites flayed 
them. And they removed the burnt offerings, rz 
that they might give them according to the 
divisions of the fathers’ houses of the children of — 
the people, to offer unto the Lord, as it is written 
in the book of Moses. And so did they with the — 
oxen. And they roasted the passover with fire 13. 
according to the ordinance: and the holy offer- | 
ings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in — 
pans, and carried them quickly to all the children 
of the people. And afterward they prepared for 14__ 
themselves, and for the priests; because the | 
priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering 
the burnt offerings and the fat until night: there- 
fore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for _ 
the priests the sons of Aaron. And the singers 15) 
the sons of Asaph were in their place, according 
to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and 
Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the — 
porters were at every gate: they needed not to | 
depart from their service, for their brethren the © 
Levites prepared for them. 1 

So all the service 1€ 
of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep ὁ 
the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon — 
the altar of the Lord, according to the command- | 
ment of king Josiah. And the children of Israel τ’ 
that were present kept the passover at that time, 
and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. — 
And there was no passover like to that kept in τὶ 
Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; | 
neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such — 
a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and | 
the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were ~ 
present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Int 
the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was | 
this passover kept. 


Unleavened bread = commandment (ΤῚΣ, for 


For Gs text, see Torrey, 107. 
where he ranks next to Asaph ; see Benzinger, Chron. 74. 
Kings xxiii. 14 seqq. (see also &’s addition in 


2,2 


- and grieved 


ΚΑΒ 


25 Now after all these acts of Josias it came to 
pass, that Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to 
raise war at Carchemish upon Euphrates: and 
26 Josias went out against him. But the king of 
Egypt sent to him, saying, What have I to do 
27 with thee, O king of Judea? I am not sent 
out from the Lord God against thee; for my 
war is upon Euphrates: and now the Lord is 
with me, yea, the Lord is with me hasting me 
forward: depart from me, and be not against 
28the Lord. Howbeit Josias did not turn back 
unto his chariot, but undertook to fight with 
him, not regarding the words of the prophet 
29 Jeremy spoken by the mouth of the Lord: but 
joined battle with him in the plain of Megiddo, 
and the princes came down against king Josias. 
30 Then said the king unto his servants, Carry me 
away out of the battle ; for 1am very weak. And 
immediately his servants carried him away out 
31 of the host. Then gat he up upon his second 
chariot; and being brought back to Jerusalem 


he died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his | 


32 fathers. And in all Jewry they mourned for 
Josias; and Jeremy the prophet lamented for 
Josias, and the chief men with the women made 
lamentation for him, unto this day: and this was 
given out for an ordinance to be done continually 

33in all the nation of Israel. These things are 
written in the book of the histories of the kings 
of Judzea, and every one of the acts that Josias 
did, and his glory, and his understanding in the 
law of the Lord. and the things that he had done 


before, and the things now recited, are reported | 


in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 


᾿ I ESDRAS 1. 25-38 


After all this, when Josiah had prepared the 20 
temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight 
against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah 
went out against him. But he sent ambassadors 2 
to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, 
thou king of Judah? / come not against thee 
this day, but against the house wherewith I have 
war; and God hath commanded me to make 
haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, 
who is with me, that he destroy thee not. 

Never- 
theless Josiah would not turn his face from him, 
but disguised himself, that he might fight with 
him, and hearkened not unto the words of Neco, 
from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the 
valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot at 2 
king Josiah ; and the king said to his servants, 
Have me away; for I am sore wounded. So 
his servants took him out of the chariot, and put 
him in the second chariot that he had, and brought 
him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried 
in the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah 
and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. And Jere- 
miah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing 
men and singing women spake of Josiah in their 
lamentations, unto this day ; and they made them 
an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are 
written in the lamentations. 


tb 
[Ὁ] 


w 


to 
BS 


to 
on 


Now the rest of the 
acts of Josiah, and his good deeds, according to 
that which is written in the law of the Lord, and 27 
his acts, first and last, behold, they are written 
in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 


26 


34 


And the people took Joachaz the son of 


Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz 2 Cx 


Josias, and made him king instead of Josias his | the son of Josiah, and made him king in 361 


_ father, when he was twenty and three years old. 
35 And he reigned in Judah and in Jerusalem three 


months: and then the king of Egypt deposed | 


36 him from reigning in Jerusalem. And he set a 


tax upon the people of a hundred talents of | 


37 silver and one talent of gold. The king of Egypt 
also made king Joakim his brother king of Judaa 

38 and Jerusalem. And Joakim bound the nobles: 
but Zarakes his brother he apprehended, and 
brought him up out of Egypt. 


his father’s stead in Jerusalem. Joahaz was 2 
twenty and three years old when he began to 
reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 
And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jeru- 3 
salem, and amerced the land in an hundred talents 
of silver and a talent of gold. And the king of 4 
Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah 
and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoi- 
akim. And Neco took Joahaz his brother, and 
carried him to Egypt. 


' 25. Jos. x. 5 I explains the march of Neco as an attack upon the Medes and Babylonians who had overthrown 


Assyria. 


On the Median empire see /7¢vod., pp. 11 ¢, 17 e. 


26. king of Egypt, based on a misunderstanding of ‘ messengers’ (83 50). 


27. upon Euphrates, similarly Jos. 
28. unto his chariot, mg. Azs chariot from him (&*). 


undertook (so Jos., and & in Chron.), see Torrey, 221 ; Charles conj. UN‘ (private communication). 

prophet. Neco (so Jos.) misread (x13) for 122) and plausibly expanded by the addition of the prophet’s name. 
29. princes came down; another misreading (oqwn ὙἼ for OF 19) with which (τ Chron. and Jos. agree). 
30. host, better ‘line of battle’; apparently reading 7D7y for 7237. 


32. chief men ; reading DW for OW. 
The dirge, according to Jos., was still extant. 
33. With the paraphrase cf. τ΄. 42. 


34. Joachaz (i.e. Jehoahaz), but mg. Jeconzas (i.e. Jeconiah=Jehoiachin, τ΄. 43), soG*® Hand Matt. i. 11. Jos. x. 5 2 
follows & of Chron. with which cf. 2 Kings xxiii. 31-35. All the texts show some confusion here; see the comm. 

35. Judah, mg. /svae/ (Gr 3)) ; G, Jos... and MT (with &) omit. 

38. Hopeless confusion arising from misreadings of the MT. 


43 


DRAS 


39 Εἶνε and twenty years old was Joakim when 
he began to reign in Judaea and Jerusalem; and 
he did that which was evil in the sight of the 

40 Lord. And against him Nabuchodonosor the 
king of Babylon came up, and bound him with 
a chain of brass, and carried him unto Babylon. 

41 Nabuchodonosor also took of the holy vessels of 
the Lord, and carried them away, and set them 
up in his own temple at Babylon. 

42 But those 
things that are reported of him, and of his 
uncleanness and impiety, are written in the 
chronicles of the kings. 


43. And Joakim his son reigned in his stead: for 
when he was made king he was eighteen years 

44 old; and he reigned three months and ten days 
in Jerusalem ; and did that which was evil before 
the Lord. 

45 80 after a year Nabuchodonosor sent and 
caused him to be brought unto Babylon with 

46 the holy vessels of the Lord ; and made Sedekias 
king of Judzea and Jerusalem, 


when he was one 
and twenty years old; and he reigned eleven 

47 years: and he also did that which was evil in 
the sight of the Lord, and cared not for the 
words that were spoken by Jeremy the prophet 

48 from the mouth of the Lord. And after that 
king Nabuchodonosor had made him to swear 
by the name of the Lord, he forswore himself, 
and rebelled; and hardening his neck, and his 
heart, he transgressed the laws of the Lord, the 

49 God of Israel. Moreover the governors of the 
people and of the priests did many things 
wickedly, and passed all the pollutions of all 
nations, and defiled the temple of the Lord, 

50 which was sanctified in Jerusalem. And the 
God of their fathers sent by his messenger to 
call them back, because he had compassion on 
them and on his dwelling place.@ 

51 But they 
mocked his messengers; and in the day when 
the Lord spake wnto them, they scoffed at his 
prophets : 

52 so far forth, that he, being wroth with 
his people for their great ungodliness, com- 
manded to bring up the kings of the Chaldeans 

53 against them; who slew their young men with 
the sword, round about their holy temple, and 


39 seqq. For Joakim’s history £ does not use the fuller @ of Chron. 
elaborates the traditions ; cf. Dan. i. 1 seq. On the text see further Torrey, 89. 


43. Joakim, an error for Jehoiachin. 
eighteen, mg. eight ((τῦ UW S). 
49. and passed all, mg. even above all (Gk). 
50. messenger ; read the plural, as in τ. 51. 
xxix. 19, &c.) is wanting. 
51. in the day, a misreading, DY for D'i2 (‘despised ’). 


24 


I ESDRAS 1. 39-53 


The Jeremian ‘rising up early and sending’ (mde pawn, cf. Jer- 


Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when 
he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years 
in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in 
the sight of the Lord his God. Against himcame6 
up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound _ 
him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. Ἢ 

Nebuchad- 7 
nezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of _ 
the Lord to Babylon, and put them in histemple 
at Babylon. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoi- 8 
akim, and his abominations which he did, and 
that which was found in him, behold, they are 
written in the book of the kings of Israel and 
Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his 
stead. ’ 

Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began 9 — 
to reign; and he reigned three months and ten 
days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was 
evil in the sight of the Lord. 


And at the return τὸ 
of the yearking Nebuchadnezzarsent,and brought | 
him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the 
house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his bro- 
ther king over Judah and Jerusalem. 

Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when 1 
he began to reign ; and he reigned eleven years in 
Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the 
sight of the Lord his God ; he humbled not him- 
self before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from 
the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled 13. 
against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made 
him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, 
and hardened his heart from turning unto the 
Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 

Moreover all the 
chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed 
very greatly after all the abominations of the 
heathen ; and they polluted the house of the 
Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And 
the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent to them 
by his messengers, rising up early and sending ; 
because he had compassion on his people, and on 
his dwelling place: but they mocked the messen- 
gers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed 
at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose 
against his people, till there was no remedy. 
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the 17 | 
Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the, 
sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had 
no compassion upon young man or maiden, old 
man or ancient: he gave them all into his hand. 


Jos. incorporates material from Jer. and 


as I ESDRAS 1. 53—2. 3 nC 


spared neither young man nor maid, old man 
| nor child; but he delivered all into their hands. 
54 And they took all the holy vessels of the Lord, | And all the vessels of the house of God, great 18 
both great and small, with the vessels of the | and small, and the treasures of the house of the 
ark of the Lord, and the king’s treasures, and | Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his 
55 carried them away unto Babylon. And they | princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And 19 
burnt the house of the Lord, and brake down | they burnt the house of God, and brake down the 
the walls of Jerusalem, and burnt the towers | wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof 
56 thereof with fire: and as for her glorious things, | with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels 
they never ceased till they had brought them all thereof. 
to nought: and the people that were not slain And them that had escaped from the 20 
δ] with the sword he carried unto Babylon: and | sword carried he away to Babylon; and they 
they were servants unto him and to his children, | were servants to him and his sons until the reign 
till the Persians reigned, to fulfil the word of the | of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfil the word of 21 
58 Lord by the mouth of Jeremy: Until the land the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the 
hath enjoyed her sabbaths, the whole time of her | land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as 
desolation shall she keep sabbath, to fulfil three- | she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil three- 
score and ten years. score and ten years. 
Ezra 1 
>, Inthe first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, 1 
that the word of the Lord by the mouth of | that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jere- 
2 Jeremy might be accomplished, the Lord stirred | miah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up 
up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and | the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made 
he made proclamation through all his kingdom, | a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and 
-3and also by writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus | pwz 12 also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus 
king of the Persians; The Lord of Israel, the | king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth 
Most High Lord, hath made me king of the | hath the Lord, the God of heaven, given me; 


tN 


53. child, MT ww (? ‘aged’, cf. Ar. wathwath, ‘weak, impotent’). 


54. the vessels, mg. ¢he arks of the Lord (x®, 5): based upon a confusion of W318 (‘treasure’) and j)78. 
56. Lit. ‘and they made an end of spoiling . . .’ (συνετέλεσαν... ἀχρεῶσαι); MT 55 55 (‘ail the goodly . . .’) 


treated as b> (‘made an end of’) 1p. 

that were not slain: τοὺς ἐπιλοίπους ἀπήγαγεν μετὰ (Ex* ἀπὸ, cf. 3:5) ῥομφαίας ‘the people that were left he led 
away with the sword’. 

58. The passage (see Jer. xxv. 12, xxix. 10 ; Lev. xxvi. 34 seq.) is treated as a quotation (cf. comm. on E ix. 11 seq.) ; 
on the statements, see Torrey, 286 ἢ. 2. 

The decree of Cyrus and the return under Sheshbazzar, ii. 1-15=2 Chron. xxxvi. 22 seq., E i.; cf. Jos. dnt. xi. 1. 
(a) The compiler passes over the years of exile, ignores the tradition of the Median empire represented in Daniel, and 
proceeds to the first year of Cyrus the Persian, the divinely-appointed agent inspired to fulfil the prophecy of Jeremiah 
(see Jer. xxiv. 6, xxv. 12 seq., xxix. 10-19, xxxili. 10-13). His decree (to be contrasted with vi. 24 seqq.) has a marked 
Jewish tinge, as is recognized even by those who accept it as mainly genuine (Ewald, 49; Sellin, S¢wd. 154; Holzhey, 
14), and should be compared with those of Darius (Z iv.) and Artaxerxes (vili. 8 seqq.), and with the royal decrees in 
the ‘canonical’ and ‘apocryphal’ Esther; see Torrey, 144 n. 12, 158. The place of Cyrus in Jewish tradition (see 
15. xli. 25, xliv. 28, xlv. 1-13) has been idealized; the story of Bel and the Dragon reveals another view of his 
character. He was not a monotheist, nor did he fulfil all the expectations of the prophecies. On the other hand, the 
parallels between his ‘cylinder Inscription’ and Is. xliv. 28-xlv. 4 (see Kittel, ZA 7, xviii. 149 seqq.) could suggest 
that the biblical writers had been directly influenced by the inscription of this patron of the Babylonian gods. 
Tradition is embellished further in Jos., who refers to a prophecy of Jeremiah heralding the rebuilding of the Temple 
(x. 7 3, xi. 11-2; cf. on v. 61), and attributes the enthusiasm of Cyrus to his perusal of the prophecies of Isaiah 
(cf. similarly Alexander the Great and Daniel, xi. 8. 5, § 337). 

(ὁ) The section E ivi. is mainly from the chronicler (Driver, Zz¢. 545 seq.), and while Chron. itself can be 
controlled by the parallel portions of Samuel and Kings, the criticism of this section rests upon internal data and the 
independent testimony of Haggai and Zech. i—viii. From a study of these prophecies it is urged that the rebuilding of 
the Temple at Jerusalem was first begun in the reign of Darius, and not Cyrus (as in E iii.), that the builders were the 
‘remnant’ of Judah, no considerable body of exiles having as yet returned (as in E i. seq.,  iv.—v. 6), that no serious 
Samaritan hostility had as yet arisen, and that no separation from the heathen of the land had as yet led to the 
inauguration of a Jewish ‘congregation’ or ‘church’. See, in the first instance, Schrader, 460-504, and for fuller 
details Zztrod. § 4 (11). 

On the text of ii. 1-15 see the comment., Moulton, ZA 7V, xix. 243 seqq., and Torrey, 120 seqq. 


II. 3. Most High, MT ‘God of Heaven’, so also in vi. 31, viii. 19, 21. Definite conclusions can with difficulty be 
drawn from the numerous and often noteworthy variations in the form of the Divine name; for a summary of the 
data see Moulton, ZA7W, xix. 226 seqq. The title ‘Most High’ (ὕψιστος = DY) recurs frequently in Daniel 
(14 times), Psalms (21), Ecclus. (48), and in Jubilees; more rarely in the Pentateuch (6); see the details in 
R. H. Charles, /zéilees, pp. Ixvi, 213, who observes that it was most used in the second cent. B.c. On the Greek 
title see E. Schiirer, Zzeolog. Lit.-zeit., 1897, nos. 9 and (with a review of F. Cumont’s /yfszs/os) 19; J. Skinner, 
Genesis, 270 seq. 


Ξ 
25 


DRAS 


4 whole world, and commanded me to build him 
5 a house at Jerusalem that is in Judzea. If there- 
fore there be any of you that are of his people, 
let the Lord, even his Lord, be with him, and 
let him go up to Jerusalem that is in Judzea, and 
build the house of the Lord of Israel: he is the 

6 Lord that dwelleth in Jerusalem. Of such there- 
fore as dwell in divers places, let them that are 

7 in his own place help each one with gold, and 
with silver, with gifts, with horses also and cattle, 
beside the other things which have been added 
by vow for the temple of the Lord which is in 
Jerusalem. 

8 Then the chief of the families of Judah and of 
the tribe of Benjamin stood up; the priests also, 
and the Levites, and all they whose spirit the 
Lord had stirred to go up, to build the house for 
the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 

9 And they that 
dwelt round about them helped them in all things 
with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and 
with very many gifts that were vowed of a great 
number whose minds were stirred up ¢hereto. 

το King Cyrus also brought forth the holy vessels 
of the Lord, which Nabuchodonosor had carried 
away from Jerusalem, and had set up in his temple 
11 of idols. Now when Cyrus king of the Persians 
had brought them forth, he delivered them to 
12 Mithradates his treasurer, and by him they were 
delivered to Sanabassar the governor of Judza. 
13 And this was the number of them: A thousand 
golden cups, a thousand cups of silver, censers of 
silver twenty nine, vials of gold thirty, and of 
silver two thousand four hundred and ten, and 
14 other vessels a thousand. So all the vessels of 
gold and of silver were brought up, even five 


5. people. (k*+‘who desireth to go up’; cf. v. 8, vill 


g. in all things, 53, for MT sda. 
of a great number, reading 25) (i.e. 
(‘beside’). 
10. holy vessels. 


v. I-46), but the details are intricate. 


lL ESDRAS 2, 


. 10 seq. 
let the Lord, mg. /et his Lord be, &c. (G*), cf. Chron. ΤΩΣ his God. 
the Lord that dwelleth, cf. Ε R.V. mg.: he zs the God whith... 
7. horses, reading U3) for &3 (cf. τ΄. 9); perhaps wrongly, see Torrey, 121. 
added by vow (or ‘in accordance with vow’), cf. v. 9, viii. 13, and see ZA 7W,, xix. 231. 


‘with precious things 27 abundance’) in place of the incorrect 1 
For the rendering cf. i. 45, vi. 18, 26; Dan. i. 2 (MS. 87) and Moulton, ZA 7 ΝΣ, xix. 228 seq. 


There is an obyious effort to link the new Temple with that of Solomon (cf. similarly the Register of the exiles in — 
Some of the Temple-vessels were removed in the reign of Jehoiakim (2 Chron. | 


4-14 


and he hath charged me to build him an house 
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever3 . 
there is among you of all his people, his God — 
be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, 
which is in Judah, and build the house of the 
Lord, the God of Israel, (he is God,) which is in _ 
Jerusalem. And whosoever is left, in any place 4. 
where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help 4 
him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, 
and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for ἢ 
the house of God which is in Jerusalem. fe: 


Ἰ 
i 


Then 5 | 
rose up the heads of fathers’ Zowses of Judah and 
Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even _ 
all whose spirit God had stirred to goupto build 
the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 
And all they that were round about them 6 
strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, 
with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with — 
precious things, beside all that was willingly 
offered. ei 

Also Cyrus the king brought forth the 7 
vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebu- _ 
chadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, — 
and had put them in the house of his gods; even 8. 
those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the — 
hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered — 
them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 
And this is the number of them : thirty chargers 9. 
of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and | 
twenty knives ; thirty bowls of goid, silver bowls 1 
of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other | 
vessels a thousand. All the vessels of gold and τι} 
of silver were five thousand and four hundred. | 


(with omission of the brackets). 


xxxvi. 7, Dan. i. 2; wanting in 2 Kings). Later, in the time of Jehoiachin @// were cut up or carried away (2 Kings | 
xxlv. 13 seq., a doubtful passage, see the comm.). In Zedekiah’s time, nevertheless, many evidently were left (Jer. | 
XXVil. 16 seqq., Xxvill. 3), and a prophecy of their removal also promises their restoration, although this latter feature | 
is absent from G’s text (xxvii. 16-22). Finally, at the fall of Jerusalem they were broken up and removed (2 Kings | 
XXV. 13-17, Jer. lil. 17 seqq.). (The evidence in Judith iv. 1-3 for a return of exiles and vessels in the time of Nebu- 
chadrezzar and the high-priest Joakim can hardly be discussed.) The sacrilegious use of the vessels by Belshazzar ~ 
was avenged by the division of the Babylonian empire among the Medes and Persians, and Darius became king | 
(Dan. v.). The tradition of their restoration in the reign of Cyrus clearly conflicts with £ iv. 44, 57, where Darius } 
effects what Cyrus had been unable to accomplish, and this belief can hardly have been current among those who |} 
knew of their return as described in E i. Moreover, the prophets Hag. and Zech. (time of Darius) do not imply that | 
the vessels had been restored ; E received rich supplies (£ viil. 17), and returned with gifts something over £2,500,000 
in value (Meyer, 69 seq.). But in the story of N the Temple appears to be neglected and poor, and Is. lx. 5-7 look 
forward to wealthy gifts. Another aspect is presented when it is supposed that the Temple-furniture had been concealed 
(see 2 Mace. ii. 4-8; Apoc. Baruch, ed. Charles, vi. 7 seqq., xxx. 2, and p. 168). 

12. Sanabassar (€*), mg. Samanassar (G&® in v. 14, but ‘Sanamassar’ here). 
see Guthe (5.5 7) and Torrey, 136 seq. See below, vi. 18. 

13 seq. On the variations in this passage see Torrey, 123 seq., 138 seq. 


26 


On the numerous variant forms 


JRAS I ESDRAS 2. 15-18 Eze. 


15 thousand four hundred threescore and nine, and | All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they 

_ ΜΈΓ carried back by Sanabassar, together with | of the captivity were brought up from Babylon 

them of the captivity, from Babylon to Jeru- | unto Jerusalem, 

salem. ἜΣΕΙ 

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the begin- 6 
ning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against 
the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 

16 But in the time of Artaxerxes king of the Per- And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, 7 
sians Belemus, and Mithradates, and Tabellius, | Mithredath,Tabeel,and the rest of hiscompanions, 
and Rathumus, and Beeltethmus, and Samellius | unto Artaxerxes king of Persia ; and the writing 
the scribe, with the others that were in com- | of the letter was written in the Syrian character, 
mission with them, dwelling in Samaria and | and set forth in the Syrian ‘¢ongwe. Rehum the 8 
other places, wrote unto him against them that | chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter 
dwelt in Judza and Jerusalem the letter follow- | against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this 

ιν ing: To king Artaxerxes our Lord, Thy servants, | sort: then zvvo¢e Rehum the chancellor, and Shim- 9 
Rathumus the storywriter, and Samellius the | shai the scribe, and the rest of their companions ; 
scribe, and the rest of their council, and the judges | the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tar- 
that are in Coelesyria and Phoenicia. pelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Baby- 

lonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the 

Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the τὸ 

great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set 

in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the 

country beyond the river, and so forth. This is Τὰ 

the copy of the letter that they sent unto Arta- 
xerxes the king ; Thy servants the men beyond 

18 Be it now | the river, and so forth. Be it known unto the 12 
known to our lord the king, that the Jews that | king, that the Jews which came up from thee are 
are come up from you to us, being come unto | come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building 


15. Neither MT nor the explicit Z supports the conjecture (Meyer, 193; cf. Holzhey, 15 seq., Davies, 47) that 
Sheshbazzar returned to prepare the way for Zerubbabel. 

The opposition in the reign of Artaxerxes, ii. 16-30 = E iv. 7-24 (Aramaic), cf. Jos. “112. xi. 2 1-2. 

(a) This passage cannot, in either E or Z, come between the reigns of Cyrus and Darius. There is an obvious 
gap after v. 15, and Jos., who ingeniously changes Artaxerxes into Cambyses, avoids it by an introduction (ὃ 19 seq., 
to be compared with § 88=£ ν. 72 seq.), and ends with the statement of a delay of nine years (including 6 of 
Cambyses, 2 of Darius). The passage has hardly ‘strayed’ to its place in E (Davies, 84); it is not indispensable in 
E, whereas in £ it is a necessary link between the return of Sheshbazzar and the tradition in ili. seq. Various attempts 
have been made to show that it is in its true position before the accession of Darius, whether by identifying the latter 
with D. IJ, or, like Josephus, by treating Artaxerxes as a mistake for Cambyses (cf. Sellin, Winckler, Torrey, and see 
references by Howorth in PS2A, xxiii. 313, 319, and Jampel, i. 103 seqq., iil. 97 seq.). These only cut the knot. 
Allowance must be made for a compilation based on a particular though erroneous theory of the Median and Persian 
kings (see Torrey, 38, 286, 302), but the real difficulty is the occurrence of this document relating to the time of 
Artaxerxes immediately after the reign of Cyrus. On its place, see further below, p. 56, and Jz/vod. § 5 (ὁ). 


(ὁ) The text in Z is certainly from an Aramaic original. Note the translation of DYY Pl ‘story-writer’ (mg. 
“recorder’) in 17, 25, but the transliteration in 16 and (with a doublet) 25; the different renderings in EG (e.g. ἐν 
εἰρήνῃ for MT Bishlam, / Belemus, τ. 16) ; and such variant renderings as ‘cities’ (v. 22 for ‘ provinces’), ‘ passage’ 
(Ὁ. 24 and Jos. ὃ 25; son for MT pbn ‘portion’). £, although free and paraphrastic, preserves (as noticed by Volz, 
1490) some better readings: ‘our lord, the king’ (vv. 17 seq., 21, cf. vi. 8; in agreement with Aramaic diplomatic 
usage), “be it now known’ (v. 18, see Torrey, 146, 186; 2° prefixes ‘ peace’); ‘books’ (v. 21), ‘the Jews’ (τ. 23). 
Sometimes, however, decision is difficult; so in vv. 25 seq., 28, the references to the Temple in vv. 18, 20, and 
especially the introduction compared with E iv. 6-11. In the MT 7 and 8 imply ¢wo letters, but the relationship is 
not clear; both ὃ ὁ and τὸ ὁ (ending ‘and now’ as in v. 11) point to the immediate commencement of a letter. The 
(Hebrew) reference to Ahasuerus (Xerxes) in v. 6 (cf. the story of Esther) is wanting in Z, although v. 16 (end) seems 
to represent MT 62, and v. 17 covers MT wv. 8 (end), 9 (omitting the names after ‘Dinaites’, £ ‘judges’), and 10 
(the reference to ‘beyond the river’). Thus Z v. 18 begins the letter and corresponds to MT 12 (ct. 11 ὁ with τὸ ὁ). 
The intricacies may be due partly to the compiler’s effort to quote a source and also to use it in his narrative (cf. on 
E vi. below), partly also to the revision of Z after E and the reverse. It is noteworthy that E (where i—iv. 6 is in 
Hebrew) takes care to state that the document was in Aramaic and needed translating (vv. 7 and 18 R.V. mg.) ; this 
is ignored in £, as also is the debatable w5D in £ ix. 48. See further the comment. and Torrey, 172 seq., 178 seqq., 
Bayer, 33 seq. d 

17. Celesyria and Pheenicia. The geographical term in MT (‘Transflumen’, ‘Transpotamia’) represents the 
Persian province west of the Euphrates, and to this the earlier use of the term Coelesyria (before the first cent. B. C.) 
Corresponds. £’s rendering (contrast EGi’s literal πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ) may point to an Egyptian locale where the 
geography of Palestine and Syria was unfamiliar (Torrey, 83). Jos. names Syria and Phoenicia, and adds Ammon 
and Moab ; cf. perhaps Tobiah the Ammonite and Sanballat (if a native of Horonaim). 


27 


ON a ee ... . . . .........,.. ,........................ 


<AS 


Jerusalem, do build that rebellious and wicked 
city, and do repair the marketplaces and the 
walls of it, and do lay the foundation of a temple. 
19 Now if this city be builded and the walls thereof 
be finished, they will not only refuse to give 
tribute, but will even stand up against kings. 


20 And forasmuch as the things pertaining to the 
temple are now in hand, we think it meet not to 
21 neglect such a matter, but to speak unto our lord 
the king, to the intent that, if it be thy pleasure, 
search may be made in the books of thy fathers : 
22 and thou shalt find in the chronicles what is 
written concerning these things, and shalt under- 
stand that that city was rebellious, troubling both 
23 kings and cities: and that the Jews were rebel- 
lious, and raised always wars therein of old time ; 
for the which cause even this city was laid waste. 
24 Wherefore now we do declare unto thee, O lord 
the king, that if this city be builded again, and 
the walls thereof set up anew, thou shalt from 
henceforth have no passage into Coelesyria and 
25 Pheenicia. Then the king wrote back again to 
Rathumus the storywriter, and Beeltethmus, and 
Samellius the scribe, and to the rest that were in 
commission, and dwelt in Samaria and Syria and 
26 Phoenicia, after this manner: I have read the 
epistle which ye have sent unto me: 
therefore 
I commanded to make search, and it hath been 
found that that city of old time hath made in- 
27 surrection against kings ; and the men were given 
to rebellion and war therein: and that mighty 
kings and fierce were in Jerusalem, who reigned 
and exacted tribute in Coelesyria and Phcenicia. 
28 Now therefore I have commanded to hinder 
those men from building the city, 


and heed to 

be taken that there be nothing done contrary to 
29 this order; and that those wicked doings pro- 
3° ceed no further to the annoyance of kings. Then 
king Artaxerxes his letters being read, Rathu- 
mus, and Samellius the scribe, and the rest that 
were in commission with them, removing in haste 
unto Jerusalem with horsemen and a multitude 
of people in battle array, began to hinder the 
builders ; and the building of the temple in Jeru- 


18. lay the foundation . . 
20. temple... 


‘our salt is the. . 


I ESDRAS 2. 18-30 


+) καὶ ναὸν ὑποβάλλονται (BA; ὑπερβάλλοντα θεμελιοῦσιν, L). 
in hand (ἐνεργεῖται τὰ κατὰ τὸν ναόν), lit. ‘are being urged on’. 
(&*4 om.) may mean that the writers are in the king’s service, or have entered into a covenant with him, or (reading 
-; Nestle, Strack) receive the dues of the palace or temple (cf. E vii. 22, 1 Macc. x. 29, xi. 35). 


the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished 
the walls, and repaired the foundations. : 


Be it 13 
known now unto the king, that, if this city be τς 
builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay _ 
tribute, custom, or toll. and in the end it will 
endamage the kings, Now because we eat the τᾷ 
salt of the palace,and it is not meet for ustosee Ὁ 
the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and 
certified the king ; that search may be made in1t5 | 
the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt 
thou find in the book of the records, and know 
that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto 
kings and provinces, and that they have moved 
sedition within the same of old time: for which 
cause was this city laid waste. 


We certify the τό | 
king that, if this city be builded, and the walls 
finished, by this means thou shalt have no portion — 
beyond the river. o 5 
Then sent the king an answer 17 | 
unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the 
scribe, and to the rest of their companions that 
dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country — 
beyond the river, Peace, and so forth. The letter 18 © 
which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read 
before me. And I decreed, and search hath been 19 | 
made, and it is found that this city of old time 
hath made insurrection against kings, and that 
rebellion and sedition have been made therein. | 
There have been mighty kings also over Jeru- 2¢ | 
salem, which have ruled over all the country 
beyond the river; and tribute, custom, and toll, 
was paid unto them. Make ye now a decree to 2! 
cause these men to cease, and that this city be — 
not builded, until a decree shall be made by me. © 
And take heed that ye be not slack herein: why 22 | 
should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? 


Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter 73 | 
was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, 
and their companions, they went in haste to 
Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease 
by force and power. 


Then ceased the work of 


MT Now because... palace 


£ apparently rests upon some confusion of nbn (‘salt’), with naxdn (‘work of’), nbn (‘the matter of’), or perhaps 


ΝΣ (‘be full, complete ἢ. In any case the reference to the Temple here and in v. 18 is noteworthy; either it may 
be part of a deliberate aim to introduce allusions to the Temple (see Bayer, 87 seqq., 94 seq., 102), or there was 
a tradition of the building of the Temple in the time of Artaxerxes. The latter finds independent support (see Zzérod. 
§ 5 ὁ), and the text in MT may be explained by the fact that, while in E and E Sheshbazzar had returned to rebuild 
the Temple, in E only is there an account of the commencement of the work and the delay. See also /z¢vod. 15 seq. 
23. Rather ‘rebellious and still continuing sieges therein from of old’ (Ball). 
30. horsemen, &c.; MT force (116. ‘arm’) and power (lit. ‘strength’ or ‘army’). Cf. the situation in N iv. 2, 8. 


28 


I ESDRAS 2. 30—3. 5 Ezra 


salem ceased until the second year of the reign | the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and it 
of Darius king of the Persians. ceased unto the second year of the reign of 
Darius king of Persia. 


8: Nowking Darius made a great feast unto all his subjects, and unto all that were born in his house, 
2 and unto all the princes of Media and of Persia, and to all the satraps and captains and governors 
3 that were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, in the hundred twenty and seven provinces. And 
when they had eaten and drunken, and being satisfied were gone home, then Darius the king went 
into his bedchamber, and slept, and awaked out of his sleep. 

Then the three young men of the body-guard, that kept the king’s person, spake one to another : 
5 Let every one of us say one thing which shall be strongest: and he whose sentence shall seem wiser 
than the others, unto him shall Darius the king give great gifts, and great honours in token of 


The Story of the Three Pages and the Decree of Darius, iii. 1-v. 6, wanting in E ; see Jos. xi. 3 2-6. 

(a) This section, famous for the Praise of Truth and for the familiar though often misquoted saying in iv. 41, is the 
centre of the problems of £. The story, well-known to early Christian Fathers and Synoptists, appears to be a piece 
of popular literature (cf. Susanna, Bel and the Dragon), not originally connected with Zerubbabel (see iv. 13, v. 5). 
Although ascribed to the early part of the reign of Darius (iv. 43, v. 6), it was evidently not written for the present 
context, which, indeed, it throws into great chronological confusion (see iv. 44, 57; v- 2, 55,71, 73). In fact, the name 
Apame (iv. 29) suggests the time of Darius III (Codomannus), and the original scene, not laid in Babylon (iv. 57, 61), 
though ostensibly in Susa, was probably Egypt (so most scholars) or Antioch in Syria (Marq. 66). The orations 
are not distinctively biblical. That on drink stands in contrast, 6. 5. to-Prov. xxiii. 29-35, Ecclus. xxxi. 25-30 ; and iv. 20 
and 39 do not necessarily indicate any acquaintance with Gen. ii. 24 and Deut. x. 17 respectively. Allusions to 
Samson (so Lupton) are not obvious in iv. 17, 24, 26. The religious colouring is weak, but has been deepened by 
translators (see iv. 35 seq., 41, 59). Even the fine Praise of Truth seems to be an early addition: it is loosely 
appended to the paean of women, which, again, is out of touch with O.T. thought. Yet, even though the story be 
somewhat removed from biblical ideas, it may still be Jewish. The Praise of Truth, for example, may be a specimen 
of Palestinian wisdom (Zunz), and although Volz (1493) thinks it shows contact with Alexandrian religious philosophy, 
Torrey (46 seq.) fails to find anything ‘ hellenistic’ or suggestive of the influence of Greek literature or philosophy. 

(4) Ewald has suggested a connexion with the Sibylline books (iii. 293 seq.), where allusion is made to Persian 
kings inspired by dveavzs to further the restoration of the Temple. This is as little convincing or helpful as the alleged 
parallel between the questions debated by the Three Pages and the propositions put to the Jewish elders in the Letter 
of Aristeas. On the other hand, the opening of the story is clearly reminiscent of Est. i. 1-3; ili. 9 seems to be 
connected with Dan. vi. 2 (Torrey, 48), and several other interesting points of contact with Esther and Daniel 
have been noticed by Bayer (110 seqq.). Lagarde (AZ7¢thezl. iv. 358) conjectured that the story once followed 
after Dan. vi.1. It is not improbable that the compiler identified Darius with the Mede in Dan. v. 31 (Hitzig, Reuss), 
and Biichler (51) further points out that Daniel’s prayer in the first year of Darius (ix.) knows of no earlier return of 
exiles and may be associated with Z’s story of Zerubbabel, which is placed in the king’s second year. The story 
contains data which ignore and exclude £& ii. 1~15 (note that Cyrus follows Darius in the book of Daniel). The land 
is waste and is partly occupied by Edomites who had burned the Temple. Neither exiles nor Temple-vessels had as 
yet returned, and now for the first time the favour of Persia had been gained and permission was given to return. 
For some reason Cyrus had been unable to fulfil his vow, and that of Darius is virtually a duplicate. It is, as Ewald 
(129) trenchantly observes, ‘as if these kings had been in the habit of thinking of the God of Israel and the fate of 
his people at every critical moment of their lives, and the history of the whole world had strictly hinged in consequence 
upon the changes of its lot’. Ewald, however, accepts the decree of Cyrus, and this leaves no room for that of Darius, 
which is as credible, in itself, as that of the other Persian kings. See below, p. 32. 

(c) It is very generally agreed that, with the exception of v. 1-6, the section was probably or certainly composed 
in Greek. But signs of a Hebrew original have been noticed by Schrader, Renan, Ball, and especially Jahn, who 
offers a Hebrew retranslation (177-88). Torrey (20-25, 37-61) argues for a Hebrew or Aramaic original, on the 
grounds of internal linguistic features, antecedent probability (viz. the close connexion between v. 1-6 and the end 
of iv.), and the characteristic interest in the ecclesiastical bodies (iv. 51-56). He notices several ‘Aramaisms’ 
(e.g. use of τότε, Aram. IN ; ἤρξατο, 4), and concludes that the Story of the Three Pages was in Aramaic, and 
metrical (p. 47); vv- 43-46 were also in Aramaic, but the sequel in Hebrew (pp. 29 seq., 58). Bayer (123 seqq.) 
agrees, but urges that the whole of iii. and iv. was in Aramaic. See further Torrey’s retranslation and notes (50 seqq.), 
and below on iv. 42 seqq. Jos. reproduces the section, with a necessary introduction to account for the presence of 
Zerubbabel; he seems to have used a slightly different version (Biichler, 57 seqq., 100; see on ili. 3). An abbreviated 
version is given in the Latin summary published by Lagarde (Sefz. Stud. ii. 16 seqq.; here cited as Lag.), and in 
Josippon (see Biichler, 59 seqq., 62 seq., 100 seq.). For other witnesses see on iv. 36, 41, 59. 

Ill. 3. slept, and awaked: ἐκοιμήθη καὶ ἔξυπνος ἐγένετο, ‘lay down and was sleepless’, cf. ἔξυπνος in mod. Greek 
‘wide-awake’ (J. C. Lawson, Jod. Gr. Folklore, p.31). According to Jos. ὃ 35, cf. § 57, the king was restless (cf. Est. 
vi. 1), and was the first to suggest the orations and to promise and specify rewards. This conflicts with v. ὃ seq., but 
seems to be hinted at in iv. 42 (πλείω τῶν γεγραμμένων). On the other hand, & does not allow that the suggestion 
came from the king, who is asleep (vv. 8 seq., 13). Jahn proposes to read évumvos (p. 177); Torrey (24, 50) con- 
jectures that the original Aramaic text read: ‘(v. 3)... Darius... slept. (v. 4) Then stood on the watch (or 
“bestirred themselves ” \7 p yn) three young guardsmen (who protected the person of the king: a gloss), and 
fheyssaid .... 

5. thing (λόγον), i.e. sentence, as in v. 16. 

strongest (ὑπερισχύσει), i.e. shall prevail. 

sentence (ῥημα), i.e. argument. 

ἢ honours, &c., ἐπινίκια μεγάλα, (τ΄. 6) καὶ πορφύραν περιβαλέσθαι ; Jos. ὃ 35 νικητήριον πορφύραν ἐνδίσασθαι. Cf. 

an. v. 7. 


29 


rr ed ~ 


I ESDRAS 3. 6—4. 10 


6 victory: as, to be clothed in purple, to drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold, and a chariot with y 
7 bridles of gold, and a keadtire of fine linen, and a chain about his neck: and he shall sit next to — 
g Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called Darius his cousin. And then | they wrote every 
9 one his sentence, and set to their seals, and laid che writing under king Darius his pillow, and said, 
When the king is risen, some shall give him the writing ; and of whose side the king and the three 
princes of Persia shall judge that his sentence is the wisest, to him shall the victory be given, as it is — 
10,11,12 written. The first wrote, Wine is the strongest. The second wrote, The king is strongest. The 
third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things Truth beareth away the victory. ; 
15. Now when the king was risen up, they took the writing, and gave it unto him, and so he read it: 
14 and sending forth he called all the princes of Persia and of Media, and the satraps, and the captains, 
τῷ and the governors, and the chief officers; and sat him down in the royal seat of judgement ; and thee 
16 writing was read before them. And he said, Call the young men, and they shall explain their own _ 
17 sentences. So they were called, and came in. And they said unto them, Declare unto us your 
mind concerning the things ye have written. ᾿ 
18 Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, and said thus, O sirs, how exceeding 
rg strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it: it maketh the mind of the king and of the 
fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich: 
20 it turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor 
21 debt: and it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor satrap; and it 
22 maketh to speak all things by talents: and when they are in their cups, they forget their love both 
23 to friends and brethren, and a little after draw their swords: but when they awake from their wine, 
24 they remember not what they have done.  sirs, is not wine the strongest, seeing that it enforceth — 
to do thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace. 
41,2 Then the second, that had spoken of the strength of the king, began to say, O sirs, do not men 
3 excel in strength, that bear rule over the sea and land, and all things in them? But yet is the king 
stronger: and he is their lord, and hath dominion over them; and in whatsoever he commandeth 
4 them they obey him. If he bid them make war the one against the other, they do it: and if he — 
5 send them out against the enemies, they go, and overcome mountains, walls, and towers. They 
slay and are slain, and transgress not the king’s commandment: if they get the victory, they bring 
6 all to the king, as well the spoil, as all things else. Likewise for those that are no soldiers, and 
have not to do with wars, but use husbandry, when they have reaped again that which they had sown, 
7 they bring it to the king, and compel one another to pay tribute unto the king. And he is but one 
8 man: if he command to kill, they kill; if he command to spare, they spare ; if he command to 
smite, they smite ; if he command to make desolate, they make desolate ; if he command to build, 
9, 10 they build ; if he command to cut down, they cut down; if he command to plant, they plant. So 
all his people and his armies obey him: furthermore he lieth down, he eateth and drinketh, and 


9. some (i.e. they) shall give, δώσουσιν. © dabimus. 
three princes, cf. Est. i. 14 (G, but MT 7, as in & viii. 11). 
as it is written, Jahn restores according to his writing. 
12. above all things . . . (ὑπὲρ de πάντα . . .), 1.6. * Truth is victor over all’ (Torrey, p. 24, cf. by mys). ‘The 
third appears to have a double thesis to maintain, thus interfering with the symmetry’ (Lupton). 
13. (α΄ ‘writings’, and similarly in v. 15. 
14. (ἀπ om. satraps. Cf. Dan. iii. 2 for this list. 
15. sat; © S “hey sat. 
seat of judgement (χρηματιστηρίῳ), council-chamber (cf. A.V. mg.). 
16. he, &' S they. 
17. they said, & he said, τὸ 305 and the king said. 
18. 39. guam (+facile L°; cito Lag.) praewalet (L¢ vincit) vinum omnibus hominibus (3.5 omnes homines) gui bibunt 


tllud. 
21. speak .. . by talents, Gi‘ + καὶ πάντα διὰ γραμμάτων ποιεῖ ὅταν δὲ πίνωσι. 
23. awake, (πὸ ἐγερθῶσιν, (πλ γενηθῶσιν, (τ΄ γένωνται, LS et cum digessertt vinum et surrexerint (Lag. cum a vino 
{πΕῈῈ| 0 Ὲ} Ὁ τ τὴς 
24. Qk" how is not wine .. ., cf. iv. 12, 32. 
IV. 2. that bear . .., rather ‘in bearing rule. . . 
3. their lord, (τα lord of all, cf. A.V.; % rex autem super omnia praecellit, U°. . . super fortis est. 
and hath .. . them, τ΄ om. 
obey, (πὴ ἐνακούουσιν, Ur" αὐτὸς, ἀκούουσι τοῦ ἑνός, πὸ ποιήσουσιν (cf. L Lag. faciunt); %°om.‘andin... him’. 
5. as well the spoil ... (τ καὶ (A+ ὅσα) ἐὰν προνομεύσωσιν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα (i.e. Sand if they raid— and all else’ [in 


like manner]), % they bring to the king whatsoever they spoil. Torrey (52) conjectures a confusion of Aram. 4m ‘take’ 
and “nw ‘other’. 


Ἐξ μεν One mat, ame. eee en: & καὶ αὐτὸς εἰ (r*ab*" εἷς) μόνος ἐστίν, cf. Josh. xxii, 20, Judith i. 11 (so Torrey, 
2. who would join Ε words to τ΄. . 


8. G& om. fin τ΄. 8 seq. (τὸ om. εἶπεν ἐρημῶσαι ἐρημοῦσι». Cf. generally Dan. v. 19. 


30 


ΠΕ ΞΘ ΑΘ Έ τὺ 998 


11 taketh his rest ; and these keep watch round about him, neither may any one depart, and do his own 


12 business, neither disobey they him zz anything. O sirs, how should not the king be strongest, seeing 


that in such sort he is obeyed? And he held his peace. 
13. Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of truth, (this was Zorobabel) began to speak. 


14 Osirs, is not the king great,and men are many, and wine is strong ? who is it then that ruleth them, 


15 or hath the lordship over them? are they not women? Women have borne the king and all the 
16 people that bear rule by sea and land. Even of them came they: and they nourished them up that 
17 planted the vineyards, from whence the wine cometh. These also make garments for men; these 


'18 bring glory unto men ; and without women cannot men be. Yea, and if men have gathered together 


old and silver and every other goodly thing, and see a woman which is comely in favour and beauty, 


το they let all those things go, and gape after her, and even with open mouth fix their eyes fast on her ; 
oo and have all more desire unto her than unto gold or silver, or any goodly thing whatsoever. A man 


21 leaveth his own father that brought him up, and his own country, and cleaveth unto his wife. And 
22 with his wife he endeth his days, and remembereth neither father, nor mother, nor country. By this 
also ye must know that women have dominion over you: do ye not labour and toil, and give and 


“23 bring all to women? Yea, a man taketh his sword, and goeth forth to make outroads, and to rob 


24 and to steal, and to sail upon the sea and upon rivers; and looketh upon a lion, and walketh in the 
25 darkness ; and when he hath stolen, spoiled, and robbed, he bringeth it to his love. Wherefore a man 
26 loveth his wife better than father or mother. Yea, many there be that have run out of their wits for 


27 women, and become bondmen for their sakes. Many also have perished, have stumbled, and sinned, 


28 for women. And now do ye not believe me? is not the king great in his power? do not all regions 


29 fear to touch him ἢ Yet did I see him and Apame the king’s concubine, the daughter of the illus- 


30 trious Bartacus, sitting at the right hand of the king, and taking the crown from the king’s head, 
31 and setting it upon her own head ; yea, she struck the king with her left hand: and therewithal the 
king gaped and gazed upon her with open mouth: if she laughed upon him, he laughed also: but 
if she took any displeasure at him, he was fain to flatter, that she might be reconciled to him again. 


32 O sirs, how can it be but women should be strong, seeing they do thus Ὁ 


33 Then the king and the nobles looked one upon another: so he began to speak concerning truth. 
34 O sirs, are not women strong? great is the earth, high is the heaven, swift is the sun in his course, 

for he compasseth the heavens round about, and fetcheth his course again to his own place in one 
35 day. Is he not great that maketh these things? therefore great is truth, and stronger than all 


13. οὗτός ἐστιν Zop., (α΄ 3:5 5. +the son of Salathiel, Lag. +of the house of David, of the tribe of Judah, cf. v. 5. 
The identity of the unknown third youth (note v. 58), thus parenthetically introduced, is stated also by τ" in v. 61, 
by 3. in 33, 43, 58, and by Jos. regularly after iv. 40. 

14. isnot ... &' by omitting the negative, makes the statement, and joining the verse on to v. 15, reads ‘have 
not women borne the king? and all the people . . . land were even of them’. 

men are many, or are mighty, see Torrey, 24, 53. 
From v. 14 seq. Biichler (61 seq.) conjectures that the first and second orations have been transposed ; cf. August. 
de Civ. Dei, xviii. 36 ‘ quum reges unus dixisset, alter vinum, tertius mulieres,’ &c. 
17. garments . . . glory, probably a doublet (Torrey). 
18. and see . . ., πὸ do they not love (cf. A.V.). 
comely ... beauty καλὴν... τῷ κάλλει, an evident sign of translation (Torrey, 53). 

21. endeth his days, (ἃ ἀφίησι τὴν ψυχήν ; or ‘loseth his life’ (Ball, who cfs. Gen. xxxv. 18 Gt); otherwise ‘. . . for 
the sake of (3 misunderstood) his wife’ (Jahn, 178), or ‘abandoneth himself’ (Torrey, 53, cf. 3). Jos. § 52 καὶ ras ψυχὰς 
ἀφιέναι μετ᾽ αὐτῶν (ἀξιοῦμεν καί, see Niese) καρτεροῦμεν. 

22. ye must know - - . over you, (πὸ ‘we... us’. 

23. make outroads, (i®" ἐξοδεύειν (cf. 1 Macc. xv. 41), {πὸ εἰς ἐξοδίαν, LH ‘to waylay’, S ‘to travel’. 

and to steal, &&' om. 

24. looketh upon (i.e. faces or confronts), Ct θεωρεῖ, © contemnzt, Lag. vedit; Treuenfels conj. θηρεύει, ‘ hunts’. 

25. Wherefore, /z¢. ‘and’, similarly in vv. 35 (‘therefore’), 49 (‘moreover ’). 

27. stumbled, Gi“ ἐσφάλησαν, (π᾿ ἐσφάγησαν (ct. 38), S ‘ erred’. 

28. do ye not, (π΄ ‘if ye’. 

29. Isee him and, Torrey, 339 conj. J myself (αὐτός) saw... 

the illustrious Bartacus. (& Bapraxov (BA; Βαζακου, L; ραβεζακου, Jos. ; Bezacis, Bezzachi, Lat.; r-b-’-’r-t-k 
$) τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ (θεμασίου Jos.,? a proper name, cf. Θαμάσιος, Herod. vii. 194). The reference may be to no 
historical person (Bayer, 116), or to Apame daughter of the satrap Artabazos III, or of the Bactrian satrap Spitamenes ; 
the former was given to Ptolemy Lagos, the latter to Seleucus Nicator. Thus the story may relate to Egypt or to 
Antioch, and date from the time of Darius III], Codomannus (c. 300 B.C.). See further, Marq. 65 seq.; Torrey, 
40 seqq., 54, 102 ; Josippon (Biichler, 66 n. 2) would make Apame the daughter of Axios (?) the Macedonian. 

30. struck, ὑπ ἐράπιζεν, ‘was slapping’. 

31. therewithal, (ἃ καὶ πρὸς τούτοις, ‘and moreover’ (Lupton, cf. τ΄. 10), or, ‘and in spite of this’ (Torrey, 25, 54). 

33. one upon another, G&® εἷς [repos πρός, A] τὸν ἕτερον ; {π| ἔτ. τῷ ἑτέρῳ (see Torrey, 54 g)- 

35. maketh, rather ‘ doeth’; the reference is transferred from the Sun to the Deity (see esp. Jos.). 

therefore, καί, rather ‘ but’. 


31 


I ESDRAS 4. 36-42 


36 things. All the earth calleth upon truth, and the heaven blesseth her: all works shake and tremble, — 
37 but with her is no unrighteous thing. Wine is unrighteous, the king is unrighteous, women are 

unrighteous, all the children of men are unrighteous, and unrighteous are all such their works; and _ 
38 there is no truth in them ; in their unrighteousness also they shall perish. But truth abideth, and 2: 
39 is strong for ever; she liveth and conquereth for evermore. With her there is no accepting of 

persons or rewards ; but she doeth the things that are just, and vefraineth from all unrighteous and 
4o Wicked things ; and all men do well like of her works. Neither in her judgement is any unrighteous- 
ness; and she is the strength, and the kingdom, and the power, and the majesty, of all ages. Blessed | 
be the God of truth. And with that he held his tongue. And all the people then shouted, and said, Ὁ 


Great is truth, and strong above all things. : ἢ ὶ it ἧς: 
42. Then said the king unto him, Ask what thou wilt more than is appointed in writing, and we will | 
give it thee, inasmuch as thou art found wisest ; and thou shalt sit next me, and shalt be called my 


\ 
36. calleth upon, A.V. mg. prazseth the truth, Lag. invocat ; Athanasius, Or. Il. c. Arian. ii. Xx, quotes the passage 
(‘all . . . tremble’), and argues that if all the earth ‘ praiseth (ὑμνεῖ) the Demiurge and Truth, the former is the 
Logos. 
ὴ works, ἔργα, perhaps originally ‘created things’ (Torrey), Lag. guae mouentur trement. ᾿ 
with her (so Jos.), but ἀζηε (mg.) is a well attested reading and refers to the Deity as in v. 35 (see Torrey, 55). 
37. and there is, Torrey (25) conj. ‘if (εἰ) there iS - 2 as 
38-40. See Cyprian, 47. Ixxiv., August. de Czvit. Dei, xviii. ch. 36. 
38. for evermore, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, a Semitism. 3 
39. rewards, tk® διαφορά (cf, © 3), Ge" διαφθορά; Torrey, 56 ὦ, compares 2 Chron. xix. 7. : ; - 
and refraineth, similarly G*2£°L Lag.; the text implies a misunderstanding of the comparative particle: ‘things 
that are just vather than all . . .’ (Fr., Ball, Torrey, 25, 56). i 
do well like, εὐδοκοῦσι, cf. Matt. iii. 17. Το : 5 ἢ 
4o. she, αὕτη ; τ΄ αὐτῆς ‘hers’; read perhaps αὐτῇ ‘to her’ (cf. Lag. 2252). With the doxology cf. 1 Chron. χχῖχ. 11, 
Dan. ii. 37, Matt. vi. 13. 
Blessed . . ., or, since Truth is praised, restore ‘blessed of God be Truth’ (Torrey, 56). ; ig 
41. Ge Μεγάλη ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ὑπερισχύει ; @ magna est veritas et praevalet (1° + omnibus). There is no good authority 
for the erroneous /raevalebit. Jos. ignores the saying. Cyprian (22. lxxiv. 9) quotes it as veritas manet et tnvalescet. 
August. (de Civ. Dei, xviii. 36) refers to this passage as a prophecy of Christ. See further, for citations, Pohlmann, | 
263 seq. ni 
3 The appendix on Truth (wv. 33-41) does not seem to be part of the original story ; one may perhaps compare the 
various embellishments in the story of Ahikar. André (192) points out parallels in the praise of Wisdom and refers to 
Wisd. iii. 9, where Truth has a deeper mystical signification as though synonymous with the God of Truth. my 
The decree of Darius and the return of Zerubbabel, iv. 42-ν. 6. (a) The vow of Darius practically duplicates that | 
of Cyrus, and both kings are curiously associated with the capture of Babylon in Jos. x. 11 4. That Cyrus was unable ὦ 
to fulfil his vow need not imply, as Biichler supposes, the existence of some specific tradition; it may be merely an 
attempt to justify this story of Darius, see /¢/vod. p. 16. [ἢ any case the return of exiles under Zerubbabel in the reign 
of Darius (vy. 6) is complicated by the references in v. 7 seqq. (E ii. seq.) to that of Cyrus. Since ii, I-15 seemstobe | 
incomplete, it has been urged that the gap between Ei. and ii. may be filled, partly at least, by Z v. 1-6, reading Cyrus | 
for Darius in τ΄. 2 and adjusting or omitting v. 6 (see Ewald, 86; the comm. of Bertheau and Ryssel; Sellin, Stud., ὦ 
112 seq.; Davies, 49 seq.). Against this see Schrader, 482 n. ὁ. It is otherwise held that v. 1-6 refer to a return, 
perhaps under Joakim (see v. 5), in the reign of Darius (De Saulcy and Kaulen [so Nikel, 52, 126]; Schrader; 
Reuss; Ryle, 15; André, 137-40). But it has been shown by Schrader (/oc. ct.) and Torrey that this passage cannot 
be severed from the close of iv, and that both are of Semitic origin. The relationship between E i. and Z& iv. v. 1-6, 
7 seqq. (E ii.) thus becomes more difficult, and Torrey (followed by Kent) would treat the Story of the Three Youths 
as an (Aramaic) interpolation in the (Hebrew) history of the time of Cyrus. Hence iv. 43-7, 57-61, and v. 6a are 
regarded as redactional, linking the interpolated Darius story with the main narrative. The latter thus comprises | 
E i. (Z ii. 1-15), Z iv. 47 a, 48 a (‘and Cyrus the king wrote . . .ἢ, 48 6-56, 62 seq., v. 1 seqq. (with Cyzws in v. 2, | 
and in v. 6 reading only ‘in the second year of the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, in the month . . .’); see Torrey, | 
Journ. Bibl. Lit., xvi (1897), 168 seq., Ezra Stud., 26, 32 seq., 58, 133; Kent, 340 seq. This would represent an 
earlier stage than the MT, but still furnishes a narrative, which both scholars regard as unhistorical, and which has 
been expanded by transferring E iv. 7 seqq. from its incorrect position before the reign of Darius to one equally | 
_ incorrect in £ ii. 16 seqq. q 
(ὁ) Although the effort has been made to link together traditions of Cyrus and Darius, the interpolation-hypothesis | 
brings fresh difficulties. The Story of the Three Pages (iii. 1-iv. 41), whatever its true origin and form, can only | 
have been used because of its sequel. True, it could only have been inserted here, but a compiler was under no 
obligation to insert it, and the exhibition of rhetorical skill evidently served his purpose. The royal favour once | 
obtained is turned to good account (cf. Est. v.), and unless the story had been already connected with Jewish history | 
it is difficult to explain its presence. Only the fact that it deals with Darius and not Cyrus explains its survival, and | 
the confusion arising from the effort to combine it with the history of the exiles is evidence of deliberate method. On | 
these grounds, then, we have a bona-fide tradition—not necessarily a valuable one—of a return in the reign of Darius. | 
Hence it is that ii. 16 seqq. seek to explain the delay between the time of Cyrus (who belongs to the past, ii. 30, iii. 1, | 
iv. 44, 57) and that of Darius, and that Darius is represented partly as initiating (iv. 43, 47-56) and partly as endorsing ὦ 
(iv. 44, 57, see vi. 34) the return of the Jews. The whole is the result of a compromise. iv. 43-6 (Aramaic, | 
Torrey, 29 ἢ. 13) and 57-61 (Hebrew, zd. 59) bear no resemblance to redactional patches (against Torrey, 57 seqq.). 
They actually being new details (the valuable v. 45), and vv. 44, 57, by ignoring the return of the vessels in ii. 10-15, | 
link conflicting traditions, but do not link an otherwise unnecessary interpolation with the tradition which runs through | 
ἘΠῚ. τη], Besides, it is not clear that the gap between E i. and ii. is filled by Torrey’s restoration (see Bayer, 134) or Ϊ 
that the attempt to fill it is (in view of the development of the Cyrus-tradition) at all necessary. It may be concluded, | 


32 


41 


I ESDRAS 4. 43-62 


43 cousin. Then said he unto the king, Remember thy vow, which thou didst vow to build Jerusalem, 
44 in the day when thou camest to thy kingdom, and to send away all the vessels that were taken out 
of Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart, when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and vowed to send them 
45 again thither. Thou didst also vow to build up the temple, which the Edomites burned when Judea 
46 was made desolate by the Chaldeans. And now, O lord the king, this is that which I require, and 
which I desire of thee, and this is the princely liberality that shall proceed from thee: I pray there- 
fore that thou make good the vow, the performance whereof thou hast vowed to the King of heaven 
with thine own mouth. 
47 Then Darius the king stood up, and kissed him, and wrote letters for him unto all the treasurers 
and governors and captains and satraps, that they should safely bring on their way both him, and 
48 all those that should go up with him to build Jerusalem. He wrote letters also unto all the 
governors that were in Ccelesyria and Pheenicia, and unto them in Libanus, that they should bring 
49 cedar wood from Libanus unto Jerusalem, and that they should build the city with him. Moreover 
he wrote for all the Jews that should go out of his realm up into Jewry, concerning their freedom, 
50 that no officer, no governor, no satrap, nor treasurer, should forcibly enter into their doors; and that 
all the country which they occupied should be free to them without tribute; and that the Edomites 
51 should give over the villages of the Jews which then they held: and that there should be yearly 
52 given twenty talents to the building of the temple, until the time that it were built; and other ten 
talents yearly, for burnt offerings to be presented upon the altar every day, as they had a command- 
53 ment to offer seventeen: and that all they that should come from Babylonia to build the city should 
54 have their freedom, as well they as their posterity, and all the priests that came. He wrote also 20 
55 give them their charges, and the priests’ vestments wherein they minister; and for the Levites he 
wrote that their charges should be given them until the day that the house were finished, and 
57 Jerusalem builded up. And he commanded to give to all that kept the city lands and wages. He 
sent away also all the vessels from Babylon, that Cyrus had set apart; and all that Cyrus had given 
in commandment, the same charged he also to be done, and sent unto Jerusalem. 
38 Now when this young man was gone forth, he lifted up his face to heaven toward Jerusalem, and 
59 praised the King of heaven, and said, From thee cometh victory, from thee cometh wisdom, and 
30 thine is the glory, and I am thyservant. Blessed art thou, who hast given me wisdom: and to thee 
11 give thanks, O Lord of our fathers. And so he took the letters, and went out, and came unto 
2 Babylon, and told it all his brethren. And they praised the God of their fathers, because he had 


᾿ 


therefore, that Z iii. 1-v. 6 furnish a distinctive tradition of some return in the reign of Darius in accordance with 
his decree in vv. 48-56. See further on vi. seq. 
On the text of iv. 42 seqq., see especially Torrey, 125 seqq. 
43. Remember, ἀπ΄ + O king. 
44. he vowed . . . Babylon, S$ om.; Gaab (see Fr.) and Torrey conj. ‘when he began’ (ἤρξατο) ; @ cum excideret 
(desolavit) B. Jos. ὃ 58 omits all reference to Cyrus—‘ the vessels which Neb., having pillaged, carried to B.’ 
45. Edomites, cf. viii. 69. (τὴ Ἰουδαῖοι ; 3 Lag. ‘. . Chaldei cum desolata esset Iudea.’ Fr. cites MS. 44: ... 
ἐνεπύρισε NaB. See Jntrod.§ 5 /. 
46. O lord the king, cf. Dan. iv. 24. 
and this is the . . .; ‘and since such munificence is thine’ (Torrey, 29 ἢ. 13). 
the vow ... vowed, lit. ‘the vow which thou didst vow.’ 
47. letters, lit. ‘the letters’, viz. which he desired. The reference is naturally to Darius and Zerubbabel ; but on 
the theory that the story is an interpolation, Cyrus writes for Sheshbazzar (Torrey, Kent). 
48. The grant of wood; see v. 55. 
49. enter ... doors. According to Jos. § 61 the royal taxes are remitted, cf. E vii. 24. 
50. Edomites (τ Chaldeans). Jos. adds the Samaritans and people of Coelesyria. 
51. twenty talents, ὑπ S + ‘of silver’. Jos. reads ‘fifty’, but omits the numbers in v. 52. 


temple, τὸ ἱερόν, probably onbsa n’.; for bon Ε usually has vads. 
52. and other . . . yearly, #5 at end of verse, perhaps rightly. 
seventeen should probably be omitted (Lupton, 69; Torrey, 127). 

53. The reference to freedom seems out of place, see Biichler, 98 seq., who joins the last words (‘and for all the 
Priests .. .’) tov. 54. 

54. to give them, cf. {π΄ δοθῆναι. 

charges, χορηγία. Inv. 55, Jos. ὃ 62 has ‘for the Levites, the musical instruments (τὰ ὄργανα) wherewith they 
praise God’. With the interest in the Levites, cf. E vii. 24, and especially N xi. 23. 

56. kept (φρουροῦσι) the city ; Jos. + ‘and the temple’; on his paraphrase of the verse, see Bichler, 99 n. 3. 

58. toward Jerusalem, cf. Dan. vi. 10, Tob. iii. 11 seq. With the prayer cf. E vii. 27, Dan. il. 19, 20, 23. 

59. Ge" ‘counsel (βουλή) and wisdom and victory, and thine is the glory’; so 3:5. transposing ‘wisdom’ and 
‘victory’. Origen, Hom. ix. in Iosuam, quotes from ‘Esdras’: ‘a te Domine est victoria et ego servus tuus, bene- 
dictus es Deus veritatis’ (cf. v. 40). 

60. give thanks, rather ‘ praise’. 

62. God of their fathers, cf. E vii. 27, viii. 28, x. 11. 


1105 33 18) 


Ἱ 


i 


Espras I ESDRAS 4. 63—5. 7 


63 given them freedom and liberty to go up, and to build Jerusalem, and the temple which is called by | 
his name: and they feasted with instruments of music and gladness seven days. Et ᾿ “5. 
5. After this were the chiefs of fathers’ houses chosen to go up according to their tribes, with their 
2 wives and sons and daughters, with their menservants and maidservants, and their cattle. And ~ 

Darius sent with them a thousand horsemen, till they had brought them back to Jerusalem safely, 
3 and with musical instruments, tabrets and flutes. And all their brethren played, and he made them 


go up together with them. : ; ΗΓ ; 
4 And these are the names of the men which went up, according to their families amongst their 
5 tribes, after their several divisions. The priests, the sons of Phinees, the sons of Aaron: Jesus the 
son of Josedek, the son of Saraias, and Joakim the son of Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, of the 
6 house of David, of the lineage of Phares, of the tribe of Judah ; who spake wise sentences before 
Darius the king of Persia in the second year of his reign, in the month Nisan, which is the first 


month. ‘A 
7 And these are they of Jewry that came up | Now these are the children of the province, 2 


63. which is called... (τ οὗ ὠνομάσθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ em αὐτῷ ; a Hebraism, cf. 2 Chron. vi. 33, vii. 14, Z vi. 33. | : 
feasted, Jos. ὃ 66 τὴν ἀνάκτησιν καὶ παλιγγενεσίαν τῆς πατρίδος ἑορτάζοντες. 


V. 2. brought .. . back, ὅτι ἀποκαταστῆσαι, (π΄ ἀποκατασκηνῶσαι. f: : 
safely, mg. w7th peace, a literal rendering in the Greek of the Hebrew term. For the escort, cf. E viii. 22, © 
N ii. 9. . 
3. Aga all. . ., @ MSS. nos. 55, 58 omit ‘and’; the brethren were naturally the musicians, cf. v. 42 below. nm} 
he made . .., (= ‘they’. Restore perhaps (after Torrey, 130) ‘ played and were sending them (on their way) i 
as they went up’. Cf. Jos., and possibly (so Lupton) Tertullian, De Cor. 2711. ix. ‘facilius cum tympanis et tiblis | 
et psalteriis revertens de captivitate Babyloniae quam cum coronis’, &c. 
4. Cf. viii. 28; the ¢vzéa/ arrangement also recalls E’s twelve lay-families. ; as 
5. Read ‘of the priests’ (Torrey, 131), cf. E viii. 2, where also priests are mentioned first (cf. E iii. 2, but contrast | 
Ina Spies OE : 
ΠΕ (Phinehas), the son (Gx 55) + of Eleazar the son of Aaron (ki). het ; 
and Joakim the son of Z. (k" ὁ καὶ Z., thus identifying, cf. Zer. and Sheshbazzar in vi. 18. This genealogy Ἵ 
conflicts with that of Zerubbabel in 1 Chron. iii. 19 seqq., and Joakim the priest was the son of Jeshua (N xii. 10, 26). | 
Some (e.g. Fr., Reuss) accept Joakim as the original hero of the story in ili. seq. and as the leader of a return in the Ἵ 
reign of Darius. Biichler (56) would read ‘and Zer. the son of Shealtiel the son of Joakim’ (i.e. the king), | 
corresponding to Jeshua the grandson of the priest Seraiah. Similarly Bayer (121 seq.) who also reads ‘ Jeshua the i 
son... of Seraiah, the son of Phinehas, the son of Aaron the priest’. Torrey (131) suggests ‘and there rose up | 
with him Zer.’ (12 DP”, cf. ii. 8). This is attractive but seems rather abrupt. The analogy of E viii. 2 would suggest | 
the presence of priestly and Davidic representatives. Such is the confusion, however, in the history of the return that || 
‘Joakim the son of’ may conceivably be an insertion on the view that Zer. (identified with Sheshbazzar) had already | 
led a return in the time of Cyrus. On the intricacies see /tvod. p. 15 seq. ἢ 
6. which is. . ., rather ‘on the first of the month’ (Fr.; Jahn; Torrey, 27, 61). The date is properly not that 
when Zer. gained the king’s ear (cf. N ii. 1, also the first month), but of the departure (see Z viii. 6), and, although 
it conflicts with v. 57, the mention of the year is presupposed by the reference in v. 47. Note the care to give dates) 
in E vii. 7 seq., viii. 31, &c. 


᾿ 


The Register of the Return. v. 7-46 = E ii, N vii. 6-73; Jos. xi. 3 10 merely gives a brief summary. This list) 
is the foundation-stone of the canonical post-exilic history, its authenticity a matter of keen dispute among those 
who have investigated this period, its essential trustworthiness accepted even by those who reject almost all that) 
remains for the time of Cyrus (£ 1.--ἶν. 5). Its problems involve the entire structure of E-N. It is the list of those’ 
who returned ‘every man to his own city’ (Z v. 8), thus connecting in the most realistic manner the large community, 
(the £aha/) which returned to the land of their ancestors with the pre-exilic population. It is no less closely connected) 
with subsequent events in E—-N; note the families in Ezra’s band several decades later (see on £ viii. 28-40), the] 
enumeration in Z ix. 21 seqq., the signatories of the covenant (N x.), and the various lists in N xii. As a whole the 
list may be likened to the register of the children of Israel before the Exodus (Gen. xlvi. 8-27) and after the settlement 
(Num, xxvi. I-51, 1 Chron. ii,—viii.). ; 

As a Register of the Return it ignores both the many Jews who had never left Palestine or who may have fled) 
(perhaps temporarily) into Egypt, and the South Judaean families who had moved northwards into the neighbourhood, 
of Jerusalem (1 Chron. ii.). Confining itself to the deportation by Nebuchadrezzar it ignores other returns (on the! 
assumption that Zech. vi. 9 seq. do not represent an isolated occurrence). It implies the possibility of a very easy) 
settlement by the exiles among the people of the land (contrast the tradition in Z iv. 50); and the manifest improbabilit 
that the families could return after many years each to its old abode cannot be explained away (with Meyer, 151, and) 
others) in view of the explicit statements in v. 46 seq. Moreover, the list includes the common people (see 2 Kings) 
xxiv. 14-16), numbers Zerubbabel alone among the Davidic descendants, and apparently excludes guilds of artisans 
(2 Kings, /.c.). Although the numbers (v. 41) have been skilfully defended, considerable perplexity is caused by 
the place-names enumerated (see Elhorst, 77. 7. xxix, 97 seq.; Kosters ib. xxx, 499 seq., xxxi, 531; Nikel, 57 seq.) 
W hether the list enumerates families carried off at the exile or applies to the new settlers—and those who accept the 
list are divided on this very important question—it is very difficult to account for the absence of some places (Nikel. 
54 seq.) and the presence of others (Meyer, 105 seqq., 190). Moreover, the list implies a careful retention of the 
various local origins and divisions of the ecclesiastical and lay families during the years of exile, although once ir 
Palestine there are, as is to be expected, continual changes and developments (Kosters, 5 Δ. col. 1483, ὃ 8). Ne 
doubt some of the personal names are old, but it is improbable that such family-names as Jeshua, Pahath-moab, Elam. 
Bigvai (better Bagoi £ v.14), and Aspadath (Z£ Aspharasus v. 8) are of pre-exilic date. It also assumes the existence — 


94 


RAS 


- 9 Reelias, Roimus, avd Baana, their leaders. 


from the captivity, where they dwelt as strangers, 
whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had 
carried away unto Babylon. 


8 And they returned 
unto Jerusalem, and to the other parts of Jewry, 
every man to his own city, who came with Zoro- 
babel, with Jesus, Nehemias, avd Zaraias, Resaias, 
Eneneus, Mardocheus, Beelsarus, Aspharasus, 

The 

number of them of the nation, and their leaders : 
the sons of Phoros, two thousand a hundred 
seventy and two: the sons of Saphat, four 
το hundred seventy and two: the sons of Ares, 

11 seven hundred fifty and six: the sons of Phaath 

Moab, of the sons of Jesus and Joab, two thou- 
sand eight hundred and twelve: 

12 the sons of 

Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four: 

the sons of Zathui, nine hundred forty and five: 

13 the sons of Chorbe, seven hundred and five: the 

sons of Bani, six hundred forty and eight: the 
sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three: 


I ESDRAS δ. 7-13 


that went up out of the captivity of those which 
had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar 
the king of Babylon had carried away unto 
Babylon, and that returned unto Jerusalem and 
Judah, every one unto his city; which came with 2 
Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, 
Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Ba- 
anah. The number of the men of the people of 
Israel; 

the children of Parosh, two thousand 3 
an hundred seventy and two. 


The children of 4 
Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two. 
The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy 5 
and five. The children of Pahath-moab, of the 6 
children of Jeshua axzd Joab, two thousand eight 
hundred and twelve. The children of Elam, a 7 
thousand two hundred fifty and four. The chil- 
dren of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five. The 
children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore. 
The children of Bani, six hundred forty and two. 
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and 


Φ οὐ 


Io 
Il 


Ezra 2 


of trustworthy genealogies (v. 37 seqq.) which apparently were not preserved at Babylon, but were cherished by the 
natives of Judah. Such lists as are incorporated in Chron. (especially 1 Chron. xxiv., which has several points of 
resemblance with the E-N lists) are on critical grounds practically valueless for the pre-exilic age, and it is necessary, 
therefore, to suppose that—if the great list is genuine—the older genealogical records have disappeared (see Meyer, 
140, 160 seqq.). On the other hand, one important list which vitally conflicts with this is preserved in Neh. iil, and, 
as Ed. Meyer was the first to observe, testifies to the prominence of an indigenous population, secular and ecclesiastical, 
wherein the presence of the South Judaean groups may be recognized. But that list testifies also to the weakness of any 
body of Babylonian exiles; see Zztrod. § 5 (c). 

While this list forms the backbone of the biblical post-exilic history and is in a context where the events are 
closely interconnected (viz. the generous decree, the great return, the steps to reorganize religious conditions), the 
evidence of Haggai and Zechariah (520 B.C.) renders the whole context untrustworthy (so even Meyer, pp. 49, 73; 
98 seq., 191). These prophets ignore the presence of this great community (see /v¢rod. § 4. [1.}, and the successful 
Opposition as described in Z v. 66 seqq. ‘shows how small a number had really returned’ (G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, 
ii, 298 seq.). Certain considerations might support the genuineness of the list and its context (see Davies, 14, 80 ; 
Torrey, 144), but the weight of evidence, and the recognition that the list has been subsequently ‘edited’ (Holzhey, 15 ; 
Davies, 51), or may comprise the result of several returns between 538 and 520 or 516 (Sellin, Sev. 7, Stud. 42, 108 564.» 
115, 158), indicate that whatever return or returns took place the list and the context describe events in such a way 
that the historical facts cannot be recovered by any internal criticism of the narratives. 

The list appears in the account of Nehemiah (c. 444) where it is treated as that of ‘the children of the province’, 
and should incorporate those native families who had separated from the heathen (£ vii. 6. 13); see /ntrod. p. 9. 
On internal grounds N vii. (not necessarily in its present form) appears to be its earlier form, and it is noteworthy 
that Z and to a greater extent E show traces of some adjustment of the list to the history before the building of the 
Temple (see below). On the minutiae of the list, see Smend (who notes frequent agreement with N, so also Bayer, 38) ; 
-} Moulton, ZA TVW, xix, 246 seq.; Meyer, 141 seqq., and Bayer, 42 seqq., and, besides the comm., the several articles in 
_| £ Bi, The readings in the R.V. mg., with the identifications of the more difficult names, have been omitted in the 

notes here and in the other lists, viii. 29 seqq., ix. 19 seqq., &c. 

7. captivity .. ., ( τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τῆς παροικίας (π΄ ἀποικεσίας). 
8. The leaders are twelve in number (cf. the tribes, and see on v. 4) through the insertion of Eneneus (= Nahamani 

N vii. 7). N@ reads ‘who came with Zer. and Jeshua and Neh.: Azariah . . . Mispereth, Ezra, Bigvai . . . Baanah, 

Masphar’; cf. the old view that the return of Zer. was contemporary with that of N or E (see /ztrod. p. 10 a). 

Among the important variants are E Zaraias (E Seraiah, N Azariah); Resaias (E Reelaiah, N Raamiah, see 

| £ Bi., 3997); Beelsarus (EN Bilshan, see E Bi., 574); Aspharasus (? Pers. Aspadata; Marq. 35); Meedias (i.e. 
| Reelaiah, EN Bigvaz); Roimus (E Rehum, N Nehum =" in E). Jos. xi. 3 § 73 seq. mentions besides Zer. and 

Jeshua two names of prominent donors (see v. 44 seq.), Mordecai (see on vii. 15) and Sherebiah. 

9-23. The lay-families. £15 seq. add Klan (? Keilah), Azetas (? Azekah), Azarw or Azuru (cf. Asara v. 31, or 

Azur N x. 17), Annis or Annias (cf. Hananiah, or Hodiah N x. 18). For Avom cf. Harim, E 32 (wanting in £, 
ἢ unless Chorbe v. 12 represents it and not Zaccaz; see N x. 14) or Hashum (E 19 before Gibdar [see below]; N x. 18 
| before Bezaz [E Bassai]). On these additions see also Bayer, 43 seqq.. 75. For the compound Arszphurith, cf. Jorah 
s E 18 = Hariph N vii. 24 (Gr8+‘the children of Asen’), x. 19. Baztferus (note the number) takes the place of 

Gibbar (E) or Gzbeon (N); cf. perhaps Bether, Josh. xv. 19 € and see Guthe, SSO7. With the Chadiasat, cf. perhaps 

Hadashah, Josh. xv. 37, or Adasa, 1 Macc. vii. 40; and with the Aidéoi, perhaps Modin, 1 Macc. ii. 1, or Migdal- 
) Gad, or Middin (Ball); Bayer (45 seq.) discovers the names Hashum and Hodijah. In v. 21 Ai is wanting, and if 
| Niphish represents Magbish (E only, cf. Magpiash N x. 20), the men of Nebo, the other Elam (cf. E 31) and Harim 

(see E 39, £ 25) are absent. Calantolalus (Gx* -calus) and Onus represent Lod, Hadid and Ano. 


35 


D2 


Espras 


the sons of Astad, a thousand three hundred 
14 twenty and two: the sons of Adonikam, six 
hundred sixty and seven: the sons of Bagoi, two 
thousand sixty and six: 
the sons of Adinu, four 
15 hundred fifty and four: the sons of Ater, of 
Ezekias, ninety and two: the sons of Kilan and 
Azetas, threescore and seven: the sons of Azaru, 
16 four hundred thirty and two: the sons of Annis, 
a hundred and one: the sons of Arom: the sons 
of Bassai, three hundred twenty and three: the 
17 sons of Arsiphurith, a hundred and twelve: the 
sons of Baiterus, three thousand and five: the 
sons of Bethlomon, a hundred twenty and three: 
18 they of Netophas, fifty and five: they of Ana- 
thoth, a hundred fifty and eight: they of Bethas- 
19 moth, forty and two: they of Kariathiarius, 
twenty and five: they of Caphira and Beroth, 
20 seven hundred forty and three: the Chadiasiai 
and Ammidioi, four hundred twenty and two: 
they of Kirama and Gabbe, six hundred twenty 
21 and one: they of Macalon, a hundred twenty 
and two: they of Betolion, fifty and two: the 
sons of Niphis, a hundred fifty and six: 


22 the sons 
of Calamolalus and Onus, seven hundred twenty 
23 and five: the sons of Jerechu, three hundred 
24 forty and five: the sons of Sanaas, three thou- 
sand three hundred and thirty. The priests: 
the sons of Jeddu, the son of Jesus, among the 
sons of Sanasib, nine hundred seventy and two: 
the sons of Emmeruth,a thousand fifty and two: 
25 the sons of Phassurus, a thousand two hundred 
forty and seven: the sons of Charme, a thousand 
and seventeen. 
26 The Levites: the sons of Jesus, 
and Kadmiel, and Bannas, and Sudias, seventy 
27 and four. The holy singers: the sons of Asaph, 
28 a hundred twenty and eight. The porters: the 
sons of Salum, the sons of Atar, the sons of 
Tolman, the sons of Dacubi, the sons of Ateta, 
the sons of Sabi, in all a hundred thirty and nine. 


29 The temple-servants: the sons of Esau, the sons 
of Asipha, the sons of Tabaoth, the sons of 
Keras, the sons of Sua, the sons of Phaleas, the 


I ESDRAS 5. 13-29 £ 


three. The children of Azgad, a thousand two 1: 
hundred twenty and two. The children of 1: 
Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six. The! 
children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty and six, | 
The children of Adin, four hundred fifty and τῇ 
four. The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety I) 
and eight. | 


The children of Bezai, three hundred 1 
twenty and three. The children of Jorah, ant 
hundred and twelve. The children of Hashum, 1 
two hundred twenty and three. The children of 2) 
Gibbar, ninety and five. The children of Beth- 2) 
lehem, an hundred twenty and three. The men 2_ 
of Netophah, fifty and six. The men of Ana- 2) 
thoth, an hundred twenty and eight. The chil- 2. 
dren of Azmaveth, forty and two. The children 2) 
of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven | 
hundred and forty and three. The children of 2 
Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty and one. — 
The men of Michmas, an hundred twenty and τὸ 
two. The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred < 
twenty and three. The children of Nebo, fifty + 
and two. The children of Magbish, an hundred ¢ 
fifty and six. The children of the other Elam, τ 
a thousand two hundred fifty and four. The 
children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. 
The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven ; 
hundred twenty and five. The children of: 
Jericho, three hundred forty and five. The | 
children of Senaah, three thousand and six | 
hundred and thirty. The priests: the children | 
of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred 
seventy and three. d 

The children of Immer, a 
thousand fifty and two, The children of Pashhur, | 
a thousand two hundred forty and seven. The. 
children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. | 
The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kad- 
miel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and’ 
four. The singers: the children of Asaph, an) 
hundred twenty and eight. The children of the 
porters: the children of Shallum, the children of 
Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of 
Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children 
of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.’ 
The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children 
of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth ; the chil-/ 
dren of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children, 


24 seq. The priests. The family of Jedaiah is ascribed to Sanasib (1° Enassibe) i.e. Eliashib, grandson of Jeshua 
and grandfather of Jaddua (N xii. 10-12); Meyer, 169; Batten, SBOZ,59. The omission of Eliashib in EN is more] 
explicable (in view of the foreign alliance in N xiii. 4, 28) than its presence in Z. The reference to Jeshua may be due 
to insertion. Apart from this, it is noteworthy that there is little variation in the versions, perhaps an indication of the 
lateness of the list of the priests (SBOT Joc. cit.). 

26. The Levites. As regards the small number, it may be noticed that certain Levitical families, at all events) 
appear not to have been deported, so Henadad (see v. 58), and also the Korahites (Meyer, Jsvae/., 352 ἢ. 5), see Meyer, 
Ent. 167, 177, Nikel, 86 (from another standpoint), and /wtrod. § 5 (c). 

29 seqq. The Nethinim. £ (but not Gk‘, which is as usual corrected after the MT) adds U¢a (? cf. Uthai, E viii. 14}} 
Ketab (or Ketam, cf. N vii. 48 Ui, and see Torrey, 89 seq., Bayer, 52), Chaseba (Ὁ cf. Chezib, Cozbi), Asara (see Azar, — 
τ. 15, and cf. Hasrah, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 22), Pharakim (see E Bi., 3686) and (μέλα (? cf. the Cuthaeans, or, with Bayer 
Sotai, E 55). 

36 


| 35 the sons of Allon. 


a a SP 


ἷς 


31 


1)0 Zorzelleus, and was called after his name. 


i ee ee ee a να 


30 sons of Labana, the sons of Aggaba, the sons of 
Acud, the sons of Uta, the sons of Ketab, the 
sons of Accaba, the sons of Subai, the:sons of 
Anan, the sons of Cathua, the sons of Geddur, 
the sons of Jairus, the sons of Daisan, the sons of 
Noeba, the sons of Chaseba, the sons of Gazera, 
the sons of Ozias, the sons of Phinoe, the sons of 
Asara, the sons of Basthai, the sons of Asana, 
the sons of Maani, the sons of Naphisi, 

the sons 
of Acub, the sons of Achipha, the sons of Asur, 


32 the sons of Pharakim, the sons of Basaloth, the 


sons of Meedda, the sons of Cutha, the sons of 
Charea, the sons of Barchus, the sons of Serar, 
the sons of Thomei, the sons of Nasi, the sons of 
Atipha. 
3 The sons of the servants of Solomon: 
the sons of Assaphioth, the sons of Pharida, 
the 
sons of Jeeli, the sons of Lozon, the sons of 
34 Isdael, the sons of Saphuthi, the sons of Agia, 
- the sons of Phacareth, the sons of Sabie, the sons 
of Sarothie, the sons of Masias, the sons of Gas, 
the sons of Addus, the-sons of Subas, the sons of 
Apherra, the sons of Barodis, the sons of Saphat, 
All the temple-servants, and 
the sons of the servants of Solomon, were three 
36 hundred seventy and two. These came up from 
Thermeleth, and Thelersas, Charaathalan lead- 
37 ing them, and Allar; and they could not shew 
their families, nor their stock, how they were of 
Israel: the sons of Dalan the son of Ban, the 
sons of Nekodan, six hundred fifty and two. 
38 And of the priests, they that usurped the office 
of the priesthood and were not found: the sons 
of Obdia, the sons of Akkos, the sons of Jaddus, 
who married Augia one of the daughters of 
And 
when the description of the kindred of these men 
was sought in the register, and was not found, 
they were removed from executing the office of 
othe priesthood: for unto them said Nehemias 
and Attharias, that they should not be partakers 


33 seq. Servants of Solomon. 


I ESDRAS 5. 30-40 


of Padon ; the children of Lebanah, the children 45 
of Hagabah, the children of Akkub; the children 46 
of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the children 
of Hanan; the children of Giddel, the children of 47 
Gahar, the children’ of Reaiah; the children of 48 
Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of 
Gazzam ; the children of Uzza, the children of 49 
Paseah, the children of Besai; the children of 50 
Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children of 
Nephisim; the children of Bakbuk, the children 51 
of Hakupha, the children of Harhur; the chil- 
dren of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the 
children of Harsha; 

the children of Barkos, the 
children of Sisera, the children of Temah; the 54 
children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. 
The children of Solomon’s servants: the children 55 
of Sotai, the children of Hassophereth, the chil- 
dren of Peruda; the children of Jaalah, the 
children of Darkon, the children of Giddel ; the 
children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, 
the children of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the chil- 
dren of Ami. 


52 


o1od1r 
-- 


All the Nethinim, and the chil- 58 
dren of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred 
ninety and two. And these were they which 5 
went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, 
Addan, axd Immer: but they could not shew 
their fathers’ houses, and their seed, whether 
they were of Israel: the children of Delaiah, the 60 
children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six 
hundred fifty and two. And of the children of 61 
the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children 
of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, which took 
a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, 
and was called after their name. These sought 62 
their register among those that were reckoned 
by genealogy, but they were not found: there- 
fore were they deemed polluted and put from 
the priesthood. And the Tirshatha said unto 63 
them, that they should not eat of the most holy 


E (but not G) omits Sofaz, severs (with (ἃ of E-N) Pochereth-hazzebaim, and 


between the latter and Amz (E; N Avion, E Allon) inserts eight names, on which see & δ. 


WNT (NW) “head, leader’; but see v. 8 end. 
the addition of Bova, EGx®, NG. 


was evidently doubtful. 


36. See the comm. Leading is apparently based upon a doublet of Ze/-harsha (NWN), as though connected with 


37. Dalan, (5 acuvy, MT Delaiah. Bax, marg. Baenan (&*), but MT Tobiah (? cf. N vi. 17 seq., xiil. 4), though with 
Nekoda(n), cf. v. 31.(E Noeba). 

_ 38. And of the priests (similarly N 63), they that claimed .. . 
G® Obbeia, N Hobaiah. The family of Hakkoz, according to the traditional view, had been legitimate (1 Chron. 
xxiv. 10), was now deposed, but was subsequently reinstated and held a prominent place (N 11]. 4, 21, E viil. 33). 
this list is of the time of Zerubbabel we must explain the retention of the name in N vii. 63 and its omission in N x., xi. 
(cf. Kosters, 7%. 7., xxxi, 539). The passage has not the value set upon it (notably by Meyer, 170, who compares the 
Calebite Kos, 1 Chron. iv. 8; see also Jampel i, 313), but only shows that at some period the legitimacy of the family 


Obdia, 


(οἱ ἐμποιούμενοι [Ck" μεταποι.} ἱερωσύνης). 


If 


_ the sons of Jaddus, apparently Jaddua; note the variant text in E. 
40. Attharias, i.e. the Tirshatha (cf. ix. 49). The verb (εἶπεν) is in the singular and ὑπ" (see A.V. mg.) identifies the 
two. (ὁ reads only Nehemiah, and MT only the Zirshatha (cf. the variants in £ ix. 49). 


Even if the identification 


| be due to a gloss (Fr., cf. Bayer, 53) it must serve a purpose (as in iv. 13, vi. 18), and it is only intelligible if the list 
| belonged originally to the history of N’s age (see W. R. Smith, Excy. 4rit., oth ed., art. ‘ Haggai’, xi, 370; Harvey, 
_ Expos., 1893, vii. p. 440; Howorth, PS BA, xxiii, 309 seq.). The mitigated form of the decision in the MT is probably 


37 


Ezra 2 


Espras 


of the holy things, till there arose up a_ high | 
41 priest wearing Urim and Thummim. So all | 

they of Israel, from twelve years old and up-— 

ward, beside menservants and womenservants, | 
were in number forty and two thousand three | 

42 hundred and sixty. Their menservants and | 

handmaids were seven thousand three hundred | 

thirty and seven: the minstrels and singers, two | 
hundred forty and five: 

43 four hundred thirty and 
five camels, seven thousand thirty and six horses, | 
two hundred forty and five mules, five thousand | 
five hundred twenty and five beasts of burden. 

44 And certain of the chief men of their families, | 

when they came to the temple of God that is in 

Jerusalem, vowed to set up the house again in 
45 its own place according to their ability, and to 

give into the holy treasury of the works a thou- 

sand pounds of gold, five thousand of silver, and 

a hundred priestly vestments. 

46 And the priests 

and the Levites and they that were of the people | 

dwelt in Jerusalem and the country; the holy 
singers also and the porters and all Israel in their 
villages. 

But when the seventh month was at hand, 
and when the children of Israel were every man | 
in his own place, they came all together with 
one consent into the broad place before the first 
48 porch which is toward the east. Then stood up | 

Jesus the son of Josedek, and his brethren the 

priests, and Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and 

his brethren, and made ready the altar of the 

49 God of Israel, to offer burnt sacrifices upon it, 

according as it is expressly commanded in the | 


47 


less original (Guthe, Bertholet, Jahn); instead of being removed, the priests are forbidden to share in the most holy 


things, which were restricted to the Aaronites. 
41. For the age-limit (also in Jos.) cf. Luke ii. 42. 
42. For the minstrels cf. v. 2 seq., and see Meyer, 192. 


43. The horses and mules are wanting in good MSS. of N. 

44 seq. £ and E omit N vii. 70, which reters vaguely to the donations of the heads ‘to the work’ and mentions the 
gifts of the Tirshatha (i.e. Nehemiah, so G*), and also ib. 72, the gifts of the rest of the people, although the priestly 
garments are recorded. The emphasis upon the proposed building of the temple, natural in EE, is wanting in N, 
although the record there professes to be taken from the history of the time of Zerubbabel (N vii. 5). 
that ZE represent a less original form of the passage, see Meyer, 195; Wellh., GGA, 1895, p. 176; Nikel, 75 n. 1; 
Sellin, Stud., 110; Guthe, SGO7. For the general situation, cf. 1 Chron. xxix. 6 seqq. 

46. On the data of MT and the versions, see the comm. 
the completion of the rebuilding of the city; the omission in MT may be due to the context: in E, the city has not yet 
been restored, in N it is still poorly inhabited and barely ready. 
a distinction between Jerusalem and the outside villages. In N xi. some of the ecclesiastical body dwell in the city (Ὁ. 21), 
but others live in the villages (N xii. 28 seq., cf. 1 Chron. ix. 16), and in N xiii. ro Levites and singers have deserted 
and returned to their abodes. In 1 Chron. xiii. 2, 2 Chron. xxiii. 2, they are summoned, especially when new conditions 
are inaugurated, or when (xxix. 4) the temple-service is resumed (cf. the dedication of the walls, N xii. 27 seq.), or when 


fresh arrangements are made for them (2 Chron. xxxi. 19). 
The Rebuilding of the Altar and the Foundation of 


description of the resumption of the Levitical service (cf. 1 Chron. xxiii. 31, 2 Chron. ii. 4, viii. 12 seq.) begins with 


the congregating of the exiles (now ‘the children of Israel 


? 
5 ) 
(cf. v. 56 [Cyrus] and the preliminary date v. 6 [Darius)]). 


(after the completion of the walls, vi. 15), and it introduces the Reading 
is the sequel to the purging of the community (cf. probably Z v. 36-40 and the allusions in vii. 6, 13). 
of the restoration of the Temple after some disaster, v. 9) presupposes 
E x. 9), 38 (N viii. 1), and, therefore, a later context in the history (cf. the later 
The MT has consequently altered the wording (see Bertholet, Guthe). 


38 


the assembly in v. 47 (cf. 2 Chron. xxix. 4, a story 
the existence of the Temple, as in ix. 6 ( 
background of the preceding list). 


I ESDRAS 5. 40-49 


| hundred and threescore, 


| they had two hundred singing men and singing 
| women. Their horses were seven hundred thirty 66 ] 


| son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, 


things, till there stood up a priest with Uri . 
and with Thummim. The whole congregation 
together was forty and two thousand three 


beside their menservants 65 
and their maidservants, of whom there wereseven __ 
thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and 


and six; their mules, two hundred forty and — 
five; their camels, four hundred thirty and five; 6, 
theiy asses, six thousand seven hundred and | 
twenty. And some of the heads of fathers’ 6g ; 
houses, when they came to the house of the | 
Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for 
the house of God to set it up in its place: they 69 | 
gave after their ability into the treasury of the 
work threescore and one thousand darics of gold, - 
and five thousand pound of silver, and one hun- 
dred priests’ garments. So the priests, and the jo 
Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, _ 
and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their — 
cities, and all Israel in their cities. 

And when the seventh month was come, and 81) 
the children of Israel were in the cities, the 
people gathered themselves together as one 
man to Jerusalem. . 
Then stood up Jeshua the2 | 


and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his 
brethren, and builded the altar of the God of 
Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is 
written in the law of Moses the man of God. 


For the view 


The mention of Jerusalem here and ix. 37 presupposes 


Elsewhere, in 1 Chron. ix. 2, N xi, 3. 20 there 15 


the Temple. v. 47-65 =E iii, ef. Jos. xi. 4 1-2. The 


in the seventh month. This is the first year of the return 
In || N vii. 73 ὁ, viii. 1, it is the first year of N’s return 
ot the Law, which in || £ ix. 37 ὁ, 38 5664. 
The scene of 


AS 


o book of Moses the man of God. And certain 
were gathered unto them out of the other nations 
of the land, and they erected the altar upon its 
own place, because all the nations of the land 
were at enmity with them, and oppressed them ; 
and they offered sacrifices according to the time, 
and burnt offerings to the Lord both morning 
and evening. Also they held the feast of taber- 
nacles, as it is commanded in the law, and offered 
sacrifices daily, as was meet : 


and after that, the 
continual oblations, and the sacrifices of the 
sabbaths, and of the new moons, and of all the 
consecrated feasts. 

And all they that had made 
any vow to God began to offer sacrifices to God 
from the new moon of the seventh month, 
although the temple of God was not yet built. 
4And they gave money unto the masons and 
5 carpenters ; and meat and drink, and cars unto | 
them of Sidon and Tyre, that they should bring | 
cedar trees from Libanus, avd convey them in 
floats to the haven of Joppa, according to the 
commandment which was written for them by 
6 Cyrus king of the Persians. And in the second 
year after his coming to the temple of God at 
Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zorobabel 

the son of Salathiel, and Jesus the son of Josedek, 
- and their brethren, and the priests the Levites, 
_ and all they that were come unto Jerusalem out 
7 of the captivity: and they laid the foundation of 
the temple of God on the new moon of the second 
month, in the second year after they were come 


I ESDRAS 5. 50-58 


8to Jewry and Jerusalem. And they appointed | 
the Levites from twenty years old over the works | 


50. upon its own place; cf. E R.V. mg. 77 z¢s place. 
And certain ... and because all... 


cf. 1 Chron. xvi. 4o. 
αὐτοῖς ἀπεχθανομένων. 


53. seventh month, mg. jsf (&*). 


2 Chron. iii. 3, xxiv. 27 (R.V. mg.). 
55. Cf. 2 Chron. ii. 8-1o, 15 seq. 


are doublets (# om. the latter), MT has only for fear. . 
(7282 represented in £ by ΝΞ ; EGk® om. the clause). £’s reading finds parallels in 1 Macc. v. 1-2, and possibly 
N iy. 12 (MT v. 6), where the enemy come up against the builders (see comm.). 

oppressed (κατίσχυσαν), may point to 3P30N") ‘and they strengthened themselves’ (see Berth.), or P70") ‘and they 
[the foreigners] strengthened them’ (Ewald, ΤΟΙ n. 4; Bayer 25 compares v. 66). 

to the Lord and according to the time (# om.) are based on doublets in & (κύριος, καιρός); for the sacrifices, 
Jos. ὃ 76 reads simply ταῦτα δὲ ποιοῦντες οὐκ ἦσαν ἐν ἡδονῃ τοῖς προσχωρίοις ἔθνεσιν πάντων 


cars (MT and (ἃ o//), χάρα (("5 ἢ ΠΩ for OW’), kappa (A) καρυα (1.), καρπούς (58), καρδα, &c., Kc. 


And they set the altar upon its base; for fear 3 
was upon them because of the people of the 
countries: and they offered burnt offerings 
thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings 
morning and evening. 

And they kept the feast 4 
of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the 
daily burnt offerings by number, according to 
the ordinance, as the duty of every day required ; 
and afterward the continual burnt offering, and 5 
the offerings of the new moons, and of all the set 
feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of 
every one that willingly offered a freewill offering 
unto the Lord. From the first day of the seventh 6 
month began they to offer burnt offerings unto 
the Lord: but the foundation of the temple of 
the Lord was not yet laid. 

They gave money 7 
also unto the masons, and to the carpenters ; and 
meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, 
and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from 
Lebanon to the sea, unto Joppa, according to 
the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia. 

Now in the second year of their coming unto g 
the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second 
month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, 
and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of 
their brethren the priests and the Levites, and 
all they that were come out of the captivity unto 
Jerusalem ; 


and appointed the Levites, from 
twenty years old and upward, to have the over- 


. countries 


52. Sabbaths ; appropriate, see Num. xxvill. 9 seq.; 2 Chron. il. 4, vill. 13. 


although ..., Jos. ὃ 78: ‘they also began the building of the temple.’ MT Zaid; for the use of 10", see E iil, 10, 


G® explains 


Ezra 8 


Jos. § 78 τοῖς re Σιδωνίοις ἡδὺ Kai κοῦφον ἦν, &c., and 3} cum gaudio et dederunt carra(ct. A.V.). The grant in question is 
referred to only in the decree of Darius (iv. 48, cf. N ii. 8, Artaxerxes). Jos. here and in v. 71 characteristically com- 
bines Cyrus and Darius on the lines of iv. 57 (D. commands what had been commanded by C.). But, apart from other 
questions, was Cyrus in a position to make this grant (Ryle, 43) ? 

56. A new paragraph, note the order Zer. and Jeshua (contrast v. 48), and the parentage (see v. 68 and vi. 2). 
second year, (τὸ (which is often corrected after MT) and 3.“ add ‘of Darius’ (but Ek" τῆς ἐλεύσεως αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν 

. . .) in agreement with Haggai and Zechariah ; see /z/vod. p. 16 (foot). For the second month cf. τ Kings vi. 1. 
the priests the Levites, (&" inserts azd with MT, cf. v. 63. 

58. For the age-limit of the Levites, cf. the secondary passages I Chron. xxiii. 24, 27; 2 Chron. xxxi. 17-19. The 
reference to the oversight of the works presupposes the statement in v. 57 which is wanting in MT. E v. 9 is very 
confused and the names of the Levites are severed; Z has doublets, and Jos. ὃ 79 points to the reading ‘ Kadmiel the 
brother of Judah (= Hodaviah, E ii. 40) the son of Amminadab’; see Bayer, 64 seq. Meyer observes that the Levites 
of Henadad (wanting in the preceding register) apparently were not of exilic origin ; see on v. 26. 


39 


OLKOV 


EspRAs 


of the Lord. Then stood up Jesus, and his sons 
and brethren, and Kadmiel his brother, and the 
sons of Jesus, Emadabun, and the sons of Joda 
the son of Iliadun, and their sons and brethren, 
all the Levites, with one accord setters forward 
of the business, labouring to advance the works 
in the house of God. So the builders builded 
59 the temple of the Lord. And the priests stood 
arrayed in their vestments with musical instru- 
ments and trumpets, and the Levites the sons 
60 of Asaph with their cymbals, singing songs of 
thanksgiving, and praising the Lord, after the 
61 order of David king of Israel. And they sang 
aloud, praising the Lord in songs of thanks- 
giving, because his goodness and his glory are 
62 for ever in all Israel. And all the people 
sounded trumpets, and shouted with a loud 
voice, singing songs of thanksgiving unto the 
Lord for the rearing up of the house of the 
63 Lord. Also of the priests the Levites, and of 
the heads of their families, the ancients who 
had seen the former house came to the building 
of this with lamentation and great weeping. 
64 But many with trumpets and joy shouted with 
65 loud voice, insomuch that the people heard not 
the trumpets for the weeping of the people: for 
the multitude sounded marvellously, so that it 
was heard afar off. 


66 Wherefore when the enemies of the tribe of 
Judah and Benjamin heard it, they came to 
know what that noise of trumpets should mean. 

67 And they perceived that they that were of the 
captivity did build the temple unto the Lord, 

68 the God of Israel. So they went to Zorobabel 
and Jesus, and to the chief men of the families, 
and said unto them, We will build together 

69 with you. For we likewise, as ye, do obey 
your Lord, and do sacrifice unto him from the 


59. stood, so (τ and some MSS. of the MT. 


61. For the refrain see 2 Chron. v. 13, and especially Jer. xxxiii. 10 seq.,a prophecy of the repopulating of the desert ͵ 
land (cf. v. 7 seq.), which is followed by the promise of the ideal king (vz. 14-1 8) j 
62. sounded, shouted, apparently doublets of IY ; cf. τ. 64 seq. 


63. came (i.e. DN), but MT mazy (D2) is wanting. 


the former house .. ., E R.V. mg. the first house standing on its foundation, when this house was before their 
For the mingling of joy and sorrow cf. Z ix. 50-4, and for the last words of v. 65, | 


eyes; cf. Hagg. ii. 3 (Darius). 
cf. Neh. xii. 43. 


_ ., The Samaritan opposition. v. 66-73 = E iv. 1-5, 24; cf. Jos. xi. 4 3-4, δὲ 84-8. The result of the opposition | 
indicates that there could have been no large return of exiles fortified with the decree of a generous king. Jos. (xi. 2 1), 
and many modern scholars attempt to explain the success of the opponents, but the Sachau-papyri from Elephantine | 

; 6 : Cambyses was ready to assist the Jews. i 
and Zechariah do not refer to any persisting opposition of the kind here implied, and, according to the former, when | 
the Temple was ultimately taken in hand in the reign of Darius, not external history but the desire to remove the | 
distress caused by the failure of the rains was the main factor. [ 


(Reuss), and, as Ewald (103 n. 4) remarks, ‘this severe desi 


prove that, whatever may have been the case with Cyrus, 


hostility of the neighbours on either side had quite brok 


difficulties. 


being especially interesting. See Juzrod.§ 5 a, be (end). 


40 


I ESDRAS 5. 58-69 


gnation only belongs to the later period in which the mutual | 
en out. 
worthy features (so even Meyer, 11g seqq-, 124 seqq. ; Cornill, Zz¢vod. 252), and the proposal of Rothstein (15, 20) to 
ascribe 47-55 and 56-73 a to the reigns of Cyrus and Darius respectively, though insufficient in itself, illustrates the | 
_Indeed, all the indications point to an initial absence of Samaritan hostility (see Davies, 81), and there 
are some striking resemblances between the details here and in N ii., iV., Vi., seq. a 


sight of the work of the house of the Lord. Th 
stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren 
Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, to- 
gether, to have the oversight of the workmen in | 
the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with 
their sons and their brethren the Levites. 
And 10; 
when the builders laid the foundation of the — 
temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their 
apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons 
of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after 
the order of David king of Israel. 1 
And {πεν 11) 
sang one to another in praising and giving thanks 
unto the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his | 
mercy exdureth for ever toward Israel. And all 
the people shouted with a great shout, when they 
praised the Lord, because the foundation of the 
house of the Lord was laid. Ἢ 
But many of the 12 
priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ ouses, | 
the old men that had seen the first house, when _ 
the foundation of this house was laid before their 
eyes, wept with a loud voice ; and many shouted 
aloud for joy: so that the people could not dis- 12) 
cern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise 
of the weeping of the people: for the people | 
shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was” 
heard afar off. Ἕ 
Now when the adversaries of Judah and 4) 
Benjamin heard that the children of the cap- | 
tivity builded a temple unto the Lord, the God | 
of Israel ; ce 


then they drew near to Zerubbabel, 2 
and to the heads of fathers’ /owses, and said | 
unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek | 
your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto | 
him since the days of Esar-haddon king of it 


Pee ee 


Moreover, Haggai . 


The term ‘ enemies’ (v. 66) is applied prospectively | 


In fact the situation in 66 seqq. has many untrust- | 


the relation between v. 68 seq. and N ii. 20 | 


I ESDRAS 5. 69—6. 1 


days of Asbasareth the king of the Assyrians, | Assyria, which brought us up hither. 

70 who brought us hither. Then Zorobabel and But Zerub- 
Jesus and the chief men of the families of Israel | babel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of 
said unto them, It is not for you to build the | fathers’ owses of Israel, said unto them, Ye have 
-|zxhouse unto the Lord our God. We ourselves | nothing to do with us to build an house unto our 
| alone will build unto the Lord of Israel, accord- | God; but we ourselves together will build unto 
ing as Cyrus the king of the Persians hath | the Lord, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the 
-}72commanded us. But the heathen of the land | king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the 
lying heavy upon the inhabitants of Judea, and | people of the land weakened the hands of 
holding them strait, hindered their building; | the people of Judah, and troubled them in 


and commotions, they hindered the finishing of | to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus 
the building all the time that king Cyrus lived: | king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius 
king of Persia. 

so they were hindered from building for the Then ceased the work of the 
space of two years, until the reign of Darius. house of God which is at Jerusalem; and it 
ceased unto the second year of the reign of 
Darius king of Persia. 

Now in the second year of the reign of Darius, Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and 
Aggeus and Zacharias the son of Addo, the | Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the 


69. Asbasareth (&*), mg. Asbacaphath (B and partly S), but L axopdav; see Torrey, 169 n. Jos. has Shal- 
maneser (cf. E iv. 10 (ἀ΄ and Tobit i.); he ascribes the origin of the Samaritans to Cutha and Media (ἢ 85, cf. § 19), 
and, in his version of v. 71 (where Cyrus and Darius are associated), allows them and other peoples to come to Jerusalem 
for worship (similarly xviii. 2 2). 

7o. for you, mg. for ws and you (G*, 45). τ 

71. alone; E ¢ogether, which would be more appropriate in E iv. 2. For the spirit of the reply, cf. Neh. il. 20 and 
see 2 Chron. xiii. 5-12, xxv. 7, and 2 Kings xvii. 7—41, xviii. 12. 

72 seq. lying heavy, ἐπικοιμώμενα (BA), ἐπικοινωνοῦντα (L), gentes autem terrae guae commixtae erant (i), ‘that 
were set over them’ (S). Fr. conj. ἐπικείμενα. 

holding them strait (πολιορκοῦντες), mg. desieging them. 

by their secret plots, &c., mg. leading the people astray in counsel and raising commotions: καὶ βουλὰς (ἐπι- 
βουλάς, A) καὶ δημαγωγοῦντες (-as, B®; δημαγωγίας, AL) καὶ συστάσεις (ἐπιστάσεις, L) ποιούμενοι. See further, Moulton, 
ZATW, xx. 1 seq. The language (E v. 4 seq.) implies that the Jews were slandered at the Persian court (Ryle, 
Bertholet) ; the whole situation is illustrated by Neh. ii. 19 seq., ἵν.» vi. 

73. for the space of two years; the MT is correctly reproduced in £ ii. 30; see Zutrod. p. 17 ¢. Jos. (§ 89), who 
has filled in the gap between ii. 15 and 16 (§ 19) and consistently placed £ v. in the reign of Darius (who carries 
out the wish of Cyrus), refers to the new opposition (as in the days of Cyrus and Cambyses), ignores the actual 
cessation and the fresh ‘ beginning’ (£ vi. 2), and passes on to the visit of Tattenai. 


The rebuilding and completion of the Temple in the reign of Darius. vi.-vii. = E v.-vi., cf. Jos. xi. 4 1-8, whose 
treatment of the material is highly instructive. (a) In MT the narrative, apart from E vi. 19-22, is, like E iv. 8-24, in 
Aramaic, and the dialect, though in close agreement with Eg.-Aram.-papyri of the fifth cent., is certainly later; see 
Bevan, Danie/, 34; T. Noldeke, ἔχεν. Brit. xxiv.624; A. Kamphausen, ib. oto ἢ. 1; Driver, Zz¢. 504, 515; Torrey, 
161 seqq. The excerpts show some traces of Jewish colouring and of compilation and adjustment (see Z vi. 8, 18, 23, 
26, 33), and the whole concludes with an account, in the chronicler’s style, of the dedication of the Temple. To what 
extent reshaping and revision have been effected is of course uncertain (see Torrey, 142 seqq.). £ is especially note- 
worthy for its doublets (vi. 5, 10, 12, 15, 28, see further Marq. 44 seq.), perplexing paraphrases (e.g. vi. 19 seq., 26 seqq.), 
and for a few interesting material variations (see vi. 4, 18, 26 seq., 32, vil. I seq., 5 seq., 9). 

(ὁ) The narrative represents a zealous satrap anxious to ascertain whether the Jews had really received permission 
from Cyrus to rebuild the temple. His procedure is quite formal (cf. E iv. 8 seqq., contrast N. iv., vi.), and Darius, having 
found the ‘memorandum’ of Cyrus, not only confirms that king’s permission, but goes further in his benevolence. 
Such a representation agrees with the traditional friendliness of Darius (see also vi. 26), but utterly conflicts with his own 
decree already given in Ziv. The wording does not suggest that the Jews, whether before or after the intervention of 
Darius, were rewarded for any act of loyalty, e.g. abstinence from the intrigues at his succession. Nor does it point 
to any serious Samaritan hostility (see Kosters, 7. 7. xxxi. 545 seq.; Meyer, 124; Sellin, Se. 88). In thus agreeing 
with Hag. and Zech. it also does not state that the Jewish builders were exiles from Babylon (Kosters, 26; contrast the 
explicit E iv. 12; see on 2 vi. 5,18). Both sources agree, moreover, in dating the founding of the Temple in the second 
year of Darius (see on vi. 1 seq.), and this narrative, implying that the building was in course of erection, might be 
taken to refer to a slightly later date. 

(c) It throws another light upon the decree of Cyrus (vi. 17-20, 24-26, see ii. 1 seqq.). It confirms the return of 
the vessels (contrast iv. 44, 57), but gives prominence to Sheshbazzar (cf. E i.) and not to Zerubbabel (E iii., see on 
£ vi. 18 seq.). These two are identified by harmonists (see 18, 27, 29), but to the latter alone do the independent 
prophecies ascribe the commencement and completion of the Temple (see /7¢vod. § 4, 11). In addition to this, while 
vi. I seq. relate the ‘ beginning’ by Zer. and Jeshua, the context combines the representation of com¢inuwous operations 
since the return of Sheshbazzar (E v. 16) with a complete cessation (iv. 24) which is attributed to the decree of a Persian 
king. See further /¢vod. ὃ 6. On the text, see also Torrey, 189 seqq., 201 5666. 

1 566. The opening verses agree with Hag. in the date of the beginning of the building, yet not ‘before a stone 
was laid upon a stone’ (Hag. ii. 15), but after a complete cessation (E iv. 24); contrast, however, v. 20 below. 
Addo, mg. Eddin (G&*). A Priest Zechariah son of Iddo is mentioned in the time of Joiakim the son of Jeshua 


41 


[73 and by their secret plots, and popular persuasions | building, and hired counsellors against them, 5 


Ezra 4 


3 


4 


οι 


5 1 


Espras 


prophets, prophesied unto the Jews in Jewry 
and Jerusalem; in the name of the Lord, the 

2 God of Israel, prophesied they unto them. Then 
stood up Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and 
Jesus the son of Josedek, and began to build 
the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the prophets 
of the Lord being with them, azd helping them. 

3 At the same time came unto them Sisinnes the 
governor of Syria and Phcenicia, with Sathra- 
buzanes and his companions, and said unto them, 

4 By whose appointment do ye build this house 
and this roof, and perform all the other things? 
and who are the builders that perform these 
things ? 


5 Nevertheless the elders of the Jews 
obtained favour, because the Lord had visited 

6 the captivity; and they were not hindered from 
building, until such time as communication was 
made unto Darius concerning them, and _ his 
answer signified. 

7 The copy of the letter which Sisinnes, governor 

of Syria and Pheenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, with 

their companions, the rulers inSyria and Pheenicia, 

wrote and sent unto Darius; 


8 To king Darius, 
greeting: Let all things be known unto our lord 
the king, that being come into the country of 
Judzea, and entered into the city of Jerusalem, 
we found in the city of Jerusalem the elders of 

9 the Jews that were of the captivity building a 
house unto the Lord, great azd new, of hewn 


το and costly stones, with timber laid in the walls. | 


And those works are done with great speed, and 
the work goeth on prosperously in their hands, 
and with all glory and diligence is it accom- 


I ESDRAS 6. 1-10 


Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem; in the 
name of the God of Israel prophesied they unto | 
them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of2 
Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and | 
began to build the house of God which is at 
Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of 
God, helping them. 

At the same time came to 3 
them Tattenai, the governor beyond the river, 
and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, and 
said thus unto them, Who gave you a decree to 
build this house, and to finish this wall ? 1 
Then 4 | 
spake we unto them after this manner, What are 
the names of the men that make this building? 
But the eye of their God was upon the elders of 5 
the Jews, and they did not make them cease, till 
the matter should come to Darius, and then 
answer should be returned by letter concerning it. 


The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the6 | 
governor beyond the river, and Shethar-bozenai, . 
and his companions the Apharsachites, which 
were beyond the river, sent unto Darius the 
king : they sent a letter unto him, wherein was 7 | 
written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace. — 
Be it known unto the king, that we went into8 © 
the province of Judah, Ἷ 


to the house of the great 
God, which is builded with great stones, and 
timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth 
on with diligence and prospereth in their hands. 


(N. xii. 16); but the family of Iddo, though among the priests in N. xii. 4, is not named in the great list (E ii., &c). ὺ 


Did the four families in E 11. 36-9 suddenly expand into the twenty-two in Neh. xii. 1-7 or the twenty-four in 1 Chron, | 


xxiv., or were the latter incorporated into four great classes? On the traditional view some explanation is necessary. 
unto them (ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς), E, R.V. mg. which was upon them, cf. Jer. xv. 16. j 

3. On the identification of the names (UStani, a prefect of Transpotamia temp. Darius, or Taddanu a Bab. name; — 
and Mithrabuzanes, or perhaps Satibarzanes), see the comment. and Torrey,172. £’s Sisinnes, though probably — 
incorrect, is a thoroughly authentic name and typical of the cleverness of the translator. 

his (E ¢heir) companions. On the variation in the possessive pronoun, see Guthe, SBO7. 

4. roof, E wall, SIN (& χορηγία, ‘charges’ in £ iv. 54 seq.). The readings represent (so Torrey, 175 seq.) NN 
(¢ggara ‘roof’, agra ‘ pay’), cf. NWN ‘ shrine, temple’, in the Aram. papyri from Egypt (Sayce and Cowley, E 14 J 6, 
Sachau I, 6, &c.). δα) δ, also in Sachau I, 11, denotes some part of a temple, whether fore-court (Sach.), colonnade 
(Torrey), or the temple as a whole (see Haupt, Delitzsch, SSO 7, 34, 63, Nikel 130 ἢ. 2, Jampel i. 494). Jos. (ὃ 89) 


finds a reference to the porticoes (στοαί, see on vii. 9) and the walls of the city. Was S738 altered in MT because of | 


its heathen associations? Cf. its use in the Targums of a heathen altar, and the Bab. εἰμι; cf. also the distinction 
observed in MT between ji} and 123. 


and who. E ‘then spake we’ (G& 5 ‘then spake they’), an actual quotation from the report, cf. ib. 9 seq. 
5. the captivity (cf. EG), and see vv. 8, 27 seq.; based upon a doublet “aw “elders [of]’ and ‘S¥ ‘ captivity’. 
7. & ‘The copy of the letter which he (&' ‘ they’) wrote unto D. and sent: Sis., the governor, &c., to king Darius 
greeting ’ (cf. 1). 
7 seq. Let all things . . . 1° combines this with the reading of E. 
ane joni the ene, Mehey, τ 21 seq., i 17 seq. 
e reference to the arrival at Jerusa 8 i u i i i : 
same Sen: Jerusalem and the discovery is quite appropriate (Marq., 46 seq.) ; MT has 


9. new, apparently based upon τ΄. 25, where it represents MT 5M an error for ἽΠ ‘one’; the doublet combines | 
both corrigendum and correctum (see Berth. xvi. seq., 24). 


42 


RAS 


itplished. Then asked we these elders, saying, 
By whose commandment build ye this house, 
12 and lay the foundations of these works? There- 
fore, to the intent that we might give knowledge 
unto thee by writing who were the chief doers, 
we questioned them, and we required of them 
13 the names in writing of their principal men. So 
_ they gave us this answer, We are the servants of 
14 the Lord which made heaven and earth. And 
as for this house, it was builded many years ago 


τῷ finished. But when our fathers sinned against 
the Lord of Israel which is in heaven, and pro- 
voked him unto wrath, he gave them over into 
the hands of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, 
τό king of the Chaldeans; and they pulled down 
the house, and burned it, and carried away the 
17 people captives unto Babylon. But in the first 
year that Cyrus reigned over the country of 
Babylon, king Cyrus wrote to build up this 
18house. And the holy vessels of gold and of 
silver, that Nabuchodonosor had carried away 
out of the house at Jerusalem, and had set up in 
his own temple, those Cyrus the king brought 
forth again out of the temple in Babylonia, and 
they were delivered to Zorobabel and to Sana- 
bassarus the governor, 
19 with commandment that 
he should carry away all these vessels, and put 
them in the temple at Jerusalem; and that the 
temple of the Lord should be built in its place. 
20 Then Sanabassarus, being come hither, laid the 
_ foundations of the house of the Lord which is in 
| Jerusalem ; and from that time to this being still 
a-building, it is not yet fully ended. 

Now there- 
fore, if it seem good, O king, let search be made 
among the royal archives of our lord the king 
22 that are in Babylon: and if it be found that the 
building of the house of the Lord which is in 
Jerusalem hath been done with the consent of 
king Cyrus, and it seem good unto our lord the 
king, let him signify unto us thereof. 

Then commanded king Darius to seek among 
the archives that were laid up at Babylon: 


pt 


3 


and 


15. Lord ... heaven. A conflate reading. 


18. his own temple, cf. ii. 10. 


42n. 1, 45). 
E ‘whom he had made’ . 


the texts are not in their original form is obvious. 
19. all these vessels, mg. ¢ie same (G&*). : 


by a king of Israel great and strong, and was | 


LE SIDR AS: (Gh or 


I-23 
Then asked we those elders, and said unto them 9 
thus, Who gave you a decree to build this house, 
and to finish this wall? We asked them their ! 
names also, to certify thee, that we might write 
the names of the men that were at the head of 
them. 

And thus they returned us answer, say- I 
ing, We are the servants of the God of heaven 
and earth, and build the house that was builded 


these many years ago, which a great king of 


Israel builded and finished. 

But after that our 
fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto 
wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchad- 
nezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who 
destroyed this house, and carried the people away 
into Babylon. 


~ 


But in the first year of Cyrus 1 
king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to 
build this house of God. 

And the gold andy 
silver vessels also of the house of God, which 
Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that 
was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the 
temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king 


| take out of the temple of Babylon, and they 


were delivered unto one whose name was Shesh- 
bazzar, whom he had made governor; and het 
said unto him, Take these vessels, go, put them 
in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the 
house of God be builded in its place. 

Then τ 
came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the found- 
ations of the house of God which isin Jerusalem : 
and since that time even until now hath it been 
in building, and yet it is not completed. Now 
therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be 
search made in the king’s treasure house, which 
is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that 
a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build 
this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king 
send his pleasure to us concerning this matter. 


tal 


Ezra 6 


Then Darius the king made a decree, and 1 
search was made in the house of the archives, 
where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. 
And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace 


[Ὁ] 


13. the Lord which made (τοῦ κτίσαντος), cf. 2 Chron. ii. 12 (ἐποίησεν) and the quotation in Eupolemos (ἔκτισεν), 
second cent. B.c. (Swete, /z¢vod. 370; Torrey, 82); also Jer. x. 11 and the late Gen. xiv. 19 R.V. mg. 


Note that even the Aram. source presents the later and inaccurate form of the name Nebuchadrezzar. 


_ and to Sanabassarus (mg. Sadanassarus). Some MSS. omit avd; this and the sequel (‘that he should carry’) 
indicate that the attempt has been made to identify Sheshbazzar (E i.) with the more prominent Zerubbabel (Nikel, 
Note the introduction of the latter in vv. 27, 29. 

. -, but G4 ‘to the treasurer ... 
to Shesh., but to Mithredath (E i. 8) whom Jos. combines with Zer. here (§ 92, cf. ib. xi. 3 δὲ 11, 14), although in his 
version of 20, 26, he mentions only Shesh. The allusion to the treasury may be supported by E v. 17, vi. 1. 


who was over the treasury’. This must refer not 


That 


21. of our lord (Κυρίου), {α΄ S, curiously ‘of Cyrus’ (so A.V.). 
43 


Ezra 5 


ο 


7 


Espras 


so at Ecbatana the palace, which is in the 
country of Media, there was found a roll where- 

24in these things were recorded. In the first 
year of the reign of Cyrus king Cyrus com- 
manded to build up the house of the Lord 
which is in Jerusalem, where they do sacrifice 

25 with continual fire: whose height shall be sixty 
cubits, and the breadth sixty cubits, 


with three 
rows of hewn stones, and one row of new wood 
of that country; and the expenses thereof to 
26 be given out of the house of king Cyrus: and 
that the holy vessels of the house of the Lord, 
both of gold and silver, that Nabuchodonosor 
took out of the house at Jerusalem, and carried 
away to Babylon, should be restored to the 
house at Jerusalem, and be set in the place 
where they were before. 

And also he com- 
manded that Sisinnes the governor of Syria 
and Pheenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their 
companions, and those which were appointed 
rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, should be careful 
not to meddle with the place, but suffer Zoro- 
babel, the servant of the Lord, and governor of 
Judzea, and the elders of the Jews, to build that 
28 house of the Lord in its place. And I also do 

command to have it built up whole again ; and 

that they look diligently to help those that be 

of the captivity of Judea, till the house of the 
29 Lord be finished: and that out of the tribute of 
Ccelesyria and Phcenicia a portion be carefully 
given these men for the sacrifices of the Lord, 
that 15, to Zorobabel the governor, for bullocks, 
and rams, and lambs; and also corn, salt, wine, 
and oil, and that continually every year without 
further question, according as the priests that 
be in Jerusalem shall signify to be daily spent : 


a4 
“1 


30 


23. roll (τὸ, Jos.), mg. Place ((πῆ HS), a confusion of τόμος and τόπος. The ‘memorandum’ (1) 3) recalls the 1 ἼΞΙ | 
(Sach. Pap. III) relating to the rebuilding of the Jewish sanctuary at Elephantine. ‘The fact that the roll was sought | 
for at Babylon but found at Ecbatana points to some condensation in the narrative. 

24. continual fire. A slight change of the MT supported by most scholars. 

25. Jos. (ἢ 99) applies these measurements to the altar, although in xi.1 3 (see below on v. 26) he rightly refers them | 


to the Temple. 


one row of new wood (similarly Jos.) of that country, ‘one’ and ‘new’ are doublets, (see v. 9), and ‘ country” 


I ESDRAS 6. 23-30 


that is in the province of Media, a roll, and © 
therein was thus written for a record. ae 

In the 3* | 
first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king 
made a decree ; Concerning the house of God at 
Jerusalem, let the house be builded, the place 
where they offer sacrifices, and let the founda- — 
tions thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof 
threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof three- 
score cubits; with three rows of great stones, 4 
and a row of new timber: and let the expenses 
be given out of the king’s house: - 
and also let 5 
the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, 
which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the 
temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto 
Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the 
temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to its | 
place, and thou shalt put them in the house of 
God. Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond 6 
the river, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions 
the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, 
be ye far from thence: 


let the work of this house 7 _ 
of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and | 
the elders of the Jews build this house of God in 
its place. Moreover I make a decree what yes | 
shall do to these elders of the Jews for the build- | 
ing of this house of God: ca 


that of the king’s 
goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, 
expenses be given with all diligence unto these _ 
men, that they be not hindered. And that 9| 
which they have need of, both young bullocks, 
and rams, and lambs, for burnt offerings to the 
God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, 
according to the word of the priests which are 


Γ 
ἢ 
ἢ 
t 


seems to be some confusion of the Heb. γ᾽ δ (land) and M18 (cedar), so Jahn; or of the Aram. YN (land) and YS (wood), 
so Marq. For the details see 1 Kings vi. 36, vii. 12. 
26. Note the changes of person and number in MT (E 6 has ¢hezy companions). The compiler turns the decree of 


Cyrus into a command to Shesh. (azd thou shalt place), and then passes on to the commands of Darius (see Meyer, 47); 
a clear case of compilation. 


instructive example of history-making. 


27. the servant of the Lord. Jos. (§ 101) ‘the servants of God (cf. v. 13), the Jews and their leaders’. Here 


and in v. 29 Zer. appears to be due to later insertion (Jos. omits) ; perhaps the translator misunderstood N72y (‘work’) | 


in the MT, where (τῇ om. ‘the governor (&*" governors, or leaders) of the Jews and’, 
‘elders of the Jews’ are mentioned ; see Guthe, SBO7. 


28, till . . . finished, a natural limitation, cf. iv. 51, and the stipulation in N ii. 6; with MT cf. the free hand given. 
to Ezra (E vii.). 


29. of the Lord .. ., cf. $; Gr τῷ κυρίῳ ({π Ὁ τοῦ, cf. Dan. vi. 26, Bel and Dragon, 41) Zop. ἐπάρχῳ (& om.). 
30. question, a misunderstanding (as in ΕΠ) of by, as though from Say, 
44 


In Evy. 5, 9, vi. 8, 14 only the 


£, however, takes E 6 to belong to the old decree, and Jos. actually attributes the whole 
(to the end of v. 33) to Cyrus, which Darius (as in v. 34) simply endorses. Hence, in his history of Cyrus, Jos. (xi. 13) | 
gives a lengthy decree on these lines in the form of a letter to Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai, an interesting and | 


I ESDRAS Ὁ: 31—7. if Ezra 6 
at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by 

} 31 that drink offerings may be made to the Most | day without fail: that they may offer sacri- τὸ 
High God for the king and for his children, and | fices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven, 
that they may pray for their lives. and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. 

32 And that | Also I have made a decree, that whosoever 11 
commandment be given that whosoever shall | shall alter this word, let a beam be pulled 
transgress, yea, or neglect anything “ereiv | out from his house, and let him be lifted up 
written, out of his own ouwse shall a tree be | and fastened thereon; and let his house be 
taken, and he thereon be hanged, and all his | made a dunghill for this : 

33 goods seized for the king. The Lord therefore, and the God that 12 
whose name is there called upon, utterly destroy | hath caused his name to dwell there overthrow 
every king and nation, that shall stretch out his | all kings and peoples, that shall put forth their 
hand to hinder or endamage that house of the | hand to alter the same, to destroy this house of 

34 Lord in Jerusalem. I Darius the king have | God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have 
ordained that according unto these things it be | made a decree; let it be done with all dili- 
done with diligence. gence, 

71 Then Sisinnes the governor of Ccelesyria and Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the river, 13 
Pheenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, with their com- | Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, because 
panions, following the commandments of king | that Darius the king had sent, did accordingly 

2 Darius, did very carefully oversee the holy works, | with all diligence. 

assisting the elders of the Jews and rulers of the And the elders of the Jews 14 

3 temple. And so the holy works prospered, while | builded and prospered, through the prophesying 
Aggzus and Zacharias the prophets prophesied. | of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of 

Iddo. And they builded and finished it, accord- 
ing to the commandment of the God of Israel, 
and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, 

4 And they finished these things by the command- | and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house 15 
ment of the Lord, the God of Israel, and with the | was finished on the third day of the month Adar, 
consent of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings | which was in the sixth year of the reign of 

5 of the Persians. “λα thus was the house finished | Darius the king. 
by the three and twentieth day of the month 

6 Adar, in the sixth year of king Darius. And the And the children of Israel, the 16 


children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, 
and the other that were of the captivity, that were 
added unto them, did according to the things 
» written in the book of Moses. And to the dedica- 
tion of the temple of the Lord they offered a 
hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hun- 


ADE σεν. τὴ ὦ «ὦ 


ἐνδελεχῶς at end of verse. 
32. written, mg. afore spoken or written (G*). 
goods seized, similarly Jos.; cf. Dan. ii. 5, ili. 29, 
33. therefore, MT for this, end of τ΄. 11. 


whose name . 
Holzhey, 25, &c.). 


vill. 67 (E viii. 36), is less emphatic in MT ‘.. 
cf. above, 27 seq., with E vi. 7. 


EG ‘and the Levites’. 


only one name was originally written ; see /dvod. § 5 (e). 


5. the house, mg. 216 holy house (G*). 


below, p. 47). 


45 


by Jahn (55) and by Torrey (85, who compares Ar. a/a ‘take, obtain’). 


VII. 1 seq. The more active intervention of the strangers (ἐπεστάτουν . . ι 
. their companions did according to the decree which . . 


priests and the Levites, and the rest of the child- 
ren of the captivity, kept the dedication of this 
house of God with joy. 

And they offered 
at the dedication of this house of God an 
hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hun- 


31. For the praying cf. Baruch i. 10 seq., 1 Mace. vii. 33, Sach. Pap. I, 25 seq. Gi reads θυσίαι x. σπονδαί and adds 


G. This interpretation of MT wy (ry) ‘dunghill’ is supported 


Bayer, 30, emends. 


. , the Jewish colouring in this verse (cf. Deut. xii. 11, xiv. 23) is commonly admitted (Meyer, 51. 


. ἐπιμελέστερον), though in harmony with 
. sent’, 


2, rulers of the temple (ἱεροστάταις ; Jos. ‘ princes of the Sanhedrin’), cf, i. 8 (2 Chron. xxxv. 8), and the addition in 


4. consent (A.V. mg. che decree, γνώμη) . . . Artaxerxes (Jos. omits Art., (ἀν transposes with Darius), kings (G* 
and MT /inzg) .. . The name can hardly be explained even as a careless interpolation ; the reading 477g suggests that 


G4, S, @ add ‘until (by) the sixth year of Darius king of the Persians’. 


Jos. confirms the 23rd day (adopted by Bertholet, Torrey, 195, but treated by Bayer, 83, as a misreading, 
DY for DY Ty), but reads the mth year of Darius; in C. 
were laid in the second year of Cyrus and it was finished again in the secovd year of Darius. 

6. that were added, explained by v. 13, although this act of separation is not recorded, contrast N ix. 2, xiii. 3 (see 


Afion. i. 21 he states that the foundations of the Temple 


book of Moses, cf. v. 49, and especially N. vili. 1, x. 29, ΧΗ], 1. 


Espras 


8 dred lambs ; avd twelve he-goats for the sin of all 

Israel, according to the number of the twelve 
9 princes of the tribes of Israel. The priests also 
and the Levites stood arrayed in their vestments, 
according to their kindreds, for the services of the 
Lord, the God of Israel, according to the book of 
Moses: and the porters at every gate. 

And the children of Israel that came out of 
the captivity held the passover the fourteenth 
day of the first month, when the priests and the 
11 Levites were sanctified together, and all they that 

were of the captivity ; for they were sanctified. 
12 For the Levites were all sanctified together, and 

they offered the passover for all them of the cap- 
tivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for 
13 themselves. And the children of Israel that came 
out of the captivity did eat, even all they that 
had separated themselves from the abominations 
of the heathen of the land, and sought the Lord. 


10 


14 And they kept the feast of unleavened bread 

15 seven days, making merry before the Lord, for 
that he had turned the counsel of the king of 
Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands 
in the works of the Lord, the God of Israel. 


And after these things, when Artaxerxes the 
king of the Persians reigned, came Esdras the 


8. princes, mg. /welve tribes of Israel (&"). 


9. Cf. v.59. For the Zorters (also in Jos.), cf. i. 16, and 2 Chron. vill. 14, xxill. 18 seq.; Jos. adds that the Jews ales if 
See vi. 4 above. a 


built the cloisters (στοάς) of the inner temple. 


I ESDRAS 7. 8—8. 1 : 


dred lambs ; and for a sin offering for all Israel, 
twelve he-goats, according to the number of the 
tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in 
their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, 
for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as _ 

it is written in the book of Moses. i 


And the children of the captivity kept the το. 
passover upon the fourteenth day of the first 
month. For the priests and the Levites had 20 
purified themselves together; all of them were 
pure: and they killed the passover for all the 
children of the captivity, and for their brethren 
the priests, and for themselves. ; 
And the chil- 2;/ 
dren of Israel, which were come again out of the 
captivity, and all such as had separated them- 
selves unto them from the filthiness of the — 
heathen of the land, to seek the Lord, the God ~ 
of Israel, did eat, and kept the feast of unleavened 22 | 
bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had | 
made them joyful, and had turned the heart of — 
the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen 
their hands in the work of the house of God, the 
God of Israel. 

Now after these things, in the reign of Artax- 7 
erxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah,the 


ἵ 


το. From this verse onwards the MT, with the exception of E vii. 12-26, is in Hebrew. With this account of the 
celebration of the Passover, cf. 2 Chron. xxx. (after the purification of the Temple by Hezekiah), xxxv. = £ 1 (after 
Josiah’s reforms) ; see also p. 58. ; 

of Israel, lit. ‘ of Israel, of those that were of the captivity.’ 
when the priests, several MSS. decause. ἢ 

ΤΙ seq. mg. and they that were of the captivity were not all sanctified together: but the Levites were all sanctified 
together. And, &c.; cf. GL S, but not Jos. For the textual variants see 7A 7W, xx. 12 seq. Since the Levites 
perform the slaughtering there may be an anti-Aaronite bias, as also in 2 Chron. xxix. 34 (cf. perhaps xxx. 3, 15 17); 
see Kittel, Chron. 160. ; 

13. even, wanting in &. 

15. Jos. ($$ 111-13) after summing up with an account of the constitution, &c., appends (δὲ 114-19) a new story 
of Samaritan enmity and of the intervention of Darius. The Jews send Zerubbabel and four nobles, including Ananias 
and Mordecai (see for the latter, v. 8 above) to complain that the Samaritans did not carry out the royal commands 
and were hostile. Darius accordingly writes to the eparchs and council (βουλή, cf. ii. 17), viz. to Taganas and Sambas 
(or Sambabas), the eparchs, and to Sadrakes and Bouédon (var. Bouélon, &c.), ‘the rest of their fellow servants’ 
(σύνδουλοι, cf. (τ E v. seq. for companions’). On the conjectural origin of these corrupt names, see Marq. 52, 54 
(Tag. from Tattenai, Sad. and Bou. from Shethar-bozenai). j 


The Work of Ezra. (a) The narratives are severed in the MT, which places E vii.-x. (Z viii. 1-ix. 36) in the seventh 
year of Artaxerxes (458 B.C.), and N viii. seqq. (£ ix. 37-55+...) in the twentieth. They are of composite origin: 
note the introductory impersonal E vii. 1-10 (see Driver, /7¢., 548 seq.), the change from ‘1’ (vii. 27—ix.) to the imper- 
sonal form in vill. 35 seq., the use of ‘I’ (ix.), ‘he’ (x.), and ‘we’ (N ix. 38, x. 30). In spite of parallels (Torrey, 
244 seq.), these changes seem to prove diversity of source. Various signs of revision and condensation are to be 
noticed in vii. (see & viii. 8-24), x. (Meyer, 96 n. 1), and elsewhere. 

(4) Although N viii. seqq. interrupt the history of Neh., and both E and N are engaged in reorganizing religious 
conditions, the story of N ignores the work of E, and the story of E mentions N only somewhat incidentally (N viii. 9. 
x. 1). The two groups of narratives have different backgrounds. The E-story shows no trace of the desolation and 
misery which N sought to remedy. E is intent upon the Temple and the law, and comes to an apparently peaceful 
city, whereas N appears as a reformer of elementary civic, social, and religious conditions at a time when E was 
presumably in Jerusalem. The secular pioneer builds up and reconstructs; the priestly scribe gives, as it were, 
a finishing stroke in the way of important, though less initial, reforms. While N laments the ruin and distress, 
E recognizes the manifestation of God’s favour, which the people had ill requited by their heathenish marriages The 
former encounters suspicion, hostility, and treachery; the latter, armed with most remarkable powers, finds a people 
anxious to hear and obey the law, eager to remove the stain of the marriages, and ready to carry out measures which 
N, with characteristic impulsiveness, seems merely to initiate in N xiii. The whole situation oa the E-story forbids 


46 


son of Azaraias, the son of Zechrias, the son of 
2 Helkias, the son of Salem, the son of Sadduk, 
the son of Ahitob, 
( the son of Amarias, the son 
of Ozias, the son of Memeroth, the son of 
Zaraias, the son of Savias, the son of Boccas, 
the son of Abisue, the son of Phinees, the son 
of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest. 
'3This Esdras went up from Babylon, as_ being 
a ready scribe in the law of Moses, that was 
|4given by the God of Israel. And the king did 
- him honour: for he found grace in his sight in 
all his requests. 

5 There went up with him also 
certain of the children of Israel, and of the priests, 
and Levites, and holy singers, and porters, and 
6 temple-servants, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh 
year of the reign of Artaxerxes, in the fifth 
month, this was the king’s seventh year ; 

for they 
went from Babylon on the new moon of the first 
month, and came to Jerusalem, according to the 


I ESDRAS 8. 1-7 


son of Azariah, 

the son of Hilkiah, the son of 2 
Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 
the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son 
of Meraioth, the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, 
the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of 
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron 
the chief priest : 

this Ezra went up from Baby- 6 
lon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of 
Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had 
given: and the king granted him all his request, 
according to the hand of the Lord his God upon 
him. And there went up some of the children 7 
of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and 
the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, 
unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Arta- 
xerxes the king. And he came to Jerusalem in 8 
the fifth month. which was in the seventh year 
of the king. For upon the first day of the first 9 
month began he to go up from Babylon, and on 
the first day of the fifth month came he to Jeru- 


ὧι τ Oo 


Ezra 7 


salem, according to the good hand of his God 
upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to seek 19 
the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach 

in Israel statutes and judgements, 


| prosperous journey which the Lord gave them 
ἡ for his sake. For Esdras had very great skill, so 
that he omitted nothing of the law and command- 
ments of the Lord, df taught all Israel the ordi- 
nances and judgements. 


the identification of E’s return with that in E iv. 12 (Z# ii. 18). The rebuilding mentioned in the latter is excluded in 
the E-story and ignored in N i.—vi., where there is neither any reference to an earlier attempt to rebuild nor any hint 
of such a return as that in E vii.—x. 
(c) E vii-x. are severed from E i—vi. by nearly sixty years. A large body of exiles, ‘children of the captivity’ 
(iv. 1), had rejected the families of doubtful blood (ii. 59-63), and had been reinforced by those who had separated from 
the heathen (vi. 21). Jewish exclusivism had apparently been established. Now, however, E returns with a repre- 
sentative band (vii. 7), ‘ children of the captivity’ (viii. 35), and, after an interval (the vague ix. 1), hears of the deplorable 
extent of intermarriage among the people of Israel, the ‘holy seed’ (ix. 2), ‘the captivity’ (ix. 4). The sin is admitted, 
and it is proposed to make a solemn covenant (x. 3). ‘The children of the captivity’ are summoned from their settle- 
ments under the penalty of excommunication from ‘the congregation of the captivity’ (x. 6-8). The area affected 
proves to be extremely restricted (x. 9). The congregation agrees to the separation (vv. 10-12). There is, however, 
an inquiry lasting three months, and as a veritable anti-climax we have an extremely small list of offenders (see on 
E ix, 21-36). Forthwith (so £), or apparently some twelve years later (so N viii.), Εἰ reads the law to the people, and 
all the congregation, those who had returned from captivity’ (N viii. 17, cf. E vi. 21), celebrate the feast of Taber- 
nacles. After a solemn confession of sin, the erring ‘seed of Israel’ separate from the heathen (ix. 1 seq.), and this 
epoch-making event, which (see E x. I-12) might be expected after the prayer in E ix. 6 seqq., is followed by a second 
prayer on behalf of the backsliding people. Finally, there is a covenant (N ix. 38) signed by the congregation and all 
that separated themselves from the people of the land (x. 28). Whether we follow the tradition or any modern hypo- 
thesis, these data are extremely complicated (see Kosters, 67, 96 seqq., 7%. T., xxix, 554 seqq.). They point to a close 
literary connexion in the E-story, which makes it improbable that E vii.—x. should be severed, as in MT, from N viii. 5666. 
They reveal a serious literary intricacy which must be due to revision and reshaping, and they do not show at all 
clearly that the ‘children of the captivity’ who returned (E viii. 35) found a people constituted as E ii. 59-63, vi. 21, 
would imply. It is possible that the E-story (of independent origin, see /z¢vod. p. 9 d.) has confused the accounts of 
the purification of the exiles who returned with E and the separation of the native Judaeans from the heathen, the two 
events which are kept more distinct in E i.-vi. 

The return of Ezra, viii. 1-67 = E vii., viii., cf. Jos. xi. 5 1-2 (who replaces Artaxerxes by Xerxes). 
to the comm., see Torrey, 196 seqq., 205 seqq., 265 seqq. 

2. Azaraias and Zechrias ((k®; ‘E¢epiov A, ᾿Αζαραίου L) = Seraiah and Azariah. The former was contemporary with 
the fall of Jerusalem (1 Chron. vi. 14 seq.), but the genealogy would make him identical with the Seraiah in Neh. xi. 11 
(1 Chron. ix. 11, Azariah), priest at the renovation of the city. 

G® omits the names Memeroth—Savias (Uzzi). 

5. temple-servants, mg. the Nethinim, cf.i. 3, and for the sequence of the classes cf. the arrangement in v. 9 5666. 
6. The date of arrival (E 8) probably coincides with that of Nehemiah (departure in the first month, ii. 1; arrival at 
the beginning of the fifth, interval of three days, ii. 11; and, after fifty-two days, the completion of the walls on the 
25th of the sixth month, vi. 15). 

seventh year (x® ‘second’, cf. v. 6, vi. 1), the absence of a date in τ΄, I is noticeable. 
other details in the verse see the comm. 

for his sake, (Ὁ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ, G4 om., Ur (v. 7) ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν yap 6 Ἔζδρας ἦν, Os... 

7. but taught, so (π᾿ διδάξαι. For the variants see Moulton, ZA 7 W, xx, 14. 


47 


In addition 


On the chronological and 


EspDRAS 


8 


9 


Io 


I 


4 


" 
wo 


14 


το 


I ESDRAS 8. 8-20 


Now the commission, which was written from 
Artaxerxes the king, came to Esdras the priest 
and reader of the law of the Lord, whereof 
this that followeth is a copy; 

King Artaxerxes 
unto Esdras the priest and reader of the law of 
the Lord, greeting: Having determined to deal 
graciously, I have given order, that such of the 
nation of the Jews, and of the priests and Le- 
vites, and of those within our realm, as are 
willing and desirous, should go with thee unto 
Jerusalem. As many therefore as have a mind 
thereunto, \et them depart with thee, as it hath 
seemed good both to me and my seven friends 
the counseliors; that they may look unto the 
affairs of Judea and Jerusalem, agreeably to that 
which is in the law of the Lord, and carry the 
gifts unto the Lord of Israel to Jerusalem, which 
I and my friends have vowed ; 

and that all the 
gold and silver that can be found in the country 
of Babylonia for the Lord in Jerusalem, with that 
also which is given of the people for the temple 
of the Lord their God that is at Jerusalem, be 
collected: even the gold and silver for bulJocks, 
rams, and lambs, and things thereunto apper- 
taining ; to the end that they may offer sacrifices 
unto the Lord upon the altar of the Lord their 
God, which is in Jerusalem. 

And whatsoever 
thou and thy brethren are minded to do with gold 
and silver, that perform, according to the will of 
thy God. And the holy vessels of the Lord, 
which are given thee for the use of the temple of 
thy God, which is in Jerusalem : 

and whatsoever 
thing else thou shalt remember for the use of the 
temple of thy God, thou shalt give it out of the 
king's treasury. And I king Artaxerxes have 
also commanded the keepers of the treasures in 
Syria and Pheenicia, that whatsoever Esdras the 
priest and reader of the law of the Most High 
God shall send for, they should give it him with 
all diligence, to the sum of a hundred talents 
of silver, likewise also of wheat even to a hun- 
dred measures, and a hundred firkins of wine, 
and salt in abundance. 


8-24. Jos. xi. 5 1, δὲ 123-30 reproduces this remarkable decree more carefully than he does the rest of the Ezra 
story. The document, which is in Aramaic, should be compared with the decrees of Cyrus and Darius (see Torrey, 158) : 
its value rests upon the Ezra-story as a whole and is variously estimated (see Berth., 34 seq., Nikel, 167 seqq.). According 
to Jewish tradition, of course, the book of Esther, with the story of the favour of Xerxes, would precede the present — 
situation. v. ὃ (τ has no conclusion and there are signs of unevenness especially in 9 seq. and 22. 

9 seq. Read, perhaps E 12 seq., ‘ perfect peace, and now 1 make . . 

1o. Some words are probably missing at the beginning (Lupton). 


and of those, mg. being within GD &. 


17. Jos. prefixes ἀναθήσεις, 3:5 ‘ pones’, cf. MT deliver (rather ‘hand over wholly’). The MT God of Jerusalem (G®* 
he God ; Is very Strange. 

18, remember (ὅσα ἂν ὑποπίπτῃ σοι), rather, ‘shall occur to, or befall thee’, MT ‘thou shalt have to give’. 

1g. send for (E shall require), a misreading (ὃν for Sew 

20. salt (35 and some MSS. of tk), mg. other things (GAL; B om.); i° ‘sal sine mensura et caetera sine men.’; GS | 


‘before God [π΄ ‘the God of Israel’] in J.’) 


7 


Now this is the copy of the letter that the king It 
Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, 
even the scribe of the words of the command- 
ments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. 
Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the ‘priest, 
the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, per- 
fect and so forth. I make a decree, that all they 13 
of the people of Israel, and their priests and the 
Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their 
own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee. 


121 


Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king and his 
seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah 
and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God 
which is in thine hand ; 

and to carry the silver 15) 
and gold, which the king and his counsellors 
have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose 
habitation is in Jerusalem, and all the silver and 16 
gold that thou shalt find in all the province of 
Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, 
and of the priests, offering willingly for the house 
of their God which is in Jerusalem ; ; 


therefore 17 
thou shalt with all diligence buy with this money 
bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings 
and their drink offerings, and shalt offer them 
upon the altar of the house of your God which 
is in Jerusalem. And whatsoever shall seem ; 
good to thee and to thy brethren to do with the 
rest of the silver and the gold, that do ye after 
the will of your God. And the vessels that are τοὺ 
given thee for the service of the house of thy 
God, deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. | 
And whatsoever more shall be needful for the 2 
house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion | 
to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure 
house. And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do 2) 
make a decree to all the treasurers which are 
beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, 
the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall 
require of you, it be done with all diligence, 


τ ΞΞΣ: ΤΩΣΣΞΞ:-:: 


unto 2. 
an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred 
measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of © 
wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt — 


(cf. Ev. 7). 


so Ball, Moulton), or merely a paraphrase. ; 


“and other things according to the law of God’? (see v. 21). 


48 


Let all things be per- 
formed after the law of God diligently unto the 
Most High God, that wrath come not upon the 
kingdom of the king and his sons. 

22 IT command 
Ϊ you also, that no tax, nor any other imposition, 
be laid on any of the priests, or Levites, or 
holy singers. or porters, or temple-servants, or 
any that have employment in this temple, and 
that no man have authority to impose anything 
23upon them. And thou, Esdras, according to the 
wisdom of God ordain judges and justices, that 
they may judge in all Syria and Pheenicia all 
those that know the law of thy God; and those 
that know it not thou shalt teach. 

24 And whoso- 
ever shall transgress the law of thy God, and of 
the king, shall be punished diligently, whether 
it be by death, or other punishment, by penalty 
of money, or by imprisonment. 


25. Then said Esdras the scribe, Blessed be the 
only Lord, the God of my fathers, who hath 
put these things into the heart of the king, to 
26 glorify his house that is in Jerusalem: and hath 
honoured me in the sight of the king, and his 
counsellors, and all his friends and _ nobles. 
27 Therefore was I encouraged by the help of the 
Lord my God, and gathered together out of 
Israel men to go up with me. 

28 And these are the 
chief according to their families and the several 
divisions thereof, that went up with me from 
‘9 Babylon in the reign of king Artaxerxes: of 
the sons of Phinees, Gerson: of the sons of 
Ithamar, Gamael: of the sons of David, Attus 
othe son of Sechenias: of the sons of Phoros, 
_ Zacharias; and with him were counted a hun- 
jidred and fifty men: of the sons of Phaath 
- Moab, Eliaonias the son of Zaraias, and with 
32 him two hundred men: of the sons of Zathoes, 
Sechenias the son of Jezelus, and with him three 
hundred men: of the sons of Adin, Obeth the 
_ son of Jonathan, and with him two hundred 
3and fifty men: of the sons of Elam, Jesias son 
of Gotholias, and with him seventy men: 


abstract in E iv. 49 seqq. 


valeas. 
25. Then .. . scribe, G™ om., 3.“ om. she scribe. 
Blessed . . . , or ‘blessed alone be the Lord’ (Ball). 


T ESDRAS 8: 


23 


without prescribing how much. Whatsoever is 23 
commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done 
exactly for the house of the God of heaven ; for 
why should there be wrath against the realm of 
the king and his sons? Also we certify you, 
that touching any of the priests and Levites, 
the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this 
house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose 
tribute, custom, or toll, upon them. 


n 
aS 


And thou, 
Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God that is in 
thine hand, appoint magistrates and judges, 
which may judge all the people that are beyond 
the river, all such as know the laws of thy God ; 
and teach ye him that knoweth them not. And 26 
whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and 
the law of the king, let judgement be executed 
upon him with all diligence, whether it be unto 
death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of 
goods, or to imprisonment. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, 27 
which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s 
heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which 
is in Jerusalem ; and hath extended mercy unto 28 
me before the king, and his counsellors, and 
before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was 
strengthened according to the hand of the Lord 
my God upon me, and I gathered together out 
of Israel chief men to go up with me. 

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ 8 
houses, and this is the genealogy of them that 
went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of 
Artaxerxes the king. Of the sons of Phinehas, 
Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel: of 
the sons of David, Hattush. Of the sons of 3 
Shecaniah ; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah : 
and with him were reckoned by genealogy of 
the males an hundred and fifty. Of the sons + 
of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah ; 
and with him two hundred males. Of the sons 5 
of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him 
three hundred males. And of the sons of Adin, 6 
Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty 
males. And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the 7 
son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. 


τὸ 


σι 


τ᾿ 


22. The decree is now addressed to the Persian officials in Palestine, cf. the direct address E vi. 6 seq., and the 


that have employment, πραγματικοῖς τοῦ ἱεροῦ ; 1S ‘scribes of the temple’ (as though γραμματικοῖς). 
24. punishment, dk" τιμωρία, L, ἀτιμία, © cruciatu, 3.5 tormentis, E dan/shment, prop. * uprooting’, Gk παιδεία. 
imprisonment, mg. caftivity, G4 ἀπαγωγή, 1, δεσμεῦσαι, & abductione, 3.5 exilio. Jos.+éppwoo, cf. © Lag. dene 


Ezra 7 


28-40. Ezra’s band. With the priestly families (v. 29), cf. Eleazar and Ithamar, 1 Chron. xxiv. 2 seqq., where the 
priesthood is not restricted to the Zadokites but as a compromise a share is given to the subordinate family of Ithamar. 
For the priestly and Davidic families, cf. Κ᾽ v. 5. With the preferable reading : Hattush of the sons of Shechaniah 
(v.29), cf. τ Chron. iii. 22. The names of the /we/ve (see v. 4) lay families recur in the great register £ v.; Pahath-moab 
: and Joab (vv. 31, 35) are, however, severed (contrast v. 11). The sons of Zattu (v. 32) are wrongly omitted in E (but 

| see G4 ib.). Zaraias represents Zerahiah in v. 31, but Zebadiah in v. 34; Jezelus (v. 35) = Jehiel, cf. oni. 8. The 
A ae | family of Bani (v. 36) is wanting in E (but see Gr ib.). Zstalcurus (Ὁ. 40) = Zabbud or Zaccur; see & Bz, art. 
a Zabud (2) ; Bayer 56 would restore )31) 13 ‘My. For other details see the comm. 
! 1105 49 E 


ESDRAS 


of the 

sons of Saphatias, Zaraias son of Michael, and 
35 with him threescore and ten men: of the sons 
of Joab, Abadias son of Jezelus, and with him 
36 two hundred and twelve men: of the sons of 

Banias, Salimoth son of Josaphias, and with him 
37 ἃ hundred and threescore men: of the sons of 

Babi, Zacharias son of Bebai, and with him 
38 twenty and eight men: of the sons of Astath, 

Joannes son of Akatan, and with him a hun- 
39 dred and ten men: of the sons of Adonikam, 
the last, and these are the names of them, Eli- 
phalat, Jeuel, and Samaias, and with them 
seventy men: of the sons of Bago, Uthi the son 
of Istalcurus, and with him seventy men. 

And I gathered them together to the river 
called Theras; and there we pitched our tents 
three days, and I surveyed them. But when 
I had found there none of the priests and 
Levites, then sent I unto Eleazar, and Iduel, 
and Maasmas, and Elnathan, and Samaias, and 
Joribus, Nathan, Ennatan, Zacharias, and Mo- 
sollamus, principal men and men of understand- 
ing. And I bade them that they should go unto 
Loddeus the captain, who was in the place of 
the treasury: and commanded them that they 
should speak unto Loddeus, and to his brethren, 
and to the treasurers in that place, to send us 
such men as might execute the priests’ office in 
7 the house of our Lord. And by the mighty 
hand of our Lord they brought unto us men of 
understanding of the sons of Mooli the son of 
Levi, the son of Israel, Asebebias, and his sons, 


and his brethren, who were eighteen, 
48 


34 


40 


> 


and 

Asebias, and Annuus, and Osaias his brother, of 
the sons of Chanuneus, and their sons were 
49 twenty men; and of the temple-servants whom 
David and the principal men had appointed for 
the service of the Levites, two hundred and 
twenty temple-servants, the catalogue of all their 

5° names was shewed. And there I vowed a fast 
for the young men before our Lord, to desire of 
him a prosperous journey both for us and for 
our children and cattle that were with us: 
BI for 
I was ashamed to ask of the king footmen, and 
horsemen, and conduct for safeguard against 
52 our adversaries. For we had said unto the 
king, that the power of our Lord would be with 


41. called, perhaps a better reading (Ew. 137 n. 4). 


Theras (&* om.), see vv. 50, 61. 705. § 134 ‘beyond 


42. In E only the Levites are absent, see v. 
where the priests and Levites are concerned. 
43 seq. sentI unto. Omit 2ε7ι20 : 
45. place of the treasury, 
47. men, mg. a man (G**), 


48. Annuus = MT 7220 ‘with him’ (to be read e¢h, a mark of the accusative). 
Chanuneus (E A/erar7) might suggest Chenani(ah), Neh. ix. 4, 1 Chron. xv. 2 


50. for the young men, an obscure statement, 
omitted (Ball). 


I ESDRAS 8. 34-52 


7 the accusatival ὃ (see esp. 2 Chron. xvii. 7) was misunderstood. 
E Casiphia, but cf. ἐπ ib. Cf. also v. 46, where, too, the Nethinim are ignored. 


perhaps a misreading of E’s v/ver ("5 for 93), Ahava being 


δο 


(? πέραν for Θεράς, Lupton) the Euphrates’. 
29 and note the textual difficulties in 42 seqq. (see Berth.),“and elsewhere; — 


And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah thes 
son of Michael ; and with him fourscore males, 
Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel;9 | 
and with him two hundred and eighteen males, 
And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josj- 
phiah ; and with him an hundred and threescore 
males. And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the 
son of Bebai; and with him twenty and eight 
males. And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the 
son of Hakkatan; and with him an hundred and 
ten males. And of the sons of Adonikam, ¢hat1- 
were the last ; and these are their names, Eliphe- 
let, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them three- 
score males. And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai 
and Zabbud ; and with them seventy males. 

And I gathered them together to the river 
that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped 
three days: and I viewed the people, and the 
priests,and found there none of the sons of Levi, 
Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, 
and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, 
and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Me- 
shullam, chief men ; also for Joiarib, and for ΕἸ- 
nathan, which were teachers. And I sent them 
forth unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; — 
and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, — 
and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place | 
Casiphia, that they should bring unto us minis- | 
ters for the house of our God. 

And according 1 
to the good hand of our God upon us they © 
brought us a man of discretion, of the sons οἵ. 
Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and | 
Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eigh- 
teen; and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of 1 


the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, $ 
twenty ; 1a 
and of the Nethinim, whom David and: _ 
the princes had given for the service of the | — 
Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all 
of them were expressed by name. 
Then I pro- ἡ 
claimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we 
might humble ourselves before our God, to seek | _ 
of him a straight way, for us, and for our little) 
ones, and for all our substance. For I was | 
ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers; 


and horsemen to help us against the enemy in 
the way : because we had spoken unto the king, | — 
saying, The hand of our God is upon all them) — 


2, ἄς. 


RAS 


them that seek him, to support them in all ways. 
53 And again we besought our Lord as touching 

these things, and found him favourable wz¢o ws. 
54 Then I separated twelve men of the chiefs of the 

priests, Eserebias, and Assamias,and ten men of 
their brethren with them : 
58 and I weighed them 
the silver, and the gold, and the holy vessels of 
the house of our Lord, which the king, and his 
counsellors, and the nobles, and all Israel, had 
56 given. And when I had weighed it, I delivered 
unto them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, 
and silver vessels of a hundred talents, and a hun- 
57 dred talents of gold, and twenty golden vessels, 
and twelve vessels of brass, even of fine brass, 
58 glittering like gold. And I said unto them, Both 
ye are holy unto the Lord, and the vessels are 
holy, and the gold and the silver are a vow unto 
59 the Lord, the Lord of our fathers. Watch ye, 
and keep them till ye deliver them to the chiefs 
of the priests and Levites, and to the principal 
men of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, in 
the chambers of the house of our Lord. 
60 So the 
priests and the Levites, who received the silver 
and the gold and the vessels which were in 
Jerusalem, brought them into the temple of the 
Lord. 

And from the river Theras we departed the 
twelfth day of the first month, until we came to 
Jerusalem, by the mighty hand of our Lord 
which was upon us: and the Lord delivered us 
from assault by the way, from every enemy, and 
62 so we came to Jerusalem. And when we had 
been there three days, the silver and gold was 
weighed and delivered in the house of our Lord 
on the fourth day unto Marmoth the priest 
63 the son of Urias. And with him was Eleazar 
the son of Phinees, and with them were Josabdus 
the son of Jesus and Moeth the son of Sabannus, 
the Levites: all was delivered them by number 
and weight. 


61 


6 And all the weight of them was 


Ἵ written up the same hour. 
65 Moreover they that 
"were come out of the captivity offered sacrifices 
unto the Lord, the God of Israel, even twelve 
bullocks for all Israel, fourscore and sixteen rams, 
66 threescore and twelve lambs, goats for a peace 


offering, twelve; all of them a sacrifice to the 


ne a σα το 


priests (cf. v. 60). 
55. all Israel, Jos. ‘who remained at Babylon’ (cf. v. 1 
57. twelve, G® ‘ten’. 
58. holy, cf. Is. lii. 11. 

and the vessels . 


f 


omits ‘our’ in τ΄. 62. See on vv. 68 seqq. 
66. peace offering, or thank-offering, cf. the Geneva B 


I ESDRAS 8. 53-66 


., mg. and the vessels and the si 


that seek him, for good; but his power and _ his 
wrath is against all them that forsake him. So 23 
we fasted and besought our God for this: and 
he was intreated of us. Then I separated twelve 24 
of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, 
Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, 
and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, 
and the vessels, even the offering for the house 
of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, 
and his princes, and all Israel there present, had 
offered: I even weighed into their hand six 
hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver 
vessels an hundred talents; of gold an hundred 
talents ; and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand 
darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, 
precious as gold. And I said unto them, Ye are 2 
holy unto the Lord, and the vessels are holy ; 
and the silver and the gold area freewill offering 
unto the Lord, the God of your fathers. Watch 
ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before 
the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the 
princes of the fathers’ owses of Israel, at Jeru- 
salem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord. 
So the priests and the Levites received the 
weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, 
to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our 
God. 


to 
on 


30 


Then we departed from the river of Ahava on ° 
the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto 
Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon 
us, and he delivered us from the hand of the 
enemy and the lier in wait by the way. And 
we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three 
days. 


And on the fourth day was the silver and 
the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of 
our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of 
Uriah the priest ; and with him was Eleazar the 
son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad 
the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Bin- 
nul, the Levites; the whole by number and by 34 
weight : and all the weight was written at that 
time. The children of the captivity, which were 35 
come out of exile, offered burnt offerings unto 
the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, 
ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, 
twelve he-goats for a sin offering: all this was 
a burnt offering unto the Lord. 


54. Eserebias (= Sherebiah), &® prefix ‘and’; there are thus twelve Levites (cf. v. 47 seq., N xii. 24) and twelve 
E includes the two men and their brethren among the twelve priests. 


3 seq.), some qualification is necessary. 


luer and the gold, &c. (G*). 


60. which [were] in Jerusalem, the words belong to the end of the verse. 
61. every enemy, reading IN) for 271N). G&® confuses the first and the third person (for the latter see 65-7) and 


ible ‘ for salvation’. 


For E cf. vii. 7 seq. (E vi. 17). 
51 : 


E 


2 


Ezra 8 


Espras 


67 Lord. And they delivered the king’s com- 
mandments unto the king’s stewards, and to the 
governors of Ccelesyria and Phoenicia ; and they 
honoured the people and the temple of the Lord. 


68 Now when these things were done, the prin- 
69 cipal men came unto me, and said, The nation 
of Israel, and the princes, and the priests and 
the Levites, have not put away from them the 
strange people of the land, nor the unclean- 
nesses of the Gentiles, fo zwz¢, of the Canaanites, 
Hittites, Pherezites, Jebusites, and the Moabites, 
7° Egyptians, and Edomites. For both they and 
their sons have married with their daughters, 
and the holy seed is mixed with the strange 
people of the land; and from the beginning ‘of 
this matter the rulers and the nobles have been 
71 partakers of this iniquity. And assoon as I had 
heard these things, I rent my clothes, and my 
holy garment, and plucked the hair from off my 
head and beard, and sat me down sad and full of 
72 heaviness. So all they that were moved at the 
word of the Lord, the God of Israel, assembled 
unto me, whilst I mourned for the iniquity : but 
I sat still full of heaviness until the evening sacri- 
73 fice. Thenrising up from the fast with my clothes 
and my holy garment rent, and bowing my knees, 
and stretching forth my hands unto the Lord, 


4 I said, O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded 

5 before thy face ; for our sins are multiplied above 
our heads, and our errors have reached up unto 
heaven, 

76 ever since the time of our fathers; and we 

77 are in great sin, even unto this day. And for our 
sins and our fathers’ we with our brethren and 
our kings and our priests were given up unto the 
kings of the earth, to the sword, and to captivity, 
and for a prey with shame, unto this day. 

78 And 
now in some measure hath mercy been shewed 
unto us from thee, O Lord, that there should be 
left us a root and a name in the place of thy 

79 sanctuary ; and to discover unto us a light in the 
house of the Lord our God, avd to give us food in 

80 the time of our servitude. Yea, when we were in 
bondage, we were not forsaken of our Lord; but 
he made us gracious before the kings of Persia, so 

8t that they gave us food, and glorified the temple 


( 
- 
͵ 


67. honoured, ἐδόξασαν (so Ek) 


third person. 
69. the uncleannesses .. . 
Edomites, see iv. 45, 50. 

72. So all they, *+ ‘that were zealous and all they’. 
73- fast, cf. E R.V. mg. fasting. 

75. multiplied above . . 
77. we ae our brethren (ΠῸΝ ‘ 
78. root (cf. 
79. food, E reviving (NNO, cf. Judg. vi. 4). 


we’ read as ns). 


I ESDRAS 8. 67-81 | 


, cf. vill. 25, 81, and Is. Ix. 13; a weak and inappropriate rendering (Ew. 138 n. 6). 
The mixed marriages, vv. 68— 90 = ΞΞ ΒΡ Χ ΟΕ Jos. x1. 5 3. 


, mg. 7107. their uncleannesses (to wit) of the Gentiles, 


,ats ‘multiplied more than the hairs of our head’, cf. Ps. xl. 12. 


τ. 88), perhaps influenced by 2 Kings xix. 30 seq. (Bayer, 15). 


52 


oi 


And they 36 
delivered the king’s commissions unto the king's 2 
satraps, and to the governors beyond the river: 
and they furthered the people and the house of 
God. 

Now when these things were done, the princes 9 αὶ 
drew near unto me, saying, The people of Israel, | 
and the priests and the Levites, have not separ- 
ated themselves from the peoples of the lands, 
doing according to their abominations, even of 
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the 
Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the | 
Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have2 | 
taken of their daughters for themselves and for 
their sons; so that the holy seed have mingled 
themselves with the peoples of the lands: yea, 
the hand of the princes and rulers hath been | 
chief in this trespass. And when I heard this3 | 
thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and | 
plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, 
and sat down astonied. ὃ 

Then were assembled 4 
unto me every one that trembled at the 
words of the God of Israel, because of the tres- 
pass of them of the captivity; and I sat | 
astonied until the evening oblation. And at the 5. ἢ! 
evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, 
even with my garment and my mantle rent; 
and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my 
hands unto the Lord my God; and I said,O my 6 
God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face | 
to thee, my God : for our iniquities are increased | 
over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up | 
unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers 7 | 
we have been exceeding guilty unto this day; 
and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and 
our priests, been delivered into the hand of the 
kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, 
and to spoiling, and to confusion of face, as itis || 
this day. And now for a little moment grace 8) 
hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to | 
leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us | 
a nail in his holy place, that our God may 
lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in | 
our bondage. 


ἱ 


For we are bondmen; yet οὐγ θ᾽ 
God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but | 
hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the | 
kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up 


See below on ix. 37 seqq. (απ gives the narrative in the — 


Sc. (*), 


of our Lord, and raised up the desolate Sion, to 
give us a sure abiding in Jewry and Jerusalem. 
| 82 And now, O Lord, what shall we say, having these 

things? for we have transgressed thy command- 
| ments, which thou gavest by the hand of thy 

-83servants the prophets, saying, That the land, 

which ye enter into to possess as an heritage, is a 
land polluted with the pollutions of the strangers 
of the land, and they have filled it with their un- 
cleanness. 
84 Therefore now shall ye not join your 
daughters unto their sons, neither shall ye take 
85 their daughters unto your sons. Neither shall 
ye seek to have peace with them for ever, that 
ye may be strong, and eat the good things of 
the land, and that ye may leave it for an in- 
86 heritance unto your children for evermore. And 
all that is befallen is done unto us for our wicked 
works and great sins: for thou, O Lord, didst 
87 make our sins light, and didst give unto us such 
a root: μι we have turned back again to trans- 
gress thy law, in mingling ourselves with the 
[88 uncleanness of the heathen of the land. Thou 
| wast not angry with us to destroy us, till thou 
| hadst left us neither root, seed, nor name. 
89 O Lord of Israel, thou art true: for we are left a 
}g0 root this day. Behold, now are we before thee 
in our iniquities, for we cannot stand any longer 
| before thee by reason of these things. 
91 And as Esdras in his prayer made his con- 
fession, weeping, and lying flat upon the ground 
| before the temple, there gathered unto him 
_ from Jerusalem a very great throng of men and 

ΟΠ women and children: for there was great weep- 

-p2ing among the multitude. Then Jechonias the 
| son of Jeelus, one of the sons of Israel, called out, 
ΟΠ and said, O Esdras, we have sinned against the 
| Lord God, we have married strange women of 

| the heathen of the land, and now is all Israel aloft. 

3 Let us make an oath unto the Lord herein, that 
| we will put away all our wives, which we have 
_ |)4 taken of the strangers, with their children, like as 

| seemeth good unto thee, and toas many as do obey 

the law of the Lord. 

ἢ Arise, and put in execution : 
| forto thee doth this matter appertain, and we 
‘ 
᾿ 


I ESDRAS 8. 81-95 


the house of our God, and to repair the ruins 
thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in 
Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall 10 
we say after this? for we have forsaken thy 
commandments, which thou hast commanded by 11 
thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, 
unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean 
land through the uncleanness of the peoples of 
the lands, through their abominations, which 
have filled it from one end to another with their 
filthiness. Now therefore give not your daugh- 
ters unto their sons, neither take their daughters 
unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their 
prosperity for ever: that ye may be strong, and 
eat the good of the land, and leave it for an 
inheritance to your children for ever. 


μι 
N 


Andafter 
all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and 
for our great guilt, seeing that thou our God 
hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, 
and hast given us such a remnant, shall we again 
break thy commandments, and join in afhnity 
with the peoples that do these abominations ? 
wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou 
hadst consumed us, so that there should be no 
remnant, nor any to escape? O Lord, the God 15 
of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are left 
a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day: 
behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness ; for 
none can stand before thee because of this. 

Now while Ezra prayed, and made confession, 10 1 
weeping and casting himself down before the 
house of God, there was gathered together unto 
him out of Israel a very great congregation of 
men and women and children: for the people 
wept very sore. And Shecaniah the son of 2 
Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and 
said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our 
God, and have married strange women of the 
peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for 
Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let 3 
us make a covenant with our God to put away 
all the wives, and such as are born of them, 
according to the counsel of my lord, and of those 
that tremble at the commandment of our God ; 
and let it be done according to the law. Arise; 4 
for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are 


- 
w 


| 


4 


δι. Sion. G. A. Smith (Jerusalem, i. 150 seq.) observes that the term is not found in Ezek., Chron. (except the 


᾿ quotations 1 Chron. xi. 5, 2 Chron. v. 2), E and N. 


i. 86. make . . . light, cf. EG. 
| 88. Thou wast not, mg. wast thou not, &c., see E. 


A 82. having . . . transgressed, presumably based upon misreadings "INN for ‘INN, 1273y for 1231p (see Ball). 


The marriage-reforms, viii. gI-ix. 36 = E, x., cf. Jos. xi. 5 4. 


92. Israel (Jos. ‘ Jerusalem’), E Elam, cf. E x. 26. 


aloft, mg. exa/ted (with a reference to Deut. xxviii. 13, ndynd). This points to the reading Syn ‘trespass’ 


é. 


» de populo I.). 


| (E ix. 2, 4, x. 6) for MPD ‘hope’ (GS here) and is preferred by Jahn. % et nunc es super omnem Israel (1 et nunc 
Bayer (16) con). ἐπάνω corruption of ὑπομονή (EG). 


} “Concerning this thing’ in E is read by G®4 % at the beginning of £ 93. 


94. Gi" 3 ‘and as many as obeyed . . . having arisen, said unto Ezra, Arise . . .’ 


(reading DYINNT WP). 


95. put into execution, nbp has probably dropped out from the MT (Guthe, SOT). 


53 


Ezra 9 


EsprRas 


96 will be with thee to do valiantly. So Esdras 
arose, and took an oath of the chief of the priests 
and Levites of all Israel to do after these things ; 
and so they sware. 

9: Then Esdras rising from the court of the 

temple went to the chamber of Jonas the son of 

2 Eliasib, and lodged there, and did eat no bread 
nor drink water, mourning for the great iniquities 
of the multitude. 

3 And there was made proclama- 
tion in ali Jewry and Jerusalem to all them that 
were of the captivity, that they should be gathered 

4 together at Jerusalem: and that whosoever met 
not there within two or three days, according as 
the elders that bare rule appointed, their cattle 
should be seized to the use of the temple, and 
himself cast out from the multitude of them that 
were of the captivity. 

And in three days were all they of the tribe 
of Judah and Benjamin gathered together at 
Jerusalem: this was the ninth month, on the 
6 twentieth day of the month. And all the multi- 

tude sat together trembling in the broad place 

before the temple because of the present foul 

7 weather. So Esdras arose up, and said unto 

them, Ye have transgressed the law and married 

strange wives, ¢hereby to increase the sins of 

8 Israel. And now make confession and give 

glory unto the Lord, the God of our fathers, 
gand do his will, and separate yourselves from 

the heathen of the land, and from the strange 
το women. Then cried the whole multitude, and 
said with a loud voice, Like as thou hast spoken, 
so will we do. But forasmuch as the multitude 
is great, and it is foul weather, so that we cannot 
stand without, and this is not a work of one day 
or two, seeing our sin in these things is spread 
far: therefore let the rulers of the multitude 
stay, and let all them of our habitations that 
have strange wives come at the time appointed, 
and with them the rulers and judges of every 
place, till we turn away the wrath of the Lord 
from us for this matter. 


Ὁ 


- 
τὸ 


{25 


“ἢ Then Jonathan the son 
of Azael and Ezekias the son of Thocanus accord- 
ingly took the matter upon them: and Mosol- 


lamus and Levis and Sabbateus were assessors 


96. the chief (rather chiefs, as in viii. 49) . . 


IX. 2. lodged there, rightly reading rea for a. 
6. in the broad place. 
ὑπαίθρῳ) of the temple. 


8. (τῆλ ‘Give confession (€r"+ and) glory’; a doublet of TDN (Fr., &c.). 


11, forasmuch as, wanting in &. 


13. for this matter, cf. E R.V. mg. as touching this matter. 
14. took the matter (ἐπεδέξαντο, cf. with Fr. 1 Macc. i. 42); cf. Ε R.V. 
On the conflicting interpretations of this passage see the comm. 


Ezekias, mg. Lzias (G** 3). 
Levis ..., E (τ ‘the Levites’. 


I ESDRAS 8. 96—9. 14 


, with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Then5 
arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, ; 
the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they 
would do according to this word. So they 
sware. Then Ezra rose up from before the 6 
house of God, and went into the chamber of 
Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he 
came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink 
water: for he mourned because of the trespass 
of them of the captivity. And they made pro-7 | 
clamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto 
all the children of the captivity, that they should 
gather themselves together unto Jerusalem ; and 8 
that whosoever came not within three days, 
according to the counsel of the princes and the 
elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and 
himself separated from the congregation of the 
captivity. 

Then all the men of Judah and Ben- 9 
jamin gathered themselves together unto Jeru- | 
salem within the three days; it was the ninth 
month, on the twentieth day of the month: and 
all the people sat in the broad place before the 
house of God, trembling because of this matter, 
and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest rc 
stood up, and said unto them, Ye have tres- 
passed, and have married strange women, to 
increase the guilt of Israel. Now therefore make ri! 
confession unto the Lord, the God of your — 
fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate your- 
selves from the peoples of the land, and from the 
strange women. Then all the congregation 1: 
answered and said witha loud voice, As thou hast 
said concerning us, so must we do. But the! 
people are many, and it is a time of much rain, | 
and we are not able to stand without, neither is | 
this a work of one day or two: for we have | 
greatly transgressed in this matter. Let now 1) 
our princes be appointed for all the congregation, 
and let all them that are in our cities which have | 
married strange women come at appointed times, — 
and with them the elders of every city, and the — 
judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God | 
be turned from us, until this matter be des- | 
patched. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and ! 
Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this | 
matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the | 


Settee 


. and Levites, for avd see Guthe, SBOT. 


According to Jos. § 149 there was a meeting of the elders in the upper room (but Niese | 


Levite helped them. 


mg. were appointed over this (matter). ’ 


assessors, (ἃ συνεβράβευσαν, & cooperati (305 consenserunt). 


54 


5 Il ESDRAS: 9. τς- Ezra 10 

13tothem. And they that were of the captivity 
did according to all these things. 

16 And Esdras the priest chose unto him principal 
men of their families, all by name: and on the 
new moon of the tenth month they were shut in 

17 together to examine the matter. So their cause 

that held strange wives was brought to an end 

by the new moon of the first month. 
18 And of the 
priests that were come together, and had strange 

19 wives, there were found ; of the sons of Jesus 
the son of Josedek, and his brethren ; Mathelas, 

2oand Eleazar, and Joribus, and Joadanus. And 
they gave their hands to put away their wives, 
and zo offer rams to make reconcilement for 

21 their error. And of the sons of Emmer; Ana- 
nias, and Zabdeus, and Manes, and Sameus, and 
Hiereel, and Azarias. 

22 And of the sons of Phaisur; 
Elionas, Massias, Ismael, and Nathanael, and 

"25 Ocidelus, and Saloas. And of the Levites ; 
Jozabdus, and Semeis, and Colius, who was called 
Calitas, and Patheus, and Judas, and Jonas. 

24 Of 

25 the holy singers ; Eliasibus, Bacchurus. Of the 

26 porters; Sallumus, and Tolbanes. Of Israel, of 
the sons of Phoros; Hiermas, and Ieddias, and 
Melchias, and Maelus, and Eleazar, and Asibias, 

27and Banneas. Of the sons of Ela; Matthanias, 
Zacharias, and Jezrielus, and Oabdius, and Hiere- 

28 moth,and Aedias. And of the sons of Zamoth; 

Eliadas, Eliasimus, Othonias, Jarimoth, and 


And the children of the 16 
captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, w7th 
certain heads of fathers’ Aowses, after their fathers’ 
houses, and all of them by their names, were 
separated ; and they sat down in the first day of 
the tenth month to examine the matter. And 17 
they made an end with all the men that had 
married strange women by the first day of the 
first month. And among the sons of the priests 18 
there were found that had married strange 
women: zamely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son 
of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and 
Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. And they τὸ 
gave their hand that they would put away their 
wives ; and being guilty, they offered a ram of 
the flock for their guilt. And of the sons of 2 
Immer; Hanani and Zebadiah. And of the 21 
sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and She- 
maiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. And of the sons 22 
of Pashhur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Ne- 
thanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. And of the 23 
Levites ; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the 
same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 
And of the singers; Eliashib: and of the porters; 24 
Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. 

And of Israel: 25 
of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Izziah, and 
Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Mal- 
chijah, and Benaiah. And of the sons of Elam ; 
Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and 
Jeremoth, and Elijah. And of the sons of 27 
Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jere- 


iS) 


6 


29 Sabathus, and Zardeus. Of the sons of Bebai; 


Laccunus, and Naidus, and Matthanias, and Ses- 
32 thel, Balnuus, and Manasseas. And of the sons 
- of Annas; Elionas, and Aseas, and Melchias, and 
33 Sabbeus, and Simon Chosameus. And of the 
sons of Asom; Maltanneus, and Mattathias, and 
Sabanneus, Eliphalat, and Manasses, and Semei. 
34 And of the sons of Baani; Jeremias, Momdis, 
Ismaerus, Juel, Mamdai, and Pedias, and Anos, 
Carabasion, and Enasibus, and Mamnitanemus, 
Eliasis, Bannus, Eliali, Someis, Selemias, Natha- 
nias: and of the sons of Ezora; Sesis, Ezril, 
35 Azaelus, Samatus, Zambri, Josephus. And of 
the sons of Nooma; Mazitias, Zabadeas, Edos, 
Juel, Banaias. 


On the variants see the comm. and £& 82. 
Zaccur should be added after Eliashib in E 24 (cf. Gk"). 


moth, and Zabad, and Aziza. And of the sons 28 
| Joannes, and Ananias, and Jozabdus, and Ema- | of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai. 
30 theis. Ofthe sons of Mani; Olamus, Mamuchus, | And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, 29 
_ Jedeus, Jasubus, and Jasaelus, and Hieremoth. | and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, Jeremoth. 

31 And of the sons of Addi; Naathus, and Moossias, And 30 


of the sons of Pahath-moab ; Adna, and Chelal, 
Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Bin- 
nui,and Manasseh. And of the sons of Harim ; 31 
Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon ; 
Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah. 
Hashum; Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, 
Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei. Of the sons of 34 
Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel; Benaiah, 35 
Bedeiah, Cheluhi ; Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib ; 36 


Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu; and Bani, and 37, 38 


Binnui, Shimei ; and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and 39 


Adaiah ; Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai; Azarel, 40, 41 


and Shelemiah, Shemariah ; Shallum, Amariah, 42 
Joseph. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, 43 


16. chose; read accordingly in E ‘separated for himself’ (Eichhorn, Bayer, &c.), or better (Torrey) ‘ they separated’. 


to examine .. ., MT v7); the singular Heb. word has a no less singular resemblance to ‘ Darius’ (W177). 

20. Read in E 19 ‘and for their guilt offering . . .᾿ (DOWN) for OWN) ‘and being guilty’). 

21-36. In view of the tenour of the whole narrative viii. 68-ix. 20 this list of 113 (E, 111 @) offenders is an 
anticlimax. On the one hand, the separation of the people of Israel generally, though anticipated at this juncture 
{see viii. 91-ix. 17), is not recorded until N ix. 2, after the reading of the law. On the other hand, the list cannot refer 
only to ‘ the congregation that had come out of captivity’ with E (N viii. 17, combined with the purified Israel in x. 28), 
since the families of Harim, Hashum and Nebo did not return with E, but many years earlier under Zerubbabel. 
There are omissions in vv. 21, 25, much confusion in vv. 31 seqq., and 


55 


Of the sons of 32, 33 


EsprAS 


All these had taken strange wives, 
and they put them away with their children. 


30 


And 
the priests and Levites, and they that were of 
Israel, dwelt in Jerusalem, and in the country, on 
the new moon of the seventh month, and the 
children of Israel in their habitations. 

And the whole multitude were gathered toge- 
ther with one accord into the broad place before 
39 the porch of the temple toward the east: and 

they said unto Esdras the priest and reader, 

Bring the law of Moses, that was given of the 
40 Lord, the God of Israel. So Esdras the chief priest 
brought the law unto the whole multitude both 
of men and women, and to all the priests, to hear 
the law on the new moon of the seventh month. 
And he read in the broad place before the porch 
of the temple from morning unto midday, before 
both men and women; and all the multitude gave 
heed unto the law. 


91 


38 


- 


4 


And Esdras the priest and 
reader of the law stood up upon the pulpit of 
wood, which was made for that purpose. And 
there stood up by him Mattathias, Sammus, Ana- 
nias, Azarias, Urias, Ezekias, Baalsamus, upon 
44 the right hand: and upon his left hand, Phaldeus, 
Misael, Melchias, Lothasubus, Nabarias, Zacha- 


43 


I ESDRAS 9. 36-44 4 


Ϊ 


| the children of Israel were in their cities. | 


Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah. All 44. 
these had taken strange wives: and some of | 
them had wives by whom they had children. 

So the priests, and the Levites, and the Ny ἡ 
porters, and the singers, and some of the people, 73 ' 
and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their | 
cities. And when the seventh month was come, 


And all the people gathered themselves together Nj) 8 
asone man into the broad place that was beforethe 
water gate ; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe 
to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the 
Lord had commanded to Israel. 

And Ezrathe 
priest brought the law before the congregation, 2 
both men and women, and all that could hear — 
with understanding, upon the first day of the | 
seventh month. And he read therein before the 3 | 
broad place that was before the water gate from 
early morning until midday, in the presence of 
the men and the women, and of those that could 
understand ; and the ears of all the people were 
attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra 4. 
the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which 
they had made for the purpose ; and beside him 
stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and 
Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right 
hand ; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mis- | 
hael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hash- © 


36. The MT cannot be translated (R.V. mg. has ‘some of the wives had borne children’) and E’s reading is | 
eminently more intelligible. ᾿ 
The division between the books E and N which occurs at this point is a relatively late feature in the MT. The 
scribes counted them as one book. This is important in considering questions of the transposition and rearrangement! 
of the contents. ’ 


The Reading of the Law, ix. 37-55 = Neh. vil. 73-viii. 13 a, cf. Jos. xi. 5 5. The view is strongly urged (Hoonacker, 
Ryle, Meyer, Bertholet, Nikel, Jampel, Driver, &c.) that E iv. 7 seqq. ( ii. 16 seqq.), which cannot refer to the return © 
of Ezra, fills partially at least the gap between the books E and N. This would imply a new catastrophe, a new and | 
important return, and a somewhat extensive work of rebuilding in the time of Artaxerxes, after E x. and before Ni. " 
On the other hand, the formal proceedings of the adversaries in E iv. 7 seqq. and the words of the king do not suggest 
that the opponents would be likely to exceed instructions which, in themselves, are not necessarily sufficient to explain 
the ruined Jerusalem which so deeply moved Nehemiah. Further, it cannot be assumed that the disgrace of 113 | 
offenders in the matter of the mixed marriages aroused the hostility that is represented in N i.-vi. The people | 
themselves had recognized their sin (£ viii. 68 seqq.), they feel themselves to be the ‘holy seed’, and the proposed | 
covenant and the willingness of the people to act ‘according to the law’ (v. 94, E x. 3), would make the entire tenour — 
of the narrative unintelligible unless the writer was describing the successful issue (despite the obscure opposition in 4 _ 
E x. 15) of steps initiated, not by Ezra, but by the community (Meyer, 228, 240, 241 n. 2, Torrey, 278). Moreover, the ᾿ 
close literary connexion between E ix. seq. and N viii. 5666. forbids the severance of these portions (see above, p.47¢). | 
The sequence of events in £ ix. is adopted by many (Michaelis, Fr., Berth., &c.), but can hardly be original, since © 
there is stilla lacuna between the reforms and the Reading of the Law, and ix. 37, though the natural introduction to the 
latter, is not in place after vv. 1-36 (note the awkward dates vv. 17, 37). v. 378 more properly concludes the account | 
of some return, as in v. 46, where vv. 47 seqq. describe another religious event, also dated in the seventh month. | 
Finally, it is a very natural supposition that the law brought by Ezra was being made known during the four months’ | 
interval between viii. 67 and 68 (E viii. and ix.); see A. P. Stanley, Jew. Church, iii. 118; Lupton, 60. Hence it is | 
highly probable, following Torrey (Comp. 29 seqq., Essays, 253 seqq., 260 seq.), H. P. Smith (His¢. 393), and ‘Kent | 
(ii, 369 seqq.), that the introduction of the law to the notice of the people came at the beginning of Ezra’s work | 
(after E vil.), and thus explains the people’s recognition of their sins. Such an arrangement is found in the Greek | 
summaries of Esdras Book I (= 4) and Esdras Book II (= N) in Lag. Sept. Stud., ii, 84 (see below, p. 58). 

38. For the locality cf. v. 47, ix.6. Perhaps the compiler who placed this narrative before N i.-viii. believed that the 
water-gate was in ruins (see N iii. 26); cf. the adjustment in E iii. 1. 

39. &* ‘the chief priest’, vv. 40, 49 (contrast N). . 
_ 40. the priests, a misreading of j3 for 3) (see E viii. 16, 1 Chron. xxv. 8), or merely a paraphrase ; in any case | 
in an unsuitable position. 

41. all the multitude . . ., mg. they gave all heed ((π5). 

43 seq. & adds Azariah after Anaiah, reads Hezekiah for Hilkiah, 
other variants see £ Bz. and comm. 


and perhaps rightly omits Meshullam. For 


56 


|gsrias. Then took Esdras the book of the law 
before the multitude, and sat honourably in the 
first place before all. 


6 And when he opened the 
i law, they stood all straight up. So Esdras blessed 
the Lord God Most High, the God of hosts, 
ἢ Almighty. And all the people answered, Amen ; 
and lifting up their hands they fell to the ground, 
4g and worshipped the Lord. Also Jesus, Annus, 
Sarabias, Iadinus, Jacubus, Sabateus, Auteas, 
Maiannas, and Calitas, Azarias, and Jozabdus, 
and Ananias, Phalias, the Levites, taught the law 
of the Lord, 

and read to the multitude the law of 
the Lord, making them withal to understand it. 
1g Then said Attharates unto Esdras the chief priest 
and reader, and to the Levites that taught the 
‘o multitude, even to all, This day is holy unto the 
Lord ; (now they all wept when they heard the 
law :) 


go then, and eat the fat, and drink the 
sweet, and send portions to them that have 
-2nothing; for the day is holy unto the Lord: 
and be not sorrowful; for the Lord will bring 
you to honour. 


ἡ" 


3 


So the Levites published all 
things to the people, saying, This day is holy; 
4be not sorrowful. Then went they their way, 
» every one to eat and drink, and make merry, 
and to give portions to them that had nothing, 
-|5and to make great cheer; because they under- 
_ stood the words wherein they were instructed, 


| and for the which they had been assembled. 


(wanting in 3.5). 
47. Amen, &&® $+ Amen, cf. N. 

| 1s apparently a corruption of Banaias. 

and read ... Lord, G&*i om. 

The texts are confused, see N&. 

ΟΠ ch exe 3); others omit ‘N which was’ (Fr., Schlatter, 


omitting all reference to N (Meyer, 200 n. 3; Howorth, 
caused by the presence of N or of an unnamed Tirshatha 


to give the Tirshatha undue prominence, but this may be 
the governor Bagohi in the Sachau papyri. 
52. honour, NN, ‘joy’, misread N77 (Ball). 


and for the which... 


the verb. Bayer’s explanation (go seq.) seems too artifi 


. Succession of Eliashib (cf. N xii. 10). He then gives a 


_ | aband of exiles in the 25th year of Xerxes (cf. N iii. 9). 


I ESDRAS 9. 45-55 


48. The teachers are Levites, cf. 2 Chron. xvii. 8 seq., and contrast N and. 


version or else based upon another recension (xi. 5 6-8). 


baddanah, Zechariah, avd Meshullam. And 5 
Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the 
people; (for he was above all the people ;) and 
when he opened it, all the people stood up: and 6 
Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all 
the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lift- 
ing up of their hands: and they bowed their 
heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces 
to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and 7 
Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, 
Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, 
Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to 
understand the law: and the people s¢ood in 
their place. And they read in the book, in the 8 
law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, 
so that they understood the reading. And 9 
Nehemiah, which was the Tirshatha, and Ezra 
the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught 
the people, said unto all the people, This day is 
holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor 
weep. For all the people wept, when they heard 
the words of the law. Then he said unto them, 
Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, 
and send portions unto him for whom nothing 
is prepared : for this day is holy unto our Lord: 
neither be ye grieved ; for the joy of the Lord 
is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the 
people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is 
holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the 
people went their way to eat, and to drink, and 
to send portions, and to make great mirth, 
because they had understood the words that 
were declared unto them. 

And on the second day were gathered to- 
gether... 


46. (ἃ 3. (but not τ) transliterate the familiar NINI¥ 11’, and add the paraphrase Παντοκράτωρ, omnipotentem 
On the use of this paraphrase, see H. St. J. Thackeray, Gram. of O.T. in Greek, 9, and for the 
distribution of the term ‘ Lord of Hosts’, see M. Lohr, Buch Amos (Betheft to ZATW, 1g01), 38 seqq. 


On the forms in & see E Lz.; Annus 


49. In N, some read ‘and N and E’, omitting ‘which was the Tirshatha’ (Smend, Stade, Wellh., Nikel, &c., 


Guthe, Torrey, &c.) ; and yet others read simply ‘and E’, 
PSBA, xxv. 15 seq.; Berth., Jahn, Davies). The difficulty 
makes it still more difficult to remove it by simple excision. 


| The identification of N and the Tirshatha, even if a gloss, expresses a plausible view (cf. N x. 1), and its omission in 
E may be due to the presence of the passage before N i. seqq. (cf. Meyer, 200 ἢ. 3). 


N and especially “ may seem 
supported by v. 40, N vil. 70 (his gifts), and the position of 


53. published, ἐκέλευον, an error for κωλύω, or DWM (‘stilled’) read as DN. 

55. understood, mg. were inspired by; ἐνεφυσιώθησαν (cf. John xx. 22); cf. v. 48 ἐμφυσιοῦντες Gua τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν. 
This conceals the abruptness of (τ : καὶ ἐπισυνήχθησαν. 
δευτέρᾳ συνηχ., but Z, which handles the MT more freely (cf. the dates in viii. 62, ix. 37), probably placed the date after 


NG reads καὶ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ 


cial. (ἀπ cites the whole of N 13. 2 reads: et coadunati 


(congregati) sunt omnes (universi) in ler. iocundari (celebrare laetitiam) secundum dispositionem (testamentum) 
Domini dei Israel; %°+ explicit Esdrae liber primus de templi restitutione. Jos., whose treatment of the story of E is 
free and summary, proceeds to refer to the feast of tabernacles (N viii. 16 seqq.), the return of the people to their homes, 
the death of the aged E, and his burial in Jerusalem contemporary with the death of the high-priest Joiakim and the 


summary of the labours of N, either an extremely arbitrary 
N, hearing of the desolation and captivity, returns with 
He appeals to the people (cf. ii. 17 seq.) and the work of 


57 


ΝΕΗ. 8 


PESDEAS 


rebuilding is distributed (cf. iii.) Ammon, Moab, Samaria, and Coelesyria are hostile, but the walls (evidently begu 
in the 5th month, ef. vi. 15) are completed in 2 years 4 months, in the 9th month of the 28th year of Xerxes (N ν. 
ignored). The walls are dedicated (cf. xii. 27 seqq.) and there is a feast of eight days. The surrounding peoples 
enraged at the completion of the building (cf. vi. 16). The population of the city is augmented (cf. vii. 4, xi.), a 
arrangements are made for the priests and Levites (cf. xii. 44, xiii. 10-13). N dies an old man, and the walls of 
city are his eternal monument (cf. Ben Sira, xlix. 13). Next follows the story of Esther (xi. 6), and the Samari 
schism (cf. N xiii.) is placed at the close of the Persian age (xi. 7, 8). Thus Jos. does not testify to the present fragmenta 
condition of Z ; he treats the life of E independently of and before that of N, and his points of agreement with the 
make his divergences the more significant. ; ἶ ‘ ». 
A Syriac Catena (Brit. Mus. Add. 12168), representing a text of the seventh cent., illustrates the relationship between 
ΑΕ and the MT in an interesting manner. It uses 1 and 2 Chron., ‘1 Ezra’ (i.e. Z), ‘2 Ezra (i.e. N) and Daniel ; 
E is said to be ‘according to the tradition of the Seventy (ie. the Septuagint).’ ite passes from 2 Chron. XXXV. 20-25 to 
E ii, 1-15, 16, 24-30, iv. 35 4-36, 38-40, 49-57, V- 47-73, Vi. I-2, vil. 6-15, vill. 1-26, 68-72, 91-6, ix. I-Io, — 
Then follow N i. 1-4, ii. 1-8, iv. 1-3, 10-16, vi. 15-16, vii. 73 -vili. 18, ix. 1-3 (the references are to the R.V.). This 
removal of the Reading of the Law appears to be a compromise between £ (note the retention of Ix. 46 6-47) and the 
MT of N. But there is some evidence that ~ may have had another sequel, and that it or a following book may have 
treated the life of E and of N on other lines (cf. H. Bloch, Quellen d. FU. Jos., 1879, p. 79 seq.). Thus according to. { 
Justin Mart. (Dial. TryPph. \xxii) an account of the passover celebrated by E was among the passages cancelled by the 
Jews. The passage quoted recurs in Lactantius (Last. iv. 18): ‘Apud Esdram ita scriptum est : Et dixit Esdras ad 
populum: Hoc pascha Salvator noster est, et refugium nostrum, cogitate et ascendat (Just. καὶ ἐὰν διανοηθῆτε καὶ ἀναβῇ) Ὁ 
in cor uestrum, quoniam habemus humiliare eum in signo (Just. ὅτι μέλλομεν αὐτὸν ταπεινοῦν ἐν σημείῳ), et post ha 
sperabimus (but Epit. xlviii. -avzws) in eum, ne deseratur (J. ἐρημωθη) hic locus in aeternum tempus (J. ἅπαντα χρόνον 
dicit Dominus Deus virtutum (λέγει 6 θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων [= MNS ΠῚΠ᾽]). Si non credideritis ei neque exaudieritis 
annuntiationem eius, eritis derisio (ἐπίχαρμα) in gentibus.’ ia 
The quotation may be compared generally with the spirit of E’s prayers (E ix., N ix.). It can hardly be based — ; 
upon E viii. 35, which recalls the sacrifices at the dedication of the Temple by Zerubbabel (vi. 17) mentioned before 
the celebration of the passover by the ‘children of the captivity’ (vi. 19 seqq.). Elsewhere the chronicler deals at _ 
length with the passover celebrated by Hezekiah and Josiah (2 Chron, xxx., xxxv.), in each case after a restorati { 
or reform of the Temple, and 2 Chron. xxx. 6-9 illustrate the importance attached to the celebration. It is very note~ 
worthy, also, that the Latin Lucca Synopsis (Lag. 18 seq.), after using Z iii. seq., combines the return of Zerubbab 
with that of E (using £ viii.) and asserts that the passover was celebrated on reaching Jerusalem. Moreover, a Gre 
synopsis of 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras (= N) testifies to E’s passover. According to 1 Z, Jeshua, E and Zer. were the | 
three youths of Δ᾽ ili. seq., and the statement of the return is followed immediately by the notice that the builders were. 
Zer., Jeshua and N ; E brings the law, reads it, casts out the foreign wives and the people observe the passover a1 
a fast. As for 2 E: ἐν τούτῳ τῷ βιβλίῳ τὰ αὐτὰ μὲν TO πρώτῳ λέγει Ἔ. περὶ τῆς ἐπανόδου χωρὶς τῶν προβληθέντων. But it 
is chiefly concerned with ‘ N. the eunuch’ and his building of the Temple. E reads the law and celebrates the passover, 
and in the seventh month there is a fast and the Feast of Tabernacles. E then notices the foreign marriages (Ashdodite | 
women are mentioned, see N xiii. 23) and persuades the people to promise to observe the law and expel the women. 
They swear to keep the law and after being cleansed rejoice and depart each to his own home (Lag. Sef7. Stud. ii. 84). ἢ 
It seems clear from the foregoing evidence that the form of the narrative whether in the present EN or in 2 was not — 
the only one extant. See further, /¢rod., p. 17. Ἢ 


58 


“1 ΕΠ Ἰ BOOK OF MACCABEES 


INTRODUCTION 


Ci Une. 


THE Greek title Μακκαβαίων ἴ a’ takes its origin from the surname applied, in the first instance, 
‘to Judas (cp. 1 Macc. ii. 4. 66; 2 Macc. viii. 5.16; x. 1. τό, &c.), but later on to all the members 
of the family and their followers. The title is transliterated by Origen (Eusebius, 7152. Eccl. vi. 
25. 2) Σαρβὴθ Σαβαναιέλ (= "ΟΠ Ma 1D ‘the book of the house of the Hasmonezans’, see 
further, Dalman, Aramdaische Grammatik, p. 7 [2nd ed.]) ; but this title is Aramaic, and is not likely 
to have stood at the head of a book written in Hebrew (see § 6); it was, therefore, probably, the 
title of an Aramaic translation of the original Hebrew. What the actual title of the book in its original 
form was, is not known. 


§ 2. CONTENTS. 


Oe ee ae, ee τ 


εἰ The book is a sober and, on the whole, trustworthy account of the Jewish struggle for religious 
liberty and political independence during the years 175-135 B.C., i.e. from the accession of Antiochus 
Epiphanes to the death of Simon the Maccabee. The narrative is, with few exceptions, written in 
chronological order, and is concerned almost wholly with military events. The main part of the 
book deals with the exploits of Judas Maccabaeus, who is regarded as the central figure in the whole 
struggle. The divisions of the book are clearly marked, and are as follows : 
i. 1-g. A brief introduction in which reference is made to the conquests of Alexander the Great, 
and the division of his kingdom. 
10-64. The original cause of the Maccabaean struggle. 
ii. 1-70. The beginning of the struggle, under the leadership of Mattathias. 
iii. I-ix. 22. The account of the events during the leadership of Judas. The purification of 
the Temple and re-dedication of the altar. The acquisition of religious liberty. 
ix. 23-xii. 53. The leadership of Jonathan; the establishment of the Hasmonaean high-priest- 
hood. 
xiii, τον. 24. The leadership of Simon ; political independence secured. A brief reference to 
the rule of John Hyrcanus. 


§ 3. THE AUTHOR. 


: There are no direct indications in the book as to who the author was, nor is anything to be gathered 
elsewhere regarding him ; but some points concerning him may be inferred from certain dada in his 
book. It is clear that he was a rigid adherent of orthodox Judaism, and his patriotism is everywhere 
evident. That he was a native of Palestine is equally clear, for he manifests an intimate, and even 
minute knowledge, both of the geography and topography of the land. There are grounds for 
'|believing that he belonged to the circle of the Sadducees ; although a loyal upholder of the Law, his 
[268] is not characterized by any approach to Pharisaic fanaticism ; his sympathy for the Jewish high- 
|pfiesthood is frequently manifested; his tolerant attitude towards the profaning of the Sabbath 
|i. 413; ix. 43 ff.) is very different from that which would have been adopted by a Pharisee ; there is 
Mot the slightest hint of a belief in the life after death, see ii. 52 ff. where a reference to this would 
have been eminently appropriate, had it been believed in. These reasons go far in justifying the 
‘opinion that the author was a Sadducee. 


= 


+ The name is derived, most probably, from the Hebrew 72) ‘ hammer’ (cp. Judges iv.21) ; another derivation is 
suggested by S. J. Curtiss (Zhe name Machadvee, Leipzig, 1876), namely ‘32’ ‘quencher ἡ (cp. Isa. xliii. 17), i.e. he who 
xterminated the enemies of his people. Earlier commentators explained the name as consisting of the initial letters 
bf the words mn ΟΝ ADMD 1D (‘who is like unto thee among the gods, Yahweh’, Exod. xv. 11); but there is no 
_/feason to suppose that a cryptic title of this kind would have been adopted by those whose special boast was loyalty 
[Ὁ their God and His Law. 


59 


I MACCABEES 


§ 4. DATE OF THE BOOK. 


The passages which throw light on the date of the composition of the book are : ; 

(a) In reference to the sepulchre which Simon the Maccabee built for his parents and his four 
brothers at Modin, the writer says in xiii. 30: ‘This is the sepulchre which he made at Modin, and it 
is there unto this day. The sepulchre in question was an elaborate one, as is clear from the 
description given (xiii. 27-29) ; it consisted of seven pyramids with ‘ great pillars’ around them ; when, 
therefore, it is spoken of as being in existence ‘unto this day’, it must have been standing for some 
considerable time when the author wrote this book. The building of this sepulchre is described as _ 
having taken place immediately after the death of Jonathan (xiil. 25), 1. 6. in 143 B.C.,and Simon | 
was murdered in 135 B.C. When the writer, therefore, speaks of the sepulchre standing ‘unto this 
day’, we must allow at the least the lapse of about thirty years, probably more, from the time the 
year 143 B.C. to the time when the writer made this statement. That would make the earliest 
‘possible date of the book about 110 B.C. i 

(6) But in xvi. 23,24 we have the following: ‘ And the rest of the acts of John, and of his wars... | 
behold, they are written in the chronicles of his high-priesthood, from the time that he was made | 
high-priest after his father’; the formula here used is very frequent in the O.T., but it is invariably 
employed in reference to a ruler whose reign has been concluded. These chronicles, that is to say, | — 
took up the narrative at which our author ceased his account; therefore he was writing at a period 
subsequent to the time at which the chronicles of John’s high-priesthood had been compiled. Now — 
John (Hyrcanus) died in 105 B.C., so that even if the records of his doings were being kept from 
year to year during his rule, they were not finished until the year 105 B.C., and therefore the | 
writer of t Macc. did not begin his work until, at the earliest, after this year. On the other hand, 
the book cannot have been written after the year 63 B.C., for it was in the autumn of this year 
that Pompey took Jerusalem, and desecrated the Temple by entering into the Holy of Holies | 
(cp. Josephus, Azézg. XIV. iv. 2-4; Bell. Jud. I. vii. 3-6); it is inconceivable that the book would | 
have contained no reference to this, had it been written after this calamity had taken place. Cf. the | 
references to the faithfulness of the Romans as allies (viii. 1. 12, xii. I, xiv. 40). Roughly speaking, 
therefore, the book must have been finished some time between the years 100-70 B. C., nearer the former | 
than the latter date. But this does not mean to say that the writer did not degzz his work at an | 
earlier period ; for, although, the author made use of certain documents (see below), which implies, | 
of course, that he was writing some time subsequent to the events recorded, there are passages which 
certainly give the impression that he wrote as a contemporary of those who took the leading part in 
those events; such a passage, e.g. as xiv. 4-15, in which the details of Simon’s reign are described, » 
reads like the account of an eye-witness; it was a period of peace (‘And the land had rest all the | 
days of Simon’), and therefore conducive to literary work. There seems to be nothing that can be 
urged against the belief that the writer began his work during the reign of Simon; the looking-up of | 
records, and the compiling of a book which is, upon the face of it, a very careful piece of work, must | 
have taken some time to complete. The conclusion, therefore, is that the gathering of materials | 
began as early as the time of Simon (142-135 B. C.), but that the completed work must be dated some | 
time later. We cannot be far wrong in assigning the work in its final form to somewhere during the 
last quarter of the second century B. C. 


§ 5. LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS CHARACTERISTICS. 


Although a translation (see καὶ 6) the literary style of the book is admirable ; the narrative is written! 
in a simple, straightforward manner, with an entire absence of anything artificial ; the reader’s interest 
is engaged throughout, both on account of the easy flow in the style of writing, as well as on account, 
of the graphic way in which the details are presented. The author writes as a historian, whose duty) 
it is to record the facts without colouring them with personal observations; he is impartial, but this) 
does not prevent him from sometimes bursting out into a poetical strain. While, as might be) 
expected, there are frequent reminiscences of the language of the Old Testament, the author in no) 
wise imitates this, his writing being marked throughout by his own individual style. On the othe | 
hand, there are not infrequent exaggerations, especially in point of numbers; and considerable 
freedom is observable in the way in which discourses are put into the mouths of important persons: 
but in these things the author only shows himself to be the child of his age; his substantial accuracy 
and trustworthiness are not affected thereby. ᾿ 

From the religious standpoint the book is likewise marked by special characteristics ; these are tc 
be explained partly by the writer’s sober and matter-of-fact way of looking at things, and partly by — 
the somewhat altered religious outlook of the age as compared with earlier times. The most striking 


60 


ae 


INTRODUCTION 


characteristics here are (i) that the direct divine intervention in the nation’s affairs is not nearly so 
_ prominently expressed as in the books of the Old Testament ; and (ii) that God is not mentioned by 
-name in the whole book. The writer is very far from being wanting in religious belief and feeling ; 
his conviction of the existence of an all-seeing Providence who helps those who are worthy comes out 
strongly in such passages as ii. 61, iii. 18 ff., iv. 10 ff., ix. 46, xii. 15; but he evidently has an almost 
equally strong belief in the truth expressed in the modern proverb, that ‘God helps those who help 
themselves’. This very sensible religious attitude, which is as far removed from scepticism as it is 
- from fatalism, fully corresponds to the writer's sober impartiality as a historian. But his attitude was, 
doubtless, also due to the influence of certain tendencies which were beginning to assert themselves. 
'These centred round the Jewish doctrine of God. Just as there was a disinclination, on account of 
its transcendent holiness, to utter the name of God, and instead, to substitute paraphrases for it, 
80 there arose also a disinclination to ascribe action among men directly to God, because of His 
‘inexpressible majesty. One result of this was the further tendency to emphasize and extend the 
scope of human free-will. These tendencies were only beginning to exert their influence, but they 
largely explain the religious characteristics of the book. 


δ 6. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 


In his Prologus Galeatus Jerome distinctly states that Hebrew was the language in which the 
| book was written: ‘Machabaeorum primum librum hebraicum repperi’ (cp. also the title given by 
| Origen, see ὁ 1 above). The question arises, nevertheless, as to whether Hebrew proper or Palestinian 
Aramaic is meant; two considerations, however, make it almost certain that it was Hebrew. In 
the first place, the writer clearly takes as his pattern the ancient inspired Scriptures (cp. Grimm, 
p. xvii), so that the obvious presumption is that he would have written in the holy tongue. And, 
secondly, there are many indications in the book itself that it was translated from Hebrew rather 
}than from Aramaic, many of these will be found in the commentary ; in some cases, mistakes in transla- 
tion are most easily and naturally accounted for on the supposition that they were translated from 
Hebrew, e.g. i. 28 καὶ ἐσείσθη ἣ γῆ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας αὐτήν : this presupposes an original ὃν which 
was translated ‘against’ instead of ‘ because of’; it can mean either of these, according to the context; 
fother examples are found in ix. 24, xiv. 28, see notes in commentary. There are, furthermore, many 
examples of Hebrew idiomatic phrases translated literally into Greek. There can, therefore, be no 
reasonable doubt that the book was originally written in Hebrew. But it seems clear that this 
original Hebrew text was little used, and disappeared altogether at a very early period; the reasons 
which lead to this supposition are firstly that not even does Josephus show any signs of having used 
it, and secondly, as Torrey (£. 2B. 2866) points out: ‘ There is no evidence of correction from the 
Hebrew, either in the Greek, or in any other of the versions ...on the contrary, our Greek version 
is plainly seen to be the result of a single translation from a Hebrew manuscript which was not free 
from faults.’ 


§ 7. THE SOURCES OF THE BOOK. 


One of the chief sources of information utilized by the writer of 1 Macc. seems to have been the 
accounts given to him by eye-witnesses of many of the events recorded ; one is led to this conviction 
by considering the wonderfully graphic descriptions of certain episodes (cp., 6. g., iv. I-24, vil. 28-54, 
Vil, 26-50, ix. I-22, 32-53, x. 59-66, &c.), the sober presentation of the facts, and the frequent 
mention of details obviously given for no other reason than that they actually occurred. That the 
writer had also written sources to draw from is to be presumed from such passages as ix. 22: ‘And 
|the rest of the acts of Judas, and his wars, and the valiant deeds which he did, and his greatness, 
{they are not written,’ the implication being that in part these acts had been written (cp. xi. 37, xiv. 18, 
127, 48, 49), and xvi. 23, 24: ‘And the rest of the acts of John . . . behold, they are written in the 
_thronicles of his high-priesthood. . . .’ 

; Besides these sources, there are a certain number of documents which have been incorporated in 
the book ; the genuineness, or otherwise, of these requires some more detailed consideration. They 
fall into three groups; but for reasons which will become apparent the documents belonging to each 
3foup respectively cannot in every case be kept separate. 


i. Letters of Fewish origin. 


(a) The letter from the Jews in Gilead asking Judas to send them help because they were being 
ttacked by the Gentiles (v. 10-13), This purports to contain the very words which were written ; 
ut it is probably merely a summary of what the author of the book had derived from some well- 
nformed source; that it represents, however, in brief, the contents of some written document, and 


61 


1 MACCABEES ὰ 
was not simply a verbal message, may be assumed, as it stands in contrast to what is said to have | 
been a verbal message in v. 1.5. ἣν ΗΝ “-“χ"σ 
(ὁ) The letter from Jonathan to the Spartans (xii. 6-18). Concerning this it must be said that 
the artificial way in which it has been pressed into the text is sufficient to arouse suspicion. In xii. 1 
we are told of an embassy being sent to Rome; the narrative is broken by v. 2 which refers toa | 
letter which was sent to the Spartans, and ‘to other places’; in v. 3, which comes naturally after v1, | 
the thread of the narrative is taken up again. Then in v. 5, where one might reasonably have | 
expected further details about the embassy to Rome, it goes on to say: ‘And this is the copy of the 
letter which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans. The copy of this letter then follows ; but the main 
subject with which the chapter began, obviously a more important one, 1s left without further | 
mention. On considering the letter itself, it must strike one that it is not easy to understand what | 
the purpose of it was. In v. 10 the purpose is stated to be the renewing of brotherhood and friend- | 
ship ; but in the same breath, as it were, it is said that the Jews needed none of these things, ‘ having | 
for our encouragement the holy books which are in our hands.’ Then, again, in v. 13, after reference | 
has been made to the afflictions which the Jews had endured, the letter continues (vv. 14, 15): ‘We ~ 
were not mindful, therefore, to be troublesome unto you . . . for we have the help which is from 
heaven to help us. . . .’ Thus, in the same letter, brotherhood and friendship are desired, on the one | 
hand, while on the other it is said that this is not required. The object of the letter is, therefore, not _ 
apparent; nor can it be said that it reads like a genuine document. That a relationship of some 
kind existed between the Jews and the Spartans need not be doubted ; the letter probably reflects | 
the fact of this relationship, which the writer of this book, or more probably a later editor, desired to | 
place on record, while not wishing to make it appear that his people had any need to depend upon 
foreign help in struggling with their enemies (see further the notes on this passage in the commentary). 
In connexion with this letter the following one must be considered. : 
(c) The letter from Areios, king of the Spartans, to Onias the high-priest (xii. 20-23). This owes 
its presence here to the fact that in the letter just dealt with Jonathan cites the existence of former | 
friendship between the Jews and the Spartans as a reason for renewing the same (xii. 7-9); it is — 
added as an appendix to Jonathan’s letter. The original of this document must have been written | 
about 150 to 200 years earlier than that in which it is incorporated (see the notes on the passage in | 
the commentary). It is only of indirect importance in the present connexion as it does not bear on | 
the history of the Maccabaean struggle. But the fact of a letter written so long before this period | 
being quoted here shows with what care such documents were preserved, and thus tends to inspire | 
confidence in the general historicity of our book, since it is clear that the writer (or, as in this case, | 
probably a later editor) had recourse to the national archives for information; for even if, as some 
commentators rightly believe, this letter was added by a later editor, it is equally true that he 
depended on ancient documents for his additions. 
(4) In xiv. 27-47 we have a source of an entirely different character. This passage contains | 
a panegyric on Simon, together with a réswmé of his prosperous reign. It is stated to have been 
engraved on tables of brass, and to have been set up in a conspicuous place within the precincts of 
the sanctuary ; copies of it are also said to have been deposited in the treasury (cp. vv. 27, 48, 49).| 
On comparing the details of Simon’s reign given in this section with those in chaps. xi—xiii, however,| _ 
it will be found that there are several chronological discrepancies. The course of the history, as μ 
given in the book itself, is acknowledged on all hands to be, on the whole, of a thoroughly trustworthy 
character ; but if the passage in question be really the copy of an official document, as it purports to) 
be, the accuracy of other portions of the book is, to some extent,impugned. It is difficult to suppose 
that one and the same author would write the historical account of Simon’s reign in chaps. xi-xiii, 
and then in the very next chapter give a réswmé of what had preceded differing from it in a numbe: 
of particulars. The suggested explanation of the difficulty is as follows: The original writer of the 
book gave in chaps. xi-xiii a substantially correct account of the period of history in question, but 
was inaccurate in the sequence of events; a later editor added a copy of the document under con- 
sideration, to which the original author of the book; for some reason or other, did not have access : 
or perhaps he gathered his materials from different eye-witnesses of the events recorded, and therefore 


: 


INTRODUCTION 


ii. Letters from the suzerain power (Syrian kings) to Fewish leaders. 


(a) The letter from Alexander Balas’ to Jonathan (x. 18-20). There can scarcely be two 
opinions regarding this document; it is not a copy of the letter, but merely its purport which our 
author has woven into his narrative, much after the same manner in which he incorporates the general 
| sense of the various speeches he records. It is far too short and abrupt to be the actual letter of one 
. ΠΟ who was seeking the help and alliance of the Jewish leader, and for whose friendship this aspirant to 


the Syrian throne was bidding. The author of our book, moreover, adds some words of his own in 
the middle of the letter, a thing he is scarcely likely to have done had he been quoting the actual 
words of the letter itself. On the other hand, there is not the slightest reason to doubt that a genuine 
document has been made use of here. 
(6) The letter from Demetrius I to the nation of the Jews (x. 25-45). This was written for the 
purpose of out-bidding Alexander Balas in promises of favour, remitting of taxes, and conferring of 
privileges, &c., on the Jews in return for their support in his struggle to retain his throne. While it 
/must be admitted that the letter is based upon an original document—all the probabilities go to 
| support this—there are two reasons for questioning the accuracy of the details. The promises and 
concessions made to the Jews are of such an exaggerated character that, had they really been made, 
they would have defeated their object by arousing suspicions among the Jews regarding the writer’s 
| sincerity ; this, indeed, was actually the case (see v. 46), but the reason of Jonathan’s incredulity is 
) not the character of the promises, but the fact that Demetrius had before done ‘ great evil in Israel ’, 
and ‘had afflicted them very sore’; that does not tally with the contents of the letter as given. If 
one compares the sober contents of another letter from Demetrius on the same subject, not actually 
' quoted, but incorporated in the narrative (x. 3-6), the document under consideration must strike one 
as untrustworthy as regards details. Then, in the second place, a number of the things actually 
| promised in the letter correspond so exactly with the highest aspirations of the Jews at this time, 
that they suggest rather the expression of Jewish ideals than actual promises ; such are, the promise that 
| Jerusalem is to be ‘holy and free’ (v. 31), a thing which would have been impossible for the Syrian 
king to grant if he was to have any real hold upon this part of his kingdom, a Syrian garrison in 
jerusalem being essential to his overlordship ; the promise to permit the full observance of all the 
-ancient feasts and holy-days, together with ‘immunity and release’ * for all Jews during these periods, 
_as well as during three days before and after each (vv. 34, 35); this would have meant an end to the 
| hellenization of Jewry which the Syrian kings had always regarded as indispensable if the Jews were 
to be their genuine subjects ; the promise that the Jews were to have their own laws (v. 37), a thing 
-which would have meant an zmperium in cmperio, a dangerous state of affairs from the Syrian point 
‘of view; and finally, the promise to remit a large amount of taxation, and to give princely gifts to 
the sanctuary (vv. 39 ff.); this would have meant considerable loss to the royal coffers at a time when 
“there was the highest need of increasing monetary supplies. For these reasons, the letter we are 
considering must be regarded as ungenuine so far as most of its details are concerned. 
(c) The letter from Demetrius II to Jonathan, enclosing one to Lasthenes (xi. 30-37). Most of 
»what has been said regarding (4) applies to this document as well. It represents an original letter, 
)the contents of which were utilized by the author of 1 Macc., and elaborated in accordance with his 
ideas of things. 
(4) The letter from Antiochus VI to Jonathan (xi. 57). This is clearly a succinct summing-up of 
the contents of the original letter; its extreme shortness and the absence of salutation show that, 
jalthough written in the first person, it does not profess to do more than to give the general sense of 
‘the original. 
(e) The letter from Demetrius II to Simon (xiii. 36-40). This letter, in which the Syrian king 
acknowledges receipt of certain presents from the Jewish high-priest, and confirms earlier privileges, 
_|is stamped with the mark of genuineness; it reads like an original, and is doubtless a copy of this. 
(f) The letter from Antiochus VII to Simon (xv. 2-9). To some extent what was said in 
_}teference to (6) and (c) applies also to this letter; it is probably not a verbatim copy of the original, 
but represents in part the contents of this; on the other hand, there are elements in it which are the 
€xpression of ardent desires rather than the actual facts of the case. 


iii, Letters from the rulers of foreign kingdonts, 


(2) The document containing the treaty of alliance between the Romans and the Jews (viii. 23-32). 
In vv. 24 ff. it is stated, as one of the articles of the treaty, that if the Romans are attacked, the Jews 


1 He was, of course, not yet king when he wrote this letter. 
? See, on this, the notes in the commentary. 


63 


I MACCABEES 


must not render the enemy any help, whether of ‘ food, arms, money, or ships’ (v. 26); this mention 
of ships is held by several commentators to be a proof that this document belongs to a later date 
than the time of Judas, when the Jews were not in possession of any ships, and that therefore the 
whole section is a later interpolation. But it is quite possible that the foresight of the Romans 
sufficiently explains this mention of ships; they might, indeed, very naturally have assumed the 
possession of ships by the Jews, as they must have been aware of the long stretch of coast-land which 
belonged to Palestine. It was, as a matter of fact, not long after the time of Judas that the Jews 
acquired a harbour: ‘ And amid all his glory he (i. e. Simon) took Joppa for a haven, and made it an 
entrance for the isles of the sea’ (xiv. 5),cp. also xiii. 29. There seems no sufficient reason to doubt 
that the author of 1 Macc. made use here of the actual document in question, though it may be that 
he gives only its general contents, and not a verbatim copy. ᾿ 
(ὁ) The letter from the Spartans to Simon (xiv. 20-22). We are confronted here with the same 
difficulty which occurs in the letter from Jonathan to the Spartans (xii. 6-18, see i. (6) above). The 
section opens (v. 16) with the words: ‘And it was heard at Rome that Jonathan was dead, and even 
unto Sparta, and they were exceedingly sorry ;’ it then goes on to say that the Romans wrote to 
Simon (who had succeeded his brother) on tables of brass to renew ‘the friendship and the 
confederacy’ (v. 18); but then, instead of giving a copy of this letter, as might reasonably have been 
expected, it goes on to say: ‘ And this is a copy of the letter which the Spartans sent.’ In this letter 
it is stated that the two Jewish ambassadors who were the bearers of it were Numenius, the son of 
Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason. But then the narrative (in v. 24) goes on: ‘ After this 
Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a great shield of gold of a thousand pound weight, in order to 
confirm the confederacy with them.’ On the previous occasion on which mention is made of a 
rapprochement between the Jews and the Romans on the one hand, and the Spartans on the other, 
the same two ambassadors were sent, first to the Romans and then to the Spartans, on the same 
» journey (see xii. 16,17); on the present occasion it is to be presumed, for the text implies it, that this | 
was also done ; but if so, how is one to account for the fact that in the letter to the Spartans these 
ambassadors are said to be the bearers of it, while immediately after (v. 24) it is said that Numenius | — 
started on his journey? Then there is this further difficulty ; is it likely, as stated in the text, that | 
on the death of Jonathan the Romans would have taken the initiative in renewing the treaty with ὦ 
the Jews? This seems to be directly contradicted by v. 24. It seems probable that vv. 17-23 are | 
an interpolation added later; this would also explain the otherwise unaccountable words ‘and even | 
unto Sparta’ in τ΄ 16, which was presumably put in because of the interpolation ; the text of this verse, Ὁ 
as it stands, cannot fail to strike one as suspicious: καὶ ἠκούσθη ἐν Ρώμῃ ὅτι ἀπέθανεν ᾿Ιωναθάν, καὶ ἕως 
Σπάρτης, καὶ ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα. The contents of the letter read like an official document; the © 
probability seems to be that use has been made of some genuine record which, as already remarked. | 
was interpolated at a later period. 
(c) The letter from Lucius, the Roman consul, to Ptolemy Euergetes II, king of Egypt (xv. 16-21). | 
This is the copy of a circular letter written in the name of ‘ Lucius the consul’, and brought back by | _— 
Numenius. In it the friendship between the Romans and the Jews is proclaimed ; copies of it are 
sent not only to the kings of Egypt and Syria, but also to a number of small separate States which | 
enjoyed complete independence. Now Josephus (Aztig. XIV. viii. 5) mentions a letter from the 
Roman Senate, written in the name of the praetor Lucius Valerius in reply to a message brought by | 
a Jewish embassy; as in the case just referred to, Numenius, the son of Antiochus, is one of the | 
ambassadors,' and he brings a gift of a golden shield ; the contents of the letter are similar, and it is, 
likewise, sent to a number of independent petty States. But, according to Josephus, this happened — 
in the ninth year of Hyrcanus II, who reigned 63-40 B.C. Now if, as is maintained by some | 
(especially by Willrich, in his Faden und Griechen vor der makkabaischen Erhebung, pp. 70 ft), 
Josephus is right here, the passage in question is an interpolation, and must have been added shortly | 
before the beginning of the Christian era. _Mommsen (Hermes ix. 284 ff, cp. Kautzsch, Die! 
Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des alten Testamentes, i. p. 30) has proved that Josephus is 
recording genuine history in saying that the praetor Lucius Valerius sent a letter to the Jews, with; 
the contents as given, during the reign of Hyrcanus II. But this does not constitute an insuperable 
difficulty, for one of the consuls in 139 B.C. was named Lucius Calpurnius Piso, and the ‘Consul, 
Lucius’ spoken of in the text (xv. 16) could quite well refer to him. What is more difficult is the 
fact of the great similarity in the contents betwcen the letter as given in 1 Macc., and that given in 
Josephus; Mommsen maintains that they are not identical, which would mitigate the difficulty ; but 
the mention of Numenius, the son of Antiochus, in both documents is more serious; the explanation 


: Two other ambassadors, Alexander the son of Jason, and Alexander the son of Dositheus, accompany him, 
according to this account. 
64 


INTRODUCTION 


given by Torrey (1.}. 2865) that Josephus ‘omitted the portion of 1 Macc. containing the mention 
of Numenius and the golden shield, but took occasion to introduce this important name, and the 
most interesting details, at the next opportunity’, is not very illuminating. Probably Willrich is 
right in regarding the passage as a later interpolation, added because it seemed appropriate in 
a place where Simon's treaty with Rome was mentioned (of. c7¢. p. 72); this conclusion was arrived 
at independently by the present writer, on the following grounds:—Numenius is mentioned in 
1 Mace. in connexion with an embassy to Rome in xii. 16, in the letter of Fonxathan to the Spartans, 
which, as we have already seen reasons to believe, is a later interpolation; he is also referred to 
incidentally in a similar connexion in the time of Szonw xiv. 24, cp. xv. 15. But a Numenius, in 
all respects identical, so far as description and name are concerned, is mentioned by Josephus as 
taking part in an embassy to the Romans, and having presented a shield of gold of a thousand 
pounds’ weight, in the reign of yrcanus //; it seems, on the face of it, highly improbable that both 
references can be correct ; either the episode of the shield in connexion with Numenius took place in 
the reign of Szmon, or in that of Hyrcanus 7]. The account given by Josephus, and the letter as 
quoted by him (Azéig. XIV. vili. 5), appear to be undoubtedly genuine ; it follows that 1 Macc. xv. 
15-24 is due to an interpolator; there are also independent reasons for regarding this passage as an 
interpolation, since it breaks the narrative in a very obvious and awkward manner. The interpolator, 
knowing that negotiations had actually taken place between Simon and the Romans, has transferred 
an incident describing a Jewish embassy to Rome, which belongs to a later period, to the time of 
Simon. Josephus, in his edition of 1 Macc., did not read the section xv. 15-24 as we have it (see 
Antiq. XIII. vii. 3); he does, however, follow 1 Macc. xii. τό ff. (see Aztig. XIII. v. 8) in associating 
Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason, with an embassy sent to Rome in 
the reign of Foxathan ; but we have already seen that the whole of this letter in 1 Macc. is a later 
interpolation; it follows, therefore, that Josephus had this interpolation in his copy of 1 Macc., 
though the Lucius letter (xv. 16-24) seems to have been absent from the text he used. 


§ 8. THE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. 


The most important of these are the three uncials Cod. Sinatticus (x), Cod. Alexandrinus (A), 
Cod. Venetus (V), the latter belonging to the eighth or ninth century. Cod. Vaticanus (B) does 
not contain the books of the Maccabees. The text represented in S V is, on the whole, better 
than that represented in A; but all three are undoubtedly the offspring of a single Greek MS. 
Whether, however, it can be said that αὐ our texts, as well as the Versions, come from one 
Greek MS. (Torrey, in .5.8. 2867) is not so certain; for there are isolated readings (small in 
number, it is true) in some of the cursives which presuppose a better text in the passages in 
question than that represented in the three uncials ; in some cases these readings are supported by 
one or other of the Versions. Of the cursives which have been used, 52, 106, 107 follow, now xA 
against V, now & V against A; in a somewhat less degree this is also true of 56, 62, as well as of 55; 
but this latter has retained some readings, peculiar to itself, which are superior to those in any other 
MS., uncial or cursive (see e. g. iii. 47, 48, 49, iv. 61, v. 22, 67, vii. 7, 38), and it is possible that these 
represent echoes of a MS. or MSS. other than the single Greek MS. which is the parent of the three 
uncials; at the same time the fact is not lost sight of that in other cases the variations in 55 are 
merely explanatory additions, and in this, as well as in its agreement at times with 3° (see below), 
betrays a Lucianic colouring. Another group is formed by 19, 64, 93;! these are Lucianic in 
character, but 64 less so than the other two; with these three Ν ἢ sometimes agrees against all 
other Greek MSS.; very frequently 19, 93 and S$! (see below) go together against all other 
authorities ; this occurs in about fifty cases. The cursive 71 offers a curious phenomenon on account 
of its large number of omissions; these are usually skilfully manipulated ; they have been recorded 
in the apparatus criticus because it quite looks as if in some instances a better reading were afforded by 
the omission. That in spite of these omissions 71 here and there shows signs of Lucianic colouring 
is an interesting fact. So far as the cursives are concerned, with the exception of 19, 64, 93, and 71, 
only those readings are recorded in the apparatus criticus which seemed to be of importance. 

The collations used for the above are, for the uncials, Swete’s The Old Testament in Greek, vol. iii., 
and for the cursives the apparatus criticus of Holmes and Parsons. 


§ 9. THE SYRIAC AND LATIN VERSIONS. 


; (2) The Syriac text exists in two forms; one is represented in Cod. Ambrosianus (sixth century) ; ἢ 
this follows in the main the text of the Greek uncials (95 in the αὐ. crit.), and is preserved up to 


1 — Luc in the apparatus criticus. 
? Edited by Ceriani (Milan, 1876). 
1105 65 F 


PMACCABEES 


xiv. 25°, from there onwards it = $™°; the other is the text found in the Peshitta,) which i: 
ever, Lucianic in character, and has, as we have seen, great affinity with the Lucianic group 
cursives 19, 64, 93.2. See the very useful notes on the two Syriac recensions by G. Schmidt, ἡ 
beiden syrischen Uebersetzungen des 1. Makkabaerbuchs,’ in 7A 7 W, 1897, pp. 1 ff., 233 ff. — 

(4) The Latin Version is also preserved in two recensions ; both are pre-hieronymian ; one is 
found in the Vulgate (3.1), the other is that contained in Cod. Sangermanensis ;* (%*) the latter j 


only preserved up to the beginning of chap. xiv. 
Both the Syriac and Latin Versions are translations from the Greek. 


LITERATURE. 


Grimm, in Kurzgefasstes Exeg. Handbuch .. . (1853... .). 

Bissell, in Lange-Schaff’s Commentary .. . (1880). 

Fairweather and Black, Zhe First Book of Maccabees, in the Cambridge Bible for Schools (1897). 
Kautzsch, in Die Afokryphen und Pseud. des A. T. (1900). 

Knabenbauer, in Cursus Scriptuvae Sacrae (1907). 

For the older literature see Grimm, and Schiirer 277. II. iii. pp. 9 ff. (E. T. 1890). 

Other works which have been of use are referred to in the body of the work. 


1 Edited by P. de Lagarde, Lidri vet. test. apocryphi Syriace . . . (Leipzig, 1861). 
* It is represented by $!"¢ in the aff. crit.; the sign S denotes the consensus of these two recensions. 


8 Edited by Sabatier, 226]. Sacr. Latinae versiones antiguae, ii. pp. 1017 ff. 


66 


oe. 


Dae FIRST BOOK OF MACCABEES 


INTRODUCTION. I. I-g. 


I. 1-4. The Victory of Alexander the Great over the Persians, and the founding of his empire. 


And it came to pass after Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian*, who came from the land 
of Chittim, had smitten Darius, king of the Persians and Medes”, that he reigned in his stead°. 
And he waged many wars, and won strongholds‘, °and slew kings‘, and pressed forward to the ends 
of the earth, and took spoils from many peoples®. But when the land was silenced® before him, "he 
became exalted", and his heart was lifted up Then he gathered together a very mighty army‘, 
and ruled over lands and peoples and principalities!; and they became tributary unto him. 


I. 5-9. The sickness and death of Alexander ; the division of his empire. 


And after these things he took to his™ bed, and perceived that he was about to die. Then he 
called his chief ministers, men who had been brought up with him from his youth, and divided his 
kingdom among them while he was yet alive. And Alexander had reigned twelve years when he 
‘died. And his ministers ruled, each in his particular domain. And after he was dead they all 


I. *+ who first reigned in Greece i! bthe repetition of the verb (και ἐπαταξενὴ ts not required; > DL 
Ὄπροτερον (mporepos οἰ Luc) ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλαδα ἡ» Probably a gloss; > W d+ many #? + all 3" cael > cole 
f+ ofthe earthN Vi 8wassilent and quiet Sue = bh > Se τιον k-k a strong and numerous host Sve 
Iprinces δὲ Mayrov ἃ Α iL? 


I, 1. And it came to pass. The Hebrew original of the book is indicated at the outset, καὶ ἐγένετο being the usual 
Septuagint rendering of ‘1. 

Alexander the ‘ Great’, 356-323 B.C., the third Macedonian king of this name. 

Chittim. i.e. the people of the islands and coastlands of Greece, cp. Jer. ii. 10 ONND YIN. In Gen. χ. 4 the 
Chittim are called ‘sons of Javan’ (Greece). They took their name originally, according to Phoenician inscriptions, 
rom ΑΖ (the Greek A7¢/on), the chief city on the island of Cyprus, now called Larnaca. The original colonists were 
Phoenicians, later on many Greeks settled down there, hence the term ‘sons of Javan’ applied to these Chz¢tinz. 

- Darius. The third of the name, known as Codomannus. 

he reigned in his stead. Cp. Dan. viii. 21, where Alexander is spoken of as ἢ)" bn, and xi. 2, where his 


singdom is spoken of as ἢ)" madn. 
2. kings. Not to be taken in a literal sense, generals, governors, and the like, are meant. 
| 3. the ends of the earth. A constant O.T. expression: NT DSN Tp. 


his heart was lifted up. Cp. Dan. xi. 12. 220 op. 
- 4. principalities. The reading of δὲ (τυράννων for τυραννιῶν) is perhaps preferable; satrafies (or satrap), the 
2ersian province is presumably meant, though in Esther ix. 3 a difference is made between the ruler of a province and 
. ‘tyrannos’ (οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν σατραπειῶν καὶ οἱ τύραννοι). 
they became tributary unto him. In Judges i. 28 (= Sept. i. 30) this phrase occurs, but the Heb. pnd ὙΠῸ 
= ‘they were subject to task-work’, cp. Gen. xlix. 15. 
6. chief ministers. παῖς is used in 1 Sam. xix. 1 of the chief officers of Saul (1"72)). 
brought up with him. τοὺς συνεκτρόφους αὐτοῦ, cp. Acts xiii. 1 Μαναήν τε Ηρῴδου τοῦ τετράρχου σύντροφος. 
divided his kingdom... Grimm, 27 /oc., gives numerous references to ancient authors in which this is 
eferred to, but shows that the statement is unhistorical; he says that the story was probably circulated by the 
ee of the various Hellenic kings in order to make their assumption of kingship appear legitimate in the eyes 
the people. 

while he was yet alive. When one remembers how young Alexander was at his death, the improbability of the 
thole tradition is obvious. ‘ Greater likelihood attaches to the statement of Justin (xii. 15), Diodorus Siculus (xviii. 2), 
nd Curtius (x. 5. 7), that when no longer able to speak, the dying Macedonian took off his signet-ring and handed it 
Ὁ Perdiccas, the captain of his body-guard, in token of his desire that he should reign after him’ (Fairweather and 
Slack, 72 /oc.; this is also referred to by Grimm) ; but as an hereditary monarchy existed in Macedonia (cp. v. 9), this 
tatement must also be regarded as unhistorical. 
7. he died. He was taken ill with fever in the night of May 31, 323 B.C., and died eleven days after. 
8. And his ministers ... This is a continuation of the unhistorical statement just referred to. 
b 9: they allassumed ... This is inexact, as only five of Alexander's generals assumed the title of king, and that 
ot till 306 B.C., seventeen years after his death. 
67 F 2 


I MACCABEES 1. 9-17 


assumed the diadem, and their sons after them [did likewise ; and this continued for] many years, ὃ 
And these wrought much evil on the earth. 


THE CAUSE OF THE MACCABAEAN REVOLT. 1. 10-64. 
I. 10-15. Antiochus Epiphanes and the Hellenistic party in Fudaea. 


ro And a sinful shoot came forth from them, Antiochus Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus the king, 
who had been a hostage in Rome, and had become king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh 

τι year of the Greek kingdom. In those days there came forth out-of Israel lawless men®, and per- 
suaded many, saying: ‘Let us go and make a covenant with the nations that are round about us; | 

12 for since® we separated ourselves from them many evils have come upon us.’ And the saying 

13 appeared good in their eyes; and as certain of the people were eager (to carry this out), they went 

14 to the king, and he? gave them authority to introduce the customs of the Gentiles. And they built 

15 a gymnasium® in Jerusalem according to the manner of the Gentiles. They also submitted them- | 
selves to uncircumcision’, and repudiated the holy covenant; yea, they joined themselves to the } | 
Gentiles, and sold themselves® to do evil. 


I. 16-19. Antiochus subdues Egyft. 


i 

16 And when, in the opinion of Antiochus, the kingdom was (sufficiently) established, he 
determined to exercise dominion also over the land of Egypt, in order that he might rule over two | 

17 kingdoms. So he pushed forward into Egypt with an immense force ; with chariots, and elephants 

᾿ 

nn ἃς 3.1 °+ the day Luc 3.5 Pthe king Luc 9 2? Istadium $ Tit. they drew forward _ 

the prepuce $'t¢ Swere tempted N&-# το Slue ; 


the diadem. Cp. viii. 14, xi. 54; Josephus, Av¢ig. XII. x. 1; a blue and white band which was worn around the. { 
Persian royal hat as a badge of royalty; to be distinguished from the crown worn on state occasions. The Heb.) 
equivalent is ἢ ΝΣ and 52312. It was also worn by the Parthian kings, and by the Byzantine emperors. 
wrought much evil. Heb. Y15 nivyd 3377; cp. Ecclus. xlviil. 16 (Sept.; the Heb. is different). 

το, a sinful shoot. Cp. Ecclus. xl. 15; in Dan. xi. 21 he is called a ‘contemptible person’. : 
Antiochus Epiphanes. The fourth of the name; he seized the Syrian throne in 175 B.C, on the murder of his} — 
elder brother Seleucus IV; he died in 164 B.C. (cp. 1 Macc. vi. 1-16, 2 Macc. i. 10-17). The title ‘ Epiphanes’ (the; — 
‘Tilustrious’) which he assumed on coming to the throne, was in mockery changed to ‘ Epimanes’ (the ‘ Madman’) on) — 
account of the outrageous acts of which he was guilty. On his coins are found the epithets Θεός and Νικηφόρος ; the 
former title is applied to him by the Samaritans in their letter to him asking him to permit their temple to be called) — 
‘The Temple of Hellenius’ (Josephus, Azzzg. XII. v. 5). ἢ 
the son of Antiochus. i.e. the ‘Great’; the third of the name, who reigned 223-187 B.C. : 
who had been a hostage in Rome. The reference is to Antiochus Epiphanes, who was sent as a hostage tc| 
Rome after the defeat of his father at the battle of Magnesia (190 B.C.) ; he remained in Rome for twelve years. ! ᾿ 
in the ... of the Greek kingdom. The reference is to the Seleucid era, which began on October 1, 312 B.C. 

on the accession of Seleucus I (cp. Josephus, Avézg. XIII. vi. 7); the author of this book reckons according to the 
months of the Jewish calendar, according to which the year begins on the first of Nisan (April), so that his dates ar¢ 
all six months earlier than those of the Seleucid era. : 
11. In those days. An indefinite reference to date occurring very often in the O.T. as well as the N.T.; Heb) 


ἡ 


onn 2. i 
there came forth... Cp. Deut. xiii. 13 (14 in Sept.); the reference is to Jason, cp. v. 13 and 2 Macc. iv. 7-Ic) 
make a covenant. The regular Heb. phrase, 1°72 N13. The object of this was, according to Josephus (Az/ig' 

XII. v. 1, Bell. Jud. 1. v. 1), solely the acquisition of temporal advantage. ees ἢ} 
since we separated ourselves .. . The reference here cannot be to any particular time, for the observance ¢ 

the Mosaic Law was the cause of this separation; it had always been intended to be the means of keeping Israelite) 

free from the contamination of the Gentiles. 
many evils have come upon us. Lit. ‘have found us’, thoroughly Hebraic, cp. e.g. Deut. xxxi, 21 
$mi3n myn... JNYon. 

12. appeared good. Cp. the Hebr. phrase, ‘to do what is pleasing in the eyes of’; 3 JA ΠΝ which is ¢ 
frequent occurrence in the O.T. ; 

13. and he gave them authority. Cp. 2 Macc. iv. 9. 

14. And they built a gymnasium. Cp. Josephus (Aig. XII. v. 1), 2 Macc. iv. 9, 12. 

15. They also submitted . . . See the rendering of the Syriac in the critical note ; cp. 1 Cor. vii. 18. Those why 
submitted to this operation were called AZeshukim (from a root meaning ‘to draw back’), according to the Romaj — 
name, Aecutitz (Grimm, 27 /oc.). 

repudiated the holy covenant. Since circumcision was the covenant-mark (Gen. xvii. 1 1), its obliteration wa 
ipso facto the repudiation of the covenant. 
sold themselves to do evil. Hebraism, cp. 1 Kings xxi. 20: Y10 nivyS srzonn. 


16. the kingdom . . . established. Hebraism, cp. 1 Kings ii. 12: inadp jp. 
two kingdoms. i.e. Syria and Egypt. x 
17. with an immense force. Lit. ‘a heavy force’; Hebrew usage, cp. TaD DY3; cp. Dan, xi. 22-24. 


68 


I MACCABEES 1. 18-36 


3and horsemen‘, together with a great fleet. And he waged war against Ptolemy, the king of 
Egypt. And Ptolemy turned back* from before him, and fled; Yand there fell many woundedY?. 
) And they® captured the fortified cities in Egypt”; and he took the spoils from the land® of Egypt. 


I. 20-28. The Desecration of the Temple; slaughter of the Fews. 


v? 

>» And Antiochus, after he had smitten Egypt, returned in the one hundred and eee year, 
t and went up against Israel and‘ Jerusalem with a great army. And in (his) arrogance he entered 
into the sanctuary, and took the golden altar, °and the candlestick for the light®, and all its acces- 
Ὁ sories, and the table of the shewbread, and the cups, and the bowls, and the golden censersf, and the 
veil, and the crowns, and the golden adornment on the facade of the Temple, and he scaled it all off. 
3 Moreover, he took the silver, and the gold, and the choice vessels ; he also took the hidden treasures 
+ which he found. And having taken everything, he returned§ to his own land®. 


“|; ‘And there was great mourning in Israel‘ in every place ; 
|) And* the rulers and elders groaned ; 

Virgins and young men languished, 

And the beauty of the women faded away ; 

Every bridegroom took up (his) lament, 

She that sat in the bridal-chamber mourned}, 

And the land was moved for her inhabitants, 

And all ™the house of™ Jacob was clothed with shame.’ 


I. 29-40. Ferusalem occupied by Apollonius; massacre of the people; desecration of the Sanctuary. 


After the lapse of two years the king” sent a chief collector of tribute to the cities of Judah; and 
he came to Jerusalem with a great host. And he spoke unto them peaceful words in subtilty, so 
that they had confidence in him; but he fell upon the city suddenly, and smote it with a grievous 
stroke, and destroyed much people in Israel. And he took °the spoils of the city®, and burned it 
with fire, and pulled down the houses thereof and the walls thereof? round about. And they led 
captive the women and the children, and “took possession of the cattle. And they fortified the 
city of David with a great and strong wall with strong towers, so that it was made into a citadel ἴοι 
/them. /And they placed there a sinful nation, lawless men; and they strengthened themselves 
‘therein. And they stored up (there) arms and provisions, and collecting together the spoils of 
Jerusalem, they laid them up there. And it became a sore menace, for it was a place to lie in wait 
in against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel continually. 


'> 64 uwith great pomp S XN; everoarn7 AN? V (= iL!) II> Se fled N were slain S!ve 
the Soi! >the land of Egypt A V 93 ¢> land NV 4+ went up against Slue 1? 1.1 ee>V fthe 
-instruments of the sacrifices and offerings Sle Scarried (them) V h + And he (A they) made a great slaughter 

and he (A they) spake with great arrogancy; a// authorities (exc $8); + and he made a great slaughter 38, 
(omitting the rest. The words have probably got out of place, and should come after v.21. +Jerusalem 64 k There- 
fore 9 IN 5 eyevero ev πενθει A V exevOnoe Luc me OS n Antiochus the king Luc °-°much spoil 3 
Pof Jerusalem S 9-4 >N; + for themselves N°-* Luc Sve 


18. Ptolemy. The sixth of the name, Philometor, 181-146 B.C.; he was only sixteen years old at this time. 
there fell many wounded. The Hebrew equivalent 0°27 pon 15% would imply that they were wounded to 

death (cp. R.V.), but in Greek the word has not this intensive force. 

20. went up against ... Jerusalem. Cp. 2 Macc. v. 11 ff. 

21. the golden altar. Cp. Exod. xxx. I-6. 

the candlestick. Cp. Exod. xxv. 31-9. 

22. the table of the shewbread. Cp. Exod. xxv. 23-30; cp. Josephus, Avféig. III. vi. 6. 

23. the hidden treasures. Cp. 2 Macc. iii. 10-12; Josephus, Bed/. Jud. 11. ix. 4. 

25-8. This lament was probably originally in poetical form, and is largely made up from the language of the O.T. 
poetical books. Cp. for some verses cast in a somewhat similar mode 2 (4) Esdras x. 22. 
25. great mourning. Cp. Job xxx. 31. 
26. the elders. Cp. Lam. i. 19, ii. 10. 

faded away. Cp. Sept. of Ps. cviii. 24, ἠλλοιώθη (εἶχ. 24 in Hebr.). 

virgins and young men ... Cp. Lam. i. 4, 18, ii. 10, 20. 
27. took up (his) lament. Cp. Sept. of Lam. v. 13 κλαυθμὸν ἀνέλαβον (the Heb. reads differently). 
28. clothed with shame. Cp. Job. viii. 22; Ps. xxxv. 26, cxxxii. 18. 
29. a chief collector of tribute. i.e. Apollonius, according to 2 Macc. v. 24. f 

After the lapse of two years. Lit. ‘ After two years of days’; Heb. D2) OWI 722, cp. Gen. xli. 1. 
_ 30. he spoke peaceful words. A Hebrew idiom: pide 1127 WON. Cp. Deut. ii. 26. 

he fell upon . . - suddenly. Cp. 2 Macc. v. 24 ff. 
33. into a citadel. εἰς ἄκραν, i.e. Acra. 


69 


I MACCABEES 1. 37-54 


5] And they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, 
And they defiled the sanctuary". 
38 And because of them the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled, 
And she became a dwelling for strangers, 
Being herself estranged to her offspring, 
And her children forsook her. 
39 Her sanctuary became desolate as a wilderness, 
®Her feasts were turned into mourning®, 
Her sabbaths tinto shame”, 
Her honour'* into contempt. ; 
40 According as her glory’ (had been) “so was (now) her dishonour increased’, 
And her high estate was turned to mourning?. 


I. 41-53. Ldict of Antiochus, forbidding Fewish Worship. 


And the king? wrote unto his whole kingdom, that all should be one people, and that every one | 

should give up his [religious] usages. And all °the nations* acquiesced* in accordance with the com- | 
43 mand of the king. And many in Israel took delight in *his (form of) worship®, and they began | 

44 sacrificing to idols, and profaned the sabbath’. Furthermore, the king sent letters® by the hand of 
messengers to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah (to the effect that) they should practise customs | 

45 » foreign! to (the traditions of) the land*, and that they should cease the (sacrificing of) whole burnt | 
offerings, and sacrifices, and drink offerings in the sanctuary, and that they should profane the sabbaths | 

46, 47 and feasts, and pollute the sanctuary and ‘those who had been sanctified*; that they should (more- - 
over) build high places, and sacred groves, and 'shrines for idols!, and that they should sacrifice . 

48 swine and (other) unclean™ animals; and that they should leave their sons uncircumcized, and make ἡ 

49 themselves abominable by means of (practising) everything that was unclean and profane, so that 

50 they might forget the Law, and change all the (traditional) ordinances. And whosoever should not | 

51 act according to the word of the king, should die. In this manner did he write unto the whole? of 

his kingdom; and he appointed overseers° over all the people ; and he commanded the cities of Judah” 

52 to sacrifice, every one of them. And many of the people joined themselves unto them, all? those | 

53 [namely] who had forsaken the Law; these did evil’ in the land, and caused Israel to hide in all’ 
manner of hiding-places. 


[Ὁ] 


41, 4 


I. 54-64. Idolatry forced upon the people of Fudah ; destruction of copies of the Scriptures αὶ 
massacre of [sraclites. 


54 And on the fifteenth™ day® of Chislev in the one hundred and forty-fifth* year they set up upon the) 
altar an ‘abomination of desolation’, and in the cities of Judah on every side they established high-. 


*+ of the Lord V ESS S> ECs tt > but added by δὰ 9:8 uhumiliation 19 xplur. in 858 3.1 yher 
children N* 2-2the land was filled with shame δὲ *humiliation 64 Slue b+ Antiochus 3» c> 88 
43. €-ethe worship of the king 5 fsanctuary A® sabbath A* 8> 64 93 h-bof the Gentiles in the 
land & i193) k-k the holy things ὁ #1? Mlidols AV? 5X mall δὲ ἢ (unclean N*-2) ΑΝ 
°+ over all his kingdom and $8 Pall 33 3.1 4much evil 64 93 "twenty-fifth S$ 8+ in the month Luc 
tforty-fifth A 


37-40. Another lament in poetical form originally, the language of which is again largely borrowed from that of the 
O.T. poetical books. ͵ 
37. they shed innocent blood. Cp. Ps. Ixxix. 3. 
they defiled the sanctuary. Cp. Ps. Ixxix. 1. 
38. a dwelling for strangers. Cp. Ps. liv. 3; Lam. v. 2. 
Being herself estranged. Cp. Lam. i. 1. 
her children forsook her. Cp. Lam. i. 5. 


39. Her feasts ... Cp. Amos viii. Io. 

Her sabbaths into shame. Cp. Lam. ii. 6. 
40. And her high estate ... Cp. Lam. ii. 9, ro. 
41. one people. i.e. as regards religious practice. 


44. letters. βιβλία, Heb, DDD. 


47. swine and unclean animals. i.e. animals holy to heathen gods and goddesses; the pig and the hare wert 
holy to Astarte, and as holy animals occupied an important place in the religions of Greece and Asia Minor. 
51. appointed overseers. Cp. 2 Macc. v. 22. Ϊ 
_54. the fifteenth day of Chislevy. We should read here with ὧδ ‘the twenty-fifth day’, see τ. 59. Chislev is th 
ninth month of the Hebrew calendar (= December approximately). - ] 
the one hundred and forty-fifth year. i.e. 168 B.C. 

an abomination of desolation. Cp. Dan. xi. 31, xii. 11; ie. the abomination which brought about profanatio) — 

(= desolation) ; it was a small heathen altar which was set up on the altar of burnt-offering, see v. 59. 
70 


I MACCABEES 1. 5s—2. 14 


5459 places ; and “they offered sacrifice" at the doors of the houses and in the streets. And the books of 
1:7 the Law which they found they *rent in pieces, and* burned them inthe fire. And with whomsoever 
was found a book of the covenant, and if he was (found) consenting unto the Law, such an one was, 
58 according to the king’s sentence’, condemned to death. Thus did they in their might to the Israelites 
39 who were found* month by month in their* cities. And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they 
_ jo sacrificed upon the altar which was upon the altar of burnt-offering. And, according to the decree”, 
ot they put to death the women who had circumcised their children, hanging their babes round their 
(mothers’) necks, and they put to death their (entire) families®, together with those who had circum- 
»2cised them. Nevertheless many in Israel stood firm’ and determined in their hearts® that they would 
3 not eat unclean things, and chose rather to die so that they might not be defiled with meats, thereby 
“4 profaning the holy covenant’; and they did die. And exceeding great wrath came upon Israel. 


MATTATHIAS. II. 1-70. 
II. 1-5. The Genealogy of the Maccabees. 


1 Inthose days rose up Mattathias, the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of 
2 Joarib, from Jerusalem; and he dwelt at Modin. And he had five sons: John, who was surnamed 
5 Gaddis; Simon, who was called Thassis; Judas, who was called Maccabaeus; Eleazar, who was 
called Auaran; and Jonathan, who was called Aphphus. 


II. 6-14. A Dirge over the desecration of the Holy City. 


; And he saw the blasphemous things that were done in Judah and in Jerusalem, and said, ‘ Woe is 
_ me, why was I born to behold the ruin of my people and the ruin* of the holy city, and to sit still 
| there while it was being given into the hand of enemies, and the sanctuary into the hand of 
strangers?’ 

*Her house‘ is become like (that of) a man dishonoured °°; 

‘Her glorious vessels are carried away captive ; 

Her infants have been slain in her streets, 

Her young men with the sword of the enemy. 

What nation hath the kingdom not taken possession of, 

(Of what nation) hath it not seized the spoils ? 

Her adornment hath all been taken away, 

SInstead of a free woman she is become a slave’. 

And, behold, our holy things, and our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste, 

And the heathen have profaned them! To what purpose should we continue to live ? 

And Mattathias and his sons rent their garments, and covered themselves with sackcloth, and 
_ mourned greatly. 


- “they burned incense and offered sacrifice 3.1} they burned incense 1? ΣΧ 5 Yedict 3.2 z+ and they 

led them away by force 38 aV; the NA &c. >the command of the king S the command of king Antiochus #? 

_ chouses δὲ V their entire houses 1 ($8 = A) + and plundered Ne-# Slue dwere hanged A 19 BSS ie) Eee 
the holy Law of God #2 


Mein 19 93 Sle 2.3 bher sanctified ones $8 + were delivered $8 c-eT_.R.#* ; Her temple was like an 
illustrious man NAV Sc, They did clothe her temple with glory as a man (15 clothed) 33 = 4 people 93. δι" 
f+ And now Luc 88 Her freedom is become bondage S!¢ 


55. at the doors of the houses. The reference is to sacrifices offered to the ‘deities of the street’, i.e. images of 
Greek gods which stood in the porches of houses. 

56. the books of the Law. i.e. rolls of the Pentateuch. 

58. to the Israelites who were found. A literal translation of the Hebrew D'NSDI7 Ssnund. 

63. and chose rather to die. Cp. 2 Mace. vi, vii. 


Ul. 1. Inthose days... Cp. Josephus, Az/ig. XII. vi. 1. 
the son of Simeon. Josephus adds τοῦ ᾿Ασαμωναίου, from whom the adjectival form of the family name, Asmo- 
᾿ naean or Hasmonaean, was derived; the name does not occur in the books of the Maccabees, though Josephus often 
uses it, and it is found in the Mishnah (J/zddo¢h i. 6), and frequently in the Gemara (e.g. Shabbath 21}, Baba Kama 
' 82), where the name Hasmonaeans is always used for Maccabaeans, 
the sons of Joarib. Cp. 1 Chron. xxiv. 7 ff. 
Modin. Cp. v. 70, xiii. 25. The present El-Medije, east of Lydda. 
4. Maccabaeus. See Introduction. 
7. The holy city. wp Wy Isa. xlviii. 3; cp. 2 Macc. 1. 12, ili. I, ix. 14. 
8-12. Another dirge in poetical form. 
ἢ 14. rent cal garments ... The usual signs of mourning in the East, see further Nowack, Hedriaische Archio- 
| logie 1. 192 ff. 


71 


I MACCABEES 2. 15-3 


Il. 15-28. The commencement of the Maccabacan Revolt. 


15 And the king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modin to make them 
16 sacrifice®, And many from Israel went unto them ; but Mattathias and his sons* gathered themselves 
17 together. Then the king’s officers answered and spake unto Mattathias, saying: * A ruler art thou, 
18 and illustrious and great in this city, and upheld by sons and brothers. Do thou, ὉΠΈΡΕΙΙΕΕΙ come 
first, and carry out the king’s command, as all the nations have done, and all the people* of Judah, 
and they that have remained in Jerusalem; then shalt thou! and ™thy house™ be (numbered among) 
the friends of the king, and thou and thy sons shall be honoured with silver and gold, and with many 
το gilts.’ Thereupon Mattathias answered and said with a loud voice: ‘If all the nations: that are 
within the king’s dominions obey him by forsaking, "every one of them®, the worship of their fathers, _ 
20 and have chosen for themselves to follow his commands, yet will I and my sons and my brethren 
21 walk in the covenant of our fathers. Heaven forbid that we should forsake the Law and the ordi- 
22 nances; (but) the law® of the king we will not obey by departing from our worship either to the 
23 tight hand or to the left.’ And as he? ceased speaking ‘these words", a Jew came forward in the 
24 Sight of all to sacrifice’ upon the altar in Modin in accordance with the king’s command. And 
when Mattathias saw it, Shis zeal was kindled’, and his heart quivered (with wrath) ; and his indig- 
25 nation burst forth for judgement, so that he ran and slew him on the altar; and tat the same time 
26 he [also] killed the king’s officer who had come to enforce the sacrificing, pulled down the altar, and 
[thus] showed forth his zeal for the Law, just as Phinehas had done in the case of Zimri the son of 
27 Salom. And Mattathias cried out with a loud voice in the city, saying, ‘Let everyone that is 
28 zealous for the Law and that would maintain the covenant come forth after me!’ And he and his 
sons fled unto the mountains, and left all that they possessed in the city. 


11. 29-38. A strict observance of the Sabbath results in the massacre of a thousand Fewish people. 


29 At that time many who were seeking righteousness and judgement went down to the wilderness to 
30 abide there, they and their sons, and their wives, and their cattle; for misfortunes "fell hardly" upon 
31 them. And it was reported to the king’s officers and to the troops that were in Jerusalem, the city 
of David, that men who had set at nought the king’s command* had gone down into hiding-places 

2 in the wilderness. And many ran after them, and having overtaken them, Ythey encamped against 


b—hto sacrifice 64 %*; + and burn incense and forsake the Law of God 30} ithey that were with him 64 93 
krulers 8 V 14 and thy sons V 64 m—w and thy sons N°2# SH nn > Zlue °the word δὲ V Luc 
P Mattathias 64 93 94 > N (λαό N°») ‘to burn incense A 538 8-8 SE places this after quivered tt au 
u~a + and were multiplied δὲ ἢ N¢-* were multiplied V *counsel δὲ y-Y > Sluc 3.1 


18. the friends of the king. There were, according to Polybius (xxxi. 3. 7), two orders of royal favourites under 
the Graeco-Syrian kings, viz. those of the ‘Companions’ and the ‘ Friends’; these occupied the position of a military 
aristocracy. Cp. x. 65, xi. 27; 2 Macc. viil. 9. 

19. the king’s dominions. ἐν οἴκῳ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ βασιλέως, cp. Amos vii. 13 οἶκος βασιλείας, nadnn ΤΌΞΙ, rol 
reference to Bethel. 

have chosen for themselves. Cp. 2 Chron. xxix. 11 (Sept.). 


21. Heaven forbid. ἵλεως = ndvdn, cp. 2 Sam. xx. 20. 
22. either to the right hand or to the left. Cp. 2 Sam. xiv. 19. 


24. his heart. Lit. ‘his kidneys’, the seat of the emotions and affections, cp. Ps. Ixxiii. 21 }.NWN sny5n, ‘for 

my kidneys were in a ferment.’ 
for judgement. Heb. 0522; what, according to the statute, he was bound to do. 
and slew him. Cp. Deut. xiii. 9; 2 Chron. xxx. 16. 

26. as Phineas had done ... Cp. Num. xxv. 7, 8. 

_ 27. Let everyone ... come forth after me. Grimm quotes (from Livy xxii. 53) the cry of the Roman patriots 
in time of danger: Quiz rempublicam salvam volunt me sequantur. 

28. fled unto the mountains. This would enable him, with a comparatively small number of followers, to defy 
almost any force that might be brought against him, an attacking party being always at a great disadvantage in 
mountain warfare. 

29. righteousness and judgement. Cp. Ps. Ixxxix. 14, xcvii. 2; righteousness (ΠΡῚΝ) = ethical right-doing ; 
judgement (Daw) = sense of justice; the technical terms are ‘to do (A¥Y) righteousness’, and ‘to keep (Ὁ) 
judgement’, cp. Isa. lvi. 1; the terms are generally used in the reverse order, and rightly so as the more logical; the 
ner pense of justice has as its result outward acts of righteousness; this is also borne out by the verbs used, ‘to 
<eep, ‘to do.’ 

the wilderness. i.e. the wilderness of Judaea, west of the Dead Sea; it was called Jeshimon, cp. 1 Sam. xxiii. 
19, 24, Xxvi. 13, meaning ‘ desolation ’. 

30. their cattle. In the wilderness of Tekoa, which lay to the north of the district just mentioned, there was 
sufficient vegetation to support cattle, cp. Amos i. 1, vii. 14. f 

31. hiding-places in the wilderness. Cp. 1 Sam. xxiv. 3; Isa. xlii. 22. 

72 


I MACCABEES 2. 33-42 


33 them, and’ set the battle in array against them on the Sabbath day. And they said unto them: 
“Let it suffice now’; come forth, and do according to the command of the king, and ye shall live.’ 

34 And they answered, ‘ We will not come forth, nor will we do according to the command of the king, 

, 36 and thereby profane the Sabbath day. Thereupon they immediately attacked them. But they 

- 37 answered them not, nor did they cast a stone at them, nor even block up their hiding-places, saying, 
‘Let us all die in our innocency ; Heaven and earth bear us witness that ye destroy us wrongfully’*. 

38 And they attacked them on the Sabbath; and they died, they and their wives, and their children, 
and their cattle, about a thousand souls. 


11. 39-48. Mattathias, supported by the Chasidim, continues the war with success. 


,40 And when Mattathias and his friends knew” it they mourned greatly for them. And one said to 
another, ‘If we all do as our brethren have done, and do not fight against the Gentiles for our lives 
and our ordinances, they will soon destroy us from off the earth. And they took counsel on that 
day, saying, ‘ Whosoever attacketh us on the Sabbath day, let us fight against him, that we may not in 
42 any case all die, as our brethren died in their hiding-places.’ Then were there gathered unto them 

“a company of the Chasidim’, mighty men of Israel who willingly offered themselves for the Law, 


41 


2-2Do ye resist still even now? & *uncharitably $8 Yheard Slue ¢~ethe whole company of Jews 8 V 


32. on the Sabbath day. From the words in v. 33 it is evident that the enemy had no desire of taking a mean 
advantage by fighting on a day on which they knew the Jews would make no resistance. 

34. and thereby profane the Sabbath day. The profanation of the Sabbath would, according to the preceding 
words, consist in coming forth and doing according to the command of the king; i.e. the command of the king was 
that they should come forth and submit themselves. This the Jews would not have done at any time, but to do so on 
the Sabbath would have been an aggravation of the offence, since, apart from the act of renegades which submission 
would, under the circumstances, have implied, the coming forth with their belongings would, in itself, have constituted 
a breaking of the Sabbath. 

36. nor did they cast a stone. i.e. there was not even the semblance of resistance. 

37. in our innocency. ἐν τῇ ἁπλύτητι ἡμῶν, i.e. ‘in our integrity’ (ON); cp. Ps. xxvi. 1, 11, xxv. 21, xli. 13. 

wrongfully. Cp. xv. 33 where R.V. renders ἀκρίτως ‘wrongfully’; this is a better rendering than ‘ without trial’ 
as R.V. translates here, for the revolt having been entered upon by the events recorded in vv. 15-28, the idea of 
a trial is out of the question. Cp. Ps. lxix. 4, ‘They that would cut me off, being mine enemies wrongfully, are 
mighty.’ 

38. they attacked them. This hardly bears out the statement of Josephus: ‘they burned them as they were in 
the caves without resistance, and without so much as stopping up the entrances of the caves’ (Av¢zg. XII. vi. 2). 

and they died . . . about a thousand souls. Josephus adds: ‘ But many of those that escaped joined them- 

selves to Mattathias, and appointed him to be their ruler, who taught them to fight, even on the Sabbath day’ (Ζόζα.), 
cp. VU. 40, 41. 

39. they mourned greatly for them. ἕως σφύδρα -- INDY; ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς, the verb bax (‘to mourn’) is usually 


followed by by (‘upon’ or ‘ over’). 

40. and one said to another. καὶ εἶπεν ἀνὴρ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ is another Hebraism: ΠΡ το ΣΝ WAN ON”. 

41. and they took counsel... Cp. ix. 44 ff., xi. 34, 43 ff.; the counsel (‘Whosoever attacks . . .’) taken was 
a modification of the Law; but, as a matter of fact, the Written Law did not forbid necessary labour on the Sabbath. 
What we have here is an ordinance of the Oral Law, framed by the rigid legalists as the interpretation of the Written 
Law. The mention of the Chaszdim in the next verse is significant, as they were responsible, in large measure, for 
the strict interpretation of the Written Law. The passage shows that the party of the Chasz¢dimz was already in 
existence, and was not created by the persecution under Antiochus ; see next note. 

42. acompany of the Chasidim. The ᾿Ασιδαῖοι (= O'DN) are here referred to as though well known, a fact which 
further substantiates what was said in the preceding note. The Chasidim (‘ pious’) were those, frequently referred to 
in some of the later Psalms (6. g. xii. 2, XXX. 4, XXXI. 23, xxxvil. 28, cxlix. 1-9), who remained true to the traditions and 
customs of their fathers when, in the third century B.C. and onwards, the Jews of the Dispersion, and also of Palestine, 
were becoming lax in their observance of orthodox Judaism owing to the rise of the Hellenistic spirit. They were 
animated by a hatred of everything and everyone that savoured of Hellenism, for, according to them, this implied 
unfaithfulness to the God of Israel. Although in existence beforehand, it was only during the Maccabaean struggle that 
they commenced to play an important role in the political life of the nation. In 1, 2 Macc. they are referred to three 
times; the data regarding their characteristics seem, at first sight, to be conflicting. In 1 Macc. ii. 43, 44 they are 
described as warlike; in vii. 12-14 they appear as the peaceful party, while in 2 Macc. xiv. 6 they are said to ‘keep 
up war, and are seditious, not suffering the kingdom to find tranquillity’. It is probable that these descriptions both 
witness to the true facts of the case; the natural inclination of these strict observers of the Law would obviously be in 
the direction of peace ; but as soon as they realized that the cherished object of their existence was imperilled, it 
behoved them to be up and doing. This is borne out by what we read in the Psalms concerning them, for at one time 
they are spoken of as peaceful worshippers (xxx. 4), and as the lovers of the Lord (xxxi. 23, xxxvil. 28) ; while at another 
time they are represented as warriors zealous for the honour of God, and fighting His enemies (cxlix. 6-9). It is not 
without significance that after the Maccabaean struggle, when the victory for orthodox Judaism had been won, nothing 
further is heard of the Chasidim. They seem to have gradually developed into the Pharisaic party, which was 
nn by the same zeal for the Law (cp. Moritz Friedlander, Geschichte der Jiidischen Apologetik, pp. 316 ff., 
464 ff.). 

mighty men of Israel. Cp. 1 Chron. vil. 2, 7 (Sept.). 
73 


56, 


I MACCABEES 2. 43-66 


43 every one of them. And all they that fled from the evils were added unto them, and reinforced 

44 them. And they mustered a host, and smote sinners in their anger, and lawless men τ their wrath ; 

45 and the rest fled to the Gentiles to save themselves. And Mattathias and his friends* went round 

46 about®, and pulled down altars‘, and they circumcised by force the children that were uncircumcised, 

47 as many as they$ found "within the borders" of Israel. And they pursued after the sons of pride, 

48 and the! work prospered in their hand. And they rescued* the Law out of the hand of the 
Gentiles, and ‘out of the hand! of the™ kings, neither suffered they the sinner to triumph. 


11. 49-70. The last words of Mattathias ; his death. 


49 And the days drew near that Mattathias should die, and he said unto his sons: ‘ Now have pride 
50 and rebuke" gotten strength and a season of destruction and wrath of indignation. And now (my) 
51 children, be zealous for the Law, and give your lives for the covenant of your® fatherst. PAnd call 

to mind the deeds of the’ fathers*? which they did in* their generations4; "that ye may receive" 
52 great glory and an everlasting name. Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was 
53 reckoned unto him for* righteousness? Joseph, in the time of his distress, kept the commandment, 
54 and became lord of Egypt. Phinehas, our father, for that he was zealous exceedingly, obtained the 
55 covenant of an everlasting’ priesthood. Joshua, for fulfilling the word*, became a judge in Israel. 
57 Caleb, for bearing witness in’ the congregation, obtained ‘land (as) an heritage®. David, for being 
58 merciful, inherited the throne of? a °kingdom for ever and ever®. Elijah, for that he was exceeding 
59 zealous for the Law, was taken up into heaven’. Hananiah, Azariah (and) Mishael, believing (in 
60 God)’, were saved from the flame. Daniel, for his innocency, was delivered from the mouth of the 
61 lions®. And thus consider ye ‘from generation to generation?;—all who hope in Him shall want for 
62 nothing. And* be not afraid of the words of a sinful man, for his glory [shall be]! dung and worms”. 
63 To-day he shall be lifted up, and to-morrow” he shall in no wise be found, because he is returned 
64 unto his dust, and his thought is perished. °And ye®, (my) children, be strong and show yourselves 
65 men Pon behalf of the’ Law”; for therein shall ye obtain glory. And behold Simeon your‘ brother, 
66 I know that he is a man of counsel*; give ear unto him alway‘; he shall be a father unto you. And 


dsons A; they that were with him 968 commanded δὲ ftheir altars A V 8he AV h-hamong the 
sons δὲ {their 19 ktook Ss NSS 64 m their N°? 64 93 nfamine S& Sour A P-P> Ἰὰς 
4.4 71 Tour A Sfirst ones 3% BSS JN uvand ye shall receive #4 35> A Ythe lot of 
acovenantS “*holyA > 71 awords Luc. + of the Lord it b> A c¢the heritage δὲ Z' a heritage of 
land Va land of heritage S!uc d-d> 71 &ean everlasting kingdom A 71 fverses 59-63 are omitted by 71 
sil hlion δὲ 64 i according to generation A Ee ius 1Luc Ma worm 19 Slve 2,1 n>A o> 
N (hab 8°) P-P> 71 dyour A ‘our 93 good counsel %? counsel and intelligence $ t> i 


44. sinners ... lawless men. i.e. the renegade Israelites. 

46. the children . . . Israel. An eloquent witness to the way in which the Hellenistic spirit had influenced the 
Jews. The same applies to the mention of altars (i.e. idol-altars), for these verses evidently refer to Jews, cp. the 
words of Josephus: ‘. . . and overthrew their idol-altars, and slew those that broke the laws, even all that he could 
bring under his power, for many of them were dispersed among the nations round about them for fear of him (i.e. 
Mattathias).’ 

47. sons of pride. Hebraism, cp. ‘sons of tumult’ (jINt’ 23) Jer. xlviii. 45; the reference is to the Syrians ; 
cp. 1. 21. 

48. neither suffered they the sinner to triumph. οὐκ ἔδωκαν κέρας τῷ ἁμαρτωλῴ, Hebraism; cp. Ps. xxv. 5, 
‘Lift not up your horn on high’; a frequent O.T. figure for strength. 

49. And the days drew near... A frequent O.T. phrase, cp. Gen. xlvii. 29; 1 Kings ii. 1. 

50 ff. With this enumeration of the deeds of the fathers, cp. Ecclus. xliv-xlix. 

51. an everlasting name. On the ideas connected with this cp. the writers Zzfe, Death, and Immortality ; 
Studies in the Psalms, Lecture 111. 

52....intemptation. Cp. Gen. xxii. 1. 

reckoned unto... Cp. Gen. xv. 6. 

53. kept the commandment. Cp. Gen. xxxix. 9. 

54. was zealous exceedingly. Cp. Num. xxv. 7, 13. 

55. ajudge. O5t’ in the sense of ‘ruler’, cp. Mic. iv. 14. 

56. for bearing witness ... Cp. Num. xiii. 31, xiv. 24; Joshua xiv. 14. 

57. the throne of akingdom. Cp. 2 Sam. vii. 16. 

58. exceeding zealous ... Cp. 1 Kings xviii. 40, xix. Io. 

was takenup... Cp. 2 Kings ii. 11. 

59. Hananiah... Cp. Dan. i. 6 ff. 

believing. Cp. Dan. iii. 17. 

60. ... of the lions. Cp. Dan. vi. 22. 

61. shall want for nothing. Cp. Ps. xxxiv. Io. 

63. To-day ... Cp. Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4; Ecclus. x. τὸ: 

64. Be strong ... Cp. Joshua x. 25; 1 Sam. iv; 1 Kings ii. 2. 


74 


ae 
| 
4 
ἢ 
i : 


I MACCABEES 2, 67—3. 11 


Judas Maccabaeus, he" hath been strong and mighty’ “from his youth; he shall be your captain and 
67 shall fight* the battle” of the people. And ye, take you unto you all those who observe the Law, 


68 and avenge the wrong of your people. *Render a recompense to the Gentiles, and take heed to the 
commandments of the Law.’ 


),7° And he blessed them, and was gathered unto his” fathers. °*And he died in the one hundred and 
forty-sixth® year'®; Sand his sons buried him "in the sepulchres' of his fathers" at Modin; Fand 
all Israel made great lamentation for him*. 


JUDAS MACCABAEUS. III. 1—IX. 22. 


III. 1-9. A Song of praise in honour of Fudas Maccabaeus. 


"1,2. And his son Judas, 'who was called’ Maccabaeus, rose up in his stead. 
if And all his brethren helped him, 

And all they that clave unto™ his father, 

And they fought with gladness the battle of Israel. 


3 And he” extended the glory °of his people®, 
And put on a breastplate as a giant, 
And girt on his weapons of war. 


? He set battles in array, 
He protected “the army with the sword Ὁ. 
4 And he was like a lion in his" deeds : 


And as a lion’s whelp roaring for prey, 
He pursued the lawless, seeking them out, 
And burnt up those that troubled ‘his people*. 


6 And the lawless lost heart for fear of him, 
And all the workers of lawlessness were sore troubled ; 
tAnd deliverance prospered in his hand. 


σι 


, And he angered many” kings, 
And made Jacob* glad with his acts. 
And his memorial is blessed for ever. 


8 And he went about among the cities of Judah, 
And destroyed the ungodly’ thereout?, 
And turned away wrath from Israel. 


9 And he was renowned unto the utmost part of the earth, 
And gathered together *those who were perishing?. 


III. 10-26. Victories of Fudas Maccabaeus over Apollonius and Seron. 


to And Apollonius gathered” the Gentiles® together, and? a great host from Samaria, to fight 
11 against Israel. And Judas perceived it, and went forth to meet him, and smote him, and slew him ; 


u>NLuc VYinmightA πὶ yeshallfight A Ybattles Luc forthe people712'S > this v.71 
Dtheir N* (his 8&4) CRS σὴν 4Mattathias Luc forty-eighthN S™¢ + ofthe kingdom Luc 8 She was 
buried 8 71 3.1 h-h> 71 isepulchre Luc EkS 71 


III. 1 > Slue ™followed 64 nJudas Luc 3.5 °-oby his word V P-P So that they fell in the battle ; 
and he raised up shields against the fortresses S$ 4-4 with his sword in battle V ceN) SOS lak abe 5 
4>093 S58 <*IsraelLuc Ykings64 thereonA **Apollonius (as sudject)V* ὕπνο ὁ»ο ἃ» Ss 


68. Render a recompense. Cp. Ps. cxxxvi. 11 (Sept.). ᾿ ie 
69. and was gathered ... A regular O.T. phrase, cp. e.g. Gen. xxv. 8; Deut. xxxil. 50, cp. also Acts xiii. 36. 
70. in the one hundred and forty-sixth year. i.e. 167-166 B.C. 
III. 1. Judas. Hebr. 771. re 
who was called Maccabaeus. Cp. ii. 4, 66, v.24; 2 Macc. ii. 19, vill. I. 
3-9. In his panegyric on Judas Maccabaeus the author adopts a poetical form. 
3. giant. γίγας is not a good rendering of 1123, which means ‘hero’; for the Sept. usage see, e.g., Gen. x. 9, Isa. iii. 2, 


weapons of war. τὰ σκεύη τὰ πολεμικά = mond 5, cp. I Sam. viil. 12, 

4. like a lion. Cp. 2 Macc. xi. 11. 

5. burnt up. Better ‘exterminated’, according to the sense of 1Y2 in 2 Sam. iv. 11; unless it is meant literally 
cp. vv. 5, 44, 2 Macc. viii. 33; this was regarded as the most degrading death, cp. Lev. xx. 14, xxi. 9; Deut. xxi. 23; 
Joshua vii. 25; Amos 1]. 1. 

7. his memorial... Cp. Prov. x. 7. με 

1ο. Apollonius. Cp. 1. 29 and 2 Macc. ν. 24; Josephus, Am/zg. XII. ν. 5, vil. 1. 


79 


21, 


I MACCABEES 8. 12-30 


12 and many fell wounded to death, and the rest fled. And they® took their spoils‘; and Judas took 
the sword of Apollonius, and therewith fought he all (his) days. ; 
13 And Seron, the commander of the host of Syria, heard that Judas had gathered *a gathering ands | 
14 a congregation of faithful men with him, "andi of such as went out to war"; and he said: ‘I will make 
a name for myself, and get me glory in the kingdom; and I will fight against Judas* and them that 
15 are with him, that! set at nought the word of the king.’ ™And he went up again™; and there went up 
16 with him a mighty army of the ungodly to help him, to take vengeance on the children of Israel. 
And he® came near to the ascent of Bethhoron ; and Judas°® went forth to meet him? with a small 
17 company. But “when they" saw the army coming to meet them", they said unto Judas: ‘What ?* shall 
we be able, being a small company, to fight against so great “and strong" a multitude ? And we, for 
18 our part, are faint, having tasted no food this day.’ And Judas said: ‘It is an easy thing for many 
to be shut up in the hands of a few, and there is no difference ‘in the sight οἵ" Heaven” to save by 
το many or by few; for victory in battle standeth not in the multitude of an host, but strength is from 
20 Heaven®. They come unto us in’ fulness of insolence and lawlessness, “to destroy us and our wives 
22 and our children, for* to spoil us*; but we fight for our lives and our laws. And He Himself? will 
23 discomfit them before our face ; but as for you, be ye not afraid of them.’ Now when he® had left 
off speaking, he* leapt suddenly upon them, and Seron and his army were discomfited *before him®. 
24 And they pursued them! at the descent of Bethhoron unto the plain; and there fell of them about 
eight hundred men ; and the rest fled into £the land of® the Philistines. 
25 Then began the fear of Judas "and of his brethren*, and the dread (of them) fell upon the nations? 
26 round about them. And his name came near even unto the king; and Fevery nation* told of 
the battles! of Judas. 


III. 27-37. Lystas 15 commissioned to continue the war against the Fews during 
the absence of Antiochus in Persia. 


27 But when Antiochus the king™ heard these words he was full of indignation; and he sent and 
28 gathered together all the forces "of his kingdom®, °an exceeding strong army®. And he opened his 
treasury and gave his forces pay for a? year, and commanded them to be ready for every need’. 
29 And he saw that the money failed from his treasures, and that the tributes of the country were 
small, because of the dissension and harm which he had brought upon the land (in seeking) to take 
3° away the laws which had been (in vogue) from the earliest times; and he feared (therefore) that he 
would not have (enough), as (he had had) at other times, for the charges and the gifts which he gave 


ehe 19 farms (122. vessels) A 8-B> Slue bok i> Luc k + the son land those that A 


mm Reading καὶ tpoaebero του avaBnvat cmydyd 5D") ; and he prepared himself @! > 55 athey V Luc She $8 
Pthem V 64 q4>71 r+ that were with him Luc Shim A V# (them V) t How 71 WSS ἃ τευ ῆρυ: 
(ἃ “Zt. before “the God of Heaven 8 V_ him that dwelleth in Heaven $8 the Heavenly One 19 64 »Α 
2-2.ὄ Se aand 71 Slue 3. bthe Lord Luc Slue ¢Judas Luc Ithey $8 e-&> 93 fhim δὰ se>V 
hh>19 iallthe nations £' -kthe nations δὲ 64 93 lacts 93 S BSS EHS TNS HE 00> N* (hab 
Noa) Pthe A 9+for a year A rall things 1? 


15. and he went up again. See critical note. 

16. the ascent of Bethhoron. About five hours’ journey north-west of Jerusalem. ‘From a military point of view 
Bethhoron was an important outpost, and to an invading force from the maritime plain the key to Jerusalem; cp. 
Joshua x. 16-26’ (Fairweather and Black, zz Zoc.). 

18. to save by many or by few. Cp. 1 Sam. xiv. 6. 

22. He Himself. Thus avoiding the mention of the name of God; this is characteristic of later usage ; cp. ii. 61. 

23. were discomfited. συντρίβειν has a stronger meaning, ‘ were utterly crushed ’. 

28. pay for a year. This suggests that his forces could not always be relied upon. The extravagance of 
Antiochus Epiphanes (cp. v. 30) and the way in which he squandered money on public displays, games, and the like, 
must have often made it difficult to find the wherewithal to pay his soldiers, in consequence of which discontent would 
have manifested itself. The Jews had a great advantage here, since, in fighting, they were actuated solely by patriotic 
motives. According to Josephus (Ze//. Jud. I. ii. 5) the Jews never employed mercenary troops until the time of 
Hyrcanus I (135-107 B.C.). 

_to be ready for every need. The meaning is, presumably, that they were not necessarily to be employed 
against the Jews only, but that they were to be prepared to go anywhere; this provision was necessary, for with his 
Egyptian campaigns Antiochus was always in need of soldiers. In 2 Macc. v. 5-11, e. g., we are told that he was 
hurriedly called back from an Egyptian campaign in order to quell an outbreak in Judaea under Jason. 

30. the gifts which ... with a liberal hand. Cp. the words of Polybius (xxvi. I): ‘Rational people were at 
a loss what to think about him. Some regarded him as a simple and homely man, others looked upon him as crazed. 
. . . To some he gave bone dice, to others dates, to others gold. But if perchance he should meet anyone whom he 
had never seen before, he would give him unexpected presents’ (quoted by Fairweather and Black, zz Zoc.). Grimm 
mentions that in one of his Egyptian campaigns Antiochus gave a piece of gold to every Greek in Naukratis 
(Polybius, xxviil. 17. 11) ; ep. also Dan. xi. 24, ‘In time of security shall he come even upon the fattest places of the 


76 


I MACCABEES 8. 31-37 


31 aforetime with a liberal hand,—‘and he was more lavish than the kings that were before him’. He 
was (therefore) exceedingly perplexed in his mind ; so het determined to go to Persia, and to take 

| 32 tributes of the countries", and (thus) to gather much money. And he left’ Lysias, an honourable 
} man, and “one of the seed royal, (to be) over the affairs of the king from the river Euphrates unto 
34 the borders of Egypt, and to bring up his son Antiochus until he should return. And he delivered unto 

| him the half of the forces, and the elephants, and gave him charge over all the things that he would 
35 have done and concerning them* ¥that dwell in Judaea and Jerusalem, (namely) that he should send 
a host Z7against them? to root out* and destroy the strength” of Israel and® the remnant of Jerusalem, 
36 and “to take away’ their® memorial from the place ; and that he should make strangers to dwell in 
37 all their borders, and that he should ‘divide their land by lot’. And the king took the half that 
remained of the forces, and removed from Antioch, $from his royal city, i(in) the one hundred and 
forty-seventh year‘; and he passed over the river Euphrates, and went through the upper countries. 


ss>A tthey ἃ Antiochus Luc "country Sluve Ysent N* (left N°-*) w-why race (belonging) to 
the king Slac .. . the kingdom $8 ... the country 3» Xall them A 5 7» 93 z-a> Ss ato drive 
out AV 64 93 bname 38 ὁ “το take away Luc d-d>tLuc its A fftake possession of their land A 
take possession of their land and divide it by lot # ee>i1 tthe Se its 71 


province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers ; he shall scatter among them 
prey, and spoil, and substance.’ 

31. Persia, and to take... countries. i.e. the countries east of the Euphrates under the rule of the Seleucidae ; 
cp. vi. 56, where the reference is to Media and Persia. 

to gather much money. ‘The temples of the Asiatics had hitherto been for the most part respected by their 

European conquerors, and large stores of the precious metals were accumulated in them. Epiphanes saw in these 
hoards the means of relieving his own necessities, and determined to seize and confiscate them. Besides plundering 
the temple of Jehovah at Jerusalem (see i. 21-23), he made a journey into the south-eastern portion of his empire, about 
165 B.C., for the express purpose of conducting in person the collection of the sacred treasures. It was while he was 
engaged in this unpopular work that a spirit of disaffection showed itself; the East took arms no less than the West; 
and in Persia, or upon its borders, the avaricious monarch was forced to retire before the opposition which his ill- 
judged measures had provoked, and to allow one of the doomed temples to escape him’ (cp. vi. 1-4), Rawlinson, 7he 
Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy, p. 5. 

32. Lysias. For the part played by this general during the Maccabaean struggle, see, besides this passage, iv. I ff., 
28 ff., vi. 5 ff., 28 ff., 51 ff.; he was put to death at the accession of Demetrius I, in 162 B.C. (vil. 1-4); see also 
2 Macc. x. 11 ff., xi-xii. I, xiii. I-xiv. 2; the two accounts are not always in agreement. 


one of the seed royal. Axbnn y(n] as in 1 Kings i. 46; Jer. xli. 1; Dan. i. 3, or M2507 Yr as in 2 Kings 
xi. 1; 2 Chron. xxii. 10. 
the affairs of the king. For the phrase cp. 2 Macc. viii. 8, x. 11, xi. I. 

33. his son Antiochus. The future Antiochus V, surnamed Eupator (cp. vi. 17), ‘on account of the virtues of his 
father,’ according to Appian (quoted by G. A. Smith in £2 187); he was murdered, after two years’ reign, together 
with Lysias (see vil. 1-4; 2 Macc. xiv. 2). 

34. elephants. The Persians were the first to use elephants in warfare, as far as is known; they are first mentioned 
in this connexion as having been used in the army of Darius at the battle of Arbela, in 331 B.C. They are referred to 
several times in this book ; vi. 34 ff., where they are described as being furnished with towers of wood, and as being 
driven by an Indian (cp. 2 Macc. xiv. 12) ; see also viii. 6, xi. 56; 2 Macc. xi. 4, xili. 15. 

35. to root out. τοῦ ἐκτρίψαι ; Cod. A has the milder word τοῦ ἐκρῖψαι, ‘to drive out.’ 

the strength. The Syriac Version reads ‘the name’, which in the Old Testament is not infrequently used as 
equivalent to ‘seed’, Num. xxvii. 4; Deut. xxv. 6; Ruth iv. 5, 10; 1 Sam. xxiv. 22; Isa. xiv. 22, &c. 

36. strangers. υἱοὺς ἀλλοτρίους is a Hebraism, 13) 323. 
᾿ divide their land by lot. i.e. apportion it to others, cp. Ps. Ixxvili. 55; this is the reading of δὲ κατακληρο- 

οτῆσαι. 

37. Antioch. Not, of course, the Pisidian Antioch, though this, too, was founded by the Seleucid kings about 
300 B.C.; but the Syrian Antioch, built (300 B.C.) by Seleucus Nicator on the left bank of the Orontes. It was 
situated just where the Libanus range joins the Taurus range. ‘Holm has summed up in a striking sentence the 
historical position of Antioch under the Seleucid kings. Although close to the sea (ἀνάπλους αὐθημερόν, Strabo, p. 751), 
it was yet no seaport; on the borders of the desert, it was yet something more than a centre for the caravan trade 
between the East and the West. The city reflected the character of the kingdom of which it was the capital, 
a kingdom which itself also was neither a genuine naval nor a genuine land power. Antioch was a Greek city, just as 
the Seleucid kingdom was an attempt to impose upen the Orient the political ideas and forms of Hellas. Yet, in the 
capital, as in the kingdom at large, there was no true Hellenism ; the commingling of Oriental and Western elements 
resulted in the perpetuation of the worst features of both races, and the moral worthlessness of the Syrian found in the 
brilliance and artistic temperament of the Greek merely the means of concealing the crudities of his own life. The 
characteristic failing of the Greek also was exhibited on a great scale. A third element, and that the one most 
important for biblical history, was provided by the Jews. The colony was in fact coeval with the city, for it dated 
from the time of Seleucus Nicator, who gave the Jews the same privileges as he gave the Greeks (Josephus, Av/zg. 
XII. iii. 1). For this connexion with the Syrian kings see 1 Macc. xi. 42 ff’ (EB 185.) 

the one hundred and forty-seventh year. 166-165 B.C. ; 
the upper countries. Cp. vi. 1,2 Macc. ix. 25. Grimm quotes Polybius (v. 40. 5) and Arrian (iii. 6. 12) as 
referring in similar terms to Persia and Media, 
77 


Ie MACCABEES Ὁ: 38-47 


III. 38-60. Lysias dispatches an army into the land of Fudah under Ptolemy, Nicanor, and 
Gorgias. Fudas Maccabaeus prepares for the coming struggle. 


38 And Lysias chose * Ptolemy the son of* Dorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, mighty men of the 
39 king’s friends ; and with them he sent forty’ thousand footmen, and seven thousand horse, to go into 
40 the land of Judah, and to destroy it, according to the king’s command. And they™ removed with 
41 all their host, and came and pitched near Emmaus in the plain country. And the merchants of the 
country heard tell of them, and took silver and gold exceeding much, together with fetters", and 
came into the camp, to take the children of Israel as slaves. And there were added unto them _ 
troops from Syria and from the land of the Philistines. 
42 And Judas and his brethren saw that evils were multiplied, and that the forces (of the enemy) 
were encamping? in their borders ; and they? took knowledge of the king’s* commands which he had 
43 put forth (with a view) to bring about the destruction and annihilation of the people. So they said, 
each man to his neighbour: ‘ Let us raise up the ruin’ of our people, ‘and let us fight for our people 
44 and the Holy Place.’ And the" congregation was gathered together, so as to be ready for battle, and 
to pray and to ask for mercy and compassion. 
45 And Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness, 
There was none of her offspring that went in Yor went out’. 
And the Sanctuary was trodden down, 
And the sons of strangers (dwelt) in the citadel, 
A lodging-place for Gentiles (it became) ; 
And joy “was taken away™ from Jacob, 
And the pipe and the harp ceased. 
46 And they gathered themselves together, and came to Mizpeh*, over against Jerusalem; for in 
47 Mizpeh there had been aforetime a place of prayer for Israel. And they fasted that day, and put on 


κεν lfiftyV ten S ™ + who were round about Ptolemy Luc nbands and fetters S$; servants 
(παιδας for πεδας) (τ (= HL); ‘fetters’ Josephus °S; “zt. strangers GW Phad surrounded $8 dhe 38 
royal A Skingdom i? SUS JAA, tall the V σεν: Ν᾿ χα πο 7 ΤῈ W-wwas brought to an 
end 64 *Massepha && 


38 ff. With this section cp. 2 Macc. viii. 8-22; Josephus, 4z/ig. XII. vii. 3. 
Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes. Cp. 2 Macc. iv. 45, viii. 3, x. 12, in this last passage he has the surname 
Macron, and is described as being friendly disposed to the Jews; he committed suicide by taking poison because he 
was regarded as a traitor for abandoning Cyprus. This is the only mention of him in 1 Macc. 
Nicanor. Cp. vii. 26-50; 2 Macc. viii. 9, xiv, xv. 
Georgias. Cp. v. 56 ff.; 2 Macc. x. 14, xii. 32-7. 
forty thousand. See critical note. In 2 Macc. viii. 9 the number is 20,000, no mention being made of 
horsemen. 
to destroy it. Better ‘to lay it waste’. 

40. Emmaus. Not the Emmaus of Luke xxiv. 13, but a city in the plain into which the mountains of Judaea slope 
down ; it is twenty-two Roman miles from Jerusalem on the road to Joppa; the modern Amwas. It was fortified by 
Bacchides, cp. ix. 50. 

41. the merchants of the country. In earlier days the Edomites are mentioned as slave-dealers (cp. Amos i. 
6, 9); in Ezek. xxvii. 13 Javan (Greeks), Tubal, and Meshech (probably peoples of Asia Minor) are said to have traded 
with ‘the persons of men’; from the fifth century B.C. onwards Syrian slaves, among whom Jews were reckoned, were 
in great demand in Greece (cp. Robertson Smith, in the Ecyc/. Brit. xiii. 705). The Phoenicians played a leading réle 
in the slave-market; Rawlinson (Hist. of Phoenicia, Ρ- 296) says: ‘The traffic in slaves was one in which the 
Phoenicians engaged from very early times. They were not above kidnapping men, women, and children in one 
country and selling them in another ; besides which they seem to have frequented regularly the principal slave-marts 


of the time. They bought such Jews as were taken captive and sold into slavery by the neighbouring nations.’ See 
further 2 Macc. viii. 11, 34. 


fetters. See critical note. 


troops from Syria . .. According to Josephus these were ‘auxiliaries (σύμμαχοι) out of Syria and the country 
round about, as also some of the renegade Jews’ (ἀμφ. XII. vii. 3), 1. €. presumably volunteers who joined either from 


the love of fighting, or from the hope of plunder, or possibly out of sheer hatred of the Jews. 
Philistines. See critical note. 


43. each man to his neighbour. See note on ii. 40. 

45. This verse was probably in poetical form in the original ; it is full of O.T. thoughts and expressions. 
uninhabited. Cp. Isa. v. 9, vi. 11; Jer. ix. 11, xlvi. 19. 
there was none of her offspring. Cp. Jer. xxxiii. 10. 
that went in or went out. Cp. Jer. xxxvii. 4; Zech. viii. 10. 


the Sanctuary... Cp. Ps. Ixxix. 1. 
the sons of strangers. See note on y. 36. 
A lodging-place ... Cp. Isa. i. 8. 
joy was taken away. Cp. Lam. v. 1 158. χεὶν ΤῊ; ΠΌΘΟΣ: 
the pipe . . . ceased. Cop. Isa. xiv. 11, xxiv. 8. 
46. aforetime a place of prayer. Cp. 1 Sam. vii. 6-9. 


78 


I MACCABEES 3. 48—4. 10 


48 sackcloth, and put’ ashes upon their heads’, and rent their clothes. And they spread out the roll 
of the Law, (one of those) concerning which the Gentiles were wont to make search *” in order to depict 
| 49 upon them? likenesses of their idols’. And they brought the priestly garments, and the firstfruits, and 
| 50 the tithes ; and they shaved® the Nazirites who had accomplished their days. And they cried aloud4 
toward heaven, saying: ‘ What shall we do with these men, and whither shall we carry them away ? 
| 51 For® thy Holy Place is trodden down and defiled, and thy priests are in heaviness and brought low. 
| 52 And, behold, the Gentiles are gathered together against us to destroy us; thou knowest what things 
, 54 they imagine against us. How shall we be able to stand before them unless thou help us?’ And 
they sounded with the trumpets‘, and cried with a loud voice®. 
55 And after this Judas appointed leaders of the people, captains of thousands, and captains of 
56 hundreds, »and captains of fifties", and captains of tens. And he said to them that were building 
houses, and were betrothing wives, and were planting vineyards, and were fearful, that they should 
57 return, each man to his own house, according to the Law’, And the army removed, and encamped* 
58 on the south of Emmaus. And Judas said: ‘Gird yourselves, !and be! valiant men; and be ready 
on the morrow to fight against these Gentiles that are assembled together against us to destroy us, 
59 and our Holy Place; for it is better for us to die ™in battle™ than to look upon the evils (that have 
| 60 come) upon our nation and the Holy Place. Nevertheless, as may be the will in heaven, "so shall 
he do.’ 


IV. 1-25. Victory of Fudas over Gorgias. 


1 And Gorgias took five thousand (foot-) men, and a thousand chosen horse; and the* army moved 
2 by night so that it might fall upon the army of the Jews” and smite them suddenly ; and (certain)° 
3 men from the citadel were his* guides. And Judas heard thereof, and he removed, he and the valiant 
4 men, that he might smite the king’s host, which was at Emmaus, while as yet the forces were 
5 dispersed from the camp. And Gorgias came into the camp of Judas by night®, and found no man ; 
6 and he sought them in the mountains, for he said: ‘ These men flee from us.’ And as soon as it was 

day, Judas appeared in the plain witht three thousand men; howbeit, they had not armour nor 
7 swords as they would have wished (to have had). And they saw the camp of the Gentiles strong 
8 (and) fortified, and horsemen compassing it round about ; and these were experienced in war. And 

Judas® said to the men that were with him: ‘ Fear ye not their multitude, neither "be ye afraid οὐ" 
9 their onset. Remember how our fathers! were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them 
10 with a host*. And now, let us cry! unto heaven™, “if he will have mercy upon us”, °and? will 


Y> (ἃ (exc 55); Slee 3.1 supply the verb zhead δ V Luc a-a> (ἃ (exc 55 71) b-band mourned before the 
Holy One concerning the Gentiles, because they forced them to imitate their ways Sle Craised up (ἃ (eac 55) 
477, with a voice; with a great voice 93 eAnd & > 38 f+fortitrZ' 8585» 91 b-h> δ ἢ (hab δὰ 5:8) SB 
i+of Moses it kassembled #1 TENS OG} ἔπεσον ΟΣ n-ngso be it done 3 S8 


IV. *his 19 93 Ste => Judah Sle +bynight19 93 Se ctheA ‘tothem Sue e> Suc f+only 3.1 


She Slue b-b> 71 ibrethren 31 Ka great host Suc 3}, lwe will cry δὲ ™the Lord 71 our Lord &! 
nn Several cursives 38H; if he will have us NA V CDS fit p+the Lord Slve 

48. they spread out ... In order that the roll of the Law might bear witness before God against the blasphemous 
proceeding of the Gentiles. Ff ‘ 

49. and they brought... All these acts were intended to witness against the evils which the Gentiles had 


wrought, and thus call down upon them the divine wrath. 
54. they sourded with the trumpets. Cp. Num. x. τ ff. 
58. be valiant men. Cp. 2 Sam. ii. 7, xiii. 28 (Sept.). 
be ready on the morrow. Cp. Exod. xxxiv. 2, xix. 15. 
60. so shall he do. Another instance of the way in which the mention of the name of God is avoided in this book. 


IV. With wv. 1-25 cp. Josephus, Avzig. XII. vii. 4. 

1. Gorgias ... The non-mention of Nicanor, the commander-in-chief (cp. 2 Macc. viil. 23, 24), does not 
necessarily imply that he was not the guiding spirit; the writer is giving the details of one episode in the campaign, 
in which Gorgias is the leading figure ; he is, therefore, not concerned with the question as to under whose orders 
Gorgias was acting. That there was not one in chief command responsible for the general conduct of the operations, 
is difficult to believe. Cp. Josephus: ‘But when the enemy sent Gorgias . . .’ 

2. men from the citadel. οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς ἄκρας, Hebraism. Josephus speaks of them as ‘renegade Jews’. 

3. Emmaus. See note on iii. 4o. 

5. and he sought them in the mountains. i.e. in the mountainous district south and east of Emmaus ; Judas 
was thus drawing this detachment of the enemy further and further away from the main body with which he intended 
to deal (see v.13) ; cp. Josephus: ‘And he resolved to fall upon those enemies that were in their camp, now that their 
forces were divided.’ 

6. three thousand men. So, too, according to Josephus; in 2 Macc. viii. 16 the number is given as 6,000, 


ἡ. experienced in war. διδακτοὶ πολέμου, Hebraism, cp. Song of Songs 11]. ὃ mend sadn. 


79 


16, 


I MACCABEES 4. 11-29 


11 remember “the covenant of the’ fathers, and destroy this army before our® face to-day°; and (then) 
12 all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeemeth tand saveth* Israel.’ And the strangers® 
13 lifted up their eyes and saw them coming against them, and they went out of {πε camp τ ἀθ 
14 And they that were with Judas sounded the trumpets, ἀπά joined battle’, Yand the Gentiles 
15 were discomfited, and fled unto the plain. And all* the hindmost fell by the sword ; and they 
pursued them unto Gazera, and unto the plains of Idumaea’ and? Azotus and Jamnia; and there 
fell of them about three thousand men. : ὃ 
17 And Judas and (his)* host returned from pursuing after them”; and he® said cake the people: 
18 ‘Be not greedy of the spoils, for (another)? battle is before us, and Gorgias and (his)* host are nigh 
unto us‘in the mountain’. #But stand ye now against our enemies®, and fight (against) them, and 
19 afterwards take the spoils with boldness.’ While Judas was yet saying” these things, there appeared a 
20 part of them peering out from the mountain ; and they saw that (their POS) had been put to flight, 
and that (the Jews)! were burning the* camp,—for the smoke 'that was seen’ made manifest what had 
21 been done. And when they perceived these things they were sore afraid; and perceiving also the 
23 army of Judas ™in the plain™ ready for battle, they” all fled into the land of the Philistines®. And 
Judas returned to the spoil of the camp, and took much gold and silver, and blue?, and ‘sea-purple‘, 
24 and great riches. And as they returned they sang a song of thanksgiving, and blessed **(God*, 
looking up) to heaven’, (and saying) : ; 
‘Good (is the Lord), for his mercy endureth for ever. * 
25 And Israel had a great" deliverance that day. 


IV. 26-35. Victory of Fudas over Lysias. 


26 But as many of the Gentiles’ as had been saved came and reported to Lysias all that had happened. 

27 And when he had heard all” he was confounded *and discouraged*, both because it had not 
happened unto Israel as he had wished, and because the things which the king had commanded him’ 
had not come about. 

28 And in the next year he* gathered together sixty thousand chosen |foot-]men, and five thousand 

29 horse, to make war upon them*. And they came into Judaea”, and encamped at Bethsura, and Judas 


9-4 the first covenant S$ Your, several cursives “your 64 t—-t> N* (Aad N°-2) | “Uthe Greeks ὧν VV> 38 
Wwith them Luc *>%8 YJudeaAVig #+unto Luc #1993 Se >>>! ¢JudasLuc 4Luc Se 264 93 


τ» δα £8>03 T.R. SU; Ut. fillngupNAV &c., reading ΝΟ for bb ithey that were with Judas 
Luc k their Luc 1 5 Ὁ me SS ES nand they S!v¢ °S; dt. strangers (ἃ P precious hyacinth 


stones Sluc 4-4 purple and sea A rr>71 Possibly ηὐλόγουν εἰς οὐρανόν here and in v.55 = ones yon 
(cf. 1 Chron. xxix. 20 for construction) where, therefore, οὐρανός = θεός. Hence ‘they blessed Heaven; for He is good, 
ἄς. [Gen. Editor] ®‘the Lord thatisinthe heavensS ΤΙΝ. "%>Luc τἀ strangers Ur; the Greeks 38 
WSN Vi SS WV Y>19 93 Sue 2 Lysias T-R. 4Tsrael Luc DN; B reads Ἰδουμαίαν 


12. and the strangers lifted up their... From vv. 3, 4. Judas evidently intended a surprise attack, but this 
verse shows that his intention was frustrated. On the other hand, Josephus definitely states that the enemy’s defeat 
was due to Judas’s unexpected attack ; ‘so he commanded the trumpeters to sound for the battle ; and by thus falling 
upon the enemies when they did not expect it, and thereby astonishing and disturbing their minds, he slew many of 
those that resisted him.’ 

15. Gazera. The ancient Gezer, cp. Joshua x. 33, xii. 12, xvi. 3, &c. ; see further the note on xiii. 43. 
Azotus. Ashdod, cp. Joshua xi. 22; 1 Sam. v. 5; 2 Chron. xxvi. 6, &c., the modern Asdud. 
Jamnia. Jabneel, cp. Joshua xv. 11, called Jabneh in 2 Chron. xxvi. 6. 
the plains of Idumaea. This reading cannot be right, for the border of Idumaea lay at least two days’ journey 

to the south-east of the scene of the battle, and the next day was the Sabbath, cp. 2 Macc. viii. 26, 27; in the next 
verses Judas and his army are described as being near the mountainous region again; had four days intervened some 
mention would assuredly have been made of it. Moreover, the three places ‘Gazera, Azotus, and Jamnia’ lie close 
together, and the mention of Idumaea in such a connexion is quite out of place. The reading ‘plains of Judaea’ is 
equally strange, for Judaea lay behind the pursuers where the country was mountainous. It is possible that 
‘Emmaus’ stood here originally (cp. iii. 4o ‘Emmaus in the plain country’), the reference being to the plain in which 
Emmaus stood. 

23. blue and sea-purple. nbsn ‘violet stuff’, cp. Ezek. xxiii. 6, xxvii. 7; used in reference to the Temple hangings 
2 Chron. ii. 6, 13, 14; }!229N ‘purple-red cloth’, generally mentioned with the former ; ‘sea-purple’ refers to the fact 
that the colour was not a manufactured dye, but that it was the slimy substance from a sea-shell (Murex trunculus) 
found in great quantities on the Phoenician coast ; the slime from these shells is white, but becomes gradually darker 
when exposed to the rays of the sun, until it assumes a deep red, or a deep blue-red colour which never fades. Immense 
numbers of these shells have been found on the site of an ancient dye-factory near Tyre. According to Judges viii. 26 
it would appear that the Midian kings wore a purple garment when going into battle. 

24. for his mercy ... Cp. Ps. cxviii. 1-4, and the oft-repeated refrain in Ps. cxxxvi. 

29. Judaea. This is what Josephus reads, as well as 2 Macc. xi. 5 (the parallel passage), see note v. 15. 

Bethsura. ‘The house of rock’ (cp. Joshua xv. 58), in southern Judaea; ‘Bethsuron’ in 2 Macc. xi. 5. 
δὃο 


ae 


I MACCABEES 4. 30-43 


| 30 met them with ten thousand men. And he saw that the army® was strong, and he prayed, and 
said : 

‘Blessed art thou’, O Saviour “οἵ Israel*, who didst bring to nought the onslaught of the giant* by 
the hand of thy servant’ David, and didst deliver the army of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan 
31 4the son of Saul and of his armour-bearer*. Shut up! this army in the hands of thy people Israel, 
32 that with their host and their horsemen they may be put toshame. *Give them fearfulness of heart, 
i and cause the boldness of their strength to melt away, and let them quake at! their destruction*. 
[33 Cast them down with the sword of them that love thee, ™and let all that know" thy name praise 
| thee with songs of thanksgiving™.’ 

134 And they joined battle ; and there fell of the army of Lysias about five thousand men, and° they 
[35 fell down over against them. But when Lysias? saw that his array had been put to flight, and the 
boldness‘ that had come upon them that were with Judas, "and how ready they were either to live 
or die nobly", he removed to Antioch, ‘and gathered together mercenary troops, that he might come 
again into Judaea with an even greater (army)*. a 


IV. 36-61. The Purification and Re-dedication of the Temple ; the fortification 
of the Temple-Mount and Bethsura. 


36 But Judas and his brethren said: ‘Behold, our enemies are discomfited ; let us go up to cleanse 
37 the Holy Place, and re-dedicate" it. And all the army was gathered together, and they’ went unto 
»38 mount Sion. And they saw our™ sanctuary laid desolate, and the altar profaned*, and the gates¥ 

burned up, “and shrubs growing in the courts as in a forest or upon one of the mountains, and the 
39 chambers? (of the priests) pulled down”*; ‘and they rent their garments*, and made great lamenta- 
40 tion, and put ashes on their heads*; and they fell on their faces to the ground, ®and they *%blew 
_41 the solemn blasts* upon the trumpets, and cried unto heaven®®. Then? Judas appointed (a certain 
number of) men to fight against those (that were) in the citadel, until he should have cleansed 
42 the Holy Place. And he chose blameless priests, such as had delight in the Law; and they* 
4. 44 cleansed the Holy Place, and! bare out the stones of defilement™ into an unclean place. And they 


© +of them that were opposed Luc d+Lord καὶ 658. Gi f7Zit, mighty man, +Goliath 71 &s>71 
h-h > 71 i4Lord 3» kK-k> 71 lin 19 93 Sluc mM > 71 nthat have seen A OSS ety Phe 71 
4 +and steadfastness i! τ 71 ss the MSS. and Versions vary here considerably; but the general sense is 
clear, and in accordance with the text above tthat we may cleanse δὲ ὁ: Luc uthat we may re-dedicate δὲ &® Luc 
that we may renew it Slve Vhe 93 *the X V X waste 93 Slue ¥Y doors δὶ ἈΠΞ ἘΠ adornments 38 
Ῥ disruta et detracta 1 c-0 Ss places these words after heads d-d > N 19 93 ®-@et clamaverunt ad caelum 
in tubis signorum i" Co 8-8 blew with glorious horns S!"° hthe Lord 71 iand S$ Khe Luc $8 


14they Luc $8  ™-+and placed them $8 +and cast them Sve 


30-32. In 2 Macc. xi. 6-8 this prayer is only referred to, not quoted ; but instead, mention is made of ‘ one on horse- 
back in white apparel, brandishing weapons of gold’, who appeared at the head of the Jewish army, and led them on 
to victory. This fantastic elaboration is perhaps based on the two stories of David (1 Sam. xvii. 40-54) and Jonathan 
(1 Sam. xiv. 1-16) ; in each case a champion came forth and delivered Israel. 

34. they fell down over against them. i.e. they were struck down and fell at the feet of each individual Jewish 
warrior, so fierce was the onslaught of the Jews. 

36. cleanse. 0 is used of cleansing the Temple from unclean things in 2 Chron. xxix. 15, 16, 18, and from the 
pollution of idolatrous images in 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3, 5, 8. 

re-dedicate. The ritual of cleansing and re-dedicating is detailed in the verses which follow. The Hebrew 
word for ‘dedicate’ (72M) means lit. ‘ to train up a child’ (Prov. xxii. 6); it is used in the sense of dedicating a house 
in Deut. xx. 5, of the Temple in 1 Kings viii. 63 (= 2 Chron. vii. 5). 

38. the gates burned up. We have but scanty details of Zerubbabel’s temple ; mention is made of the Miphkad Gate 
(Neh. iii. 31) and of the Prison Gate (Neh. xii. 39); in Josephus (Contra AZ. i. 22, quoting Hecataeus) there is a 
reference to ‘double gates’ in the Temple, but this seems only to refer to one of the ordinary gates. These are the only 
gates of which mention is made in the O.T., but there must certainly have been others, as there were in the first temple. 

the chambers (of the priests). τὰ παστοφόρια, cp. Ezra vili. 28, x. 6; Neh. iii. 30, x. 37 ff, xii. 44, xili. 5 ff. ; 
Josephus An/zg. XI. iv. 7, XIV. xvi. 2. 
ΕΟ solemn blasts upon the trumpets. The reference is to the long drawn-out blasts on the ram’s-horns. Cp. 

um. x. 10. 

41. in the citadel. Cp. i. 33 ff. 

42. blameless. ἀμώμους, lit. ‘ without blemish ’, i.e. Levitical purity ; used originally in reference to physical blemish, 
but later the idea of innocence and integrity is included, cp. Prov. i.12, where the word (oN) is used for soundness 
in health ; see Deut. xviii. 13, where it occurs in the figurative sense, cp. Ps. cxxxii. 9,16. That a physical blemish was, 
also in later times, an obstacle to the performing of the priestly office may be gathered from Josephus, 477g. ILI. xii. 2: 
‘ He ordered that the priest who had any blemish should have his portion indeed among the priests, but he forbad 
him to ascend the altar, or to enter into the holy house.’ In the Talmud no less than 147 physical blemishes are 
enumerated which make a man unfit to perform ministerial duties, cp. Krauss Ta/mudische Archdologie, i, p. 250. 

43. the stones of defilement. Cp. i. 54. 

an unclean place. What is meant can be seen by a reference to Deut. xxiii. 12-14. 


1105 SI G 


I MACCABEES 4. 44—5. 2 


took counsel concerning the altar of burnt offerings, which had been profaned, what they should do with | 
45 it. And a good idea occurred to them™ (namely) to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach unto — 
46 them, because the Gentiles had defiled it ; so they pulled down the altar, and laid down the stones 
in the mountain of the House, in a convenient place, until a prophet should come and decide® (as to 
47 what should be done) concerning them. And they? took whole stones according to the Law, and 
48 built a new® altar after the fashion of the former (one) ; *and they built the Holy Place, and the 
49 inner parts of the house, and hallowed®* the courts. And they made the holy t vessels new’, and they 
brought the candlestick, and the altar of burnt offerings and of incense, and the table, into the — 
so temple. And they burned incense upon the altar, and they lighted the lamps that were upon the 
51 candlestick “in order to give light’ in the temple". And they set loaves upon the table, and hung up 
52 the veils, and finished all “the works which they had undertaken. And they rose up early in the morn- 
ing *on the twenty-fifth (day) of the ninth’ month, which is the month Chislev, in the 7one hundred 
53 and” forty-eighth* year*», and® offered sacrifice, according to the Law, ‘upon the new altar of burnt 
54 Offerings which they had made*. At® the corresponding time (of the month) and on the (corres- 
ponding) day on which the Gentiles had profaned it, on that day‘ was it dedicated afresh, with songs 
55 “and harps£and lutes, and with cymbals. And all "the people” fell upon their faces, and worshipped‘, 
56 and gave praise, (looking up) unto heaven, to him who had prospered them. And they celebrated 
the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings * with gladness*, ‘and sacrificed _ 
57 a sacrifice of deliverance ™and praise™'. And they decked the forefront of the temple with crowns — 
of gold” and small shields, and dedicated° afresh the gates and the chambers (of the priests), ?and 
58 furnished them with doors’. 4And there was exceeding great gladness among the people, and the 
59 reproach of the Gentiles was turned away*. And Judas and his brethren and the whole congregation 
of Israel ordained, that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept ‘in their seasons year 
by year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth (day) of the month Chislev, with gladness and joy". 
60 And ‘at that season‘ they built high walls" and strong’ towers around mount Sion, lest haply the 
61 Gentiles should come and tread them down, *as they had done aforetime®. And he set there¥ 
a force to keep it’, and they fortified Bethsura “to keep it*, that the people might have a strong- 
hold over against Idumaea. 


V. 1-8. Victories of Fudas over the Edomites, Baeanites, and Ammonites. 


σι And it came to pass, when the Gentiles round about heard that the altar? had been built® and the 
* sanctuary dedicated", “45 aforetime®, that they were exceeding wroth. And they determined‘ to 


ohim Slue speak S answer 3» Phe AV a> Sine SS ὅλ She hallowed A V t> 93 
uu> 71 Y to be visible Luc ww > Sluc xX>71 y>N =5> 64 @ninth $8 b>N_ +0f the 
kingdom Luc c> 28 dd 71 ®AndatNV f>A &8>Luc hh>71 i+God71 ΚΑ» 71 
land a sacrifice of deliverance 1? mm > 71 "> N* (lab δὲ 58) Phe dedicated A P-P> Se aay 7] 
rr>7I 8 great joy 11 LASS oii wa high wall Luc Vhigh &* (strong δὲ 9:8) Vit δὲ 8 93 RSS 
yY>7I them N* (it δὲ 9:8) OS> 515.55 


V. P house $8 70 ας i? “e>71  fwere wroth δὲ (determined N¢-2) 


46. the mountain of the House. Cp. Mich. iii. 12; Jer. xvi. 18 (M297). 
a prophet should come . . . The reference is probably to Deut. xviii. 18, which is not a ‘ Messianic’ passage, 
however it may have been interpreted subsequently. 
47. according to the Law. Cp. Exod. xx. 25; Deut. xxvii. 6. 
49. the candlestick .. . the altar . .. and the table. These had been taken away by Antiochus Epiphanes, 
see 1, 21, 22; the three are again specifically mentioned in the two next verses. 
52 ff. The inauguration of the feast of Chanukah, which has been observed ever since by the Jews. The month 
Chislev corresponds to December. Ewald (Geschichte des Volkes Israel iv. 407 [3rd ed.]), followed by Wellhausen 
(lsraelitische und Jiidische Geschichte, p. 210), believes that on the 25th Chislev a winter solstice feast had been 
celebrated long before this time, and that this was adapted and turned into the historical feast of Chanukkah. This 
feast was early known as the Feast of Lights (ora in Josephus, Anzig. XII. vii. 7); two methods were in vogue 
regarding the lighting of the lamps; the followers of Shammai lit eight lamps on the first day of the festival, and one 
less on each succeeding day until the end of the feast; the Hillelites lit one lamp on the first day of the feast, and 
added one on each succeeding day, so that on the last day eight lamps were lit. ‘The Talmudic sources . . . ascribe 
the origin of the eight days’ festival, with its custom of illuminating the houses, to the miracle said to have occurred 
at the dedication of the purified Temple. This was that the one small cruse of consecrated oil found unpolluted by 
the Hasmonean priests when they entered the Temple, it having been sealed and hidden away, lasted for eight days, 


until new oil could be prepared for the lamps of the hol candlestick’ (Jew. oy i, 2 
somewhat similar character see 2 Macc. i. 18 ai 15. ὑτρε να οδν ggg περ αὶ 324.4). Kor a leeeudag 


57. crowns of gold and small shields. Perhaps wreaths of gold, which with the small shields, were temporary 
ornaments, cf. 1 Kings x. 17. i 


60. strong towers. Cp. i. 31. 
V. 1-8. Cf. Josephus, Awtzg. XII. viii. 1. 


I MACCABEES 5, 2-15 


| destroy (those of) the race* of Jacob "that were in the midst of them}, and they began ‘to slay and 
|3 to destroy among the people’. And Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumaea* at 
_ Akrabattine, because they annoyed Israel’ by their attacks; and he smote them with a great 
4 slaughter, ™and humbled” them™, and took spoils from them. And he remembered the malice of 
the children of Baean, who were unto the people® a snare and a stumbling-block, !ying in wait for 
5 them Pin the ways’. And they were shut up by him in the towers; and he encamped against 
them, *and utterly destroyed them’, and burned® ‘with firet "the towers of the place’", with all that 
6 were™ therein. Then he* passed over to the children of Ammon, and found (there) a mighty band, 
»7 and much people’, and Timotheus (who was) their leader. And he fought many battles with them, 
8 and they were discomfited before him, “and he smote them**; and he gat possession of Jazer and 
the villages” thereof, and returned® again into Judaea“. 


V. 9-68. Victories of Simon in Galilee, and of Fudas in Gilead. 


‘9 And the Gentiles that were in Gilead gathered themselves together against the Israelites that 
-o were on their borders, to destroy them ; and they fled unto the stronghold of Dathema®. And they 

sent letters unto Judas and his brethren, saying: ‘The Gentiles that are round about us are gathered 
1 together ‘against us’ Sto destroy us; and they are preparing to come and get possession of the 
.2 stronghold® whereunto we? have fled for refuge ; and Timotheus is leading their host. Now, there- 
3 fore, ‘come and deliver us from their hand, for a number of us are fallen, and all our brethren: that 
| were in the (parts) of Tubias have been put to death, and they have carried into captivity their wives 
-4and their children and their* belongings, and have destroyed there about a thousand men.’ While 

the! letters were yet being read, behold, there came other messengers from Galilee with their 
5 garments rent, bringing a report to the following effect, saying™: ‘There be gathered together 

against them (men) from Ptolemais, and Tyre "and Sidon”, and all Galilee of the Gentiles, to 


&seed Luc hh 71 1-1 to persecute and to kill them i" kJudaea A 1 Amalek N* (Israel δὲ 9:8) 
mm > 30} Ὁ scattered S& ° + of Israel 38 PP> 38 4 cast aside A ae ΡῈ Sthey burned Sluc 
tt>V uu their towers 1 viit. thereof > Sluc W dwelt N° 55 x Judas 64 93 3! Y+anda 
mighty band δὲ V Luc 2-8 > LS 1100) > Zit, daughters °they returned N Judas ret. 64 93 
4Tdumaea V Slue ®Ramoth $8 Letty 8 and have carried us off and are occupying the stronghold 1! 
hthey N* (we δ 98) fF i> 71 k> Zlue Ithese 55 Sluc ™ The words which follow are in direct narration 
in 38, but in oblique narration in &H% = 2 > Sluc 


2. (those of) the race of Jacob. The reading ‘seed of J.’, though not well attested, is more likely to be correct, 
being more in accordance with O.T. usage, cp. Ps. xxil. 23, Isa. xlv. 19, Jer. xxxiii. 26, ἄς. 
3. the children of Esau. Cp. Gen. xxxvi. Io, 19. 


Akrabattine. Cp. Ὁ ΡΝ nbyn (Joshua xv. 3, Judges i. 36); a spot in the hill-country in the south-west 
of Palestine, which formed the boundary of Judaea, cp. Num. xxxiv. 4. 

and he smote them with a great slaughter. A characteristic Hebrew phrase : bya ADD ons as 

humbled them and... For the phraseology cp. Deut. xxviii. 29. 

4. the children of Baean. This name does not occur elsewhere ; Blau (quoted by Bissell, zz /oc.) says: ‘The 
region in which the event described in 1 Macc. v. 1-6 took place is the same as that which the table by Karnack calls 
Bajaa, near Kapharbaruk, east from Hebron, where in the time of the Maccabees Idumaeans settled. In my opinion, 
PA 323 signifies simply the inhabitants of the place Bajjan.’. Grimm holds that Baean can only refer to the ancestor of 
a tribe, on the analogy of ‘the children of Esau’. 

a snare and a stumbling-block. Cp. Ps. lxviii. 23 (Sept.), = Ixix. 22 (E.V.). 
5. utterly destroyed. ἀναθεματίζω -- ὩΣ ἽΠΠ - cp. 1 Sam. xv. 8. 
burned .. . the towers. Cp. Judges ix. 49. 
6. the children of Ammon. Like the Edomites, traditional enemies of Israel, cp. Judges xi. 4,12; 2 Sam. x. 6-14. 
a mighty band. Lit. ‘a mighty hand’; a Hebraism, 7PM 1°, used in Num. xx. 20 of the fighting power of the 
Edomites. 
Timotheus . . . their leader. Probably an Ammonite who had assumed a Greek name, in accordance with a 
frequent custom in those times. 

7. and he smote them. Cp. note on v. 3. 

8. he gat possession. προκαταλαμβάνεσθαι implies a sudden taking possession. 

Jazer. A place on the east of Jordan occupied by the Amorites originally (Num. xxi. 32), later by the tribe of 
Gad (Num. xxxii. 25 ; Joshua xiii. 25 ; 1 Chron. vi. 81). 

the villages thereof. Lit. the ‘daughters thereof’, a Hebraism; the ‘land of Jazer’ was a fertile region with 
villages dependent upon the city; see Num, xxxii. 1; Isa. xvi. 8; Jer. xlviil. 32. 

9. Gilead. The reference here is to the ‘land of Gilead’, i.e. the mountainous district on the east of Jordan between 
the Yarmuk in the north, and the Arnon in the south; the river Jabbok cuts this region into two parts (cf. Num. 
XXxil. 29; Joshua xxii. 9 ; Judges x. 8, xx. 1). 

Dathema. This place has not been identified. On the letter contained in vv. 10-13 see 7,27. § 7. 1 (a). 

13. Tubias. Cp. 2 Macc. xii.17; ‘the land of Tob’ (Judges xi. 3, 5 ; 2 Sam. x. 6, 8), twelve miles south-east of the 
Sea of Galilee. 

15. Ptolemais. The Accho or Akka of the O.T., cp. Judges i. 31; Joshua xix. 24-31. It is uncertain when this 
name was changed to Ptolemais ; the city had already received it for some time by the end of the third century B.C. 

82 2 


29, 


I MACCABEES 5, 16-34 


5 5 τ ν when Judas and® the people? heard these words, there assembled together 
‘ sprog τος to ae what they ἀπ πα do “for their brethren who were in tribulation and 
17 being attacked by the enemy™*. And Judas said unto Simon his brother: ‘Choose out men for 

thyself, and go and deliver thy® brethren in Galilee, while 1 and Jonathan my brother will go into 
18 Gilead.’ And he left Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, as JES of the people, with the — 
1g rest of the army, in Judaea, to guard it. And the commanded them, saying : ‘Take ye the charge of © 
20 this people, and engage not in battle with the Gentiles until we return. And three τ men were 
allotted unto Simon to go into Galilee, and eight thousand men" unto Judas (to go)” into Gilead. 
>, And Simon went into Galilee, and engaged in many™ battles with the Gentiles, and the Gentiles 
55 were discomfited before him. And he pursued them unto the gate* of Ptolemais ; and there fell of 
a3 the Gentiles’ about three thousand men, and he took their spoils. And Ποῦ took athose (that were)® — 
in? Galilee and Arbatta with (their) wives and children, and brought* them? into Judaea °with great ἡ 
σ Sie 
24 Cage Maccabaeus‘ and his brother Jonathan passed over Jordan, and went three days’ 
25 journey in the wilderness ; and they fell in with the Nabataeans, and these met them in a peaceable 
26 manner, and recounted to them all things that had befallen their brethren in Gilead ; and how that 
many of them were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor, and Alema, Casphor, Maked, and Carnaim,—all” 
27 these cities (being) strong and great ; ‘and how that they were shut up in the rest* of the cities of 
Gilead‘, and that on the morrow (the enemies) had planned ε to encamp ™against the stronghold™™, 
28 and to take (it)°, and to destroy all those? (who were in it) in one day. And Judas and his army 
turned suddenly “by the way οὔ the wilderness unto Bosora™; and he took* the city, and slew all the — 
malest "with the edge of the sword", and took all their spoils, and burned’ it (i.e. the city)” with fire. 
30 And he* removed thence’ by night, and went on? until (he reached) the stronghold. And when it 
was morning they lifted up their eyes*, and behold (there was) a great multitude Pwhich could not 
be numbered?, bearing ladders and engines (of war), to take the stronghold‘; and they were fighting 
against them (that were in the stronghold). And when Judas saw that the battle had begun, and 
that the cry of the city’ went up to® heaven, with trumpets and ‘a great sound’, he® said unto the 
men of his host: ‘Fight this day for your" brethren.’ And he! went forth behind them in three 
companies, and they* sounded with trumpets, and cried out in prayer. And the army of Timotheus 
perceived that it was Maccabaeus, and they fled from before him ; and he’ smote them with a great™ 


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Ptolemy Lagi destroyed it in B.C. 312 when it was still called Akka; very possibly the renovated city which sub- 
sequently arose took its name from him; but as he only had possession of it for a very short time, it seems more likely 
that it was named after Ptolemy II, who conquered the whole of Phoenicia, and retained possession of it. For the 
history of the city during the Maccabaean struggle see 1 Macc. x. 1, 39, 48-66, xii. 45 ff.; Josephus, Azézg. XII. viii. 1, 
τι. 6, XIII. ii. 3, iv. 1. 6. 9, vi. 2. 
all Galilee of the Gentiles. i.e. Upper Galilee with its mixed Gentile population; cp. Isa. viii. 23, ix. I. 
18. Joseph ... and Azarias. See vv. 56-62; they are not mentioned otherwise. 
23. Arbatta. Probably = Arvada, i.e. the valley of the Dead Sea (cp. Deut. i. 7; Joshua xi. 16, xii. 8, xviii. 18). 
25. the Nabataeans. The Ishmaelite tribe of Nebaioth of the O.T. (Gen. xxv. 13), according to Josephus (Azfézg. 
[. xil. 4); Petra, their capital, became a great commercial centre in later days. G.A.Smith (A7istorical Geography of 
Palestine, p. 547) says: ‘ Their inscriptions are scattered all over eastern Palestine, where they had many settlements, 
and in Arabia, but have even been discovered in Italy, proving the extent of their trade.’ 
in a peaceable manner. Cp. ix. 35. 
26. Bosora. i.e. Bozrah in Moab (cp. Jer. xlviii. 24), not the Bozrah in Edom (Isa. Ixiii. 1). 
Bosor. i.e. most likely = Bezer ‘in the wilderness’, in the inheritance of the Reubenites (Deut. iv. 43, Joshua 
xx. 8, xxi. 36) ; mentioned also on the Moabite Stone. 
Alema, Casphor, Maked. These places are not otherwise mentioned ; they cannot be identified further than 
that they were cities of Gilead, see v. 36. 
Carnaim. Cp. Gen. xiv. 5; Deut. i. 4; Am. vi. 13; 2 Macc. xii. 21, 26. 
29. the stronghold. i.e. Dathema. 
33- And he went forth ... Cp. Judges vii. 16. 


cried out in prayer. i.e. a battle-cry which was also a prayer, cp. Judges, vii. 18, where the cry is: ‘For the 
Lord and for Gideon,’ which was also preceded by the blowing of trumpets. Cp. the battle-cry, ‘ Allah, Allah!’ of 
the Turks (Grimm), and ‘ For God and St. George!’ of the English. 


84 


I MACCABEES 5. 35-50 


5 slaughter ; and there fell of them "on that day" about eight thousand men. And he? turned aside? 
\| ἴο Mizpeh and fought against it, 4and took it4, and slew’ all the males thereof, and took* the spoils 
6 thereof*, and burned it with fire. From thence he" removed, and took Casphor, Maked, Bosor, and 
| the other cities ‘of Gilead’. 
7 Now after these things Timotheus gathered another army, and encamped over against Raphon, 
38 beyond the brook. And Judas sent (men) to espy the army*; and they reported to him, saying’: 
| ‘All the Gentiles *that are round about us** are gathered together unto them”, an exceeding® great 
39 host ; and they have hired Arabians to help them, and are “encamping beyond the brook‘, ready to 
40 come against thee® to battle. And Judas went to meet them. And Timotheus said unto the 
captains of his host, when Judas ‘and his army‘ drew nigh unto the brook of water: ‘If he pass over 
41 unto us first, Swe shall not be able to withstand him®, for® ‘he will mightily prevail against us‘; but 
ἘΠῚ he be afraid, and* encamp beyond the river, we will cross over ‘unto him!, ™and prevail against 
42 him™".’ Now when Judas came nigh unto the brook °of water®, he placed the officers” of the people 
“by the brook4, and *commanded them, saying": δ΄ Suffer no man to encamp’, but let allt come to 
43 the battle. And he crossed over first against them, and all" his’ people after* him; and 4115 the 
Gentiles were discomfited before his¥ face, and cast away their* arms, and fled unto *the temple of* 
44 Carnaim. And they” took the city®, and burned the temple® with fire, together with all that were° 
therein. ‘And Carnaim was subdued‘; neither could they# stand any longer before the face of 
Judas. 
45 And Judas gathered together all Israel, them that were in Gilead, "from the least unto the 
greatest", and their ‘wives, and their‘ children, and their belongings, an exceeding great army, that 
46 they might come into the land of Judah. And they came as far as Ephron; and this was a large 
city at* (the entrance of) the pass, exceeding strong; it was not (possible) to turn aside ‘from it! 
47 either to the right or the left, but (one had) to go through the midst of it. And they of the city shut 
48 them out, and stopped up the gates with stones. And Judas sent ™unto them™ with words of peace, 
saying: ‘We™ would pass through® thy? land to go into our own land; and none shall harm you, 
[49 We will only pass by on our feet.’ But they would not open unto him’. And Judas "commanded 
proclamation to be made? in the army, that each man should encamp in the place where he was. 
50 And the men of the host* encamped’; and they" fought against the city all that day and all that 


m2 >7I °JudasLuc — Penclosed #1 a-a> Slue —_ r they slew Slue 8 they took Sluc Powe “Judas 
Luc WV SS EIS Win frontofX® at 3} the land S$ y>71 ΖΔ 71 ayou A bhim SZ Ss 
70 dd > 71 Opie ἐπῦ τ cs | rs SF ft hbefore the face ofhim 55 Se  ii> Ht FED 71 


11> 71 unto them 38 SL SSN them $8 L? CISA P Zit, scribes 4-α 71 ΤΟΥ said 71 
8-sleave no man behind i! > σὴν Sari VSI Ws W before A =>N 19 93 Sluc Y their δὶ 3. 
all their A Deseise slp Ὁ +that were round about Judas Luc_ he $s i? © + of Carnaim 55 4the place 3" 
ee > NV Luc ἘῚ i! She A 93 h-h> 71 iis 71 EN V (em ¢nstead of n) rl > 64 93 


mm>Ze "A1964 1°intoA Pyour 532 athem N* (him N!) Sc Tproclaimed 72 ‘**>71 
tcity A the® 


35. Mizpeh in Gilead ; cp. Judges xi. 29. 

36. Casphor ... See notes on v. 26. 

37. Raphon. According to Pliny (quoted by Grimm) this was one of the cities of ‘ Decapolis’; Josephus (Aztig 
XII. viii. 4) speaks of it as a ‘ city’. 

the brook. χειμάρρους = bn, ‘a torrent’ of water in a narrow channel; cp. Judges v. 21, &c. 

39. Arabians. Cp. 2 Macc. xii. 10. : 

jo. For he will mightily prevail against us. Grimm aptly refers to 2 Chron. xxxii. 13 (Sept.) = 29 D2» 55», 

42. officers. τοὺς γραμματεῖς -- ὩΣ). Cp. Deut. xx. 5 ff. (Kautzsch). 

43. and he crossed over first. That no attempt was made by Timotheus to oppose the Jews during this crossing 
shows extraordinary ineptitude; bad leadership on the part of the enemy must evidently have had much to do with 
many of their defeats during the Maccabaean struggle. ’ , 

the temple. τέμενος is the entire piece of consecrated ground in which a temple stands ; regarding this temple 
of Carnaim cp. 2 Macc. xil. 26. 

45. from the least unto the greatest. A characteristic O.T. expression, Syaayy jOpr. ; 

46. Ephron. According to Kautzsch, identical with the Teppovs or Γεφροῦν, mentioned by Polybius V. Ixx. 12, as 
having been conquered by Antiochus the Great. From wv’. 43, 52 (cp. 2 Macc. xii, 27f.) it must have lain in the 
stretch of land between Ashtaroth and the Jordan, opposite Scythopolis or Beth-Shan (Grimm). The situation of the 
city explains why it was not possible ‘ to turn aside from it either to the right or the left’, i.e. the land was precipitous 
on either side. f : 

48. we would pass through ... Cp. the similar request preferred by Moses to the king of Edom (Num. xx, 17) 
and to the king of the Amorites (Num, xxi. 22). 

we will only pass by on our feet. Cp. the Hebrew phrase ΠΝ dana " let me pass through with my feet’ 
(Num. xx. 19), the idea being that of rapidly passing through ; cp. Ps. ciil. 16. ἢ 

49. each man should encamp... In view of what is said in the next v., that they fought ‘al! that day’, it can 

only be a temporary halt that is here referred to, not an encampment proper. 
85 


59, 


I MACCABEES 5. 51-68 


51 night; and ‘the cityy was delivered into his” hands ; and he* destroyed all the males’ with the edge 
of the sword, and rased? the city, and took* the spoils thereof”, and passed ° through the city over 
52 them that were slain. And they? went over Jordan into the great plain over against Bethshan. 
53 °And Judas gathered together those that lagged behind, and encouraged the people all the way 
54 through until® he came into the land of Judah. And they went up to mount Sion τ gladness 
and joy, and offered whole burnt offerings, because not so much as one of them was slain ‘until they — 
returned in peace’. f Bt a 
55 And in ihe days when Judas and Jonathan® were in the land® of Gilead, and Simon *his brothert | 
56 in Galilee *before Ptolemais*, Joseph! the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, leaders™ of the armies” (in 
57 Judaea), heard of their exploits and of the war,—°what things they had done®; and they said: ‘ Let 
us? also make a name for ourselves, and “let us go‘ fight" against the Gentiles that are round about 
58 us.’ *And they gave charge unto the (men) of the host* that was with them*, and went toward 
60 Jamnia. And Gorgias and his men came out of the city "to meet them” in battle. And Joseph and 
Azarias were put to flight, “and were pursued* unto the borders of Judaea™ ; and there fell on that 
61 day "οἵ the people* of Israel about two thousand men. And there was a great overthrow among 
62 the people’, because they hearkened not unto Judas “and his brethren, thinking to do some exploit*?. 
63 But they were not of the seed of those men, by whose hand deliverance was given unto Israel. But — 
the man® Judas and his brethren were glorified exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and of 411“ the 
64 Gentiles, wheresoever® their name was heard of®; ‘and’ (men) gathered unto them, acclaiming 
them)!*. 
65 a Judas and his brethren went forth, and fought against the children of Esau in the land toward — 
the south ; and he smote Hebron and the villages‘ thereof*, and pulled down the strongholds! thereof™, — 
66 and burned the towers thereof round about. ®And he® removed” to go into the land of the Philis- 
67 tines”, and he went through Marisa‘. In that day (certain) priests fell in battle, desiring* themselves® 
68 to do exploits, in that they* went out to the war unadvisedly. And Judas turned aside to Azotus, to — 
the land of the Philistines, and pulled" down their altars, and burned the carved images of their gods”, _ 
and took the spoil of their cities, and returned into “the land of” Judah. “a 


ΧΕΙ W their V 55 they 55 93 Υ +thereof Luc 55 #they rasedigS™¢ — they took 19 Slue 
bof the city A ¢they passed 19 Sve The Ss ΞΘ 55 Fi ΓΕ 71 & +his brother 19 93 Sluce 
n> A ἴα: γα ἘΠΕ 71 1 Josephus Luc τὰ 712. rulers army δὲ V °° which Judas had 
waged (2. done) Luc > Sle P +we 55 4.4.» 71 τον let us fight 71 SSS σὴ tS u—tand | 
they stood before him V TAS Se ἘῺΝ w Tdumaea 19 (dt wrongly spelt) S'° SS WV yy>71 in Israel 
N°2 among them 93 28> 71 ®+him (52ε) ἃ +they also Luc sss Fil ce> luc d> SE 
©and wheresoever 38 SSS ii & > 38 making one sentence with the foregoing 64 him 93 it, 
daughters k>7I losing. A NS Git n-» And Judas removed from thence Luc °they 38 P (zt, 


strangers aH? Samaria (ἃ SH (see note below) Treading βουλευομενοι with N* Syeading αὐτοι with 55 
*yeading αὐτοὺς with T.R. “this and the following verbs in the plur. 3° v +in fire NX T.R. werk 


50. the city was delivered. For the expression cp. Gen. xiv. 20; Deut. iii. 3; Judges xi. 21; the idea was that 
the Lord of hosts (1.6. of the Israelite hosts) brought this about ; cp. 2 Macc. xii. 36. 

52. the great plain. i.e. the plain of Esdraelon, between the Jordan and mount Gilboa; Kautzsch suggests that 
it was called the ‘ great’ plain because it was here much broader than the continuation of it east of Jordan. 

Bethshan. Beth-Shean; called Scythopolis in Judges i. 27 (Sept.) ; 2 Macc. xii. 29; Josephus, A7/ézg. XII. viii. 5, 
XIII. vi. 1; Δεῖ, Iud. 111. ix. 7; one of the cities of the Decapolis, the only one of the ten lying on the west of 
Jordan; the modern Bezsan. 

56. Joseph .. . and Azarias. Cp. v. 18. 

58. Jamnia. See note on iv. 15. 

59. Gorgias. Cp. ili. 38 ; 2 Macc. viii. 9, ‘a captain and one that had experience in matters of war.’ 

61. because they hearkened not . . . i.e. to the command given to them by Judas in v. 19. Josephus (Azztig. 
XII. vili. 6) says concerning this: ‘ For besides the rest of Judas’ sagacious counsels, one may well wonder at this 
concerning the misfortune that befel the forces commanded by Joseph and Azarias, which he understood would 
happen, if they broke any of the injunctions he had given them.’ 

62. But they were not of the seed . . ._ i.e. not Hasmonaeans; the writer apparently resents the idea that any 
not belonging to the Hasmonaeans should take part in the national deliverance ; cp. note on ili, 28. 

63. the man Judas. Cp. Exod. xi. 3, xxxii. 1; Num. xii. 3. 

65. Hebron. The ancient Kirjath-Arba (Judges i. 10). 

the villages thereof. Cp. note on v. 8. 
the strongholds. Cod. A reads ‘stronghold’, i.e. the citadel. 

66. Marisa. i.e. Mareshah in the plain of Judaea. The reading of all authorities, excepting %* and Josephus, 
Antig. XII. viii. 6), viz. ‘Samaria’ cannot be right, for to go from Hebron to Philistia via Samaria without very special 
reasons is unthinkable; no reasons are given, but they certainly would have been given by the intelligent and careful 
author of this book if this enormous dour had been undertaken. 

67. Inthat day ... This episode is not mentioned by Josephus; but in 2 Macc. xii. 38-40, where, however, no 
mention of priests is made, these men are said to have fallen because under their garments were found ‘ consecrated 
tokens of the idols of Jamnia’. Ι 

68. Azotus. See note on iy. 15. 

pulled down their altars ... Cp. x. 84. 


86 


I MACCABEES 6. 1-15 


VI. 1-17. Death of Antiochus Epiphanes, and accession of his son, Antiochus Eupator. 


1 And king Antiochus was journeying through the upper countries; and he heard that Elymais®, in 
2 Persia, was” a city “renowned for riches, for silver and gold°, and that the temple which was in it 
(was) rich exceedingly, and that therein (were) golden shields, and breastplates, and arms, which 
Alexander, son of Philip", the Macedonian® king, who reigned first among ‘the Greeks‘, had left 
3 behind there. So he came and sought to take the city, Sand to pillage it; but he was not able (to 
4 do so) because the thing had become known to them of the city. And they rose up” against him to 
battle'; and he fled, and removed* thence with great heaviness, to return to Babylon. 
5 And 'there came one bringing him tidings! into Persia™ that "the armies, which went against 
6 °the land οἵ Judah”, had been put to flight ; and that Lysias had gone forth at the head of a strong 
army, and had been put to shame before them; Pand that they had waxed strong by reason of 
arms and power, and with store of spoils‘, which they took from the armies that they had cut offt?’; 
7 and that they had pulled down tthe abomination which he had built" upon the altar that was in 
Jerusalem‘; and that they had compassed about the sanctuary” with high walls, Yas (had been the 
g case) formerly”, and Bethsura, “his city*. And it came to pass, when the king heard these words, 
he was struck with amazement and greatly moved ; and he laid him down upon (his) bed, and fell 
g sick for grief, because it had not befallen him as he had looked for. And he was there many days, 
to because greatY grief was renewed upon him ; and he’ reckoned that he was about to die. And he 
called for all his Friends, and said unto them: ‘ Sleep departeth from mine eyes, and (my)* heart 
τα faileth for care’, °And I said in (my) heart®, Unto what tribulation am I come, and how great 
| 12 a flood is it wherein I now am! _ For I was gracious and beloved in my power. But now I remem- 
ber the evils which I did at Jerusalem, and that I took 411“ the vessels “οὐ silver and gold that were 
13 therein, and sent forth (armies) to destroy the’ inhabitants® of Judah without a cause. I perceive 
that on this account these evils are come upon me, and, behold, I perish through great grief’ in 
14 a strange land.’ And he® called for Philip, ‘one of his Friends*‘, and set him over all his kingdom, 
15 and gave him (his) diadem, and his robe, and (his) signet-ring, το the end that he should educate! 


VI. *evAupats δὲ V (ev eXvpats 55)  eAvpes A Dhad δὶ ο΄ glorious, and full of riches, possessing gold 
and silver #?! ἃ". 71 OSGi ffthem δὶ 5.6» 88 h withstood 5.1 i> 93 k> 3. I there 
came (men) bringing tidings to him Slue τὰ το Antiochus 19 93 Slue n 1 the encampments in the land of Judah 
3. ΘΟ ΑΝ PEP 7.1 ρα; AN r-rthe encampments i} Ssmitten Luc t tthe execrable thing, the 
monstrous thing which they had built in Jerusalem 2! had been built 19 93 Sle Y¥>71 the altar and the 
sanctuary 38 WM 5: 7. X“ZX>N_ their city 19 93 Sle Y> Ἰὰς 2 Antiochus 64 93 219 93 Blue 
bab 71 CFE SS 7 ας. 55 71 Siuc DOSS yt fall the 55 5.6» 71 h Antiochus 64 93 1-t his 
friend #? Kservants V ‘to bring them to Luc $ 


VI. 1. Elymais. See critical note. Most commentators take Elymais as the name of a province (Elam of the 
O.T. lying between Media and the Persian Gulf), and retain the ἐν, because a city of this name is unknown; but the 
preposition does not belong to the original text, and the whole context necessitates our regarding Elymais as a city, 
and not asa province. Josephus (Avézg. XII. ix. 1) speaks of ‘a very rich city in Persia, called Elymais’, and says 
that Antiochus ‘ went in haste to Elymais, and assaulted it, and besieged it’, Elymais is mentioned in Tobit ii. 10, 
where, however, it is thought of as a province ; but it is possible, and even probable, that the text in this passage is 
based on a misunderstanding of an original Semitic form (see Dillon in the Contemporary Review, March, 1898, 
referred to in EZ col. 1284). See next note. 

2. the temple which was in it. Cp. 2 Macc. i. 12-17, where this episode is clearly referred to; here this temple 
is spoken of as that of Nanaea, one of the primeval Babylonian deities, = Innanaea, called in later times Nana, and 
identified with Ishtar ; she is spoken of as the ‘goddess of the world’, and also as the ‘ goddess of war’ (see further 
Jastrow, Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, i. 76f.). The chief centre of the cult of this goddess was the city 
of Erech, and continued so to the very end of the Assyrian Empire. There is, therefore, the possibility that in the 
name Elymais there lurks a corruption of some form of the name of Erech in the original Hebrew text. 

had left behind there. i.e. as votive offerings. 

5. the armies . . . had been put to flight. i.e. those of Seron (iii. 23), Nicanor (iv. 14), and Gorgias (iv. 22). 

7. the abomination ... Cp. i. 54. 

10. Sleep ... Cp. Gen. xxxi. 4o (Sept.). With this and the following vv. cp. 2 Macc. ix. 12-17; in Josephus 
(Antig. XII. ix. 1) this speech is merely summarized. 

13. these evils are come upon me. According to Polybius (xxxi. 11), who is, however, only repeating a tradition 
(ὡς ἔνιοί φασιν), ‘these evils’ constituted a species of madness, for he died δαιμονήσας . . . διὰ τὸ γενέσθαι τινὰς ἐπιση- 
μασίας τοῦ δαιμονίου κατὰ τὴν περὶ TO προειρημένον ἱερὸν παρανομίαν. The author of I Macc. is evidently preserving some 
tradition based on fact, though he assigns the cause of Antiochus’ disorder to his desecration of the temple at 
Jerusalem, while Polybius traces it to strange apparitions seen during his attempt to rob the temple in Elymais. 
Cp. the argument in Josephus (Avézg. XII. ix. 1) who certainly does of take the will for the deed! 

in a strange land. This is a natural addition by a Jew who wishes to represent things as bad as possible for 
the arch-enemy of his race, cp. for the conception Amos vii, 17. Antiochus the Great was killed while plundering the 
temple at Elymais. . Σ 

14. Philip. Cp. 2 Macc. ν. 22, vi. 11, viii. 8, ΙΧ. 29, see also 1 Macc. i. 6. 

15. signet-ring. Cp. Gen. xli. 42; Esther ili. 10, viii. 2. ΤΑΣ : 

that he should educate ... This duty had been assigned to Lysias (ill. 32-4); the reason for the change is 


87 


I MACCABEES 6. 16-35 


: : 6 : ὝΕΣ sae : 2 ein the oe 

6 Antiochus his son, ™and bring him up to be king™. And king Antiochus died there °in t 

τῇ hundred and forty-ninth year’. And when Lysias knew that the king was dead, he set up 
Antiochus his (i.e. the king’s) son to reign’, whom he had nourished up while yet young, and he 
called his name Eupator. 


VI. 18-54. The struggle between Fudas and the forces under Lysias and Eupator 
for the possession of Ferusalem and Bethsura. 


18 And they that were in the citadel kept enclosing Israel round about the sanctuary, and continually 
19 sought their hurt, 4and (acted as) a support to the Gentiles1. And Judas* purposed to destroy 
20 them, and called 811" the people together to besiege them. *And they were gathered together, and 
besieged them in "the one hundred and fiftieth year"; and he” constructed siege-towers” against 
>1 them, and engines (of war). And there came forth some *of them* that were shut up, and: unto 
22 them were joined certain ungodly men of Israel. And they went unto the king and said: How 
23 long wilt thou not execute judgement, and (when wilt thou) avenge our brethren? We were willing 
24 to serve thy father, and to walk after his words, “and to follow his commandments*. _?* For this cause® 
the children of our people “besieged it (i.e. the citadel)*”, and were alienated from us, and‘ £as 
25 many of us as they could light on® they killed", ‘and they spoiled* our inheritances’. And not 
26 against us only did they stretch out their hand, but also against all their! borderlands. And, behold, 
they are encamped this day against the citadel in Jerusalem with the object of capturing’ it, and 
27 they have fortified the sanctuary™ and Bethsura. And if thou art not” beforehand with them quickly 
they will do greater things than these, and thou wilt ποῖ be able to control them.’ — ! 
2g And the king was angry when he heard (this) ; and? he gathered together all his Friends, (who 
29 were) the leaders of his host, and them that were over the horse’. And there came unto him* from 
30 other kingdoms*, and from ‘the isles of the sea‘, bands of mercenaries. And the number of his forces 
was a hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants trained 
31 for war. And they went through Idumaea, and encamped against Bethsura, and fought against (it) 
many days, and made engines (of war); but "they (that were besieged)" came out and burned them 
32 With fire, and fought manfully. And Judas removed from the citadel, and encamped at Beth- 
33 zacharias, over against the king’s camp. And the king rose early in the morning, and removed the 
army in its eagerness Yalong the road to Beth-zacharias’; and his forces prepared themselves” for 
34 the battle, and sounded with trumpets. And they showed the elephants the blood of grapes and 
35 mulberries, that they might prepare them for the battle. And they divided the beasts among the 
phalanxes*, and they set by each elephant a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and helmets 


mm that he should reign Luc n> 38 ΦΞ ἘΞ Hitt Ρ +in his stead A V 19 64 S& a4>71 28 "> 38 
70 tt > ΝῈ (λαό δ 9.2) Α 71 Wo Ythey 1S ¥ turrets to fight (from) S x * thereof A Σ Jeru- 
salem δὲ 2 +to the king 1! SOS 7 DSS σα e¢¢and 8 V ἀπ Ἄ ον ΘΠ το fbut A V 


5.6.» N* (λαό καὶ 5:8) htass. in GL SM act. in 858 tS Gl E> N* (hab N&) Ithy 2 τα VN) 
the fortress #' with high walls 55 Dye be not 8 V 55 64 Slue °ye will not Sluc P +he sent and 55 
(tribute 55 chariots SH ‘them Ss i? Skings A V t-t many isles Sluc uuthe children of Israel 55 


LMS 5 w +in order that they might be ready 55 *defiles A 71 


not given; cp. Josephus (Az/ig. XII. ix. 2), who adds: ‘ But it was Lysias that declared his death to the multitude, 
and appointed his son Antiochus to be king, of whom at present he had the care, and called him Eupator.’ The 
appointment of Philip was fraught with evil consequences, see vv. 55-63. 
16. one hundred and forty-ninth year. 163 B.C. 
17. while yet young. Appian (.Sy7. xlvi) says he was: ἐνναετὲς παιδίον. 
and he called his name. A very frequent O.T. phrase 1DW"NN N-P. 
Eupator. Appian (cdid.) says: προσέθηκαν ὄνομα Ἐὐπάτωρ οἱ Sipor διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀρετήν. 
18. kept enclosing ... This is explained by Josephus (Amdéig. XII. ix. 3): ‘For the soldiers that were in that 


garrison rushed out suddenly, and destroyed such as were going up to the temple in order to offer their sacrifices ; for 
this citadel adjoined to, and overlooked the temple.’ 


20. the one hundred and fiftieth year. 162 B.C. 

21. ungodly men of Israel. Cp. i. 11. 

26. they have fortified ... Cp. iv. 60, 61. 

30. a hundred thousand footmen ... These numbers, which are also given by Josephus, are probably 
exaggerated ; in 2 Macc. xiii. 2, the number of horsemen given is still larger, but the other forces are smaller, though 
there are added, ‘three hundred chariots armed with scythes.’ 


32. Beth-zacharias. A place between Jerusalem and Beth-zur, an hour’s walk to the south of Bethlehem ; the 
present Beth-zacharieh. 

34. they showed the elephants... Grimm refers to Aelian, De Anzimai. xiii. 8 in support of the fact that 
spirituous liquors were given to elephants in order to excite them. In the present case the liquor was only shown 
to them, for had they drunk of it they would have got out of control. Josephus omits all reference to this. In 
3 Macc. v. I, 2 there is an account of the intention to give unmixed wine to elephants, and, when thoroughly maddened, 
to drive them into an enclosure full of Jews, in order that the latter might be trampled upon. 


88 


14 
lq 
i¢ 


I MACCABEES 6. 36-56 


| 36 of brass Yon their heads’ ; and for each beast were appointed five hundred chosen horsemen. These 
| had previously been (with the beasts) *wherever a beast was*; *and whithersoever it went, ?they 
37 went together with (it)”; they did not leave it*. And towers of wood (were) upon them, strong 
38 (and) covered, (one) upon each beast, girt fast “tupon them with? (special) contrivances*; and upon 
each were }thirty-°twof men®, fighting ‘from them‘, and (each beast had) its Indians. And the 
residue of the horsemen he placed on this side and that side, on either wing of the army, ‘(thus) 
39 striking terror (into the enemy, while) covering the phalanxes'®. Now when the sun shone upon the 
40 shields of gold ‘and brass*,.the mountains shone therewith, and blazed like torches !of fire. And 
a part! of the king’s™ army !was spread! upon the high” mountains, and some on the °low ground®, 
41 and they went on Psafely4 and in order’. And all that™ heard the noise of their multitude, Sand of 
the marching of the multitude, and the rattling of the arms*, did quake; for the army was exceeding*t 
42 “great and™ strong. And Judas and his army drew near for battle, and there fell of the king’s army 
six hundred men. 
43 And Eleazar Avaran saw one of the beasts armed with royal breastplates, and he was higher than 
44 all the (other) beasts, so that it appeared as though the king were upon it; and he gave himself to 
45 deliver his people and to acquire an everlasting name; and he ran upon it courageously into the 
midst of the phalanx’, and slew on the right hand and on the left, and they parted asunder “from 
46 him on this side and on that ; and he crept under the elephant, *and¥ thrust him from beneath*, 
47 and slew it ; and it fell to the earth upon him, and he died there. And when they” saw the strength 
of the royal* (army), and the fierce onslaught” of the hosts, they® turned away from them. 
48 ‘But they? of the king’s army went up to Jerusalem to meet them, and the king encamped toward 
49 Judaea, and toward mount Sion. And he made peace® with them of Bethsura ; for! they’ came out 
of the city, because they had no food there" to be shut up therein (any longer), ‘because it was 
50 a sabbath to the land. And the king took Bethsura, and appointed* a garrison there to keep it. 
| 51 And he encamped against the sanctuary many days, and set there siege-towers!, and engines (of war), 
52 and instruments for casting fire ™and stones™, and pieces to cast darts and slings. And they (who 
53 were besieged) also made engines against their engines, and fought for many" days. But there were 
no victuals in the store-chambers® ? because it was the seventh year?, and they that had fled for 
54 safety “to Judaea‘ from the Gentiles had eaten up the residue of the store; and there were (but) 
a few men left in the sanctuary, because the famine prevailed against them, and they were scattered, 
each man to his own place. 


VI. 55-63. <Az abortive treaty of peace. 


155 And Lysias heard that Philip, whom Antiochus the king'—while he was yet alive—appointed to 
56 nourish up his son Antiochus* that he might be king, had returned from Persia tand Media‘, and 


yY> S88 22> 50 which joins the preceding sentence to this verse CO Sail elise le COS τη 
d-dunder it > S8 ®-e men of strength NV > two 19 55 64 !fagainst them [2. 6. the foes] A 8 &>71 
WAS oA Ὁ istriking with weapons $8 moving together in close order in legions #2 ΕΚ A 55 71 ΤΙΝ 
(λαὸ κὰ 9:3) ταῦ» GES WINS {2.77} δ ΘΚ} °-°low mountains Sle PP cautiously #? 4 with confidence S 
r + inhabited the earth 1? SS oi t>V wus Sg Y defile A 71 wow > 64 xx> i Υ tthe 
sword 19 64 2 Judas Luc ἃ 22}. of the kingdom bplur. A © Judas Luc d-dand some A Sluc e>A 
' Zit. and She; but the sense of the passage shows that this is wrong h> 93 Slue i> i k smote A 
lturrets to fight (from) $ SSW GAL 2>NV °oT.R. V sanctuary NA &c.. DPS 7 a-a> Slue 


r> Sluc s> Sluc peu 71 


37. thirty-two. This is, of course, an impossible number; Grimm, following Michaelis, suggests in the original 
the reading py whe (‘ two (or) three’) which, through a copyist’s error, became ὩΣ) onde ( thirty-two’); Fair- 
weather and Black offer the ingenious suggestion that ‘ possibly the original text may have read myiouy (‘picked 
warriors”), the term used in Exod. xiv. 7, xv. 4 of the picked men in Pharaoh’s chariots, which the translator mistook 
for ον (‘‘ thirty”)? ; some Greek MSS. read ‘thirty’, and δὲ V read ‘thirty men οὗ strength’. The usual number of 
warriors on an elephant was three or four. ; 

its Indian. This name came to be applied to the driver whether an Indian or not. 

39. the shields of gold ... This is merely a rhetorical picture. 

43. Eleazar Avaran. Cp. ii. 5. J 

45. they parted asunder from him. i.e. they could not withstand his onslaught. ; 

47. they turned away from them. An instance of the general trustworthiness of the writer, who does not conceal 
the fact of defeat; that he does not enlarge upon it is very excusable; cp. Josephus, Bed/. Jud. 1.1.5. In 2 Macc. 
xill. 22, 23 the Jewish defeat is represented as a victory. He 

49. it was a sabbath to the land. i.e. a Sabbatical year, cp. Exod. Xxili. 10, IL; Lev. xxv. 2-73 cp. v.53. 

51. pieces. iz. ‘little scorpions,’ so called because part of the ‘ piece’, or instrument, resembled the uplifted tail of 
ascorpion. The Hebrew word 0°27py occurs in 1 Kings xii. II, 14; 2 Chron. xX. ΤΙΣ ΤῊΣ 

53. they that had fled for safety ... i.e. those from Gilead and Galilee, see v. 23, 45. 

55. Philip. Cp. v. 14. 

89 


I MACCABEES 6. 56—7. 7 


with him the forces that went with" the king, and that he was seeking to take unto him the govern- — 
-. ment’. And he¥ made haste, and gave consent to depart ; and he* said ‘to the king and’ to the 
”" leaders of the host and to the* men: ‘*We languish daily*, and our food is scant, and the place which — 
xg we are besieging is strong”, and the affairs of the ado lie upon us ; now Bee o τ us give . 
το tight hand to these men, and make peace ‘with them’, ¢and with all their nation*; and let us settle 
with them that they (be permitted) to walk after their own laws, as aforetime ; for because of their 
60 laws which we abolished were they angered, and did all these things. _And the saying pleased the 
61 king and the leaders, and he sent unto them to make peace® ; and they accepted thereof. And τς y 
king ¢and the leaders* sware unto them in accordance with these (conditions) ; (thereupon) they™ — 
62 came forth from the stronghold, and the king entered into mount Sion. But (when) he saw the 
strength of the place, he set at nought the oath ‘which he had sworn, and gave commandment’ to 
63 pull down* the wall round about. And he! removed in haste, and returned unto Antioch, and found 
Philip master of the city; and he fought against him, and took the city iD yatOLces 


59 


VII. 1-20. Demetrius becomes king of Syria; Bacchides and Alchimus sent against the Fews. 


7 Inthe one hundred and fifty-first* year Demetrius the son of Seleucus came forth from Rome, and 
2 went up with a few men Punto a city® by the sea”, and reigned there. And “it came to pass", when 
he had formed the purpose of entering into the house of the kingdom of his fathers, that the soldiery® 
3 laid hands on Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them unto him. ‘And when the thing was made known 
4 to him, he said: ‘Show me not their faces.’ And the soldiery slew them. And Demetrius sat 
5 upon the throne of his kingdom. And there came unto him all the lawless and ungodly men o 
6 Israel; and Alcimus® led them, desiring to be (high): priest. And they accused the people unto the 
king, saying: ‘Judas and his brethren have destroyed all thy Friends, and have scattered us from 
z our* land. Now therefore send a man whom thou trustest, and let him go and see ™all the havock 
which he hath made of us and of the king’s country™, and “let him punish” them and all that° helped 
U>A55 i Yregni negotia #? the affairs of the kingdom Sle Wthey A x Lysias Luc Υ 1} 

2 +oreat 6493 5.511 [5 8}} πρ Πετα S$ _ Pis firm and strongly fortified S'e cco>Né d-d> 71 ® + with 
them Luc fhe A 8.8.» 71 bhe A TES Fil k and they (he 64 71) pulled down A Luc Ithey A 


m-m> Sey 4 

VII. “fiftieth $8  >->toabideinacity#' ¢plur, Sue dd>71  ethe captains of the forces fand . 
when they had been brought, Demetrius #' ΞΘ h +their leader 8 τ Kk their 38 1 +and from ἷ 
our people 55 τὰ ταὶ these things 71 Ἀπ δα: NAV &c. he hath punished ° those that 71 


59. to walk after their laws. To achieve this was the one object, originally at any rate, of the Maccabaean 
struggle. au 
63. returned unto Antioch. See the further details given by Josephus (Az7zg. XII. ix. 7); cp.also2 Mace. xiii. 4-7. 


VII. 1. the one hundred and fifty-first year. 162-161 B.C. 

Demetrius the son of Seleucus. The first of the name, called also Soter, on account of his having delivered 
the Babylonians from the satrap Heraclides; he reigned 162-150 B.c. His father was Seleucus IV, surnamed 
Philopator. 

ane forth from Rome. i.e. he escaped from Rome, mainly through the help of Polybius the historian, where 
he was as a boy sent as a hostage in place of Antiochus Epiphanes, his uncle. He escaped to Tripolis, the ‘ city by 
the sea’ (cp. 2 Macc. xiv. 1; Josephus, Azfzg. XII. x. 1). 

afew men. According to Polybius, five men and three boys; in 2 Macc. xiv. 1 he is said to have arrived in 
Tripolis ‘ with a mighty host and a fleet *: 

and reigned there. Rather, proclaimed himself king there, cp. x. 1, xi. 54; Josephus (Aw¢ig. XII. x. 1) says: 
‘and set the diadem on his own head.’ Polybius (xxxi. 20. 4 f.) says that while Demetrius was yet in Rome his 
guardian Diodorus brought him the news from Syria that distrust had arisen between Lysias and the Syrians, in 
consequence of which there was much turmoil in the land of his fathers. It was owing to the advice of Diodorus, who 
assured him that he would be welcomed in Syria, that he determined to escape. The event proved that he was well 
advised. 

2. the house of the kingdom. i.e. Antioch, the royal city, cp. Dan. iv. (27) 29. 
the soldiery. The Syriac rendering is probably more strictly correct, ‘the captains of the forces.’ 
3. And when the thing was made known to him. See critical note. 

Show me not their faces. A hint that they should be put away; Josephus says they were ‘ immediately put to 

death by the command of Demetrius’. 
4. the throne of his kingdom. He was the rightful heir. 
5. the lawless and ungodly men. i.e. those who did not obey the Law (Torah), the Hellenizing element. 

Alcimus. According to Josephus "Idceruos, a graecized form of DO’. abbreviated from DPS (= Eliakim), cp. 
2 Kings xviii. 18, &c., another form of the name is Jehoiakim. τι 

desiring to be (high-) priest. According to 2 Macc. xiv. 7 he had already been high-priest, but had ‘laid 
aside’ his ‘ancestral glory,’ meaning the high-priesthood. Josephus (Antig. XII. x. 1) speaks of him as ‘high-priest’, 
and makes no mention of his now desiring to be so; and, again, in XX.x. 1 he says: ‘Antiochus (Eupator) and 
Lysias, the general of his army, deprived Onias, who was also called Menelaus, of the high-priesthood, and slew him 
at Beraea, and put Jacimus into the place of the high-priest, one that was indeed of the stock of Aaron, but not of this 


house’ (i.e. of Onias). The words before us are, therefore, not strictly correct, and must be understood in the sense 
of desiring to be confirmed in the office by the new king, cp. v. 9. 


go 


PVWACCABEES 7.7825 


gthem.’ And the king chose Bacchides, (one) of the king’s friends”, who was ruler in the country 
g beyond the river,4and was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king. And he sent him® 
and the ungodly Alcimus, and made" sure to him the (high-) priesthood*; and he commanded him 
to take vengeance upon the children of Israe!. 
| yo And they* removed, "and came" with a great host into ‘the land of Judah’; and he* sent 
_ 11 messengers to Judas and his brethren with words of peace, deceitfully. But they gave ποῦ heed to 
ΕΞ their words ; for they saw that they were come’ with a great host. And there was gathered together 
13 unto Alcimus and Bacchides a company of scribes, to seek for justice. And the Chassidim were the 
14 first among “the children of* Israel that sought peace of them ; for they said: ‘One that is a priest 
15 of the seed of Aaron is come ?with the forces, and he® will do us no wrong’. And he spake with 
them words of peace, and sware unto them, saying: ‘ We will seek the hurt neither of you nor of your 
τό friends.’ And they believed him; and he laid hands on threescore men of them, and slew them in 
one day, according to the “words which (the psalmist)* wrote: 
1 The flesh of thy saints and their blood 
They poured out around Jerusalem ; 
And there was no man to bury them. 
18 And the fear ‘and the dread‘ of them fell upon all the people, for they said: ‘ There is neither truth 
19 nor judgement in them ; for they have broken the covenant and the oath which they sware.’ And 
Bacchides removed from Jerusalem, and encamped in Bezeth; and he sent® and took many? of the 
‘deserters that were with* him, and certain of the people, and slew them, (and cast them) into the 
20 great pit. And he delivered the land to Alcimus, and left with him a force to aid him; and 
Bacchides went away unto the king. 


VII. 21-50. Fudas takes vengeance on the deserters; his victories over Nicanor. 


22 And Alcimus strove for the high-priesthood'. And there were gathered unto him all they that 
troubled their people, and they got the mastery of the land of Judah, and did™ great hurt in Israel. 
23 And Judas saw all the mischief that Alcimus and his company had wrought among the children of 
24 Israel, worse than (that of) the Gentiles ; and he went out into all the coasts of Judaea™ round about, 
and took vengeance on °the men? that had deserted from him®, and they were restrained from going 
25 forth into the? country. But when Alcimus saw” that Judas and his company waxed strong, and 


Pthe king’s Friend V ana ἢ ‘they made ἂν Shigh priesthood V theA %*%>71 v-v Judaea V 
Judah 6493 δ» *they S° y>Luc 24+againstthem Luc S™¢ ὅταν" 8 > -btous®! cthey Slve 
adword which the prophet spoke S word of Asaph the prophet 55 #1 ®the prophet N° Luc 3 Asaph the 
prophet 55 ἘΣ Slue 3.5 8 +the judgement and 19 93 S!ve i> 28 USS Eee k from Luc ' priest- 
hoodN 55 >93 ™he did Suc u+andA °° the children of the deserters iL! P +and (on those) A 
4their $8 Theard 3.5 


8. Bacchides. Cp. Josephus (4v7¢ig. XII. x. 2), who speaks of him as ‘a friend of Antiochus Epiphanes, a good 

man (a reading which Grimm disputes), and one that had been entrusted with all Mesopotamia.’ 
the river. i.e. the Euphrates, cp. Isa. viii. 7; Zech. ix. 10. 

13. the Chassidim. See note on il. 42. ἢ γὼ» 

14. one that is a priest. ἄνθρωπος ἱερεύς, a Hebraism [13 WN, cp. Lev. xxi. 9. 

16. which (the psalmist) wrote. In different MSS. the subject (‘the psalmist’) varies; ‘the prophet’, ‘ David’, 
‘ Asaph’ occur. 

17. The flesh ... A shortened form of Ps. Ixxix. 2, 3. 

thy saints. 7)DM, i.e. Chassidim, cp. v. 13; this word was most probably the reason for which the writer 
quoted the passage, for the circumstances of the Psalm are not analogous to the occurrence here described. 

18. the fear and the dread of them. Cp. Isa. viii. 13. 

neither truth nor judgement. Cp. Ps. exi. 7. 

they have broken the covenant. παρέβησαν τὴν στάσιν, lit. ‘they have transgressed the statute’; in the O.T. 
the usual phrase is MANN Ay (Joshua vii. 11, &c.), but M7, ‘covenant’, is not infrequently = to Pn (ΠΡΠῚ, ‘statute’ 
{Ἐ- Ὁ. 155. σαν. δ᾽5. PS. 1) το): 

the oath which they sware. See τ΄. 15. 

19. Bezeth. Josephus (Avg. XII. x. 2, xi. 1), ‘the village called Bethzetha’ (= Βηθζαιθά, ‘the house of the olive’, 
cp. Judith v. 2), Hebr. NY ΓΞ ; in Bed/, Jud. V.iv. 2 Josephus speaks of Bezetha as the new quarter of Jerusalem (καινὴ 
πόλις). Probably the place is to be identified with this. 

the deserters that were with him. i.e. that had been with him (Bacchides). Judas did likewise, see τ΄. 24. 
the great pit. φρέαρ, 127. ‘well’ or ‘cistern’ (= ἽΝ 3) ; the use of the definite article shows it was well known. 

21. strove for... Cp. note on v. 5; the meaning is that he strove to retain the office he already possessed, cp. 
Josephus (Amdig. XII. x. 3). 2 

24. into all the coasts. i.e. the whole border of, cp. Judges xxix. 19. Semen 5ya3 552. 

they were restrained ... i.e. they were besieged in their fenced cities. 

25. But when Alcimus ... ἴῃ 2 Macc. xiv. 26 the return of Alcimus is stated to be the understanding that had 

been arrived at between Judas and Nicanor; the account in Josephus (Awéig. XII. x. 3, 4) does not agree with this. 


gl 


I MACCABEES 7. 25-45 


knew that he was ποῖ" able to withstand them*, he returned to the king", and brought evil accusations — 
against them’, ; ᾿ ἷ ny 
»6 And the king’ sent Nicanor, *one of his honourable princes, a man that hated Israel and was their 
27 enemy*, and commanded him to destroy the people. And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great 
28 host; and he sent unto Judas and his brethren deceitfully” with words of peace, saying : ‘ Let there 
be no battle between me and you”; I* will come with a few men, that I may see your faces? in 
29 peace.’ And he* ‘came to Judas‘, and they saluted one another peaceably®. But the enemies were 
ready to take away Judas by violence. And the thing became known to Judas, (namely) that he 
τ came unto him with deceit ; and he was sore afraid of him, and would see his face no more. And 
(when) Nicanor knew that his purpose was discovered, he went out to meet Judas fin battle’ beside 
32 Capharsalama ; and there fell of those (that were) with Nicanor about five hundred® men, and they 
fled into the city of David*. | ; 
33 And iafter these things’ Nicanor went up to mount Sion; and there came some of the priests out 
of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to salute him peaceably, and to show him the 
34 whole burnt sacrifice that was being offered for the king; but he mocked them, and laughed at them, 
35 and polluted them, and spake haughtily, and sware in a rage, saying: ‘Unless Judas and his army 
be now delivered into my hands, it shall be that, if I come again in safety, I will burn up this house.’ 
36 And he went forth with great* wrath. And the priests entered in, and stood before the altar and 
37 the temple}, and wept and said: ‘Thou™ didst choose this house to be called by thy name, to be a 
38 house of prayer “and supplication® for thy people ; take vengeance on this man and his army, and 

let them °fall by the sword®; remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not to live any longer.’ 
39 And Nicanor went forth from Jerusalem, and encamped in Bethhoron, and there met him the host 
40 of Syria. And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men; and Judas prayed, and said: 
41 ‘When they that came from the king blasphemed, thine angel went out and smote among them one 
42 hundred and eighty-five thousand. Even so crush? this army before us to-day ; and let all the rest 
know that he hath spoken wickedly against thy sanctuary ; and judge him® according to his wicked- 
3 ness.’ And the armies joined battle ‘on the thirteenth (day) of the month Adar*™; and Nicanor’s 
44 army was discomfited, ‘and he himself was the first to fall in the battle’. Now when his army saw 
45 that Nicanor was fallen, they cast away their arms, and fled. And they* pursued after them a day’s 
journey from Adasa until thou comest to Gazara, and they sounded an alarm after them "with the 


5ΞΡΙΑ thim 38 “to them 3. Vhim 93 w + Demetrius 64 93 x-x that was Israel’s enemy 71 
Y>Se thee $8 and 1 19 93 Sue b-bthy face $8 they Suc  d-Ajudascametohim 8 °>71 
ΕΙΣ A Luc &thousand A V h Judah 71 tS Fit k>A lthe steps of the altar (κατάστρωμα, cp. 
Joel ii. 17) Se + and called upon God 55 m™ +O Lord 55 71 i! on> 71 i ©-o all fall by the mouth of 
the sword 55 Phe crushed A “them Lue 55 RS Uk BBS Τὴ: t +that were with Judas 64 93 
uu > 71 


26. Nicanor. Cp. iii. 38; Josephus (4. c.) speaks of Nicanor as ‘the most kind and most faithful of all his 
(Demetrius’) friends; for he it was who fled away with him from the city of Rome’; Polybius (xxxi. 22. 4) also 
speaks of him as one of Demetrius’ intimate friends in Rome. ἢ 

28. that I may see your faces in peace. i.e. that I may have friendly intercourse with you; it is a Hebraism 
(D5 MIS); but it is also used of simply appearing before someone, e.g. Exod. x. 28, and cp. v. 30. 


31. he went out to meet Judas in battle. A Hebrew phrase, cp. Num. xx. 18 ἽΠΝ ΡΟ NYN DANITD, ‘lest with 
the sword I go forth to meet thee.’ 

_ Capharsalama. Called ‘a village’ by Josephus; possibly to be identified with the modern Salame, a village 
distant from Jaffa about an hour’s walk (Kautzsch),. 

32. and there fell .. . According to Josephus, Nicanor ‘beat Judas, and forced him to fly to that citadel which 
was in Jerusalem’; an obvious error since the citade! (‘Akra’) was in the hands of the enemy ! 

33. there came .. . out of the sanctuary. i.e. the outer court; they came from the inner court into which 
Nicanor, as a Gentile, was not permitted to enter. 

offered for the king. Cp. Jer. xxix; Ezra vi. 10; Josephus, Be//. /ud. 11. xvii. 2. 

34. polluted them. Most probably by spitting on them; this was, according to the Rabbis, one way whereby 

Levitical purity was lost (cp. Krauss, 7adm. Arch., i, pp. 251, 704). 


35. unless. ἐὰν μή = δὲ ON; the threat is conditional on his winning the victory. 
37. to be called by thy name ... Cp. with this verse 1 Kings viii. 38, 43. 
39. Bethhoron. See note on iii. 16. 
40. Adasa. An hour and a half north-east of Bethhoron; Josephus (Avéig. XII. x. 5) speaks of it as ‘a village 
which was thirty furlongs distant from Bethhoron’? 
41. when they that came from the king ... The reference is to Sennacherib, see 2 Kings xviii. 22 ff. 
one hundred ... Cp. 2 Kings xix. 35; reference to the same event is made in Ecclus. xviii. 21. 
43. Adar. The twelfth month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, corresponding roughly to March; in leap-years 
there is what is called Adar Sheni (the ‘Second Adar’), which is then the thirteenth month. 
45. aday’s journey. From Adasa to Gazara is about fifteen miles. 
Gazara. See note on iv. 15. 


92 


I MACCABEES 7. 46—8. 5 


46 solemn trumpets". And they came forth out of all the villages of Judaea round about’, “and closed 
| them in’; and these turned back on those (behind), and they all fell by the sword, and there was 
| 47 not one of them left. And they took the spoils and the booty, and they smote off Nicanor’s head, 
| *and his right hand, which he stretched out so haughtily, and brought them*, and hanged them up¥ 
48 near Jerusalem. And the people was exceeding glad, “and they kept that day as a day of great 
| 49 gladness*. And they ordained that this day should be observed year by year (on) the thirteenth 
| 50 (day) of Adar. And the land of** Judah had rest »”a little while”. 


VIII. 1-32. Fudas concludes a treaty with the Romans, after having 
heard of their power ana rule. 


δι And Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they were valiant men, and that they were 
friendly disposed towards all who attached themselves to them, and that they offered friendship* to 
2 as many as came unto them, Pand that they were valiant men’. And they told him about their 
wars and exploits which they had done among the Galatians, and “how they had ‘conquered them4, 
3 and brought them under tribute ; and (they told him also of) what things they had done in the land 
4 of Spain’, how they had acquired *the mines of silver and gold there®; ‘and how that by their 
policy and persistence’ they had conquered the whole® land (and the land was exceeding far ifrom 
them'); also (they told) of the kings that had come against them from the uttermost part of the 
earth, until they had discomfited them‘, and smitten them very sore ; and how the rest had given 
5 them tribute year by year. Furthermore, (they told) of how they had discomfited in battle ‘Philip, 


v> Sluc w-w /7¢, outflanked them > 71 S23 So UF ¥ Zt. stretched them out ΠΣ ΣΙ in that day DL} 
aa-aa > VV bb-bb 774, a few days. 
VIII. ®+and to as many as held to them A b-b> Slue GO SSG At 4-d won their land 2} e-e The 


mountains from whence silver and goldare sought out $8 ff>71 S8wisdom@' b> Ss iis ge k-k > Se 


the solemn trumpets. 77, ‘the trumpets of signals’, i.e, to give a signal to their friends in the villages round 
about, see next verse. 
46. closed them in. ὑπερεκέρων αὐτούς, ‘outflanked them’, thanks to the alarm given by the signal trumpets. 
47. smote off... Cp. 1 Sam. xxxi. 9; Judith xiii. 8-15. 
stretched out... hanged them up. ἐξέτεινεν. . . ἐξέτειναν, a word-play quite after the Hebrew fashion. 
49... . the thirteenth (day) of Adar. This festival was originally called ‘ Nicanor Day’, but it was displaced 
(when, is not known) by the Fast of Esther, which was kept on this day in memory of Esther’s fasting, mentioned in 
Esther ix. 31 (cp. Esther iv. 3, 16); this fast was a preparation for the feast of Purim, which occurs on the fourteenth 
of Adar. ‘Nicanor Day’ is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud (J/eg7//ah, ii. 66 a), where it is spoken of as a semi- 
festival. 
50. the land ... had rest. Cp. ix. 57, xiv. 4, and for the Hebrew ΝΠ ΠΡ cp. Joshua xi. 23. 
a little while. Zz. ‘a few days’, i.e. about a month, cp. ix. 3. 


VIII. 1-32. ‘The details of this narrative have been called in question by many critics, although the fact of a treaty 
having been concluded between the Jews and the Romans has been generally admitted. Wellhausen, e.g., while 
asserting that the journey to Rome, the negotiations with the Senate, and the return to Jerusalem, could not have 
been accomplished in a single month, goes on to say: ‘‘ This would be decisive, only Iam not convinced that the 
usual assumption is correct. For the festival of Nicanor’s day is unintelligible, if the sensation of victory had been 
forthwith effaced through a reverse of the worst description. It is not maintained that the statement of 1 Macc. 
viii. 17 (2 Macc. iv. 11) is drawn purely from the imagination” (157. und Jiid. Gesch., p. 250, note 3). That the 
narrative does contain inaccuracies (vv. 8, 15, 16) is not to be denied. These, however, may be accounted for by 
the defective means of international communication in those days, and still more by the fact that the interests of the 
Jews were practically confined to agriculture and their ancestral religion. The writer’s graphic picture is, upon the 
whole, “not unfaithful” (Rawlinson), and has “‘ quite the character of that atve¢é and candour with which intelligence 
of that sort is propagated in the mouth of the common people” (Grimm). In spite of what is said in v. 13, he is 
apparently blind as to the dangers attending negotiations with Rome’ (Fairweather and Black, p. 157). 

1. all who attached themselves to them. Rawlinson points out that ‘the Romans had received into alliance 
Attalus of Pergamus, Ariarathes of Cappadocia, Ptolemy Philometor, and the Rhodians.’ 

2. the Galatians. Kautzsch thinks it improbable that the reference is to the Gauls in Asia Minor who were 
conquered by Manlius Vulso, 189 B.c.; he thinks, with Mommsen and others, that the Gauls of Upper Italy are 
meant; these were subjugated by the Romans in 190 B.C., and laid under tribute. 

3. the land of Spain. This came under the Roman dominion in 201 B.C., though only that portion of it which had 
belonged to the Carthaginians; it was not until nearly two centuries later that the whole country became incorporated 
into the Roman Empire. 

the mines of silver and gold there. Pliny (Hist. Naturalis, xxxiii. 4, §§ 21, 23) speaks of the gold and silver 
found in Spain, the former in the shape of gold-dust in the bed of the Tagus; Diodorus Siculus (v. 35, § 1) says: 
‘Spain has the best and most plentiful silver from mines of all the world’ (cp. Rawlinson, Ast. of Phoenicia, 
pp. 313 ff.). 

4. the whole land. τόπος is used here of the whole country as in 1 Sam. xii. 8 (Sept.) ; Jer. xvi. 2, 3 (Sept.); the 
Hebrew word (D)p) is used in the same way in these passages. The statement here is an exaggeration, see note on v. 3. 

5. Philip. i.e. Philip V, King of Macedonia, 220-179 B.C.; he was finally defeated at the battle of Cynoscephalae 
in Thessaly (197 B.C.) by T. Quinctius Flaminius. 


93 


I MACCABEES 8. 5-15 


land¥ Perseus!, king of Chittim, and them that lifted themselves up against them, and had conquered 

6 them; Antiochus also, the great™ king of Asia, who had come against them to battle, having 
a hundred and twenty elephants, with cavalry, and chariots, and an exceeding great host,—he had 

. also been discomfited by them”, and they had taken him alive, and had appointed that both he and 
" such as reigned after him should give them a great tribute® and should give hostages, and a ‘ tract’ 
(of land), (namely) the country of India, and Media, and Lydia, and of the goodliest of their 

ὁ countries; and how they had taken them from him, and had given them to king Eumenes. Also 
τὸ (they told of) how they of Greece had purposed to come and destroy them, and the thing had 
become known to them, and they had sent against them a captain, and had fought against them, 
and many of them had fallen,’ wounded to death? ; and (of how) they had made captive their wives 
and their children, “and had spoiled them and conquered their land, and had pulled down their 
11 strongholds*, and had brought them into bondage unto this day. And (they told of) how they had 
destroyed the residue of the kingdoms ‘and of the isles*, as many as had risen up against them ', and 
12 had made them their servants ; but that with their friends and such as relied upon them they kept 
amity ; and (of) how they had conquered the kingdoms" that were nigh and those that were far off, 
13 and that all who heard of their fame were afraid of them. Moreover (they told) that whomsoever 
they will to succour and to make kings, become kings’; and that whomsoever they will, do they 
14 depose ; and they are exalted exceedingly ; and that for all this none of them did ever put on 
15 a diadem, “neither did they clothe themselves with purple, to be magnified* thereby’.~ (They told) 
also how they had made for themselves a senate house, and how day by day three hundred “and 


l1> 19 93 BS Git nhim Luc ° +year by year Luc LS I aol r+and spoiled 
them & &c. 5:8.» 3.1 the rest of the isles Sve t+and had plundered them Luc +and had plundered them 
and taken them captive $e ukings N V 19 93 Slue Y will become kings A WATS 8 X> Ν (hab κὰ 6:8) 
¥ τὸ exalt themselves (272: the sense of assuming too much power) 38 Fea SE 


Perseus. The illegitimate son and successor of Philip; he was conquered by L. Aemilius Paullus at the battle 
of Pydna (168 Β. 6.), whereby the Macedonian kingdom was brought to an end. 

Chittim. See note oni. 1. 

and them that lifted ... Probably the reference is to those who sent reinforcements to Perseus, viz. the 
Epirots, Thessalians, and Thracians (Grimm). 

6. Antiochus also... i.e. Antiochus III, the Great, King of Syria 223-187 B.C., son of Seleucus Callinicus. 

Asia. See note on xi. 13. 

discomfited. At the battle of Magnesia, 190 B.C., by Scipio Africanus (Polybius, ili. 3. 4). 

7. taken him alive. ‘Here the author has been misled by a false report. According to the unanimous testimony 
of the classical writers, Antiochus succeeded in making his escape’ (Fairweather and Black); Kautzsch suggests that 
possibly the author has mixed up Antiochus with Perseus here. 

such as reigned after him. Seleucus IV, Philopator (187-176 8. C.),and Antiochus IV, Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.), 
with whom the tribute ceased. 

a great tribute. According to Polybius, xxi. 14. 3-6, 15,000 Euboic talents, 500 of which had to be paid at the 
conclusion of the negotiations, 2,500 when peace was ratified, and 1,000 a year for the next twelve years (quoted by 
Knabenbauer, p. 152). 

hostages. See note on i. Io. 

a tract. διαστολή, the word is apparently used in the same sense as in Rom, iii. 22, a ‘distinction’, i.e. the land 
in question was to be distinguished in the future from the rest of his possessions by being assigned to the Romans. 

8. India. This never belonged to Antiochus, so he could not have ceded it to Rome. 

Media. According to Livy xxxvii. 56, xxxviii. 38 it was only his possessions on this side of the Taurus (i.e. on 
the west) that Antiochus was forced to give up. We must probably see here, as elsewhere in this section, a rhetorical 
exaggeration. The ingenious attempts which have been made to emend to the text, and read ‘Ionia and Asia’, or 
* Mysia’, may or may not be justified, but they have absolutely no support either from MSS. or Versions. 

...toking Eumenes. Eumenes II, king of Pergamos (197-158 Β. 6.), and son of Attalus 1; these territories 
were given to him by the Romans in recognition of the help rendered during the war with Syria, and especially at the 
battle of Magnesia (see further, Smith’s Dict. of Class. Biog. s.v.). 

g. Also... What this all refers to is not known. Kautzsch thinks that very probably the reference may be to the 
Roman victory over the forces of the Achaean Alliance (147-146 B.C., i.e. fifteen years after the death of Judas 
Maccabaeus) ; in this case the ‘captain’, mentioned in v. 10, would be L. Mummius. The war, which was short and 
decisive, resulted in the subjugation of the whole of Greece, which was reduced to the status of a Roman province, 
under the name of Achaia. 

11. the isles. i.e. Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, together with the isles of the Grecian Archipelago. 

12. In this and the next few verses the subjects of vv. 1 ff. are again reverted to. 

with their friends ... they kept amity. This is not in accordance with the facts; the statement is, no 
doubt, due to insufficient knowledge. 

_15. and how day by day... As Fairweather and Black point out, ‘this is quite a mistake. The regular 
sittings of the Senate were confined to the Kalends, Nones, Ides, and Festivals. In case of emergency, however, 
it could be summoned in a moment, as its members were not allowed to leave Rome for more than a day, and only 
a few of them ata time. In the later days of the Republic the Senate sat on all lawful days in February to receive 
foreign ambassadors, but there is no evidence that the practice was as old as the time of the Maccabees. If it was, 


the writer’s mistake is easily explained’ The reference to three hundred and twenty members of the Senate is also 
a mistake, it never reached more than three hundred. 


OF. 


I"MACCABEES 8. τς 28 


twenty” men sat in council, consulting alway for the people, to the end that they* might be well 
16 ordered ; and how they committed their government to one man year by year, that he should be over 
| them, and be lord over all> their country ; and that all are obedient to this one, and that there is 
neither envy nor emulation among them. 
τῇ And Judas chose Eupolemus, the son of John, the son of Accos, and Jason, the son of Eleazar, and 
᾿ 18 sent them to Rome, to makea league of amity and confederacy ‘with them’, and that they should 
| take the yoke from“ them, when they saw that the kingdom of the Greeks did keep Israel in 
| 19 bondage. And they® went to Rome, ‘and the way was exceeding long’; and they entered into the 
| 20 Senate house, Sand answered and said”: ‘ Judas, who is also (called) Maccabaeus, and his brethren, 
and the whole people of the Jews, have sent us unto you, to make a confederacy and peace with you, 
21 and that we might be registered (as) your confederates and friends.’ And the thing was well-pleasing 
22 in their sight. And this is the copy of the writing? which they wrote back again on tablets of brass, 
and sent to Jerusalem, ‘that it might be with them there* for a memorial of peace and confederacy : 
23 ‘Good success be to the Romans, and to the nation of the Jews, by sea and by land for ever ; the 
24 sword also and the enemy be far from them. But if war arise for Rome! first, ™or for any of their 
25 confederates in all their dominion™, the nation of the Jews shall help them as confederates as the occasion 
26 shall prescribe "to them”, with all their heart ; and unto °them that make war° they (i.e. the Jews) 
»shall not give”, neither supply, food, arms, money, or ships, as it hath seemed good unto Rome; and 
they (i. 6. the Jews) shall observe their obligations, receiving nothing (in the way of a bribe). “In the 
27 same manner“, moreover, if war come first" upon the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall help them 
28 as confederates with all their soul, as the occasion shall prescribe to them; and to them that are 
confederates‘ there shall not be given corn, arms, money, ‘or ships’, as it hath seemed good unto 


| 


ἃ the reflex pron., AV suggesting that the Senate was looking after its own interests LSI crc Ne 
(hab νὰ 9:8) q>A 9 +that were with Eupolemus Luc atl 12 5.6.» i! nob A iletter δὶ 
SSS ee Ithe Romans Slve % eS it DENS ole BW 90S in (ἃ the reference seems to be to 
the Romans PP > ΝῈ (hab κὰ 9:3) 93 4.4. ο1υς r> 28 Sthat make war 55 2? ti TAL 


16. one man. Another instance of inadequate knowledge; there were, of course, two consuls. 

neither envy ... This also is contrary to fact; on this, however, Grimm remarks that ‘it is psychologically 
very comprehensible that, having regard to the assistance to be looked for by an alliance with Rome, the darker side 
of the conditions which obtained in the Roman State, of which the writer might have been cognisant, were naturally 
overlooked or left unnoticed.’ At any rate, it is not to be expected that the writer should have had much intimate 
acquaintance with the internal affairs of Rome; and even if he had, his knowledge of the deplorable conditions in his 
own country would unconsciously tend to make him take a bright view of all that concerned the powerful people from 
whom so much was hoped. 

17. Eupolemus. ‘Perhaps identical with that Eupolemus who is known to us as a Hellenistic writer’ (Schiirer, 
The Jewish People .. ., Div. I, vol. i, p. 231, see also Div. II, vol. ili, pp. 203 ff.); he was a Palestinian Jew who 
wrote about 158-157 B.C. or shortly afterwards. 

the son of John. See 2 Mace. iv. 11. 
: eeceee More correctly Hakkoz, cp. 1 Chron. xxiv.10; Ezra ii. 61; Neh. iil. 4, 21, vil. 63, belonging to a priestly 
amily. 

Jason the son of Eleazar. Perhaps the same Jason who is mentioned as the father of Antipater in xii. 16, 
xiv. 22. 

18. the yoke. i.e. the Syrian yoke; this implies either that the victory over Nicanor, recorded in ch. vii, had not 
yet taken place, or else that it was, after all, not of a wholly decisive character ; Schtrer thinks that ‘from the general 
drift of the First Book of Maccabees, it may be assumed that Judas had first arranged the embassy after the victory 
over Nicanor’ (op. cit. Div. I, vol. i, p. 232 note). 

22. tablets of brass. Theusual way of preserving documents of this kind; Grimm quotes Polybius, iii. 26. 1, who 
says, in reference to the treaties between Rome and Carthage, that they were preserved in this way, and that they 
were kept in the Capitol. Josephus (Awtig. XII. x. 6) says regarding this treaty that the Romans ‘also made 
a decree concerning it, and sent a copy of it into Judaea; it was also laid up in the Capitol, and engraven in brass.’ 

23. Good success be to the Romans. The equivalent, as Grimm points out, of the usual Roman formula: Quod 
bonum, faustum felixque stt populo Romano... 

26. unto them that make war ... ships. Kautzsch sees in this mention of ships, which at this time (161 B.C.) 
the Jews could not have supplied, one of the reasons for regarding this whole section (vv. 22-32) as having been 
added later, whether in the Hebrew original or when the translation was made; but there is much in Grimms 
contention that the mention of ships shows the far-seeing character of Roman policy, especially as not long after this 
the Jews got possession of a harbour (cp. xiv. 5). At the same time, it is worth while noting that in Josephus’ 
account the ships are not spoken of in reference to the Jews; in Amdézg. XII. x. 6 the decree runs: ‘It shall not be 
lawful for any that are subject to the Romans to make war with the nation of the Jews, nor to assist those that do so, 
either by sending them corn, or ships, or money’; this is the only mention of ships. It is, therefore, just possible 
that the form of the decree in 1 Macc. is due to a misunderstanding of the original Roman form of it. 

as it hath seemed good unto Rome. This, together with the phrase in vv. 25, 27, ‘as the occasion shall 
prescribe to them’, made the treaty far more advantageous to the Romans than to the Jews; see also the same words 
in v.28. It is true that in v. 30 there is a roviso that modifications might be made by either party by mutual consent, 
but this does not appear to be part of the actual treaty, the words of which clearly stop at the end of 7. 28. 


95 


I MACCABEES 8. 29—9..5 


29 Rome"; and they shall observe these obligations, and that without deceit. *According to these — 
30 words have the Romans made (a treaty) with the people of the Jews. But if hereafter the one 

party Yor* the other’ shall determine to add or to diminish anything, they shall do it at their 
31 pleasure, and whatsoever they shall add or take away shall be established. oud as touching the 
” evils which king** Demetrius doeth ’?unto you””**, we have written “to him ® saying“: ‘ Wherefore hast 
32 thou made thy yoke heavy upon our friends (and) ** confederates the Jews? If, therefore, they plead 

any more against thee, we will do them justice™, and fight thee by sea and by land. 


IX. 1-22. Death of Fudas Maccabaeus. 


9; And when Demetrius had heard that Nicanor *was fallen® with his forces in battle®, he sent 
Bacchides and Alcimus again into the land of Judah ba second time”, and the right wing (of his army) 

2 with them. And they® went by way of Gilgal‘4, and encamped against Mesaloth, which is in Arbela, 
3°and gat possession of it®, and destroyed* much people. And Sin the first month of the one 

4 hundred and fifty second year* they encamped against Jerusalem. And they removed and went 

5 unto Berea, with twenty thousand footmen and two thousand horse. And Judas was encamped at 


“the Romans δὲ Sve Τ᾿ x +thus Luc y-y + Sluc zand AV Luc Sle & aa > N* (hab κὰ “-8) 
bb-bb > Ψ', eethem δὲ (wot δὲ 6:3) A Luc 9 dd-dd and sent unto him S!ue eethus Ss ff + our Luc 
Βα vengeance 55 vengeance and justice S!v° 

IX. 2-#had waged battle A bb> Ss ¢ 4+ that were with Bacchides Luc 4 Gilead Luc Slue ee> Se 
and occupied it #? fhe destroyed A V 5.86.» 71 


31. we have written to him... But, as Schiirer truly points out, this came too late, for through the energetic 
action of Demetrius the overthrow of Judaea had already been completed before there was any possibility of inter- 
ference on the part of the Romans (cp. ix. I-21). 

wherefore hast thou made thy yoke heavy. A Hebraism by 337 (cp. 2 Chron. x. 10, 14). 

32. we will do them justice. Another Hebrew phrase David ney (‘to do justice’, lit. ‘judgement ’), Deut. x. 18, &c. 


IX. 1. that Nicanor was fallen. Cp. vil. 43, 44. ’ 
he sent ...asecondtime. προσέθετο... ἀποστεῖλαι, ‘he added to send’, a Hebrew phrase προ AD. 
the right wing. The Jews faced eastwards so that from their point of view the right would be the Syrian troops 
in the south, but the actual right wing of the Syrian army was that part of it stationed towards the north; see next 
note, Bacchides probably came from the north, Josephus directly states that he ‘marched out of Antioch’ (Anzzg. 
XII. xi. 1). 

2. ging ...Mesaloth ...Arbela. The identification of the place which ‘ Gilgal’ represents is extremely 
difficult, perhaps impossible. The best attested reading is Τάλγαλα = Gilgal; but there are at least three places of 
this name mentioned in the O.T.; Joshua’s Gilgal, the Gilgal by Bethel, and the Gilgal by Mount Gerizim (on this 
see G. A. Smith in ZB 1729 ff.). Some MSS., followed by the Lucianic Syriac, read Γαλαάδ = Gilead ; and Josephus 
has Va\tAaiay = Galilee. Assuming, as is permissible, that the two last readings are to be rejected, and that ‘ Gilgal’ 
is the right reading, it seems upon the whole best to identify this with the Gilgal by Mount Gerizim; ‘if’, says 
G. A. Smith (ZB 291 f.), ‘ Bacchides wished to avoid the road which had proved so fatal to Nicanor, he may have 
taken the road from Esdraelon south through Samaria. . . . On this route Masaloth might be Meselieh or Meithalun, 
respectively 5 or 8 miles south of Jenin, each of them a natural point at which to resist an invader. A greater 
difficulty is presented by ἐν ᾿Αρβήλοις. The plural form evidently signifies a considerable district. Now, Eusebius 
(OS®) ᾿Αρβηλά) notes the name as extant in his day, on Esdraelon, 9 Roman miles from Lejjun, while the entrances 
from Esdraelon on Meselieh and Meithalin are 94 Roman miles from Lejjin. It is therefore possible that the 
name ᾿Αρβηλά covered in earlier days the whole of this district. The suggestion is, however, far from being capable 
of proof. The chief points in its favour are the straight road from the north, which was regarded as a natural line of 
invasion, and the existence along the road of a Jiljuljeh [= Gilgal], a Meselieh, and a Meithalun.’ 

3. the first month. If, as there is every reason to suppose (cp. i. 54, vii. 43), it is the Jewish first month that is 
meant, it is the month Nisan, corresponding roughly to April. This would mean that only six or seven weeks had 
elapsed since the defeat of Nicanor on the 13th of Adar (= March); that does not allow much time for the news 
of Nicanor’s defeat to have reached Demetrius in Antioch, and for the latter to dispatch the reinforcements under 
Bacchides, especially as some time must have been taken up in encamping against Mesaloth, and getting possession 
of it, and destroying much people (see v. 2), on the way to Jerusalem. This feat is not impossible, but rather 
improbable, unless we suppose (with Michaelis, quoted by Grimm) that it was leap-year, in which the month Adar 
Sheni with its twenty-nine days came between Adar and Nisan. Otherwise the most obvious explanation is that the 
writer has made a mistake of about a month. 

__ they encamped against Jerusalem. Presumably Bacchides thought Judas was in Jerusalem ; otherwise it is 
difficult to understand why he should have encamped here. It is surprising how badly Bacchides must have been 
informed about the movements of his opponents; bad generalship and an inefficient intelligence department on the 
part of the Syrians, both of which are several times unconsciously implied by the writer of this book, must evidently 
have had much to do with the success of the Maccabees against overwhelming odds. In this particular case the 
disparity was so great that even bad generalship could not save the Jews from disaster. 

4. they removed ... unto Berea. They had scarcely settled themselves down before Jerusalem before they had 
to break up the camp again. It is not known where Berea was. 

5. Judas was encamped at Elasa. This place is also unknown ; Josephus says that ‘Judas pitched his camp at 
a certain village whose name was Bethzetha’ (Avfig. XII. xi. 1). 


96 


I MACCABEES 9, 6—22 


6 Elasa, and three thousand chosen men with him. And (when) they saw the multitude "of the 


forces», that they! were many *, they feared exceedingly ; and many slipped away from the army ; 
7 there were not left ‘of them! more than eight hundred men. And (when) Judas saw that his army 

slipped away, “and that (nevertheless) the battle was imminent for him™, he was sore troubled in 

8 heart, for that he had no time to gather them together. "And he became desperate”, and said to 
| them that were left: ‘Let us arise and go up against our adversaries, if peradventure we may be able 
‘|g to fight against them.’ And they turned from him, saying: ‘ We shall in no wise be able °(to with- 
stand them)°; but let us rather save our lives now”; let us return (later on) with our brethren, and 
-o fight “against them“; we are (now too) few.’ Then Judas said: ‘Far be it ‘from me" to do this 
thing, to flee from them! *And if* our time is come’, let us die manfully“ for our brethren’s sake 
}1 Yand not leave a cause (of reproach) against our glory’. And the (Syrian) host removed from the 
camp, and (the Jews) stood to encounter them ; and the horse was divided into two companies, and 
the slingers and the archers went before the host together with “all the mighty men that fought in 
1:2 the front (of the line of battle)¥. But Bacchides was on the right wing; and the phalanx drew near 
from both sides, and they blew with their trumpets, and the men of *Judas’ side* also blew ¥with 
|:3 their trumpets’; and the earth shook *with the shout” of the* armies. And the battle was joined, 
14 (and continued) from morning until evening. And (when) Judas saw that Bacchides and the main 
| strength of (his) army were on the right wing, his followers concentrated their whole attention (upon 
Πτρ them)”, and the right wing® was discomfited by them, and they pursued after them unto the mount 
τό Azotus*. And (when) they that were on the left wing® saw that the right wing® was discomfited, 
τ they turned (and followed) upon the footsteps of Judas and those that were with him. And the 
[18 battle waxed sore, and many‘ “on either side® fell "wounded to death*. And Judas fell, and the 
rg rest fled. And Jonathan and Simon ‘took Judas their brother, and! buried him in the sepulchre of 
}20 his* fathers at Modin. And they bewailed him!', and all Israel ™made great lamentation for him 
and™ mourned" many days, °and said°® : 
21 ‘?How is the mighty one fallen, the saviour of Israel !”’ 
[22 And the rest of the acts of Judas, and (his) wars”, and the valiant deeds “which he did®, ?and his 
greatness?,—they are not written ; for they were exceeding many. 


bh> 71 i + who were opposed (to them) Luc eet au πη Se EEN SS G7 ὌΝΩΙ» ΤῚ 3 
°° to fight against them δὲ V 55 P> 28 i aa> “6 rT >NV SS oir t>A ws 3. 
TY Sagi w-W all the men who are skilled in war & x XJudah 8 V Yo > 71 2-2 because of (2. from) A 
“their A b-b Slue and there went with him all that were brave in heart & 58 © part δὶ τὸ 93 ἃ Gazara 3» 
© part Slue HS ΤΌ 03 «(6185 5.8 of those δὶ hh> ὅσο. ii > 93 K their 64 93 1+there A Judas 19 
93 Sluc m-m > 71 n> o-o> 71 P-P>7I qaa> Sluc 


three thousand chosen men. It is strange that so many of these ‘chosen men’ should have ‘ slipped away’ at 
the critical moment ; Josephus gives their number as only one thousand, but this is obviously a mistake, as he says 
that ‘ they all fled away, excepting eight hundred’! 
8. he became desperate. Cp. Deut. xx. 3 (Sept.). 
10, far be it from me to do this thing. My μοι γένοιτο ποιῆσαι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο, a very Hebraic phrase: 
nxt ΓΝ % abbr (cp. xiii. 5), see Gen. xliv. 7, 17; Joshua xxii. 29, xxiv. 16; 1 Kings xxi. 3. 
13. the earth shook. Cp. 2 Sam. xxii. 8. 
from morning until evening. Josephus says the battle continued ‘till sun-set’, but does not mention when it 
began; the statement in the text is probably a rhetorical exaggeration ; eight hundred against twenty-two thousand, 
holding out all day, can scarcely be literally true, especially as no hint is given that the smaller number occupied any 
advantageous position; from the account in the text, as well as in Josephus, the two armies met on equal terms as far 
as position was concerned. 
15. the mount Azotus. Josephus, ‘a mountain called Eza’ (or Aza); no such mountain is known; the text is 
clearly corrupt. 
17. and the battle waxed sore. καὶ ἐβαρύνθη ὁ πόλεμος, a Hebrew phrase manbon MAIN; Cp. I Sam, xx. 3/5 
1 Chron. x. 3; Isa. xxi. 15. 
19... . took Judas their brother. According to Josephus (4vtig. XII. xi. 2) they ‘received his dead body by 
a treaty from the enemy’; this is more likely to be correct, for it is hardly to be expected that the Syrians would have 
treated the body of the Jewish rebel chief, as they regarded him, with more respect than that which the Jews accorded 
to the body of the Syrian general Nicanor (see vii. 47), unless there were special reasons for this. Josephus does not 
mention the terms of this ‘treaty’. 
Modin. Cp. ii. 1, xiii. 27. 
20. great lamentation. Cp. xiil. 26. 
21. How is the mighty one fallen. Cp. 2 Sam. i. 19, 25, 27. 
the saviour of Israel. Cp. Judges iii. 9; 2 Kings xiil. 5. 
22. And the rest of the acts ... For the phraseology cp. xvi. 23; it occurs often in the Books of the Kings. 
they are not written. This statement implies that for this part of the narrative (i.e. the ‘rest of the acts’) no 
documents were available; which, on the other hand, implies that what is recorded in our book was based on extant 
documents. 
‘With the overthrow of Judas’, says Schiirer (of. cit., 1. i, p. 233), ‘it was finally and definitely proved that it 
1105 : 97 H 


PL MAGCCABEES 9723-33 j 


JONATHAN MaccaBaEvs. IX. 23—XII. 53. 


IX. 23-31. Fonathan succeeds Fudas. 


23 And it came to pass after the death of Judas that the lawless put forth their heads in all the 
24 borders of Israel, and all they that wrought iniquity rose up ; in those days *there arose exceeding 
25 great murmuring that the land made peace with them’. And Bacchides chose out the ungodly men, 
26 and made them lords of the country. And they sought out and searched for the friends of Judas, 
and brought them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them, *and treated them with mockery*. 
27 And there was great tribulation in Israel, such as was not since the time that a prophet appeared 
28 unto them‘. And all the friends of Judas were gathered together, and they said unto Jonathan : 
29 ‘Since thy brother Judas hath died, we have no man like him to go forth" against our enemies and 
30 Bacchides, Yand against them of our nation that are inimical (to us)". Now therefore we have © 
chosen thee this day to be our ruler and leader *in his stead*, ¥that thou mayest fight our battles.’ 
31 And Jonathan took® ?the leadership upon him at that time”, and rose up in the stead of his brother 
Judas?. 
IX. 32-73. Fonathan’s struggle with Bacchides. 


\ 
{ 

,33 And (when) Bacchides knew it, he sought to slay him. But (when) Jonathan, Cand Simon his Ϊ 

“brother, 4and all that were with him‘*, knew it, they fled into the wilderness of Tekoah, and — 


r-r See note below 85-85.»» 3 t Israel 35 3.5 u+and to enter in N V 385 VV > 1. Wi9 64 x-x> Sluc 
y-yfor battle @' %-# And they chose Jonathan as leader in place of his brother Judas £1 chose τὸ SE b b> ye 
ee> 71 d-d > 93 


was a vain endeavour on the part of the Jewish nationalists to measure swords with the mighty forces of Syria. 
Brilliant as the earlier achievements of Judas had been, he was largely indebted to the recklessness and self- 
confidence of his opponents. Continuous military success was not to be thought of if only the Syrian authorities 
seriously roused themselves to the conflict. The following age cannot show even one conspicuous victory of the kind 
by which Judas had won renown. What the Maccabaean party finally reached, it won through voluntary concessions 
of claimants to the Syrian throne contending with one another, and generally in consequence of internal dissensions 
in the Syrian Empire.’ 
23. the lawless. Cp. vii. 24, 25. 
put forth... rose up. Cp. Ps. xcii. 7 (Sept. xci. 8). ᾿ , 
24. murmuring. Prof. Torrey (2 2859) thinks the rendering λιμός is due to a misreading of the original Hebrew 
which had DY (‘murmuring’), not IY (‘famine’); this, if correct, would certainly make the next clause less difficult. 
that the land made peace with them. καὶ αὐτομόλησεν ἡ χώρα per αὐτῶν. The verb with pera only occurs 


once in the Septuagint, 2 Sam. x. 19, where the Hebrew has Syren wren, (‘and they made peace with Israel’). 
If we are to be guided by this, the passage before us must mean (if we accept ‘famine’ as the right reading) that 
owing to the famine, the land, by which here can only be meant the followers of Judas, made peace with them, i.e. the 
‘lawless’. This must, however, be rejected ; firstly, because ‘the land’ cannot be restricted in this way, and, secondly, 
because the sequel shows that there was no peace between the followers of Judas and the ‘lawless’. Fairweather and 
Black take ‘the land’ to mean ‘the country in general, as distinguished from staunch patriots’; but the text gives no 
justification for this distinction; for the writer of 1 Macc. there are only two parties in the Jewish State, the 
Maccabaean party and the ‘lawless’. Grimm holds that the real meaning of the passage is shown by the 
paraphrastic rendering of the Syriac Version: ‘And the land too has become corrupt with them’; i.e. the land, 
through the famine, had, as it were, joined hands with the apostates in antagonism against the faithful. This is in 
accordance with Josephus (Av/zg. XII. i. 1). Kautzsch concurs in this: ‘The land, otherwise so fruitful, seemed to 
have allied itself with the lawless for the purpose of destroying the godly’; and he renders: ‘So that (in the same 
way) the land fell off (or “‘ deserted”) with them, i.e. the lawless.’ Against this it is to be urged that the Septuagint 
nowhere uses the verb in question in this sense (1 Sam. xx. 30, where the participle is used in the sense of ‘ rebellious’ 
is not @ propos). If, now, we follow Torrey in regarding ‘famine’ as a mistake for ‘murmuring’ (in the sense of 
indignation), and interpret the verb in the sense in which it is used in 2 Sam. x. 19 (see above), its only other 
occurrence with μετά, we get: ‘there arose exceeding great murmuring (i.e. on the part of the faithful) that the land 
made peace with them,’ 1. 6. the enemy, as the next verse goes on to show; indeed, the verses that follow seem 
thoroughly to justify this rendering, as offering further grounds for the ‘murmuring’. By ‘the land’ is meant everyone 
excepting the faithful, who were now obviously in a minority ; it must also be remembered that the author of 1 Macc. 
writes as one of the faithful. 

26. took vengeance on them. ἐξεδίκα αὐτούς, for which T.R. reads ἐξεδίκει ἐν αὐτοῖς, cp. Jer. v. 9, 29 (Sept.) = 
3 Dp3nn τ Sam. xviii. 25; 2 DP) Judges xv. 7 (Grimm). 

treated them with mockery. The reference must be to their religious practices; Josephus, however, says : 
‘tortured and tormented them.’ 

27. since the time that a prophet appeared unto them. That the writer implies the prophet Malachi here (so 
Grimm, Bissell, Fairweather and Black, Knabenbauer) is not necessarily certain; we have in the O.T. fragments of the 
writings of prophets who lived later than the time of Malachi (some short time before 450 B.C.) ; if they are anonymous, 
‘Malachi’ is pseudonymous ; the former may have exercised as great an influence as the latter, although their names 
have not come down to.us. Josephus makes no reference to a prophet, but says: ‘ They had never experience of the 
like since their return out of Babylon.’ In either case it is a rhetorical exaggeration. 

33. the wilderness of Tekqah. The wilderness got its name from the city six miles south of Bethlehem, on the 
borders of the wilderness; the name still exists, Ze/za; the site of the ancient city lies on the top of a hill with 


98 


: I MACCABEES 9. 34-47 
34 encamped by the water “οἵ the pool Asphar®. ‘And Bacchides got to know of this on the Sabbath 
| day, and he came, he and all his army, over Jordan‘. 

35 And (Jonathan) sent his brother, a leader of the multitude, and besought his friends, the Nabath- 
36 aeans, that they might leave with them their baggage, which was much. But the children of Ambri 
37 came out of Medaba, and took John, and all that he had, and went their way "with it®. iBut after 
these things! they brought word to Jonathan ‘and Simoni his brother, that the children of Ambri 
were making a great marriage, and were bringing the bride from Nadabath with a great train, 
8 a daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan. And they remembered* John their! brother, and 
39 went up, and hid themselves under the covert of the mountain ; ™and they lifted up their eyes™, and 
saw, and behold, a great ado and much baggage; and the bridegroom came forth, and his friends 
and his brethren to meet them (i.e. those forming the bridal procession) with timbrels, and minstrels, 
|,o and "many°® weapons". And they rose up ?from their ambush? against them, and slew them; and 
many fell wounded to death, and the rest fled into the mountain; and they took all their spoils*. 
41 And the marriage was turned into mourning, and the voice of their’ minstrels into lamentation. 
42 aS (thus) they avenged fully the blood of their brother ; and they turned back to the marsh-land® 
of Jordan. 

13 And (when) Bacchidest heard it", he came on the Sabbath day unto the banks of the Jordan 
44 With a great host. And Jonathan said unto his brethren’: ‘Let us arise now and fight “for our 

45 lives; for it is not (with us) to-day, as yesterday and the day before. For, behold, the battle is 
| before us and behind us’ ; moreover, the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that side, and (this 
46 is) marsh-* and wood-land, and there is no place to turn aside. Now, therefore, cry unto heaven, 
47 that ye may be delivered out of the hand of your’ enemies. And the battle was joined, and 
48 Jonathan stretched forth his hand to smite Bacchides, and he turned away back from him. And 
Jonathan, and they that were with him’, leapt into the 7Jordan, and swam over to the other side ; 


eh 301 ff B, and all his army crossed the Jordan on the Sabbath day #1 8 T.R. hh> 7.1 i> 71 
k + the blood of δαὶ $8 %#? And Jonathan remembered Slv¢ This N* (their δὲ 6:8) g3 Sluc mam 71 m1 much 
peoples55164) | oS 71 PaPi> 19 4 vessels A ‘the 19 8 mountainous-land AV 55 71 bank 3981 ford Slue 
τ» Slu uthat Jonathan had returned Luc S¢ (with slight variations) VYthem that were with him 8 V 
ww>7I xX > Sluc Your A 2+ behind Luc aa>s SB 


sloping sides; the top is of considerable extent, and is covered with ruins spread over four or five acres of ground 
(cp. 1 Chron. ii. 24; 2 Chron. xx. 20; Amos i.1; Jer. vi. 1). 

the pool Asphar. ‘The Be’er Asphar is probably the modern Azv-Se/hib, a considerable reservoir in the 
wilderness, six miles WSW. of Engedi, and near the junction of several ancient roads; the hills around still bear 
the name Sa/ra, an equivalent of Asphar’ (G. A. Smith, £4 343). 

34. This verse, which is a variant of v. 43, has got out of place; it should be deleted. 

35. his brother. i.e. John; cp. vv. 36, 38. 

the Nabathaeans. See note on v,§25. 

36. the children of Ambri. The reading Ἰαμβρεί is probably due to dittography, the « of the preceding υἱοί having 
been repeated by mistake (Kautzsch). Cheyne, however, thinks that the form Jambri (or Jamri) is correct, as the 
name 1D)" has been found on an Aramaic inscription at U7 ev-Resas, about twelve miles SSE. of Medeba (ZB 2317). 
The name is not otherwise met with; but, as the text shows, they belonged to an Arab clan of this name living at or 
near Medeba. Josephus has οἱ ᾿Αμαραίοι παΐδες, i.e. Amorites; cp. Num. xxi, 29-31, where Medeba is spoken of as 
a city of the Amorites. 

Medaba. Mentioned on the Moabite Stone: ‘... Now Omri annexed the (land) of Medeba, and dwelt therein’ 
(Il. 7, 8). It was situated on the high land of Moab to the south of Heshbon; cp. Joshua xiii. 9,16. The ruins still 
survive and are called Medaba (see the Quarterly Statement of the Pal. Expl. Fund, July 1895 and July 1901). 

37. they brought word. Presumably some escaped. 

Nadabath. Possibly = Nebo; Clermont-Ganneau (Journal of the American Ortental Soc., 1891, pp. 541 ff.) 
thinks it is a mistake for Rabatha = Rabbath Ammon, twenty-two miles east of Jordan, on the river Jabbok (cp. 2 Sam. 
xii. 26-28) ; the modern “Amman. 

39. his friends. Cp. Judges xiv. 11. 

42. the marsh-land. τὸ Nos ; at the present day the ford nearest the Dead Sea is called οὐ He/u; it is no doubt 
owing to this that the Syriac Version reads ‘the ford’! (cp. Grimm). 

44. for it is not... 1. 6. the state of affairs is more desperate than hitherto on account of the hopeless position 
they are in, as described in the next verse. 

45. on this side and on that side. i.e. they were caught in a bend of the river. 

47. and he turned... The exact meaning here is not quite clear; in view of the words: ‘ The battle was joined,’ 
it is probable that the reference is not to a personal conflict between Jonathan and Bacchides, but that their names 
here refer to their respective parties. In this case, the meaning of vv. 47, 48 would be that Jonathan and his 
followers made such a vigorous onslaught upon the enemy that the latter gave way temporarily; Jonathan, thereupon, 
seeing the indecision of the enemy, took advantage of the momentary respite, and plunged into the river, followed by 
his men. That he gained some advantage at the commencement of the battle seems evident from the fact that 
Bacchides is afraid to pursue; he is, presumably, deterred by the courage of despair which had been evinced by his 
opponents. The mention of the loss of a thousand Syrians also points to a conflict which at the start, at all events, 
was not one-sided. 


99 H2 


_ 63 ness, and he built up ‘that which had been pulled down thereof‘, and made® it strong. And »(when) 


I MACCABEES 9. 49-65 


49 and they (i.e. Bacchides and his followers) did not pass over* Jordan against them. And there fell” 
eof Bacchides’ company® “that day’ about a thousand® men. 
And they‘ returned to Jerusalem ; and they built strong cities in Judaea, Game) the strong- 
hold that is in Jericho, and Emmaus, and Bethhoron, and Bethel, and Tinmath , Pharathon, and 
51 Tephon, with high walls, and gates and bars*. And they! set garrisons™ in them to vex Israel. 
52 And they® fortified °the city Bethsura®, and Gazara, and the citadel; Pand they® put forces in them, 
53 and store of victuals’. And they" took the sons® of the chief men of the country for hostages, and 
»" putt them in ward in the citadel at Jerusalem. ᾿ ; 
54 Now in the one hundred and fifty-third year, “in the second month", Alcimus commanded to pull 
down the wall of the inner court “of the sanctuary", (in so doing) he pulled down” also the works of — 
55 the prophets. "And (when) he began to pull down”, at that (very) time, Alcimus was stricken, and 
"his works were hindered; and his mouth was stopped, and he became palsied, "and he could no more 
56 speak anything, (nor) give order concerning his house". And Alcimus® died at that time with great 
57 torment. And (when) Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead, he returned to the king. And the 
land of Judah had rest two years. f 
eg And a the lawless men took counsel, saying: ‘ Behold, Jonathan, and they of his part are dwelling 
” at peace, (and) in security ; *let us therefore now bring* Bacchides, and he will lay hands on them 
6ο 8117 in one night.’ And they went and consulted with him. And. he* removed, and came with 
a great host, and sent letters privily to all his confederates that were in Judaea, that they should lay 
hands on Jonathan, and (on) them that were with him; but they were®* not able (to do so), because 
6x their plan became known to them”. And they (that were of Jonathan's part) laid hands on ‘about 
62 fifty men¢ of the country that were the ringleaders in the wickedness, and slew them. And Jona- 
than, and Simon, and they that were with him, gat them away® to Bethbasi, which is in the wilder- 


5° 


Bacchides knew it", he gathered together 411} his multitude, and sent word to them that were in Judaea. 
64 And he *went and* encamped against Bethbasi, and fought against it ‘many days, and made* 
65 engines! (of war). And Jonathan left his brother Simon in the city, and went forth into the country ; 


> there went through A c-e by the side of BacchidesA 44> 71 ¢three thousandNV55 8. fheNV Luch 
& + Bacchides 64 93 bhenc® i+andrAV ἘΠ» 71 The mV only nhe 8 V oS; 
Bethsura δὶ 64 93 the city and Bethsura A the city near (222. in) Bethsura V DS 51 Ghe 8 V Luc # 


‘*heN%VHZ_ Bacchides 64 93 8 + of Israel 55 the put δὲ V 164 93 ὙΌΣ clestnoyediay w> Ss 
x x V4 only we will bring 8 A V* let us lead Luc y> 19 64 i! 2 Bacchides Luc 2he was not A 
b>N himS& ¢°¢>N dheslewNAHZ! ¢&+fromthemX ‘ft>71 & they made δὶ 3) T.R. hh> 3.1 
1S) Bee kK K> 71 1 with engines 71 

50. they. i.e. the Syrians; cp. critical note. 


the stronghold that is in Jericho. Grimm refers to the two citadels by Jericho mentioned by Strabo as having 
been destroyed by Pompey, namely Taurus and Thrax ; the reference here must be to one of these. 

Emmaus. See note on iii. 40. 

Bethhoron. See note on iii. 16. 

Bethel. About ten miles north of Jerusalem, the modern Lectin, nearly 3,000 ft. above the sea-level. 

Timnath. Several places of this name are mentioned in the O.T.; the one here must be either the Timnath- 
Serah in Mount Ephraim, where Joshua was buried (Joshua xix. 50, xxiv. 30; Judges ii. 9), or the Timna (called also 
Timnatha) in Danite territory about fifteen miles to the west of Jerusalem ; the latter is, perhaps, the more likely. 

Pharathon. The Syriac and O.L. versions, like Josephus, omit ‘and’. This place is the Pirathon of the O.T. 
(Judges xii. 13, 15), in Ephraimite territory (but cp. xi. 34), the modern Ferata, about six or seven miles south-west of 
Nablous, the ancient Sichem. 

Tephon. Probably a corruption of Tappuach, also in the inheritance of Ephraim (Joshua xvi. 8). 

52. Bethsura, and Gazara. See notes on iv. 29. 15. 

the citadel. Cp. i. 33, and the note on v. 53. 

54. the one hundred and fifty-third year. i.e. 159 B.C. 

the second month. [yar in the Jewish calendar. 

the wall of the inner court. The inner court was restricted to Israelites, so that the pulling down of its wall 
implied the obliteration of all religious difference between Israelites and Gentiles ; this was to undo the work of the 
prophets whose aim was to keep the Israelites distinct from their idolatrous neighbours. 

56. Alcimus died. Josephus places the death of Alcimus earlier, before the death of Judas, see Amtig. XII. x. 6; 
he says that Alcimus was ‘smitten suddenly by God’. 

57. he returned to the king. Assuming, no doubt, that the country had now been subjugated ; but, as the sequel 
shows, the period of rest which the land had enjoyed, was utilized by the national party to good purpose. 

62. Bethbasi, which is in the wilderness. G. A. Smith says that ‘in the wilderness of Judaea, east of Tekoa, 
there is a Wady e/-Bassah, which name as it stands means ‘marsh’, an impossible term, and therefore probably an 
echo of an ancient name’ (£4 550); possibly Bethbasi is to be identified with this. 

65. and went forth into the country, For the purpose of creating diversions, and to come to the relief of his 
brother at the right moment. 


100 


I MACCABEES 9. 66—10, 7 


[6 and he went with a (small) number. And he smote Odomera and his brethren, and the children of 
p7 Phasiron in their tents. And he™ began to smite (them) and to go up with (his) troops. Then Simon 
aps and they that were with him went out of the city and set on fire the engines (of war); and they 
| fought against Bacchides, and he was discomfited by them, and they afflicted him sore, "for his plan 
9 and his attack had been in vain™. And they® were very wroth with the lawless men that gave him 
counsel to come into the country, and they slew many of them, And he determined to depart into 
70 his own land. And (when) Jonathan had knowledge (thereof), he sent ambassadors Punto him?, to 
the end that they should make peace with him, and that he should restore unto them‘ the captives. 
τι And he* accepted (the thing), Sand did according to his words’, and sware unto him that he would 
72 not seek his hurt all the days of his life. And he restored unto him the captives which he had taken 
captive aforetime out of 'the land οἵ" Judah ; and he" returned and departed into his own land, and 
3 came” not any more into their borders. And the sword ceased from Israel. And Jonathan dwelt 
Bt oe And Jonathan began to judge the people”; and he destroyed the ungodly out of 
srael*, 


X. 1-66. Fonathan supports Alexander Balas in his struggle with Demetrius 7. 


rt In*the one hundred and sixtieth year Alexander ?Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus”, went up 
2 and took possession of Ptolemais, and they® received him, and he reigned there’, And (when) king 

Demetrius heard (thereof), he gathered together exceeding great forces, and went forth to meet him 
3 in battle. And Demetrius sent letters unto Jonathan with words of peace, so as to magnify him. 
- 4 For he said: ‘ Let us be beforehand to make peace with them, ere he make peace with Alexander 
5 against us. For he will remember all the evils which we have done ®unto him®, and unto his 
6 brethren and unto his nation'.’ And he gave him authority to gather together forces, and to provide 

arms, and to be his confederate ; and he commanded that they should deliver up to him the hostages 
- 7 that were in the citadel. And Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and read the letters 4in the ears of all” 


™ they 8 V 64 93 BS kt °he N°®V_  Bacchides 19 93 Slve PPunto them 93 ἘΝ  4Ghim 55 3 Ss 
" Bacchides Luc CASS Gt tt>N Ss ἃ Bacchides 19 93 Slve Vlooked Luc w +of Israel 19 93 Slue 
of it Sluc 

X. ®And in & HL Sluc >-b the son of Antiochus Epiphanes S$!™¢ > Antiochus & 
them i! ene! at} frace V &s>71 h> 838 


2 


Cit Ag3 δὲ ὁ:8 4 (over) 


with a (small) number. ἀριθμῷ, cp. Isa. x. 19 (Sept.). 
66. Odomera. Another reading is Odoarres ; presumably the name of the head of some Bedouin clan; this applies 
also to Phasiron. 
and to go up with (his) troops. i.e. to lead his troops against the enemy ; for the Hebrew phrase ‘to go up’ 


(by πον) for the purpose of fighting cp. I Sam. xiv. 10; Judg. vi. 3, xv. 10, xviii. 9, ἄς. 

70. the captives. i.e. those who had been taken captive aforetime (see v. 72). 

73. And the sword ceased ... ‘With this laconic notice the First Book of Maccabees passes over the following 
five years. This can only mean that Jonathan, while the official Sanhedrim of Jerusalem was still filled by those 
friendly to the Greeks, established at Michmash a sort of rival government, which gradually won the position of main 
influence in the country, so that it was able even to drive out (ἀφανίζειν) the ungodly, that is, the Hellenizing party. 
The Hellenistic or Greek-favouring party had no root among the people. The great mass of the Jews had still the 
distinct consciousness that Hellenism, even if it should tolerate the religion of Israel, was irreconcilable with the 
religion of the scribes. So soon, then, as pressure from above was removed, the great majority of the people gave 
themselves heart and soul to the national Jewish movement. The Maccabees, therefore, had the people soon again 
at their back. And this is the explanation of the fact that during the struggles for the Syrian throne now beginning, 
the claimants contended with one another in endeavouring to secure to themselves the goodwill of the Maccabees’ 
(Schiirer, of. εξ, i. 1, p. 239). 

Michmash. Nine miles north of Jerusalem, the modern J/u£hmas. 
and he destroyed ... This shows how the power of the national party had been consolidated. 


X. 1. In the one hundred and sixtieth year. 153 8.c.; the last date given was 159 B.C. (see ix. 54), and in 
vw. 57 we are told that the land had rest for two years; seven years have, therefore, elapsed since the time that 
Bacchides thought the land was subjugated (see note on ix. 57); and during this interval nothing is recorded save an 
abortive attempt on the part of Bacchides to subdue Jonathan (ix. 58-73). 

Alexander Epiphanes.. Alexander Balas was a low-born native of Smyrna who, owing to his resemblance to 
Antiochus Eupator, gave himself out to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes. He was taken up by Attalus II, King of 
Pergamum, from whom he received the name of Alexander, and who supported his claims to the kingdom of Syria 
against Demetrius. Although, according to Polybius (xxxiii. 14. 6), it was well known that the claims of Alexander 
were without justification, he was, nevertheless, recognized by the Roman Senate, who promised to support him. His 
success was largely due to the fact that Demetrius was hated by his own people (see Josephus, Av¢ig. XIII. ii. 1) on 
account of his ‘insolence and difficulty of access’, and because he was ‘ slothful and negligent about the public affairs’. 

Ptolemais. See note on v. 15, and cp. Josephus, /. c. 

2. went forth to meet ... See note on vii. 31. 

3. with words of peace. See note on i. 30. 

7. in the ears of all the people. Cp. Isa. xxxvi. 2 DYT ΣΝ 3. 

IOL 


18, 


I MACCABEES 10, 8-30 


8 le, and of them that were in the citadel’; and they were sore afraid when they heard that 
9 ce ae had given himi authority to gather together forces. _And they kof the citadel* eles: up 
το the hostages unto Jonathan, and he? restored them to their parents. And Jonathan dwelt™ in 
11 Jerusalem, and began to build "and renew” the city. And °he? commanded them that did the work 
to build® the walls and the mount Sion round about with square® stones for defence ; and they* did 


. 15 80. And the strangers, that were in the strongholds that Bacchides had built, fled away; ‘and 


"» 


14 each man left his place’, and departed into his own land. Only in Bethsura were there left certain 
of those that had forsaken the Law, ‘and the commandments ; for it was a place of refuge unto 
them®. 

is told him of the battles and the valiant deeds twhich he and his brethren had done, “and of the toils 

16 which they had endured*"; and he said: ‘ Shall we find another such man? And now “let us make” 

17 him our Friend Wand confederate’.’ And he wrote letters, *”and sent (them) unto him’, according to 

19 these words, saying*: ‘King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting’ ! We have heard 

20 concerning thee, that thou art a mighty* man of valour, and meet to be our Friend”. And now we 
have appointed thee °this day°(to be) high-priest of thy nation, and (it is our will) that thou shouldest 
be called the king’s Friend ’—and he? sent unto him a purple robe and a crown® of gold‘—‘and that 

21 thou shouldest take our part,and keep friendship with us.’ And Jonathan put on the holy garment 
hin the seventh month of the one hundred and sixtieth year", at the feast of Tabernacles, and he 
gathered together forces, and provided arms in abundance. pen "“ 

23 And (when) Demetrius heard ‘these things', he was grieved, and said: ‘Why have we permitted 

this to be done, that Alexander hath been beforehand ‘with us in establishing friendship with the 

4 Jews*, to strengthen himself? I also will write unto them words of encouragement, land of honour, 

5 and gifts, that they may be with me for (my) aid.’ And he sent unto them according to these words?: 

6 ‘King Demetrius unto the nation of the Jews, greeting! Forasmuch as ye have kept covenant with 

us, and have continued in our friendship, ™and have not joined yourselves to our enemies, we, (who) 

27 have heard (hereof), rejoice. And now continue ye still™ to keep faith with us, and we will recom- 

28 pense unto you "good things” °in return for what ye do in our behalf? ; and we will grant you many 

29 immunities, and will give you gifts. ?And now I (herewith) free you, and release all the Jews from 

30 the tributes”, and from the custom on salt, and from (the presenting of)4 the crowns; and instead of 
πε αὶ ἘΞ theysAS ) ™heardyAs 2 7 OOS i P Jonathan 64 93 4four-foot 8 V 55 
rhev Vi! Soi et > τ uu glue v-V we will make δὲ V 19 64 WES Oi ΣΤ unto him 71 
y-y¥> Luc => ἃ σοῦ A DSSS τος τὴ (they Α &a royal crown S$ f+and saying 8&4 
ΒΕ plur. δὲ Luc bebe 7 tal σα bE Vi lit msm 7i1 nu> $s 0-0 > 71 P-P And 
now I release all Jews from tribute Z*  4the custom of 55 


to NN 


8. they were sore afraid. ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν, cp. Luke ii. 9. 

11. square stones. Cp. 1 Kings vi. 36, vii. 9; Isa. 1x. 9; called in Hebrew ΤΠ} 1338; not ayn 3 Ν (‘hewn 
stones’), which were smaller, and not necessarily ‘ square *. 

14. Bethsura. See note on iv. 29. 

16. Friend. See note on ii. 18. τ : 

18. King... greeting! A Greek formula which often occurs in 1-2 Macc.; the Hebrew equivalent for ‘ greeting’ 
would be nidy’ ‘Peace’. 


19. a mighty man of valour. A very frequent O.T. expression, ben “33, 
20. high-priest. This office had been vacant for seven years, i.e. since the death of Alcimus. 
a purple robe and a crown of gold. Cp. xi. 58, xix. 43; Esther viii. 15; Dan. v. 7. 


21. the holy garment. i.e. the specific high-priestly robe (Sy) ; the ‘robe of righteousness’ (Isa. Ixi. 10). 
the seventh month. Tishri, corresponding roughly to October. 
the feast of Tabernacles. Called Swkkoth (‘ Booths’); the feast began on the 15th of Tishri, and lasted 
seven days (Lev. xxiii. 34) ; nowadays it lasts nine days, and is called ‘ the season of Rejoicing’; cp. Josephus, 4v¢zg. 
VIII. iv. 1. 
he gathered together forces . . . Jonathan evidently thought it wisest, in the long run, to trust to himself only. 
27. we will recompense ... These promises were of such an extravagant character that Jonathan would in any 
case have regarded them with suspicion; but he evidently knew the real state of affairs, and foresaw that the doom of 
Demetrius was sealed. 
29. the tributes. This was the principal burden laid upon the people, the poll-tax; ‘it was, strictly speaking, 
a kind of trade-tax, a percentage that varied according to the nature of the work and the means of the individual, not 
a personal tax, uniform and unchanging’ (ZB 4909, after Aristotle, Oeconom. ii. 1. 4). 
the custom on salt. A very large quantity of salt is deposited upon the marshy land around the Dead Sea 
when the annual spring floods, which cause the sea-level to rise several feet, subside. The tax on this was called 
ἡ ἁλική ; the very words here used, ἀπὸ... τῆς τιμῆς τοῦ ἁλός, have been found on an Egyptian ostrakon. See further 
on the noe subject of salt-taxes in Palestine under the Seleucidae, Wilcken, Griechische Ostraka aus Aegypten 
i. pp. 141 ff. 
_ and from ... crowns. These were originally voluntary gifts given to the sovereign, but afterwards exacted as 
ofright. For another instance of the remission of taxes to the Jews see Josephus, Atig. XII. iii. 3, where we are told 
of ‘ poll-money, and the crown tax, and other taxes’ being remitted. 


102 


“νυν 


3 Ν 
- And king Alexander heard all the promises which Demetrius had sent unto Jonathan; and they 


EMACCABEES 10: 20-41 


the third part of the seed, and instead of *the half of* the fruit of the trees, which falleth to me 
to receive, I release (them) from this day and henceforth, so that I will not take (them) from the 
land of Judah, and from the three governments which are added thereunto from the country of 
31 Samaria and Galilee, *from this day forth and for all time*, And ‘let Jerusalem be* holy and 
32 free, "together with the outlying districts, (regarding)” the tenths and the tolls. WI yield up 
also my authority over" the citadel which is at Jerusalem, and give (it) to the high-priest*, that 

3 he may appoint in it (such) men as he shall choose, to keep it. And every soul of the Jews that 
hath been carried away captive from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom, I set at 
134 liberty ’without price’ ; and let all remit the tributes of their cattle also. And all the feasts, and 
the Sabbaths, and new moons, and appointed days, and three days before a feast, and three days 
after a feast”, *let them all be days of immunity and release for all the Jews ?that are in my king- 
35 dom*”; and no man shall have authority to exact (anything) from any of them, or to trouble them 
36 concerning any matter. And let there be enrolled among the king’s forces about thirty® thousand men 
37 of the Jews, and pay shall be given unto them, as belongeth to all‘ the king’s forces. °!And of them 
some shall be placed in the king’s® great strongholds, and some of them shall be placed over the 
affairs of the kingdom®, which are of trust ; and let those that are over them, and their rulers, be 
from among themselves, and let them walk after their own laws, even as the king hath commanded 
|38 in the land of Judah. And the three governments that have been added to Judaea from the country 
of Samaria» ‘let them be added to Judaea, *that they may be reckonedi* to be under one (man), 
39 that they obey not any other authority than that of the high-priest’. As for Ptolemais,and the land 
pertaining thereto, I have given (it 145) a gift! to ™the sanctuary that is at™ Jerusalem, for the 
40 expenses "that befit™ the sanctuary. And I (undertake to) give every year fifteen thousand shekels 
41 of silver ° from the king’s revenues ὃ, Ρ from the places which are (most) convenient”. Ὁ And ali the 


ῳ. 


rr> Slue SOS Gh UY Sembee ye | wee {1 YandIremitAVi19gS$ wow >A 19:71 (ὁ to the 
holy house S% yY> 71 SS γῆς Εἰ: ἃ -ἃ paraphrased in 55 Passe three Slue a> Sluc 
es> Ne ti 75 8 of the king Slve h + and Galilee Luc ii let them be reckoned with Judaea $8 i? 
rk > ΤῸ sluc 11> Slue mS St ea SS EEC °-°> 71 from the king’s treasury $8 from the 
treasury 2? Devers uc 4-4 All that is owing to me S!vc eb Ὶ 


30. the seed. Josephus (4mtig. XIII. ii. 3): ‘the fruits (of the field), cp. ra σπειρόμενα, XIV. x. 6. 
half of the fruit ... A larger proportion of this was appropriated because the produce involved less labour. 
the three governments. Cp. x1. 28, 34, called ‘toparchies’. 
and Galilee. This is an erroneous addition; the three toparchies mentioned belonged to Samaria, cp. xi. 34; in 
τῳ. 38 of this chapter a similar error is made in some MSS., see critical note there. 
and for alltime. Cp. xi. 36. 

31. let J. be holy. What is meant is made very clear by referring to a rescript of Antiochus III, the Great, 
quoted by Josephus (Azfzg. XII. iii. 4): ‘It shall be lawful for no foreigner to come within the limits of the Temple 
round about ; which thing is forbidden also to the Jews, unless to those who, according to their own custom, have 
purified themselves. . . . Let them only be permitted to use the sacrifices derived from their forefathers, with which 
they have been obliged to make acceptable atonements to God. And he that transgresseth any of these orders, let 
him pay to the priests three thousand drachmae of silver. 

free, . . . the tenths and the tolls. The reference is to the tithes, and the tax on the revenues of the Temple, 
which had been exacted by the Syrian rulers; Josephus makes this clear (Av/ig. XIII. 11. 3): ‘I also release to you 
those ten thousand drachmae which the kings received from the Temple, because they appertain to the priests that 
minister in that Temple’ (cp. also 2 Macc. xi. 3). The Temple dues which were thus taxed were: (1) ‘the third part of 
a shekel for the service of the house of our God’ (Neh. x. 32), which every Israelite of twenty years and upwards had 


22-24; see also Josephus, Azézg. IV. iv. 4) = 0°73; and (3) the free-will offerings (M1373). On the whole subject of 
these offerings see the Mishnic tractate Shehkalim. 

33. and let all remit. The ‘all’ must refer to the king’s officials, ‘ their cattle’ to the property of Jews ; what is 
meant is explained by Josephus (4z#zg. XIII. ii. 3) : ‘I also give order that the beasts belonging to the Jews be not 
pressed for our service.’ 

34. days of immunity ... i.e.,as the next verse shows, on these days the Jews were to be left unmolested, 
whether as regards the payment of taxes or debts (cp. v. 43) or as regards service for the king. 

36. And let there be enrolled ... This would give a status to the Jews which they had not hitherto enjoyed ; 
but Demetrius’ main object was to increase his forces in order to withstand Alexander. 

pay. &ma= the clothing, food, and pay given to mercenary troops. ᾿ 

37. and some of them shall be placed ... Josephus (Awtig. XIV. 11. 3) says: ‘And some of them I will place in 
my garrisons, and some as guards about mine own body, and as rulers over those that are in my court ;’ cp. Anzig. 
alors Ὁ. 

38. the three governments. See note on v. 30. ᾿ 

39. As for Ptolemais ... As Alexander had taken possession of this (see v. 1), the promise was merely a bribe 
to induce Jonathan to attack the rival of Demetrius. τρὶς. 

40. from the ρίαςεβ... convenient. i.e. those which could best afford it ; the clause is omitted by the Lucianic 
Syriac, and Josephus makes no reference to it. Ae 

41. all the overplus. Fairweather and Black are probably right in understanding this to refer to the additional 

103 


I MACCABEES 10. 41-60 


overplus“% which the officials paid not in—as (has been done) in former years*—they shall from 
42 henceforth give towards the works of the* house*. And “beside this", the five thousand shekels of 
silver, which they used to take from the dues of the sanctuary” “ out of the income’ year by 
43 year, ἘΣ this also is released, because it appertaineth * to the priests that minister. ind whosoever 
shall flee unto the temple that is in Jerusalem, and in all the precincts thereof, (because) he oweth 
money to the king, or for any other reason, let (such) go free, together with all, whatsoever they possess, 
44 in my kingdom. And for the building and renewing of the works of the sanctuary the expense 
45 shall be given also out of the king’s revenue. *And for the building of the walls of Jerusalem, and 
the fortifying thereof round about, *shall the expense be given also out of the king’s revenue”, 
and for the building of the walls (of other cities) in Judaea δ. 
46 Now when Jonathan and the people heard these words, they gave no credence unto them‘, nor 
received they (them), because they remembered the great evil that he had done in Israel“, and that 
47 he had afflicted them very sore. And (moreover) they were well pleased with Alexander, because 
he was the first that spake 5 words of peace® unto them, and they remained confederate with him 
always. 
48 ‘And king Alexander gathered together ‘great forces’, and encamped over against Demetrius. 
49 And the two kings joined battle, and the army of Alexander® fled, and Demetrius” followed after 
50 him‘, and prevailed against them. And he continued the battle * obstinately until the sun went το 
down ; and Demetrius fell that day. 
51 And Alexander! sent ambassadors to Ptolemy, king of Egypt, ™according to these words™, 
52 saying: ‘Forasmuch as I am returned to my kingdom, and am set on the throne of my fathers, and 
have gotten the dominion, and have overthrown Demetrius, "and have gotten possession of our 
53 country "—yea, I joined battle with him, and he and his army were discomfited by us, and we°® sat 
54 upon the throne of his kingdom,—let us now establish amity ? one with the other’; and give me 
now ὁ thy daughter to wife ; and I will make affinity with thee, and will give both thee and her gifts 
55 worthy of thee.’ And Ptolemy the king answered, saying": ‘ Happy is the day wherein thou didst 
56 return into the land of thy fathers, and didst sit upon the throne of their kingdom. And now will 
I do to thee (according to) the things which thou hast written. But meet (me)* at Ptolemais, that 
57 we may sce one another ; and I will make affinity with thee teven as thou hast said*.” And Ptolemy 
went out of Egypt, he and Cleopatra his daughter, “and came unto Ptolemais, in the one hundred 
58 and sixty-second year"; and he bestowed on him his daughter Cleopatra, and celebrated her 
marriage at Ptolemais with great pomp, as the manner of kings is. 
59,60 And king’ Alexander wrote unto Jonathan, that he should come to meet him. And he’ went 


Ν 


Snations Luc 3. tthisLuc "%">71 ‘°+asinformeryearsAV557152% Ww>Sluec xx>Se yy>71I 


1-2. Se a-a> 64 » house 19 93 Slve Chim Sle > 71 ἃ Jerusalem 64 cre ΓΤ f-fall the 
forces N +and many 19 93 8 Demetrius N&*,¢> V 19 64 h Alexander δὲ σὰ V 19 64 ithem N¢-2 τὸ Slue 
k $8 ts wanting from here to year in v. 67 1+in that day Luc Sluc nem i BSS Fil oy; Lue 
PP with him A with them δὲ I>N 10 71 93 SeH Sah 8 expressed In S°* 19 93 ἘΣ 7 


πα iF SS Fil w Jonathan Luc 


yearly subsidy granted for the Temple service out of State funds, and regularly paid (‘as in former years’) under the 
Persians, Ptolemies, and Seleucidae, prior to Antiochus Epiphanes. 
the works of the house. i.e. the affairs of the Temple, see preceding note. 

42. the five thousand shekels of silver, which ... This item has already been dealt with in v. 31. 

dues. Text reads ypey =%3¥, corrupt for 5} [Gen. Editor]. 

43. Shall flee unto the temple. Jewish law granted the right of asylum only to those who had committed murder 
ecnidentally. ie places of asylum were the altar in the Temple, and the six cities of refuge (cp. Exod. xxi. 14; .1 Kings 
i. 50, ii. 28, 29). 

44. for the building ... Cp. Ezra vi. 8, vii. 20. 

46. they gave no credence. The promises were far too extravagant to inspire confidence. 

47. the first. dpynyds, i.e. he took a higher place in their estimation. 

49, 50. This laconic account can only be understood by the aid of Josephus, who says (Av/éig. XIII. ii. 4): ‘And 
when it was come to a battle, the left wing of Demetrius put those who opposed them to flight, and pursued them 
a great way, and slew many of them, and spoiled their camp. But the right wing, where Demetrius happened to be, 
was beaten; and as for all the rest, they ran away. But Demetrius fought courageously, and slew a great many of 
the enemy; but as he was in pursuit of the rest, his horse carried him into a deep bog, where it was hard to get out, 
and there it happened, that upon his horse’s falling down, he could not escape being killed; for when his enemies saw 
what had befallen him, they returned back, and encompassed Demetrius round, and they all threw their darts at him; 
but he being now on foot, fought bravely ; but at length he received so many wounds that he was not able to bear up 
any longer, and fell.’ 

51. Ptolemy. The sixth of the name, surnamed Philometor ; he reigned 180-146 B.C., first under the guardianship 
of his mother, Cleopatra, and jointly with his brother until 170, when he became sole king of Egypt. 

52. I am returned to my kingdom .. . This insolent falsehood had been so sedulously propagated that many 
believed Alexander to be the rightful heir ; presumably the author of 1 Macc. also believed this. 

54. thy daughter. Cleopatra, the issue of the incestuous union between Ptolemy and his sister, Cleopatra. 

104 


I MACCABEES 10. 60-73 


*with pomp to Ptolemais*, and met the two kings, and gave them and their Friends silver and 
1 gold, and many” gifts; and he found favour in their sight. And there were gathered together 
against him “ (certain) pestilent fellows out of Israel*, men that were transgressors of the Law, to 
62 complain against him ; but the king *gave no heedtothem. And the king * commanded », and they ¢ 
63 took off Jonathan’s garments, and clothed him in purple; “even sodid they do“. And the king® made 
him sit with him, and said unto his princes: ‘Go forth with him into the midst of the city, and make 
proclamation, that no man complain against him ‘ concerning any matter’, and let no man trouble 
64 him for any manner of cause.’ And £it came to pass %, when they that complained against him! saw 
his glory ‘according as (the herald) made proclamation’, and (saw) him clothed in purple *, that they 
65 all fled away. !And the king showed him honour, and wrote™ him among his Chief Friends, and 
66 made him a captain, and governor of a province'. And Jonathan returned "to Jerusalem” with 
peace °and gladness °. 


σ᾽ 


X. 67-89. Victory of Fonathan over Apollonius, the general of Demetrius IT ; 
he is rewarded by Alexander. 


6; And in the one hundred and sixty-fifth year came Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, out of Crete 
68 into the land of his fathers. And (when) king Alexander heard (thereof) he? was grieved exceed- 
‘69 ingly, and returned® unto Antioch. And Demetrius appointed Apollonius, "who was" over 

Coelesyria ‘, (captain); and he gathered together a great host, and encamped in Jamnia, and sent 
70 unto Jonathan the high-priest, saying: ‘ Thou alone liftest up thyself against us; but I am had in 

derision and in reproach because of thee. *And why dost thou vaunt thy power against us in the 
71 mountains?‘ Now therefore, if thou trustest in thy forces, come down to us in the plain, and there 
72 let us try conclusions with one another, for with me is the power of the cities". Ask and learn who 
I am, “and the rest ἡ (of those) that help us; and they (will) say, Your* foot cannot stand before 
-73 our face; for thy fathers have been twice put to flight in their own land. And now thou wilt not 


xX> 71 Y> Slue 2-2 > 93 aa> 93 b4them A CheA d-d > 71 ji ekings δὶ te Si7 7 
8-8 > 71 Slue h Jonathan Luc ii 7i0 k linen A 7a ™ appointed 55 nu>N 0-0 > 71 
Pthe king δὲ dsent 19 rrleader 55 #' defender $8 8 Syria Sluc SS fi uwars 64 i ΥΩ, 
v> Sluc x Thy Ss 


60. and he found favour in their sight. A Hebrew expression (°},Y2 {7 NS!) which frequently occurs in the 
O.T., e.g. Gen. xxx. 27, xlvii. 25, 29; 1 Sam. i. 18, &c. } 

61. pestilent fellows. ἄνδρες λοιμοί, cp. 1 Sam. xxx, 22 (Sept.) ἀνὴρ λοιμός ;Σ 1 Sam. xxv. 25 . =. τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν 
λοιμόν. « . (ODA WAN). 

62. clothed him in purple. ‘It is still the custom of oriental kings to bestow upon State officials, vassals, 
governors, ambassadors, and scholars, as a mark of honour, not, it is true, purple, but a costly garment, called Azz/a 

. . and especially also those whom they wish publicly and solemnly to declare innocent of some charge do they 
clothe in gorgeous apparel, and cause them to be led through the royal city’ (Grimm) ; references to the accounts of 
travellers are given. Cf. Gen. xli. 43; Esther vi. 11. 

65. Chief Friends. There were evidently different grades among the King’s Friends, just as in an aristocracy ; 
Jonathan had already been made a Friend of the King (see v. 16). 

a captain, and governor ofa province. “στρατηγός and μεριδάρχης may be taken as equivalent to military and 
civil governor. ... It specially deserves notice, that, in spite of Jonathan’s appointment as στρατηγός, a Syrian 
governor still continued to occupy the citadel of Jerusalem’ (Schiirer). 

66. with peace and gladness. The rebuff which the Hellenistic Jews had received, and the honours which had 
been heaped upon Jonathan, occasioned him outward and inward peace. 

67. the one hundred and sixty-fifth year. 147 B.C. 

Demetrius. The second, surnamed Nicator. Josephus (Az/ig. XIII. iv. 2) adds further that he came with a large 
number of mercenary troops, brought to him by Lasthenes, a Cretan, and sailed to Cilicia. He had been living in 
exile in Crete since the war between his father and Alexander began. 

68. returned unto Antioch. i.e. from Ptolemais. 

69. Apollonius. According to Polybius (xxxi. 21. 2), the foster-brother (σύντροφος) of Demetrius I. Josephus 
(Antig. XIII. iv. 2) calls him ‘Apollonius Daus’, i.e. belonging to the Dahae, a great Scythian people who led a nomad 
life over a large tract of country east of the Caspian Sea, still called Daghestan. 

Coelesyria. i.e. ‘hollow (κοίλη) Syria’, so called because it included, and was originally restricted to, the 
depression between the two Lebanons (cp. Joshua xi. 17 fi2an nya, ‘the valley of Lebanon’); but in the Greek 
period it included the whole of eastern Palestine ; Josephus (Avg. XIV. iv. 5) says that it stretched from ‘as far as the 
river Euphrates and Egypt’; it is in this extended sense in which the name is here used. It occurs for the first time 
in 1 Esdras ii. 17. In the Roman period Coelesyria was again used in the restricted sense, as it was made a separate 


province. 
Jamnia. See note on iv. 15. 
72. for thy fathers ... As Apollonius is writing from Jamnia (Jabneel), i.e. from what was formerly Philistine 


territory, he is probably referring to Israelite defeats at the hands of the Philistines; the two most signal instances 
were the battle of Aphek, at which the Philistines captured the Ark (1 Sam. iv. 1-11), and the battle of Mount Gilboa, 
105 


I MACCABEES 10. 73-89 


be able to withstand the horse and such an host as this in the plain, where there is neither stone 
74 nor flint’, nor (any) place” to flee unto’.’ Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he 
was *moved in his mind®; and he chose out ten thousand men, and went forth from Jerusalem ; 
75 and Simon his brother met him for to help him, And he encamped against Noyes ; and they of the 
city shut him ® out, because Apollonius (had) a garrison “in Joppa"; and they ® fought against it. 
76 And they of the city, being afraid, opened (the gates)", and Jonathan became master of Joppa. 
77 And (when) Apollonius heard (of this), he gathered * an army of three thousand horse, and a great 
host, and went to Azotus as though (intending) to journey on, but Bat the same time ® moved 
78 forward! into the plain, because he had a multitude of horse, and relied on this. And he* pursued 
79 after him! to Azotus, and the armies joined battle™. Now Apollonius had left a thousand horse 
80 "behind him®, hidden®; but Jonathan realized that there was an ambushment ἢ behind him’. And 
they surrounded his army, and cast (their)* darts at the people from morning until ‘late in {πε 
81 afternoon"; but the people stood still, as Jonathan (had) commanded, while the (enemy’s) horses 
82 were wearying (themselves), And Simon drew forth his host, and joined battle with the phalanx— 
83 for the horsemen * were spent—and they were discomfited by him, ‘and fled. And the horsemen * 
were scattered in the plain*; and they fled to Azotus, and entered into Beth-dagon, their idol’s tem- 
84 ple", to save themselves. And Jonathan burned Azotus, and the cities round about it, and took 
85 their spoils; Yand the temple of Dagon, “and them that fled into it, he burned with fire’. And 
they that had fallen * by the sword *, with them that were burned, were about eight thousand men. 
86 And from thence Jonathan removed, and encamped against Askalon, and they of the city came forth 
87 to meet him with great pomp. And Jonathan, with them that were on his side, returned to Jerusalem, 
88 having many spoils. And ¥it came to pass’, when king Alexander heard these things, he honoured 
89 Jonathan yet more; and he sent unto him a buckle of gold, as the use is to give to such as are of 
the kindred of the kings ; moreover, he gave him Ekron and all the borders thereof for a possession. 


Ὁ» Κ, 2 + whither A a-a enraged and moved 38 DW Sp ett CN* V Sluc i! ake this refer to the city 
ἃ “ἃ therein Sluc e&he 58 ff And they were afraid and departed from the city 351 8 interposed 93 Slue 
SES ELL iled forward A 55 k Jonathan T.R. S$ 1 + for battle 8 V ™ +after him (τ (eve. Luc) S$ 3. 
NS Tit ° in a hiding-place T.R. 1 a) 4 expressed in 19 93 * evening T.R. the sinking (of the 
sun) 8 5.85» 71 tt> SB u>o3 ΘΟ. vv>1993 Se Ww wand its (i.e. the cety’s) temple A > 71 
ssn SS 3: I> 71 Sluc J? 


when king Saul was slain (1 Sam. xxxi. I-7). These were by no means, however, the only occasions on which the 
Israelites were defeated by the Philistines, and perhaps for this reason Josephus (Antzg. XIII. iv. 3) says that ‘ these are 
the very men who a/ways conquered thy progenitors’, though this, again, is a gross exaggeration, cp. e.g. 2 Sam. v. 
17-21, when David defeated them at the battle of Baal-perazim (2 Sam. vili. 1; 1 Chron. xviii. 1, &c.). 
73. neither stone nor flint. An exaggeration, to emphasize the contrast between the mountainous country and 
the plain. 
fe Joppa. The modern Jaffa, 3} miles from Jamnia; its chief importance lay in its harbour, which was the best, 
though not an ideal one, on the coast of Palestine; cp. 1 Macc. xii. 33, 34, Xill. II, Xlv. 5, 34, xv. 28-30, 35; 2 Macc. 
ΧΙ. 5:0. 
77- Azotus. See note on iv. 15. 
but . . . moved forward. With the purpose of enticing Jonathan out. 
79. hidden. Lit. ‘in secret’, Josephus, more explicitly, ‘in a gully.’ 
80. realized. Lit. ‘knew’, presumably by means of spies. 
cast (their) darts. ‘Shot their arrows’ (Hebr. ΚΠ 17’, as in, e.g. 1 Sam. xx. 36). 
81. but the people stood stili. This is explained by Josephus, who says that Jonathan commanded his army ‘ to 
stand in a square battle array’; they covered themselves with their shields, against which the enemy hurled their 
missiles in vain. 
82. Simon drew forth his host. Evidently having been held in reserve all this time. 
83. Beth-dagon. Dagon was one of the chief gods of the Philistines (cp. Judges xvi. 23, 24; 1 Sam. v. 1-5), whose 
worship they took over when they first entered into the land; his name occurs on the Tell-el-Amarna tablets, and has 
also been found inscribed on the walls of the temple of Mukair in southern Babylonia. Although it cannot be proved 
that Dagon was a fish-god, it is probable that this was the case, though Philo Byblius speaks of him as a corn-god 
(deriving the name from 7 ‘corn’, instead of 37 ‘ fish iw) 
84. the cities . . . Josephus, more correctly, ‘the villages about it.’ 
66. Askalon. One of the five chief cities of the Philistines (Joshua xiii. 3), lying on the coast between Ashdod and 
Gaza; the modern Askalin. 
88. he honoured ... yet more. προσέθετο δοξάσαι, a Hebraism 6 5D"). 
89. a buckle of gold. Cp. xi. 58, xiv. 44; the golden buckle and the purple robe (see v. 21) were only worn by 
the most distinguished men of the kingdom, or by ‘ the kindred of the kings’. 
Ekron. The most northerly of the chief Philistine cities; it lay between Ashdod and Jamnia towards the east > 
the modern Akir. 


106 


4 
Γ 
j 
ἵν 
4 
ἢ 
Ἷ 
} 


I MACCABEES 11. 1-13 


XI. 1-19. Alliance between Ptolemy VI and Demetrius I, resulting in the downfall of 
Alexander Balas. Demetrius becomes king of Syria. 


L1 And® the king of Egypt gathered together "great forces”, as the sand which is by the sea shore 
(for multitude), "and many ships‘, and sought to make himself master of Alexander’s kingdom by 
2 deceit, and to add it to his own kingdom. And he went forth into Syria with* words of peace; and 
they of the cities opened unto him (the gates), and met him, and king Alexander’s command was 
3 that they should meet him, because he was his father-in-law. Now when °Ptolemy entered into the 
4 cities®, he placed in each city’ his forces (5 [01] a garrison*. And when he came near to Azotus, they 
showed him the temple of Dagon (which had been) burned with fire, "and Azotus, (which) together 
with the suburbs thereof, had been pulled down, and the bodies scattered about, and them that had 
been burned, ‘whom he had burned Fin the war*, for they had made heaps of them in his way». 
5 And they told the king what things Jonathan had done, in order to cast blame on him; and the 
6 king! held his peace. And Jonathan met the king™ "with pomp” at Joppa, and they saluted one 
7 another, and they slept there. °And Jonathan went with the king® as far as the river that is called” 
Eleutherus, and returned to Jerusalem. 
8. But king Ptolemy made himself master of the cities upon the sea coast, unto Seleucia 4which is by 
g the sea‘, and he devised evil devices concerning Alexander. And he sent ambassadors unto king 
Demetrius, saying: ‘Let us make a covenant with one another, and I will give thee (to wife) my 
10 daughter whom Alexander hath, and thou shalt reign over thy father’s kingdom; for I have repented 
11 that I gave my daughter unto him, for he sought to slay me.’ *But he cast blame on him (thus), 
12 because he coveted his kingdom’. And taking his daughter (from Alexander), he gave her to 
13 Demetrius, and ‘was estranged from Alexander’, and their enmity became manifest. And Ptolemy 


XI. ἃ + Ptolemy 71 b-ban army #1 csc 401 ἃ speaking δὶ 8:9 he entered into the cities of 
Ptolemais A VN f of them Slve £- to guard (22) N°>V 55 h-h> 71 i-i who had been killed #1 
k-k with fire S$ 14went forth and 55 -+when he heard it S!ue mhim 71 ἈΠ» 71 °-o And they went 71 
P-P> 19 q-a> 51 rT and to obtain my kingdom 3» ss T.R.; Alexander changed his face ἃ it became 
known unto Alexander δὲ 


XI. 1. the king of Egypt. Ptolemy VI, Philometer, cp. x. 51. 
as the sand... For this frequently used O.T. metaphor cp. Joshua xi. 4; Judges xvii. 12; 1 Sam. xiii. 5, 
XVli. 11, &c. 
by deceit. Cp., on the other hand, Josephus (4g. XIII. iv. 1), according to whose account Ptolemy came in 
perfect good faith. 

4. the suburbs thereof. Cp. xi. 61. 

5. held his peace. So as not to commit himself either for or against Jonathan. 

6. met the king. Cp. x. 86, where συνάντησις is used in the sense of a meeting for the purpose of submitting 
oneself (Kautzsch) ; the verb here used is συναντᾶν, cp. Gen. xlvi. 28 (Sept.) where this verb is used in the sense of 
meeting some one with the purpose of showing honour to him (Jacob sending Judah to Joseph). 

7. Eleutherus. The modern Wahy al-Kedir, the most important river in Phoenicia; it rises in the Lebanon and 
reaches the sea a little north of Arka; Jonathan therefore accompanied Ptolemy for a considerable distance. 
Burckardt (Zravels in Syria and the Holy Land, p. 161) says: ‘It is a large torrent, dangerous at this period of the 
year (March) from its rapidity. The Hamah caravans have been known to remain encamped on its banks for weeks 
together, without being able to cross it.’ 

8. Seleucia which is by the sea. Five miles north of the spot where the Orontes flows into the sea; one of the 
four most important cities of northern Syria; the port of Antioch, which was sixteen miles distant ; it was founded by 
Seleucus I Nicator (reigned 312-280 B.C.), the founder of many cities. Mentioned in connexion with the missionary 
journey of Paul and Barnabas, Acts xiii. 4. 

g. sent ... unto king Demetrius. He was presumably in Cilicia; cp. x. 67, and v. 14, where it is said that the 
people of Cilicia had revolted against Alexander. 

10. for he sought to slay me. The occasion of this is not mentioned in our book; the author was biassed in 
favour of Alexander because of the friendship between him and Jonathan; but Diodorus does not refer to it either, he 
says that Ptolemy only turned against Alexander when he realized what a hopeless weakling he was (cp. Grimm). 
On the other hand, Josephus refers to the occurrence in a circumstantial manner (Azzzg. XIII. ἵν. 6): ‘But as Ptolemy 
was at Ptolemais, he was very near to a most unexpected destruction, for a treacherous design was laid for his life by 
Alexander, by means of Ammonius, who was his friend; and as the treachery was very plain, Ptolemy wrote to 
Alexander, and required of him that he should bring Ammonius to condign punishment, informing him what snares 
had been laid for him by Ammonius, and desiring that he might be accordingly punished for it. But when Alexander 
did not comply with his demands, he perceived that it was he himself who had laid the design.’ It is difficult to 
believe that there was not some truth in Ptolemy’s allegation. 

11. because he coveted ... This can scarcely have been the case originally, otherwise why should he have 
given his daughter in marriage to Alexander? A pretext for quarrelling could easily have been found if, in the first 
instance, Ptolemy had intended to seize the kingdom. It seems more likely that it was the proof of Alexander's 
enmity which was the reason of Ptolemy’s determination to wrest the kingdom from him. 


107 


I MACCABEES 11. 13-33 


entered into Antioch, and put on himself the diadem of Asia; so he (now) had put two diadems_ 
upon his head, the diadem of Egypt and that of Asia. 2 
14 . But king Alexander was in Cilicia at that season, ‘because they of those parts THES τα revole é 
1; And Alexander heard of it, and he came against him in war; and Ptolemy led forth (his host) ,and , 
τὸ met him with a strong force,and put him to flight. And Alexander fled into Arabia, “that he might / 
17 be sheltered there; but king Ptolemy was exalted". And Zabdiel the Arabian took off Alexander's 
18 head, and sent it to Ptolemy. And king Ptolemy died the third day (after); and they that were in 
19 his strongholds were slain *by them that dwelt in the strongholds*. And Demetrius became king 
in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year. 


XI. 20-37. Fonathan secures the favour of Demetrius 77. 


so In those days Jonathan gathered together *them of Judaea’ to take the citadel that was in 
21 Jerusalem; and he made many engines (of war) against it. And “certain ones that hated their* own 
nation%, men that transgressed the Law, went unto the king, and reported unto him? that Jonathan 
22 was besieging the citadel. And (when) he heard it he was angered ; but immediately °on hearing it® 
he set forth, and came to Ptolemais, and wrote unto Jonathan that he should not besiege it, and that 
23 he should meet him and speak with him at Ptolemais with all speed. But when Jonathan heard (this), 
he commanded (that the citadel should continue) to be besieged ; and he chose (certain) of the elders 
of Israel and of the priests* and put himself in peril, and taking silver and gold and raiment, and 
divers presents besides, went to Ptolemais unto the king. And he found favour in his sight. And 
certain lawless men of them that were of the nation made complaints against him ; but the king did 
unto him even as his predecessors had done unto him‘, and exalted him in the sight of all his Friends, 
27 and confirmed him in the high-priesthood, and whatsoever other honours he had before”, and gave 

2g him pre-eminence among his Chief Friends. And Jonathan requested of the king, that he would make 
Judaeai and the three provinces of the country of Samaria free from tribute ; and he* promised him 

29 'three hundred! talents. And the king consented, and wrote letters unto Jonathan concerning all these 
things after this manner : 

30,31 ‘King Demetrius unto (his) brother Jonathan and unto the nation of the Jews, greeting ; The copy 
of the letter which we wrote unto Lasthenes our™ kinsman concerning you, we have written also unto 

2, 33 you, that ye may see (it). King Demetrius unto Lasthenes (his) father, greeting ; We have determined 


2 
2 
2 


4 
5 
6 


UTS 1 ἃ went forth 55 Slve VY expressed in S°-* Luc VENTS Fit =o 8 2S! yy Israel “631 Z2> 71 
ἃ our N* ἘΣ ταν Ie ὐπὸ: 7] 4 the citadel δὲ :8 Luc ®JewsN > 38 f + and glorified him with 
great glory 55 Zenemies i! 4h +and exaited him 19 93 Sluc iTdumaea 64 J Reading, with Grimm, 
τῆς Σαμαρείτιδος for καὶ τὴν Σαμαρίτην Kk they A ll thirty 55 τὰ your N* A* 


13... . entered into Antioch. Cp. Diodorus (quoted by Knabenbauer), who says that Hierax and Diodotus, 
who had been left in charge of Antioch by Alexander, gave up his cause as hopeless, and induced the people of 
Antioch to offer the crown and kingdom to Ptolemy. 

Asia. Not the Roman province of this name, which was formed in 133 B.C., and included Mysia, Lysia, Caria, 
the western part of Phrygia, together with the Dorian, Ionian, and Aeolian coast-cities, with the islands lying off the 
coast (Ramsay, in 74, s.v.); nor the continent; but the Asia as understood after it had been reduced about 
285 B.C., and when the name Asia was ‘ restricted to the coast-cities and the lower valleys of the Maeander, Cayster, 
Hermus, and Caicus’ (Ramsay). 

15. and met him. According to Strabo, Ptolemy attacked Alexander at the river Oenoparas, on the plains of 
Antioch (Schiirer, of. cit. 1. 1, p. 244). Josephus says that Ptolemy was accompanied by Demetrius. 

17. Zabdiel. ‘A prince among the Arabians’ (Josephus). The name occurs on a Palmyrene inscription (A.D. 155) 
in the form Zabd-ila (Waddington, /yscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie 2590; cp. ἃ. A. Cooke, North Semitic 
Inscriptions, p. 272). 

18... . died the third day (after). Josephus (Azztig. XIII. iv. 8) says that Ptolemy was thrown from his horse in 
the battle, and wounded in the head by his enemies; he was unconscious for four days, but partially recovered on the 
fifth, and died ‘a little while after’. 

they that were in his strongholds. Cp. v. 3. 

19. the one hundred and sixty-seventh year. i.e. 145 B.C. 

21. men that transgressed ... As on several other occasions, it was the renegades of their own race who were 
the worst enemies of the Jewish leaders. 

24. he found favour in his sight. For the Greek phrase cp. Sept. of Gen. vi. 8, xviii. 3, xxx. 27. 

26. as his predecessors had done ... Cp. x. 6, 18-20, 25 ff., 61-65. 

27. confirmed him in the high priesthood. Cp. x. 20. 

28. the three provinces ... Cp. x. 30, and especially xi. 34; these provinces had been taken from Samaria ; 
the reading καὶ τὴν Σαμαρίτην, though supported by all MSS. and Versions, cannot be right, see crit. note. 

29. after this manner. With the Greek cp. 2 Macc. i. 24. 

30. unto (his) brother. Cp. x. 18, 25. 

31. Lasthenes our kinsman. Cp. Josephus (Av/ig. XIII. iv. 3), where it is said that it was Lasthenes, the Cretan, 
who brought a great number of mercenary soldiers to Demetrius. ‘Kinsman’, like ‘brother’ in v. 30, is a title of 
honour ; the same is the case with ‘father’ in the next verse; cp. Av/zg. XII. iii. 4, where Antiochus III addresses 
Zeuxis, the general of his forces and his ‘intimate friend’, as ‘ father’. 


108 


YMACCABEES 11, 33-42 


| to do good to the nation of the Jews, who are our friends, and observe what is just toward us, because 
| 34 of their good will toward us. We have confirmed unto them, therefore, the districts of Judaea, and 
the three governments of Aphaerema”, and Lydda, and Ramathaim—(these) were added unto Judaea 
from the country of Samaria—and all things appertaining unto them, for all such as do sacrifice in 
Jerusalem, instead of the king’s® dues which the king received of them yearly aforetime from the 
35 produce of the land and the fruits of trees. And as for the other things which appertain unto us, 
®4from henceforth“, of the tenths and the tolls "that appertain to us", πα the saltpits, and the crowns 
36 that appertain to us?, all these we will bestow upon them’. ‘And not one of these things shall be 
37 annulled' from this time forth and for ever. Now therefore be careful to make a copy of these things, 
and let it be given unto Jonathan, and let it be set upon the holy mount in a fitting "and conspicuous 
place’.’ 


XI. 38-53. Sonathan assists Demetrius in opposing Tryphon. 


| 38 And (when) king Demetrius saw that the land was quiet before him, Yand that no resistance was 
made to him”, he sent away all his forces, each man to his own place,—except the “foreign forces”, 
which he had raised from the isles of the Gentiles—and (therefore) all the forces *of his fathers* 
} 39 were inimically disposed towards him. Now Tryphon was of those who aforetime had been of 
Alexander’s part, and he saw that all the forces murmured against Demetrius, and he went to 
40 ImalkueY the Arabian, who was nourishing up Antiochus, the young child “οὗ Alexander’, *and 
pressed sore upon him that he should deliver him unto him*, that he might reign” in his father’s 
stead; and he® told him all that Demetrius had done. and the hatred wherewith his forces hated 
him ; and he abode there many days. 
41 And Jonathan sent? unto king Demetrius, that he should cast out of Jerusalem them of the citadel, 
42 and them that were in the strongholds ; for they fought against Israel continually®*. And Demetrius 


1Ephraim S > i! o> Ss 101 Da Se 71 q-a> Slue rr> Slue SS we remit unto them & tet τ 
ESS σὴ EES VS ai TW Ss EG XX>71 ¥ Malchus 3.5 $3 = Josephus z2z> Ss aasSyN 
» make him king Luc Cthey A 4 + letters 71 OS Ele 


34. Aphaerema. i.e. Ephraim (2 Sam. xiii. 23), or Ephron (2 Chron. xiii. 9); according to Josephus (ed/. Jud. 
IV. ix. 9) it lay not far from Bethel, ‘. . . he took Bethel and Ephraim, two small cities.’ Cp. also John xi. 54 (see 
further, Robinson, Researches in Palestine, iii, pp. 67 ft.). 

Lydda. Zod in Hebr., afterwards called Diospolis, the modern Ludd; between Joppa and Jerusalem ; one of the 
toparchies of Judaea, according to Josephus (Bed/. /id. 11. xx. 4). 

Ramathaim. Cp. 1 Sam. i. 1, where it is called Ramathaim Zophim (but see Driver, Votes on the Hebrew Text 
of the Books of Sam, in loc.), and located on Mount Ephraim; the usual form of the name is a-Ramah (‘the 
height’), which is, however, to be differentiated from the Ramah belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, nearer Jerusalem. 
It is probably to be identified with the modern Bez¢ Rima, north-east of Lydda, in the neighbourhood of Thamna; 
this agrees with the accounts of Eusebius and Jerome (see Schiirer, of. cz¢. i. 1, p. 246). 

from the country of Samaria. Cp. x. 30, xi. 28. 

as do sacrifice in .. . 1.6. the privilege is for the orthodox Jews ; the ‘transgressors of the Law’, as well as the 
Samaritans living in the three provinces, are excluded. 

instead of ... The text is clearly not in order, something having dropped out ; in Josephus (47z¢g. XIII. iv. 9) 
it says: ‘I remit to them the three provinces .. . as also what the kings, my predecessors, received from those that 
offered sacrifices in Jerusalem, and what are due from the fruits of the earth, and of the trees, and whatever else 
belongs tous . . .᾽: cp. x. 29-31. 

35. See notes on x. 29, 30. 

all these ... It is noteworthy that there is no mention about the siege of the citadel in Jerusalem (vv. 20-23) ; 
presumably the siege was raised in consideration of all these concessions ; the Syrian garrison, therefore, still remained 
in possession. 

37. acopy. On tables of brass, cp. vill. 22. 

38. the foreign forces ... from... From Crete and from the other islands (Josephus), i.e. of the Grecian 
Archipelago. 

were inimically disposed. The real reason for this was their loss of pay ; Josephus (1222. XIII. iv. 9) says 
that the kings before this used to give pay to the soldiers in time of peace, ‘that they might have their goodwill, and 
that they might be fully prepared to undergo the difficulties of war, when any occasion should require it.’ This 
short-sightedness of Demetrius is only to be explained by the natural slothfulness which seems to have been 
characteristic of him ; cp. Justin. xxxvi. I. 1, 9, referred to by Grimm. 

39. Tryphon. ‘Diodotus, who was also called Trypho, an Apamaean by birth, a commander of Alexander’s 
forces’ (Josephus). 

Imalkue the Arabian. On a Palmyrene inscription (A.D. 162) the name AZalihu abn) occurs (de Vogiié, Za 
Syrie Centrale, 9); on another of later date (A.D. 242) we have Zaddila the son of Maliku, the son of MJaltku, cp. 
v.17 (Vogiié, 15; cp. G. A. Cooke, of. cit., pp. 276, 278). In Josephus the form is Malchus, so also the Syriac and 
one Latin Version. Schiirer (of. cit. i. 1. 247) refers to Ndldeke, in Euting’s Madataische Lnschriften, p. 74, where 


a Palmyrene inscription is given in which the name ΔΌΣ (= Imalku) occurs; Diodorus gives Iamblichus, which 
also is nothing else than 12D", ᾿ 
41. ... that he should cast out ... Nothing could better illustrate the broken power of the Seleucidae, and 


the way in which Jonathan was able, in consequence, to draw advantage from it. 
109g 


I MACCABEES 11. 42-63 


onathan, saying : ‘I will not only do this for thee and thy nation, but I will greatly honour 
43 a rae tee nation’, it land favourable ΣΝ Now therefore thou shalt do well, if thou send me 
44 men who shall fight for me; for all my forces are revolted.’ And Jonathan sent him# three thousand) 
valiant men unto Antioch. And they came unto the king; and the king® was glad at their coming. 
45 And they of the city gathered themselves together ‘into the midst of the city’, to the number of a 
46 hundred and twenty thousand men; and they were minded to slay the king. And the king fled 
into the palace, and they *of the city* seized !the thoroughfares of the city’, and began to fight. 
47 And the king called the Jews to (his) aid™, and they were gathered together unto him “all at once®; 


and they dispersed themselves °in the city°®; and they slew that day to the number of a hundred © 


49 thousand. And they set the city on fire,and got many spoils ? that day ?, and saved the king. And 
(when) they of the city saw that the Jews had made themselves masters of the city 1*as they would 4, 
59 they waxed faint in their hearts", and cried out to the king with® supplication, saying: ‘ Give us (thy) 
51 right hand, and let the Jews cease from fighting against us and the city.’ And they cast away their 
arms‘, and made peace. And the Jews "were glorified in the sight of the king, and before all that 
52 were in his kingdom*"; and they™ returned to Jerusalem, having many spoils. And (when) king * 
53 Demetrius was seated on his throne of his kingdom (again), and the land was quiet before him, he 
lied in all that he had spoken, and estranged himself from Jonathan and recompensed (him) not 


(¥ according to)* the benefits with which he (had promised to) recompense him*; but he afflicted 
him sore. 


XI. 54-74. Friendship between Fonathan and Antiochus V1. 


4 Now after this Tryphon returned, and with him the young child Antiochus ; and he reigned, and 
55 put ona diadem. And there were gathered unto him all the forces which Demetrius had sent away 
56 in disgrace; and they fought against him, and he? fled, and was° put to rout’. ?And Tryphon 
57 took the elephants’, and became master of Antioch. And the young Antiochus wrote unto 
Jonathan, saying: ‘I confirm unto thee the high-priesthood, and appoint thee over the four govern- 
58 ments, and to be one of the king’s Friends. And he sent unto him golden vessels and furniture for 
the table, and gave him leave to drink in golden vessels, and to be clothed in purple, and to have 
59 a golden buckle. And his brother Simon he made governor (over the district) from the Ladder of 
60 Tyre unto the borders of Egypt. And Jonathan went forth, and took his journey beyond the river, 
and through the cities; and all the forces of Syria gathered themselves unto him for to be his 
61 confederates. And he came to Askalon, and they of the city met him honourably. And he 
departed thence to Gaza, and they of Gaza shut him out; and he lay siege unto it, °and burned the 
62 suburbs thereof with fire *, and spoiled them. And they of Gaza made request unto Jonathan, and 
he gave them his right hand, and took the sons of their princes for hostages, and sent them away to 
Jerusalem. And he passed through the country as far as Damascus. 
63 And Jonathan heard‘ that Demetrius’ princes were come to Kedesh, which is in Galilee, with 


ὧι O1 Or 


tli 8 of them A 55 64 93 b> 71 ἜΞΩ aie J + Demetrius 64 93 EES 93 1-1 (it) 93 
™ palace 1? Spit ἢ Ge τ OO 53 σὴν Boe PP>7I 14> δ (ab NA) JSS iG, 5. + much 64 
*+and gave him their right hand Sue =u u>7yr _¥ + and they were named in his kingdom 8 %! the Jews 71 
=> 71 i} ΣΟΥ» δὶ 93 2 expressed in V ἃ Demetrius 64 93 D1) > SLR ‘they were N © ce Se 
®-® and they burned it $8 f saw iW! 


43. all my forces are revolted. According to Josephus (Am¢ig. XIII. v. 3), the inhabitants of Antioch revolted, 
but all the troops which Demetrius had not dismissed (see v. 38) remained faithful to him; ‘he took the mercenary 
soldiers which he had with him . . . and assaulted the Antiochians.’ 

45. a hundred and... This is an evident exaggeration, so too the number of the slain, v. 47. 

48. they set the city on fire. Josephus adds that the houses were close together, and mostly built of wood. 

49. they waxed faint in their hearts. For the Greek cp. Isa. vii. 4, Sept. (Grimm). 

53. afflicted him sore. Josephus, more specifically, says that ‘he threatened that he would make war upon him 
unless he would pay all the tribute which the Jewish nation owed to the first kings’ (i.e. of Syria). 

57. the four governments. i.e. Judaea and the three governments mentioned in 7. 34. 

58. clothed in purple, . . . golden buckle. See notes on x. 20, 62, 89. 

é 59. the Ladder of Tyre. Cp. Josephus (ει. ud. 11. x. 2), who says it is a high hill, a hundred stadia north of 
tolemais. 


60. beyond the river. πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ -- 1737 J, i.e. the territory this side of the Euphrates from the point 
of view of the Israelites, that side of the Euphrates from the point of view of the Babylonians (cp. 1 Kings v. 4); the 
reference here is, therefore, to Syria; cp. the words in this verse, ‘ail the forces of Syria gathered themselves unto him.’ 

Askalon. See note on x. 86. 
61. Gaza. The southernmost of the five chief Philistine cities, the modern Ghuzzeh. 


62. Damascus. The modern £s/-Sham ; it lies 120 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and 200 miles south of Antioch. 

63. Kedesh. Cp. Joshua xxi. 32; Judges iv. 6, 11; situated on the northern frontier of Palestine, among the 
mountains of Naphtali. Josephus speaks of it as belonging to the Tyrians (Bell, Lud. 11. xviii. 1, 1V. ii. 3); it still 
retains its ancient name. 


11το 


I MACCABEES! If. 64—12) 9 


64 a great host, with the object of hindering him from his purpose; and he went to meet them, but 
65 Simon his brother he left in the country. And Simon encamped against* Bethsura, and fought 
66 against it many days, and shut it" up; and they made request to him that he would give them his 
right hand, and he gave it to them; but he put them out from thence, and took possession of the 
67 city, and set a garrison over it. And Jonathan and his army encamped at the water ‘of Gennesar ‘, 
68 and early in the morning they got them to the plain of Hazor®. And, behold, an army of strangers 
met him!’ in the plain, and they laid an ambush for him ™in the mountains, but they themselves met 
69 (him)” face to face. But they that lay in ambush ™ rose out of their places, and joined battle; and 
zo all they that were of Jonathan’s side fled; not one of them was left, except Mattathias the son of 
71 Absalom, and Judas the son of Chalphi, captains of the forces. And Jonathan rent his clothes, and 
72 put earth upon his head, and prayed. And he turned again unto them in battle, and put them to 
73 rout, and they fled. And (when) they of his side who were fleeing saw it, they returned unto him, 
74 and pursued (them) with him unto Kedesh to their camp; and they encamped there. And there 
fell of the strangers °on that day°® about three thousand men. And Jonathan returned unto 
Jerusalem. 


XII. 1-38. Fonathan renews his alliance with Rome, and enters into a league with the 
Spartans. He defeats the followers of Demetrius. 


12: And Jonathan saw that the time served him, and he chose men, and sent them to Rome, to confirm 
2 and renew the friendship that they had with them. *And to the Spartans, and to other places, he 

3 sent letters after the same manner®. And they ’ went unto Rome, and” entered into the senate 
house, and said: ‘Jonathan the high-priest, and the nation of the Jews, have sent us, to renew for 

4 them the friendship and the confederacy, as in former time®.’ And they gave them letters unto (the 
governors) of every place, that they should bring them on their way to the land of Judah in peace. 

5, 6 And this is the copy of the letter which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans: ‘ Jonathan the high-priest 4, 
and the Council ὃ οἵ the nation ®, and the priests, and the rest of the people of the Jews, unto their 

7 brethren the Spartans, greeting! Even before this time were letters sent unto Onias the high-priest 
from Areios‘, who was reigning among you, (to the effect) that ye are our brethren, as the copy 

8 (here) underwritten showeth. And Onias treated honourably * the man that was sent £,and received " 

9 the letters, wherein declaration was made of confederacy and friendship. Therefore we also—albeit 


Sin A 64 Slue them Luc i! Sluc ii>V k Nazor A V 55 64 Ithem 55 S$ eo SS δι 
D expressed in 55 o-o> i} 


GU EOS: A b-b > i} ¢ +and they that were in Rome welcomed them 19 93 Slve 4 +of the nation A 
O-OS> INE ἘΞ. = Josephus ; αὐ other authorities read Dareios 8-8 those who were sent #1! h gave 71 


his purpose. i.e. of helping Antiochus. 
65. Bethsura. See note on iv. 29. 
67. the water of Gennesar. i.e. the lake of Gennesareth ; the name occurs here for the first time. 
the plain of Hazor. Cp. Joshua xi. 1, xii. 19, xix. 36; Judges iv. 2; I Sam. xil.9; 1 Kings ix. 15; Josephus 
(Antig. V. v. 1) says it was near the lake Semechonitis, or Merom; it lay, therefore, right in the north of Palestine. 
74. three thousand. Josephus says two thousand (.1γἼφ. XIII. v. 8). 


XII. 1. he chose men. i.e. Numenius and Antipater, see v. 16, xiv. 22. 

to confirm ... Cp. viii. 17 ff. 

2. and to other places. It is not specified either in this book or in Josephus what these ‘ other places’ were. 

6. the Council of the nation. This Gerowsza is mentioned as being already in existence in the time of Antiochus 
the Great (cp. Josephus, Av¢7g. XII. iii. 3); the earliest reference to it is, however, 2 Chron. xix. 8. It developed later 
into the Sanhedrin, a name which occurs for the first time in the reign of Hyrcanus II (cp. Avtig. XIV. ix. 4). The 
head of this Council was the high-priest, as the head also of the State; it exercised judicial and administrative 
functions (cp. 1 Macc. xiv. 20). The measure of its authority varied according to the amount of autonomy granted by 
the suzerain power; but its moral influence over the Jews, whether in the Dispersion or in Palestine, was always 
very considerable. 

the rest of the people. ὁ λοιπὸς δῆμος ; Grimm pointedly remarks that it is probably not without a purpose 
that the Greek translator of this book almost invariably restricts the use of the word δῆμος to documents sent to or 
received from a foreign nation (viii. 29, xiv. 20, 25, xv. 17); his object in doing so is to place on record the fact that the 
Jewish people is one that is free and independent. . 

7. Onias. The first of the name, son of Jaddus (Av/ig. XI. viii. 7) or Jaddua (Neh. xii. 11), father of the high-priest 
Simon I, the Just. There is great uncertainty as to his date, some scholars putting it at about 320-300 B.C., while 
others contend for some fifty years later; others, again, place it between these two extremes. 

Areios. The first of the name, who reigned over the Spartans 309-265 B.C. This is the correct form of the 
name Areus. All Greek MSS. wrongly read Dareios (see crit. note). That Areios is the right reading is evident from 
Josephus ; the form Oniares occurs in v. 20; Cod δ reads there ονιααρης (= ᾽Ονίᾳ "Αρης). The Old Latin Version alone 
has preserved the right reading. 

8. the man that was sent. Named Demoteles, according to Josephus (Avtig. XIII. v. 8). 

iE 


n 


I MACCABEES 12. 10-33 


το ‘we need none of? these things, having for our comfort the holy books which are in our hands—have 
assayed to send that we might renew our brotherhood * and friendship with you, to the end that we 
should not become estranged from you altogether ; for long time 15 passed since ye sent unto us, 
11! We therefore at all times without ceasing, both at our feasts, and on other convenient days, do 
remember you in the sacrifices which we offer, and in our prayers, as it 1s right and meet to be 
13 mindful of brethren; and, moreover, we are glad for your glory 1, But as for ourselves, many 
m afflictions and many wars™ have encompassed us, "and the kings that are round about us have 
14 fought against us". We were not minded, however, to be troublesome to you, or to the rest of our 
nie confederates ° and friends, in these wars ; for we have the help that is from heaven ? to help us”, and 
16 we have been delivered from our enemies, and ‘our enemies* have been humiliated. We chose, 
therefore, Numenius the son of Antiochus, and Antipater the son of Jason, and have sent (them) 
unto the Romans, to renew the friendship that we had ‘with them’, Sand the former * confederacy *. 
17 We commanded them, therefore, to go also unto you, and to salute you, and to deliver you our letters 
18 concerning the renewing " (of friendship) and * of our’ brotherhood. And now ye shall doW well if 
19 ye give us an answer thereto.’ And this is the copy of the letters *which they sent * to Onias : 
21 ‘ Areios 5, king of the Spartans, to Onias, the chief priest, greeting! *It hath been found in writing, 
concerning the Spartans and the Jews, that they are brethren, and that they are ἢ of the stock” of 
22 Abraham ; and now, since these things have come to our knowledge, ye shall do well to write unto us 
23 of your prosperity. And we, moreover, do write on our part to you®, that your cattle and goods 
are ours, “ἈΠΕ ours are yours. We do command, therefore, that they* make report unto you on 
this wise °.’ : ; : 
24 And Jonathan heard that Demetrius’ princes were returned to fight against him with a greater 
25 force than afore, so he removed from Jerusalem, and met them in the country of Hamath; for he 
26 gave them no respite to set foot in his country. And he sent spies into their® camp; and they 
returned, and reported unto him that in such and such a way they had planned to fall upon him by 
night. But as soon as the sun was down, Jonathan commanded his men to watch, and to be in arms, 
that all the night long they might be ready for battle ; and he sent forth sentinels (and placed them) 
28 round about the camp. But (when) the adversaries heard that Jonathan and his men‘ were ready 
for battle, they were afraid and trembled in their heart; and they kindled fires in their camp, Sand 
29 departed. But Jonathan and his men knew it not till morning; for they saw the fires burning. 
30 And Jonathan" pursued after them, but did not overtake them ; ‘for they had gone over the river 
31 Eleutherus. And Jonathan turned aside (and fought) against the Arabians, who are called Gaba-> 
32 daeans, and smote them’, and took their spoils. And he set out from thence, and came to Damas- 
cus. * and took his journey through all the country. 
533 And Simon went forth*, and took his journey as far as Askalon, and the strongholds that were 


2 


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g. the holy books. Cp. i. 56, 57, iii. 48. 

15. we have been delivered ... Cp. ili. 18 ff., iv. 30 ff., &c. 

21. concerning the Spartans and the Jews... ‘The fiction of a relationship between the Jews and the 
Spartans, which constituted the motive for the Spartans to write their letter (1 Macc. xii. 6, 7, 21, cp. 2 Macc. v. 9), 
was not unheara of during the era of Hellenism, Freudenthal, Alexander Polyhistor, p. 29, note, refers in illustration 
and for proof to Stephen of Byzantium under the word Ιουδαία... ὡς Κλαύδιος ᾿Ιούλιος ἀπὸ Οὐδαίου Σπάρτων ἑνὸς ἐκ 
Θήβης μετὰ Διονύσου ἐστρατευκότος. Ina decree of the Pergamenes (Josephus, 4¢ig. X1V. xviii. 22) there is also mention 
of a relation between the Jews and the Pergamenes’ (Schiirer, of. cé¢. i. 1. 251). On the other hand, as 8. A. Cook 
and W. J. Woodhouse (ZZ 4744) contend: ‘ There is no reason to doubt the fact of diplomatic relations with Sparta 
having been set on foot by Jonathan. For Sparta was too obscure at the time to have suggested itself to a forger 
eager to magnify his hero by inventions of the kind. Again, the incident leads to no result in the sequel ; the reverse 
would have tended to throw doubt upon the entire episode.’ The probability is that while the details can scarcely be 
regarded as historical, the broad fact of diplomatic relations of some kind between the Jews and the Spartans is to be 
accepted as true (see further, Zz¢7.§ 7). The Greek legend of the Spartans having been descended from the Phoenicians 
may not have been without influence upon the subject (see, further, Stade, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, ii, pp. 372 f.). 
Grimm's important pages (187-191) should, however, also be consulted; while not prepared to accept the copy in 
1 Macc. as representing the original document, he holds that since diplomatic relationships were in existence between 
the two nations, documents of some kind must have been exchanged. 

24. And Jonathan heard... The narrative, interrupted by vv. 1-23, is now taken up from xi. 74. 

25. Hamath. On the Orontes; the modern Hamah. Cp. Num. xiii. 21; 1 Kings viii. 65. 

30. Eleutherus. See note on xi. 7. 

31. Gabadaeans. Probably the small tract of land, about eight miles north of Damascus, now called Zabdznz. 
G, 2, S read ‘Zabadaeans’. 
33. Askalon ... Joppa. See notes on x. 75, 86. 


112 


PeVENeC BEES) 1234-53 


|¢near unto it. And he turned aside to Joppa, and took possession of it, for he had heard that they 
were minded to deliver the stronghold unto the men of Demetrius ; and he placed a garrison there 
to keep it. 
And Jonathan returned, and called the elders of the people together; and he took counsel with 
6 them to build strongholds in Judaea, and to make the walls of Jerusalem higher, and to raise a great 
mound between the citadel and the city, !for to separate it from the city', ™so that it might be 
7 isolated™, "that they (within it) might neither buy nor (they without) sell". And they were 
gathered together to build (the city)°; and (a part of) the wall by the brook that is on the east side 
8 had fallen down, and ” he repaired that which is called Chaphenatha®. And Simon also built Adida 
in the plain country, and made it 4 strong, "and set up gates ‘and bars*®. 


HI ne 


XII. 39-53. The capture of Fonathan through treachery. 


39 And Tryphon sought to reign over Asia and to put on himself the diadem, and to stretch forth 
\yo his hand against Antiochus the king*. And he was afraid Jest haply Jonathan should not suffer 
him (to do so), “and lest he should fight against him"; so he ‘sought a way” how” to take him, 
41 * that he might destroy him*. And he Yremoved, and came’ to Bethshan. *And Jonathan came 
42 forth? *to meet him®* with forty thousand men chosen for battle, and came to Bethshan. And 
(when) Tryphon saw that he came with a great host, he was afraid to stretch forth his hand against 
143 him; and he received him honourably, and commended him unto all his Friends, »°¢and gave him 
gifts?, and commanded his Friends’ and his forces to be obedient unto him, °as unto himself °. 
}44 And he said unto Jonathan: ‘ Why hast thou put all this people to trouble, seeing there is no war 
45 betwixt us? And now, send them away to their homes, but choose for thyself a few men who shall 
be with thee, and come thou with me to Ptolemais, and I will give it up to thee, ‘and the rest £ of the 
strongholds and the rest of the forces, and all the (king’s) officers; then I will return and depart ; for, 
46 for this cause did I come‘. And he trusted him and did even as he said, and» sent away his 
47 forces, and they departed into the land of Judah. But he reserved to himself three thousand men, 
48 two thousand ‘of whom: he left in Galilee, but one thousand went with him. But when Jonathan 
had entered into Ptolemais, * they of Ptolemais shut the gates, and* took him; and all they that 
. 49 had come with him they slew with the sword. And Tryphon sent forces and horsemen into Galilee, 
| 50'and™ into the great plain’, to destroy all Jonathan’s men. And they perceived that he was taken 
and had perished, and they that were with him ; nevertheless they encouraged one another, and went 
51 on their way close together, ready for war. And (when) they that were following (upon them) saw 
52 that they were ready (to fight) for their lives, they turned back again. And they all came in peace 
to the land of Judah, and they mourned for Jonathan and them that were with him, "and they were 
53 sore afraid. And all°® Israel mourned" with a great mourning. And all the Gentiles that were 
round about them sought to destroy them utterly, for they said: ‘ They have not Pa man? (that is) 
leader and (who will) help (them) ; “now therefore let us fight against them“, and take away their 
memorial from among men.’ 


11> ΝῈ (λαό καὶ 5:3) Sn SS BS n> N* (hab NC) ο expressed in cities V P Phe pulled down the 
mound which is called Chesphonitho 5 a>A 2S ἋΣ PBS 55 ΞΕ tthe younger S$ ἀντί τς σὴ 
v-Y was desirous # ΣΝ ΣΉ ΣΙ bl y-Y came stealthily V tA (ΟΕ a2) 162193 baba 
(hab ἃν C29 Fil d-d> 3s ¢ likewise A ft> 71 $many A h + Jonathan δὲ &* 19 93 Slue 
ijiabout NA k-k > Slue 11> 71 n>A mn > 71 o> A οὗ iS hy WV ESS ot 


37. the brook that . .. i.e. the Kidron. 

Chaphenatha. The meaning of this word is unknown; it does not occur elsewhere: Josephus does not mention it. 

38. Adida. The Chadid of Ezra ii. 33; Neh. vii. 37, xi. 34, four miles east of Lydda ; Josephus (4tzg. XIII. vi. 5) 
says it is ‘upon an hill, and beneath it lie the plains of Judaea’. The modern e/-Chadite. 

the plain country. Σεφηλά = the lowland region west of the mountainous country of Judaea. 

40. Bethshan. See note on v. 52. 

41. with forty thousand men. The number shows how Jonathan’s power and influence had increased ; it was 
not without reason that Tryphon recognized Jonathan’s power to hinder him in his designs (cp. τ. 40). Josephus 
(Antig. XIII. vi. 1) says that the reason why Jonathan came with such a large army was because he expected to be 
attacked by Tryphon. 

43. commended. For this sense of συνίστημι cp. 2 Macc. iv. 24; Wisd. vil. 14; Rom. xvi. 1; 2 Cor. x. 18; for 
further references see Schleusner s.v. 

49. the great plain. See note on v. 52. 

50. had perished. But see xiii. 23, though it was natural to suppose that he had been murdered. 

52. they mourned ... Cp. ix. 20, xiii. 26; ἐπένθησεν... πένθος μέγα, a Hebraism. 

53. They have not ... Both the rival kings were now at enmity with the Jews ; hitherto the Jewish leader had 
always managed to have the support of one or other of the claimants to the throne. 

let us fight against them. This intention does not appear to have been carried out. 
. .. take away their memorial... Cp. iii. 35, Ecclus. x. 17. 
1105 113 I 


13. And Simon heard that Tryphon had gathered together a numerous * host to come into the land of © 


. 14 Jonathan was with him in ward. But Simon encamped at Adida, tover against the plaint. And 


I MACCABEES 18. 1-20 


SIMON MACCABAEUS XIII. 1—XVI. 24. 
XIII. 1-11. Szsnon elected leader. 


2 Judah, and destroy it utterly. And he saw that the people were troubled > and (were) in great fear?; 
3 so he went up to Jerusalem, and gathered the people together, and encouraged them, and said unto — 
them: ‘Ye yourselves know what things I, and my brethren, and my father s house, have ὃ done for 
4 the “laws and the sanctuary 4, and the battles °and the distresses ° * which we have seen‘; by reason 
5 whereof all my brethren have perished for Israel's sake, and 1 alone am left. And now be it far from 
me that I should spare my own life in any time of affliction ; 5 for I am not better than my brethren’. 
6 Howbeit I will take vengeance for my nation, and for the sanctuary, and for our "wives and ἢ children ; 
; because all‘ the Gentiles are gathered together to destroy us ‘of very hatred*.’ And the spirit of 
8 the people, !as soon as! they heard these™ words, revived. "And they answered with a loud voice, 
9 saying™: ‘Thou art our leader instead of Judas and Jonathan thy brethren®. Fight thou ? our war?, 
το and all that thou shalt say unto us, that will we do.’ And he“ gathered together all the men of war, 
11 and made haste to finish the walls of Jerusalem, and fortified it round about. And he sent Jonathan 
the son of Absalom, and with him a great host, to Joppa; and he cast out them that were therein, 
and abode there’ ‘in it ®. 


XIII, 12-24. Simon defeats Tryphon. 


12 And Tryphon removed from Ptolemais with a mighty host to enter into the land of Judah; and 


(when) Tryphon knew that Simon was risen up instead of his brother Jonathan", and meant to join 
15 battle with him, he sent ambassadors unto him, saying: ‘It is for the money which Jonathan thy 
brother owed unto the king’s treasure, ἡ“ by reason of the offices which he had τ, that we hold him fast. 
16 And now send a hundred talents of silver, and two of his sons (as) hostages, that when he is set at 
17 liberty he may not revolt from us,—and we will set him at liberty.’ And Simon knew that they 
spake * unto him * deceitfully, but sent the money and the children, Jest peradventure he should bring — 
18 upon himself great hatred on the part of the people’, (in that they should be) saying: ‘ Because I sent. 
το him not the money and the children **he perished>.’ ° And he sent the children 5 5 and the hundred 
20 talents ; and* he® dealt falsely, and did not set Jonathan at liberty. And ° after this ® Tryphon came 
to invade the land‘, and destroy it, and he went round about by the way (that leadeth) to Adora; 


XIII. ἃ great S$ DDS τ e+allNV d-d the holy laws L e-e > δὲ ἢ (hab 8°) V 71 f& TR. Nob 
88> 71 BSS το 1> 38 kkKE> 71 ll αὐτου (for aya tov) 771 reference to people mhis 19 93 Slue 
nn And they said 3" O55 Sluc; brother & LH Ρ-Ρ»θᾳϑ, 4 Simon 64 93 τ» Ν (λαό N&4) V SS 
s-8> Sluc ZH, tin the sight of the temple # u>7I MNT G/N Ww knew not V 55 x= > 70 


YIsrael 55 Sie +Israel Luc 252» δ aa> Se Ὁ δε 64 coc 7 4 Tryphon Luc ee> 7 
"city Α +of Judah Luc 


XIII. 1. Simon. The last survivor of the five Maccabaean brothers. He completed the work so brilliantly carried 
out by Jonathan, and made his people entirely independent of the Syrian kings. 
3. which we have seen. i.e. experienced ; ἰδεῖν is used in this sense like MN7, see Jer. v. 12, xiv. 13, &c. 
4. my brethren have perished. According to the general belief Jonathan had been murdered, but he was still 
alive at this time, see vv. 12, 23. 
Ialone am left. Cp. the words of Elijah, 1 Kings xviii. 22. 
5. Lam not better ... Cp. the similar words of Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 4. 
7. the spirit . . . revived. Cp. Gen. xlv. 27 ἀνεζωπύρησε τὸ πνεῦμα ᾿Ιακώβ. 
9. and 411} ἐπαξ... Cp. Exod. xix. 8; Joshua i. 16. 
10. to finish the walls ... This work had been begun by Jonathan, see xii. 36, 37. 
11. Absalom. Cp. xi. 70. 
__ ++: to Joppa... Cp. xii. 33, according to which Joppa was already in possession of the Jews ; Josephus (Avtig. 
XIII. vi. 4) makes the matter clear: ‘And sent... Jonathan the son of Absalom, to Joppa, and gave him command 
to cast out the inhabitants out of the city, for he was afraid lest they should deliver up the city to Trypho.’ 
13. Adida. See note on xii. 38. 
the plain. πεδίον here, in xii. 38 σεφηλά. 
14. to join battle with him. For the Greek phrase cp. Deut. 11. 14 (Sept.). 
15. the king’s treasure. i.e. the royal treasury, cp. 2 Macc. iii. 13. 
the offices which ... Cp. x. 65, xi. 63. 
20. he went round about by the way. Cp. 1 Kings iii, 9 (Sept.); κυκλοῦν ὁδόν = ΠῚ 2D (Grimm), ie. he 
purposely made a détour by way of Adora. ἣν 
Adora. Adoraim in the O.T., cp. 2 Chron 


: : . X1. 9, one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam, the modern Diva 
(Josephus calls it Dora, Aztig. XIII. vii. 2) 


, five miles south-west of Hebron. 
114 


I MACCABEES 18, 21-32 


[τ and Simon and his army marched over against him to whatsoever place he went. Now they of the 
| citadel sent * unto Tryphon 8 ambassadors, hastening him to come ἢ unto them through the wilderness, 
}2 and to send them victuals". And Tryphon made ready all his horse to come; and in that night 

there fell ia great quantity of snow, and he did not (find it possible to) come because of the snow ; 
3 so he removed, and came into the country of Gilead. But when he came near to Bascama, he slew 
4 Jonathan, and he was buried there. And Tryphon returned, and went away into his own land. 


XIII. 25-30. Fonathan’s sepulchre at Modin. 


5 And Simon sent, and took the bones of Jonathan his brother, and buried him * at Modin, the city 
'6 of his fathers. And ‘all Israel! made great™ lamentation over him, "and mourned for him many 
7 days". And Simon built (a monument) upon the sepulchre of his father and of his brethren, and 
raised it aloft, °so that it could be seen ὃ (from afar); (he built it) with polished stone behind and 
18 before. And he set up” seven pyramids, ‘one over against another, for (his) father, and mother, and 
[9 four brethren’, And *for these* he made cunning devices, setting about them® great pillars, 
and upon the pillars he fashioned “all manner of arms" for a perpetual memory, and beside "the 
oarms" ‘carved ships’, that they should be seen of all that sail on the sea. This is the sepulchre 
which he made at Modin, (and it is there) unto this day. 


XIII. 31-42. Murder of Antiochus. Treaty between Simon and Demetrius 77) 


}2 Now Tryphon dealt deceitfully with the young” king * Antiochus, and slew him, and reigned in 
his stead, and put on himself the diadem of Asia, and brought great calamity upon the land. 


ΕΞ» h-b> 71 i> 35, Kthem T.R. 1-1 they 71 m> Luc nS 70 °-° Zt, to the sight 
P +upon it 55 Luc angio 1 7,1 εν Eee 84 four L 55 τ uu panoplies ΟΖ. propitiatory 
offerings 958 (?) ΥΟῪ various carved things A +he set up Sve W great 64 93 x> Se 


marched over against him. i.e. marched parallel with him, Simon in the mountain country and Tryphon in 
the plain. 

21. hastening. For the Greek κατασπεύδειν cp. Sept. of Exod. v. 13 (‘ And the taskmasters were urgent . . .’). 

22. because of the snow. It is but rarely that snow falls south of Hebron, though it is not altogether unknown 
even so low down south as that; see further, Nowack, Hebr. Archdologie, i. 49. 

23. Bascama. This place is not mentioned elsewhere, its position is quite uncertain ; see, further, Buhl, Geographie 
des alten Palastina, p. 241. 

25. Modin. See note on ii. 1. 

26. great lamentation. Cp. ii. 70, ix. 20. 

27. the sepulchre ... ‘Ever since, in the fourth century B.C., Artemisia, widow of Mausolus, King of Caria, 
erected at Halicarnassus a stately monument to his memory—hence the word sazsoleum—the custom of building 
similar sepulchred edifices had been spreading in the East’ (Fairweather and Black, of. cit¢., p. 230). 

28. seven pyramids. Josephus (Av/zg. XIII. vi. 6) says that these had ‘ been preserved to this day’; he seems to 
be referring to some additional source of knowledge in adding: ‘And we know that it was Simon who bestowed so 
much zeal about the burial of Jonathan, and the building of these monuments for his relations ;’ cp. in v. 30 the words 
‘unto this day’. The seventh pyramid Simon presumably set up for himself. 

29. carved ships. Josephus makes no mention of these. 

30. unto this day. Concerning the bearing of this on the date of the book see 7727. ὃ 4. Grimm quotes Eusebius, 
who says in his Onomasticon: ‘Modeim ... unde fuerunt Maccabaei, quorum hodieque ibidem sepulchra mon- 
strantur.’ 

31. and slew him, and reigned in his stead. ‘There are coins of Antiochus VI from 167 to 170 of the Seleucid 
era, or from 146-145 to 143-142 B.c. Coins of Trypho bear the number of the years III and IV, Josephus assigns to 
the reign of Antiochus VI a period of four years, and to Trypho a period of three years (Av/zg. XIII. vii. 1, 2). This is in 
agreement with the statement of Porphyry, who gives to Demetrius, before his imprisonment, only a three years’ reign 
(Eusebius, Ciroz., ed. Schoene, i. 257, 263 ff.), from Olympiad 160. 1, which is really Olym. 159. 4, or 141-140 B.C., 
to Olympiad 160. 3, or 138-137 B.C. Porphyry evidently reckons the reign of Demetrius as beginning with the 
displacement by conquest or murder of Antiochus VI. In thorough accord with this, too, is the chronology of 
I Macc. xiii. 31-41, which unhesitatingly assigns the murder of Antiochus by Trypho to the Seleucid year 170, or 
143-142 B.C. Finally, it is no serious discrepancy when, in 1 Macc. xiv. 1 the Parthian campaign of Demetrius is 
dated from the Seleucid year 172, or 141-140 B.C.; while Porphyry, on the other hand, assigns it to Olympiad 160. 2, 
Or 139-138 B.c. In direct contradiction, however, with the foregoing, stands the statement made by many writers 
(Josephus, An/ig. XIII. v. 11, vii.1; Appian, Sy7.67, 68; Justin. xxxvi. 1), that Antiochus was not murdered by Trypho 
before the time of the Parthian campaign by Demetrius, and indeed not till after Demetrius had been taken prisoner. 
This, however, is in opposition not only to the chronology of 1 Macc., but also to the circumstance that then there is 
not left a three or four years’ reign for Trypho, which yet, according to Josephus and the coins, must be admitted. 
Then Trypho’s death occurs almost contemporaneously with the seizure of Demetrius by the Parthians in 138 B.C... . 
It therefore seems to me hazardous to assume, with many modern critics, that the last-named authorities should have 
precedence over 1 Macc.’ (Schiirer, of. ci¢. i. 1, pp. 176f.). Regarding the death of Antiochus, Grimm quotes Livy 
(Zpct. 55) to the effect that ‘Alexandri filius, rex Syriae, decem annos admodum habens, a Diodoto, qui Tryphon 
cognominabatur, tutore suo, per fraudem occisus est, corruptis medicis, qui eum calculi dolore consumi ad populum 
mentiti, dum secant, occiderunt.’ 

32. Asia. See note on xi. 13. 

115 12 


I MACCABEES 18. 33-50 


33. And Simon built the strongholds’ of Judaea, and fenced (them) about with high towers, and great : 
34 νν8}15 5, ἀπ gates, and bars; and he laid up victuals in the strongholds. , And σῖτος chose men, and 
sent to king Demetrius, to the end he should give the country an immunity, because all that 
35 Tryphon did was to plunder*. And king Demetrius sent unto him according to these words, and 
36 answered him, and wrote a letter unto him, after this manner ἢ: ‘King Beets unto Simon the 
37 high-priest and Friend of kings *,4and unto the elders and nation of the Jews“, greeting. The golden” 
crown, and the palm-branch®, which ye sent, we have received; and we are ready to conclude © 
38 a lasting peace with you, and to write to the officers to grant iieveommases unto you. * And whatsoever 
things we (have now) confirmed unto you, they are confirmed*; and the strongholds which ye have 
39 builded, ® let them be your own, "As for any oversights and faults (committed) unto this day, we 
forgive (them')"; and the crown which ye owed* (we remit); and if there were any other toll 
40 exacted in Jerusalem, ‘let it no longer be exacted!. And if (there be) some of you meet to ΕΝ 
enrolled among those round about us, let them be enrolled ; and (thus) let there be peace betwixt 
41 us.” ™In the one hundred and seventieth year (therefore) was the yoke of the heathen taken away Ἱ 
42 from Israel™. And the people of Israel” began to write in their instruments and contracts: °° In 
the first year° of Simon the great high-priest and captain? and leader of the Jews. 


XIII. 43-53. Stmon captures Gasara and the citadel of Ferusalem. 


43 In those days he 4 encamped against Gazara*, and compassed it round about * with armies; and he 
44 made ‘an engine of siege *, and brought it up ® to the city, and smote one tower, and took it®. Α And 
they that were in the engine of siege leaped forth into the city; and there was a great uproar in the — 
45 city; and they of the city rent their clothes, and went up ἡ on the wall” with their wives and children, 
46 and cried with a loud voice, making request to Simon to give them right hands. And they said : 
47 ‘Deal not with us according to our wickednesses, but according to thy mercy. And Simon was 
reconciled unto them, and did not fight against them; but he drove them out of the city, and cleansed 
the houses wherein the idols were, and so entered into it with *singing and giving of praise*¥. 
48 And he put all uncleanness out of it*, and caused to dwell in it men who observed the Law; and 
he made it stronger (than it was before), and he built therein a dwelling-place for himself. : 
49 But they of the citadel of Jerusalem were hindered from going forth, *?and from going * into the 
country’, “and from buying and selling°; and they hungered exceedingly, and many of them 
50 perished through famine. And they cried out to Simon “to take right hands; which thing he 
granted them’; but he cast them out from thence; and he cleansed the citadel from pollutions. 


7 stronghold A 2 +and towers A Sap b-b And he sent unto him a writing thus 71 © of the king Slue 
t4@>71 ©palm-branched 8 embassy 93 so probably Ze ΝΠ Προ (‘robe’) being a mistake for xmimdes (‘ embassy’) 
ff> 71 £8 they are & hbh>7I iyou A Kowe V2 1-15»}71 Τα της n> V 64 93 
CUS oft HL 4Simon T.R. Twith Josephus, Antig. XIII. vi. 7; Bell. Jud. 1. ἢ. 2; Gaza all the MSS. 
and Versions, wrongly ss>71 ΤΌΣΑ a strong wooden tower S!"¢ ; 77 $8 the Gk. ἐς transliterated the 
city Suc VV> 19 93 Sluc Wthen $8 Κ', ΠΡΟΣ ΣΡ ¥+to God V 3» CS aa ἈΠ 5 
Ss Es CSS it | CSS 

33. And Simon built ... Simon was not slow to utilize the opportunity for strengthening his own position which 


the struggle for the Syrian throne afforded him. 
34. And Simon chose men ... This is not mentioned by Josephus. 
36. King Demetrius ... On this letter see Zwtr. § 7. ii. (e). 
the elders. See note on xii. 6. 

37. the palm-branch. So critical note. The reading βάϊν is to be preferred, βαϊνήν of Cod. δὲ being most likely - 
due to the following ἥν, cp. 2 Macc. xiv. 4, where it is said that ‘a chaplet of gold and a palm’ (φοίνικα) were presented 
to Demetrius. The reference here is most likely to a sceptre the top of which was shaped into palm-leaves. In the 
O.T. the palm-tree is referred to as a symbol of prosperity (cp. Ps. xcii. 12); it is with this signification that it is 
depicted on some Jewish coins, see De Saulcy, Numismatique Juive, P\.1, fig. 6; Madden, Coins of the Jews, p. 71. 

to grant immunities ... Cp. x. 28-35. 


39. the crown... Cp.x. 29. 
41. In the one hundred and seventieth year. i.e. 143-142 B.C. 
42. And the people of Israel began to write ... On the importance of the study of numismatics in connexion 


with this statement see Schiirer, of. εἶδ. i. 1, pp. 257 ff., and his Appendix IV. 
43. Gazara. See critical note. For the correctness of this reading see v. 53; xiv. 7, 34; xv. 28; xvi. I. On 
Gazara see note on iv. 15. On the situation of Gazara, Eusebius, Ovom., ed. Lagarde, p. 244 (quoted by Schiirer, 
op. cit.i. 1, p. 261), remarks: καὶ νῦν καλεῖται Γάζαρα κώμη Νικοπόλεως ἀπέχουσα σημείοις δ᾽ ἐν βορείοις. It is the modern 
Tell-Jezer discovered by Clermont-Ganneau in 1873, and excavated by the Pal. Explor. Fund during the years 
1902-9 ; see the ‘Quarterly Statement’ for these years. 
an engine of siege. ἑλέπολις (see critical note); on this machine see Smith’s Dict. of Class. Antig., 5. ν. 
46. Deal not withus ... Cp. Isa. i. 16 (Sept.); Jer. xxxiii. 5. 


116 


I MACCABEES 18. 51—14. 9 


τ And he® entered into it f on the three and twentieth day of the second" month, in the one hundred 
| and seventy-first year*, with praise, and palm-branches, ‘and with harps and with cymbals, * and 
with viols, and with hymns *, and with songs'; because a great! enemy had been destroyed out of 
jz Israel™, And he ordained that they should keep that day every year ™ with gladness". ὁ And the 
| hill of the temple that was by the citadel he made stronger (than it was before) ; and he dwelt there, 
3 (both) he and his men®. And Simon saw that John his son was (grown to be) a man, and he made 
him leader of all his forces; and he dwelt at Gazara. 


XIV. 1-3. Demetrius [1 imprisoned by Arsaces, king of Persia. 


1 Inthe one hundred and seventy-second year Demetrius the king gathered his forces together, and 
2 went into Media, to get him help, that he might fight against Tryphon. And (when) Arsaces, the 
king of Persia >and Media®, heard that Demetrius was come into his borders, he sent one of his leaders 
3 to take him alive; and he went and smote the army of Demetrius, and took him, and brought him to 
Arsaces; °and he put him in ward”. 


14 


XIV. 4-15. Simon's beneficent rule; an ode in his honour. 


4 And the land® had rest all the days of Simon; and he sought the good of his nation; and his 
5 authority 4and his glory was well-pleasing to them “all his days’. And ‘in addition to all his 
(other) glory (was this that) he took Joppa for a haven, and made it a place of entry for the ships ° 
of the sea. 
6 And he enlarged the borders of his nation, 
* And ruled over the land‘. 
7. And he gathered together 8 many that had been in captivity °, 
And he ruled over Gazara, and Bethsura, ‘and the citadel. 
And he took away uncleannesses therefrom ἢ", 
. And there was none that could resist him. 
8 And they tilled their land in peace ; 
And the land gave her increase, 
And the trees of the plains their fruit. 
9 Old men sat in the streets }, 
k All spoke together of the (common) weal *, 
And the young men put on glorious and! warlike apparel. 


&they δὲ 19 93 Sluc f the citadel Luc 8-8 >71 h> 19 93 Sue 1-1:»}71 BLS SEG 1>64 
™ Jerusalem V +and no enemy rose up any more to fight Luc Sue ls Js WAS σὴ] 

SING SASF)! b-b> B® (hab NC) C+ofJudahNVig55SH 4:4». γ1] ®Luc 35; isles αἱ other 
authorities tt 71 8-ὃ much treasure S$ h from them 64 93 iassemblies δὲ (streets δὲ 6:8) ΚΕ» 71 


1+not Luc 38 


51. the three and twentieth day... The 23rd of Iyyar (= Ziv in O.T., cp. 1 Kings vi. 1) 171 = the 23rd May 
142 B.C. 

palm-branches. Cp. 2 Macc. x. 7; John xii. 13. 

with harps... Cp. iv. 54. 

52. And he ordained... This feast is referred to in Megillath Ta‘anith (‘The scroll of Fasting’, so called 
because fasting is forbidden on the days enumerated), ch. ii, which enumerates thirty-five days of joy in Jewish 
history which were kept as feast-days; it was compiled about the beginning of the Christian era. Possibly this feast 
is included in the words contained in Judith viii. 6, but it has long ceased to be celebrated, 

And the hill of the temple . . . On this statement, and that of Josephus (Awéig. XIII. vi. 7), that Simon had the 
hill on which the citadel stood removed, in order that the Temple might stand higher than any other building in 
Jerusalem, see Schiirer, of. czz, i. 1, p. 263. 

53. John. i.e. John Hyrcanus I. 


XIV. 1. one hundred and seventy-second year. On the Parthian expedition see note on xiii. 31. 
2. Arsaces. i.e. Mithridates I, king of the Parthians. The name Arsaces was assumed by all the kings of 
Parthia after the founder of the Empire of this name. 

7. Gazara... Cp. iv. 29, xili. 43, 49-51. 
8. they tilled ... Cp. Lev. xxvi. 4; Ezek. xxxiv. 27. 

the land gave ... Cp. Zech. vill. 12. 

the trees... Cp. Deut. viii. 8; Hag. ii. 19. 
g. Old men ... Cp. Zech. viii. 4, 5. 

117 


19, 


I MACCABEES 14. 10-27 


το For the cities he provided victuals, 
m And furnished® them with defensive works, 
Until his glorious name was proclaimed to the end of the earth. 
tr He made peace in the land, 
And Israel rejoiced with great joy. 
12 And each sat under his vine ° and his fig tree®, 
And there was none to make them afraid™ ; 
13 And no one was left in the land to fight them 
P And the% kings were discomfited in those days. 
14 And he strengthened all that were brought low of his people ; 
He sought out the Law, 
And put away the lawless and wicked. 
* He glorified the sanctuary ἢ, 
And multiplied τ the® vessels of the Temple. 


XIV. 16-24. Renewal of the alliance with Rome. 


16 And (when) tit was heard* in Rome that Jonathan was dead, “and” (even) unto Sparta”, they 
17 were exceeding sorry. But as soon as they heard that his brother Simon was made high-priest "in 
18 his stead, and ruled the country, and the cities therein ἃ, they wrote unto him on tablets of brass, to 


renew with him the friendship and the confederacy which they had established with "Judas ἀπά ας 
20 Jonathan “his brethren"; and they were read before the congregation in Jerusalem. And thisis the — 


3 


copy of the letter which the Spartans sent : ‘ The rulers and the city‘Y of the Spartans, unto Simon the” 
high-priest, and unto the elders, “and the priests, and the rest of the people of the Jews, (who are) 
1 brethren", greeting ; "The ambassadors that were sent unto our people made report to us of your * 
2 glory and honour ; and" we were glad for their coming. And we did register the things that were 
spoken by them in the public records, after this manner: Numenius, son of Antiochus, and Anti- 
pator, son of Jason, the Jews’ ambassadors, came unto us to renew the friendship they had with us. 
23 And it pleased the people to receive the men honourably, and to place the copy of their words 
among the public records, to the end that the people of the Spartans might have a memorial thereof.’ 
24 Moreover they ¥ wrote a copy of these things unto Simon the high-priest. After this Simon sent 
Numenius to Rome having a great shield of gold of a thousand pound weight’, in order to confirm 
the confederacy with them, 


2 
2 


XIV. 25-49. The hereditary High-priesthood conferred upon Simon; a memorial tablet 
to Simon and the Maccabaeans is set up in the Temple. 


25 But when the people heard these things, they said: ‘ What thanks shall we give to Simon * and his 
26sons? For he, and his brethren, and his father’s house have » made themselves strong”, and have 
chased away in fight the enemies® of Israel from them, “and established liberty for it*’ And they 
27 wrote on tablets of brass, and set them upon a pillar ° in mount Zion. ‘And this is the copy of the 
writing : ‘On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year—that is the 


m-m > 71 2 strengthened Sluc o-O>N P-P>7I 4 their A ΣΕΥ τς 53 And the δὶ tt he heard A 
they heard Luc 55 71 Ba SS Fil Vv +it was heard Luc YY cities 3.1 Sluc Ww +great Luc 55 * peace and 
yourLuc YweV93 4%>S8 ®-+thehigh priest Se > Pacted valiantly Sue Cthesons64 4 4and 
they gave the inheritance to Simon and established (him) Luc, making ‘the people’ in v. 25 the subject 
© pillars 8 V ft 71 Ξ 


12. each sat under... Cp.1 Kings iv. 25; Mic. iv. 4; Zech. iii. τὸ; 
And there was none... Cp. Deut. xxviii. 26; Jer. vii. 33; Zech. i. 21. 
14. allthat were brought low. πάντας τοὺς ταπεινούς ; cp. Ps. xvii. 28; Isa. xiv. 32; Amos ii. 7 (all in Sept.). 
He sought out the Law. Cp. Ps. civ. 45 (Sept.). 
16. and (even) unto Sparta. See 7γ2γ. § 7. iii. (6). 
18. the friendship and the confederacy ... Cp. viii. 17-30, xii. 1-4. 
20. The rulers and... On this letter see Ztr. § 7. iii. (ὁ). The rulers were the Zfxors ever since the year 
192 B.C., when Nabis, the last of the ‘tyrants’, was murdered. 
22. Numenius. Cp. xii. 16. 
24. After this... See Jntr. § 7. iii. (c). 
a thousand pound weight. An obvious exaggeration, cp. xv. 18. 
27. Elul. The sixth month in the sacred year (= September approximately) ; cp. Neh. vi. 15. 
the one hundred and seventy-second year = 141 B.C. 


118 


I MACCABEES 14, 28-41 


8 third year of Simon § the ἢ high-priest *, ‘and the prince of the people of God‘—in a great congre- 
gation of priests and people and princes of the nation, and of the elders of the country, * (the following) 

g was promulgated by us *; Forasmuch as oftentimes there have been wars in the country ‘, Simon the 
son of Mattathias, ‘the son of the children of Joarib ‘, and his brethren, put themselves in jeopardy, 
and withstood the enemies of their nation, that their sanctuary and the Law might be upheld; and 
o they glorified their nation with great glory. 'And Jonathan assembled their™ nation together!, and 
1 became high-priest to them ; and he was gathered to his people. Then their enemies determined to 
invade their country, "that they might destroy their country utterly", and stretch forth their hands 
)2 against their sanctuary. Then rose up Simon and fought for his nation; and he spent much of his own 
.3 substance, and armed the° valiant men of his nation, and gave them wages. And he fortified the cities 
of Judaea, and Bethsura (that lieth) upon the borders of Judaea, where the arms of the enemies were 
,4 aforetime, and set there a garrison of Jews. ” And he fortified Joppa which is by the sea, and Gazara 
which is upon the borders of Azotus, wherein the enemies dwelt aforetime ; and he placed Jews there”, 
ἢ) 5 and whatsoever things were needful for the sustenance of these he put in them. And (when) the 
people saw the faith * of Simon, and the glory which he sought to bring unto his nation, they made him 
their leader ?and high-priest, because he had done all these things, and because of the justice and the 
36 faith which he kept to his nation, and because he sought by all means to exalt his people”. And in 
his days things prospered in his hands’, so that the Gentiles were taken away out of their (the 
Jews’) country ; and they also that were in the city of David, they that were in Jerusalem, who had 
made themselves a citadel, out of which they issued, and polluted all things round about the sanc- 
37 tuary, and did great hurt unto its purity (these did he expel)'; and he made Jews to dwell therein, 
and fortified it for the safety of the country and of the city; and he made high the walls of Jeru- 
38 salem. And king Demetrius confirmed him in the high-priesthood "in consequence of these things ", 
610 and made him one of his Friends, Yand honoured him with great honour’. For “he had heard τ 
| that the Jews had been proclaimed by the Romans friends, and confederates, Yand brethren’, and 
41 that they had met the ambassadors of Simon honourably. And* the Jews and the priests were well 
pleased that Simon should be their leader and high-priest ἡ for ever, until a faithful prophet should 


5.8.» Sluc h +oreat δ V Luc 55 τὴ Asaramel (Saramel A = by py 2) G the prince of Israel S 
kk he made known tous N A V ἅς. we made known to you Luc S'"¢ these things were made known & (= Yin) 
Tele NTT mhis V Sluc 7.1 n-2 > N* (fab N°) V Chis δὲ DEP 71 4 nourishment and susten- 
ance Slue Tdeeds Suc #1 +deeds V 8 +and fortified Jerusalem 71 ao Ak uu /7¢, according to 
these things; > 71 Slue ES ol w-w it had been heard A Luc 71 *71; all other authorities add that 


the third year... Cp. xiii. 42. 

28. the prince of the people of God. Greek ἐν Σαραμέλ, see critical note, where, however, the meaning of this 
expression given does not account for the ἐν; Schiirer thinks that this represents the remains of ceyey (= Δ, the 
Hebr. for στρατηγός [τοῦ ἱεροῦ], cp. Jer. li. 23, 28, 57; Ezek. xxiii. 6, 12,23; Ezra ix. 2; Neh. 11]. τό, iv. 8, xii. 40, 
xiii. 113 Dan. iii. 2, 27, vi. 8; Acts iv. 1), of. cet. i. 1. 265; ii. 1.258 f.; but, in this case, what has become of the cey ? 
It seems more natural to follow Wernsdorf (quoted by Grimm and Kautzsch) and see in capapeA the transliteration of 


bx Dy “Ww, ‘ Prince of the people of God’; the translator, assuming that this was the name of a place, would then 
have inserted ἐν. The difficulty here is the mention of God, which is uniformly avoided in this book; it may, 


therefore, be that the Syriac Version has retained the original reading, ‘a prince of Israel,’ Sy Ww); the Hebrew 
script in use before the square characters were introduced might easily account for reading an m (!9) for the second 
s (Ὁ); the translator, who was obviously puzzled, may also have taken exception, through ignorance, to the 
repeated "Ww. 
was promulgated by us. See critical note. 
29. Joarib. Cp. ii. 1. 
33. Bethsura. Cp. iv. 29. 
34. he fortified Joppa. Cp. xii. 33, 34. ; ; ᾿ 
Gazara ... upon the borders of Azotus. Cp. xili. 43-8. This is a mistake as Gazara was 17 miles distant 
from Ashdod; Grimm thinks the error is due to the translator. 
wherein. <7... ἐκεῖ, α Hebraism; cp. e.g. Deut. iv. 5. 14, 26, ἡ γῆ εἰς ἣν ὑμεῖς εἰσπορεύεσθε ἐκεῖ; and often. ν 
35. they made him... But cp. xiii. ὃ ff.; on the chronological discrepancies between the details given in this 
letter and those in xi. 16-xiv. 24 see Jnr. § 7. 11]. iv : : ἫΝ 
40. and brethren. σύμμαχοι is the more usual expression, cp. v. 18, vill, 20, xv. 17; ἀδελφοί is scarcely original. 
41. leader and high-priest. Simon has three official titles: ἀρχιερεύς, as spiritual ruler; orparnyds, as military 
chief; and ἐθνάρχης, as civil governor ; see xiii. 42, and τ. 47 of this chap., cp. also xv. 1, 2. 
for ever. i.e. that it should be hereditary in his family. ; ΠΝ ‘ 
until a faithful prophet ... By this is meant that ‘this popular decree should remain in force until an 
authentic communication from God should make some other enactment. . . . The significance of this popular resolution 
lies not so much in the fact that it conveyed to him (Simon) any new dignity, but rather in this, that it legitimized and 
pronounced hereditary those dignities which he already had. In this way a new high-priestly and princely dignity 
was founded, that of the Asmoneans’ (Schiirer, of. c7¢. i. 1, p. 265). 


119 


I MACCABEES 14. 42—15. 14 


42 arise’; and that he should be a captain over them’, to set them over their works, and over the country, 
43 and over the arms, and over the strongholds, and that he should take charge of the sanctuary, and 
that he should be obeyed by all, and that all instruments in the country should be written in his 
44 name’, and that he should be clothed in purple, and wear gold; and that it should not be lawful for 
anyone among the people or among the priests to set at nought any of these things, or to gainsay 
the things spoken by him, or to gather an assembly * in the country ἡ without him, or that any (other) 
45 should be clothed in purple, or wear a buckle of gold ; **but that whosoever should do otherwise, 
46 or set at nought any of these things, should be liable to punishment**. And all the people con- 
47 sented to ordain »» for Simon that it should be done according to these words. And Simon accepted 
(hereof), and consented to fill the office of high-priest, and to be captain and governor of the Jews 
1 and of the priests, and to preside over all matters **.’ 
48 And they commanded to put this writing on tablets of brass, and to set them up within ° the 
49 precinct of © the sanctuary in a conspicuous “" place ; and copies of this (they caused) to be placed in 
the treasury, to the end that Simon and his sons might have them. 


XV. 1-9. Antiochus VII (Sidetes) seeks the throne, and solicits the help of Simon. 


15:1 And Antiochus, son of Demetrius the king, sent letters from the isles of the sea unto Simon the 
2 priest * and governor of the Jews, and to all the nation’; “and the contents thereof were after this 
manner °: 

‘King Antiochus to Simon the high-priest and governor, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting : 

3 Forasmuch as pestilent fellows have made themselves masters of the kingdom of our 4 fathers, and my 

purpose is to claim the kingdom, that I may restore it “as before,—I have, moreover, raised a mul- 

4 titude of foreign soldiers, and have prepared ships of war °, and I have determined to land in the country, 

that I may punish them that have devastated our country, and them that have made many cities in the ὃ 

5 kingdom desolate,—I therefore (herewith) confirm ‘unto thee‘ (the release from) all the exactions which 

6 the kings that were before me remitted unto thee, °and whatsoever gifts® besides they remitted unto 

7 thee; "and I give thee leave» ‘to coin money * for thy country * with thine own stamp‘. And Jeru- 

salem and the sanctuary shall be free ; *and all the arms which thou hast prepared °, and the strongholds 

8 which thou hast built, which thou hast in thy possession °, let them remain unto thee. And everything 

owing to the king, and the things that shall be owing to the king, let them be remitted unto thee 

9 from now and unto all time’. Moreover, when we shall have established™ our kingdom, we will 

glorify thee and thy nation and "the Temple with great glory*,so that your glory shall be made 
manifest in all the earth.’ 


XV. 10-14. Antiochus VII besieges Tryphon in Dor. 


ro In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year Antiochus went forth into the land of his fathers; 

tr and all the forces came together unto him, so that there were (but) few men® with Tryphon. And 

12 king Antiochus pursued him, and in fleeing he? came to Dor, which is by the sea; for he perceived 

13 that 4 troubles were come upon him, and that his forces had forsaken him. And Antiochus encamped 
against Dor, and with him a hundred and twenty thousand men of war, and eight thousand horse. 

14 And he compassed the city round about, * and the ships joined in the attack from the sea; and he 
pressed the city sore* by land *and 568 ", and suffered no man to go gut or in. 


¥ +and should take charge of the sanctuary &@ Sue W145 ¢hese words have crept into the text by mistake, they occur 


again in the next verse 17:5» Sue COBB SS Fil bb + these things 64 93 CO=GBS> She dd safe A 
XV. *high-priest 5564 Ρ +of the Jews 71 O58 Ss Git dmy 55 Sluc ®my 8 V Ua Se S/he 
# exactions ANY nS  α **to make laws and to put forth decrees according to thine own will $uec = k-k > Sluc 
> 71 ™ obtained 3.1 ἈΠῸ our Temple 55 ° + that were left T.R. P Tryphon 64 93 4 + all Luc 
r-I>N 88> Sluc i 
43. . . . clothed in purple, and wear gold. Cp. viii. 14, x. 20, 89, and v. 44 of this chap. 


49. in the treasury. Cp. 2 Macc. iii. 6, 28, v. 18; John viii. 20. 


XV. 1. Antiochus. Called Side¢es on account of his having been brought up in the city of Séde in Pamphylia 
(cp. v.23). According to Josephus (Avtzg. XIII. viii. 2), he was also called the ‘ Pious’ (Εὐσεβής), because of ‘ the great 
zeal he had concerning religion’. He was the seventh of the name; son of Demetrius I, and brother of Demetrius II. 

from the isles of the sea. Schiirer quotes Appian, Sy7. c. 68, to the effect that while at Rhodes Antiochus 
learned of his brother's captivity (πυθόμενος ἐν Ῥόδῳ περὶ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας). 

2. the contents thereof... On this letter see Zzér. ὃ γε 11: (7): 

6. to coin money ... See Schiirer, of. ci. i. I, pp. 257-60. 

1o. In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year. 1.€. 139-138 B.C. 


Ἑ 11. Dor. Cp. Joshua xi. 2, xii. 23, xvii. 11; Judges i. 27; an ancient Phoenician town on the Mediterranean coast, 
about nine miles north of Caesarea; the modern 7antura. 


120 


I MACCABEES 15. 15—34 


XV. 15-24. The return of the Fewish envoys from Rome. 


5 And Numenius and his company came from Rome, having letters to the kings, and to the coun- 
tries, wherein were written these things : 
67 ‘Lucius, consul of the Romans, unto king Ptolemy, greeting: The Jews’ ambassadors came unto 
__us (as) our friends and confederates, to renew the old friendship and confederacy, being sent from 
8 Simon the high-priest, ‘and from the people of the Jews*; moreover, they brought a shield of gold 
ὁ of a thousand" pound’. It pleased us, therefore, to write unto the kings and unto the countries, 
“that they should not seek their hurt, nor fight against them”, * and their cities, and their country’, 
»o nor be confederates with such as fight against them*. And it seemed good to us to accept the 
εἰ Shield from them. If, therefore, any pestilent fellows should have fled from their country unto 
you, deliver them unto Simon the high-priest, that he may take vengeance on them according to 
their law.’ 
22 And the same things wrote he to Demetrius the king, and to Attalus, and to Ariarathes%, and to 
3 Arsaces, and unto all the countries, and to Sampsames*, and to the Spartans, and unto Delos, and 
unto Myndos, and unto Sicyon, and unto Caria”, and unto Samos, and unto Pamphylia, and unto 
Lycia, and unto Halicarnassus, and unto Rhodes, and unto Phaselis, and unto Cos, and unto Side, and 
24 unto Aradus, and Gortyna, and Cnidus, and Cyprusand Cyrene*®. And a copy hereof they wrote to 
Simon the high-priest. 


XV. 25-41. Antiochus VII breaks his covenant with Simon. 


25 And Antiochus the king encamped against Dor the second (day)4, bringing his forces up to it 
26 continually, and making engines (of war); and he shut up Tryphon® from going in or out. And 
Simon sent him two thousand chosen men to fight for him, and silver and gold, and instruments (of 
27 war) in abundance. But he would not receive them, ‘but set at nought everything that he had 
28 previously covenanted 5 with him*'; "and he was estranged from him". And he sent unto him 
Athenobius, one of his Friends, to commune with him, saying; ‘Ye hold possession of Joppa and 
29 Gazara, and the citadel that is in Jerusalem, ‘cities of my kingdom. The borders thereof have ye 
wasted, and done great hurt in the land‘, and have got the dominion of many places in my kingdom. 
bo Now, therefore, deliver up the cities which ye have taken, ‘and the tributes of the places whereof ye 
31 have gotten dominion outside of the borders of Judaea'; or else give me for them five hundred talents 
| of silver; and for the harm that ye have done, and the tributes of the cities, other five hundred 
32 talents ; otherwise we‘ will come and make war upon you.’ And (when) Athenobius, the king’s 
Friend, came to Jerusalem, and saw the glory of Simon, and the* cabinet with gold and silver vessels, 

33 and his great attendance, !he was amazed!, and reported to him™ the king’s words. And Simon 
“answered, and” said unto him: ‘ We have neither taken other men’s land, nor have we possession 
of that which appertaineth to others, but of the inheritance of our fathers ; "howbeit, it was had in 
34 possession of our enemies wrongfully for a certain time™. But we, having (taken) the opportunity, 


USS oil ἃ five thousand A 55 Ytalents 55 Wow > N (200 N°) 55 xX >7I J countries A.93 Slvc 31 


2 Arathes A 55 71 @Sampsaces A S't¢ Lampsacus i > Caris A © Smyrna V ἃ expressed only in N*® 
Luc © +from all sides Sluc ESS Fat Be > Slve Was 55 ithey A k + golden Luc Slve 
1" Sluc mthem A Simon Luc a-u> 71 

16. Lucius ... On this letter see /7ér. § 7. ii. (c). 


Ptolemy. ‘The seventh of the name; Euergetes II, Physcon; he reigned jointly with his brother, Ptolemy VI, 

Philometor, 170-164 B.C., and alone from 164-117. 
22. Attalus. King of Pergamum, but uncertain whether the first or second of the name (Grimm). 
Ariarathes. The fifth of the name, king of Cappadocia, 162-130 B.C. 
- Arsaces. Mithridates I, king of Parthia; see note on xiv. 2. 
23. Sampsames. Possibly the harbour on the Black Sea between Sinope and Trebizond, but uncertain. 

Delos. This and Samos are islands in the Archipelago. ; 

Myndos. Like Halicarnassus and Cnidus, in Caria, the country on the south-west coast of Asia Minor. 

Sicyon. On the north coast of the Peloponnesus, west of Corinth. ; at 

Pamphylia. The country on the coast of Asia Minor between Lycia and Cilicia; Side is a sea-port of 
Pamphylia. 

Rhodes. The island lying south off the coast of Caria. 

Phaselis. A city on the coast of Lycia. 

Cos. An island lying off the coast of Caria. { 

Aradus. An island close to the Phoenician coast, nearly opposite the mouth of the Eleutherus (see xi. 7). 

Gortyna. A town on the island of Crete. 

Cyrene. The capital of Libya, the country lying to the west of Egypt. τ 

The disordered enumeration of all these shows that the writer’s knowledge of their geographical positions was 
extremely meagre. 

121 


I MACCABEES 15. 35—16. 6 


35 hold fast ° the inheritance ° of our fathers. Nevertheless, as touching Joppa and Gazara which thou 
demandest,—(though it was) they that did great harm among the people and in our land "—we will 
36 give a hundred talents for them.’ And he? answered him not a word, but returned in a rage to them 
king, and reported unto him these words, ® and the glory of Simon, and all things whatsoever he had 
seen"; and the king was exceeding wroth. ; 
37,38 But Tryphon embarked on board a ship, and fled to Orthosia, And the king appointed Cende- 
39 baeus chief captain of the sea-coast, and gave him forces of foot “and horse4; and he commanded 
him to encamp before Judaea ; also *he commanded him” to build up Kedron, rand to fortify ® the 
40 gates**, and that he should fight against the people; but the king pursued _Tryphon. And Cende- 
baeus came to Jamnia, *and began to provoke the people’, and to invade Judaea, and to take “the 
41 people* captive and to slay them. And he" built Kedron, and set horsemen there, and forces of 
foot, to the end that, ’ issuing out, they might make outroads upon the ways of Judaea ‘, according 
as the king had commanded him. 


XVI. 1-10. Fudas and Fohn, the sons of Simon, defeat Cendebacus. = 


16 1,2 And John went up from Gazara, and told Simon, his father, what Cendebaeus was doing. And 
Simon called his two eldest ¥ sons, Judas and John, and said unto them: ‘I and my brethren and my 

5 father’s house have fought the battles of Israel * from our youth, even unto this very day* ; and things 
3 have prospered in our hands, *(so that we were able) to deliver Israel oftentimes*. But now I am 
old, and ye moreover, * by (God’s)¥ mercy®, are of sufficient age* ; be ye (then) instead of me *and 

my brother, and go forth* and fight for our nation ; *and let the help that is from Heaven be with 

4 you*.’ And he** chose * out of the country ® twenty thousand men of war and horsemen ; and they 

5 went against Cendebaeus, and rested at Modin. And rising up in the morning, they went into the 
plain, and, behold, a great host came to meet them, of footmen and horsemen; and there was 

6 a brook betwixt them. And he encamped over against them, *he and his people; and he saw that 


°-° our inheritance and (that) A P Athenobius T.R. στα ΟΣ Vos rer 71 Sto build up N t cities A 
ἃ Cendebaeus Luc Y VY they might fight Judaea 71 


Ws 2 SS Δ] x => 71 Vexpressed in SBS 2> Zluc) | a8 John Luc bb-bb > V 71 


37. Orthosia. A town on the Phoenician coast, north of Tripolis; the name is preserved to the present day, the 
ruins of the ancient town being still called Arthzsz. 

38. Cendebaeus. According to Schiirer (of. cit. i. 1, p. 270) a name derived from Κάνδυβα, a town in Lycia, 
cp. Sidetes, from Side (see v. 1). 4 ‘ 

39. Kedron. Probably identical with Gederoth (Joshua xv. 41), the present Katra, south-west of Ekron, near 
Modin, according to xvi. 4 ff. 

40. Jamnia. See note on iv. 15. 


XVI. 2. his two eldest sons. A third, Mattathias, is mentioned in v. 14. 
things have prospered in our hands. Cp. the Hebr. phrase J 7° YIN ‘to gain success for’. 
3. Tam old. Cp. Joshua xxiii. 2 ΠΡ. 
by (God’s) mercy. ἐν τῷ ἐλέει, again the avoidance of the divine name which is characteristic of this book; 
cp. ‘the help that is from Heaven’ further on in this verse. 
of sufficient age. Lit. ‘sufficient in years’. 
go forth and fight. According to Josephus (Azézg. XIII. vii. 3), Simon himself took the lead: ‘... Taking 
a resolution brisker than his age could well bear, he went like a young man to act as general of his army .. .’ ; this 
is also borne out by the wv. that follow here, in spite of ‘ be ye instead of me’ in this verse. 
4. he chose. Logically ‘Simon’ is the sub 


: ject; ‘John’ of the Lucianic MSS, (see critical note) was presumably 
inserted because of the words, ‘I amold .. .’. 


out of the country. The point of these words is not quite clear (see critical note); the Jews had not yet had 
any idea of employing mercenaries, so that the words cannot be supposed to imply native-born soldiers as distinct 
from foreigners ; nor could they have been new recruits, since they were ‘men of war’, The MSS. which omit the 
words are perhaps justified in doing 50. 

horsemen. This is the first time mention is made of the Maccabees using horsemen, though their use in warfare 
was not new to the Jews (cp. Isa. xxxi. 1, xxxvi. 9; Hos. i. 7; Neh. ii. 9, &c.); that more use had not been made of 
them during the Maccabaean war was due to the method of warfare on the part of the Maccabaeans; it was more 
advantageous for them to adopt mountain warfare. : 

rested. Lit. ‘slept’, = ‘ passed the night’, the Hebr. nd. 

Modin. See note on ii. 1. 

5. they went into the plain. Cp. Job xxxix. τὸ (Sept.). 
a great host. δύναμις πολλή, cp. Ps. Ixxvii. 12 (Sept.). 


to meet them. εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῖς, cp. the same phrase in Gen. xiv. 17 (Sept.), 
a brook. See note on v. 37. 


6. he encamped. See notes on vv. 3, 4. 


his people. ads is used in the sense of an army in Joshua x. 5 (Sept.) for the Hebrew 73ND. 
122 


I MACCABEES 16. 6-21 


| the people were afraid to pass over the brook, so he passed over first *; and (when) the men saw him 

7 (doing this), they passed over after him. And he divided the people, ° and (set) the horsemen in the 
8 midst of the footmen, for the enemies horsemen were exceedingly numerous®. And they sounded 
with the 4 trumpets ; and Cendebaeus and his army were put to the rout, and there fell of them ° 
Ὁ many wounded to death; and they that were left fled to the stronghold. At that time was Judas, 
| John’s brother, wounded ; but John pursued after them, till he came to Kedron, * which [Cendebaeus]* 
τὸ had built *f. And they fled unto the towers that are in the fields of Azotus; and he burned it with 
fire; and there fell of them about a thousand”? men. And he returned to Judaea in peace. 


XVI. 11-24. Mzrder of Simon and his two sons, Mattathias and Fudas, by 
Ptolemy ; Fohn Hyrcanus escapes. 


1r And Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed captain “for the plain of Jericho; and he 
[213 had much silver and gold, for he was the high “-priest’s son-in-law.‘ And his heart was lifted up *, 

and he was minded to make himself master of the country ; and he took counsel deceitfully against 
14 Simon and his sons, to make away with them. Now Simon was visiting the cities that were in the 

country, and taking care for the good ordering of them. And he went down to Jericho, he himself 

and Mattathias and Judas, “his sons4, °in the one hundred and seventy-seventh year, in the eleventh 
15 month, the same is the month Sebat®, And the son of Abubus received them deceitfully into the 
little stronghold that is called Dok, ® which he had built®; and he made them a great banquet ; and 
16 he hid men there. And when Simon and his sons had drunk freely‘, Ptolemy and they that were 
with him rose up, and took their arms, and came upon Simon ὃ into the banqueting hall®, and slew 
7 him and his two sons, and certain of his servants. “πα he committed (thus) a great act of 
18 treachery ὃ ὃ, and recompensed evil for good. And Ptolemy wrote these things, and sent to the king, 
that he should send him forces to aid (him), and that he should deliver to him their™ country and the 
10 cities. Andhe sent others to Gazara to make away with John; °and unto the captains of thousands 
20 he sent letters to come unto him that he might give them silver and gold and gifts®. And others he 
21 sent to take possession of Jerusalem, °and of the mount of the Temple®. And one? ran * before to 
Gazara, and told* John ° that his father and brethren had perished, ‘ and’, (said he), ‘ he hath sent to 


co-ce > 71 dd +holy V T.R. eeit A (tx reference to the army) > 71 ee 7 4 they Luc Sluc b two 
thousand δὲ V 71 three thousand Luc Sle ¢>V55 d-d his brother N* (his sons N 6:8) OOS ΤΥ f 4+and 
were merry Slue £a godless act A hthe Luc 71 i> A 71 93 Siu kk 27, 93 Siue 

7. the horsemen in the midst ... An unusual proceeding; Grimm cites an instance of the Romans having 


done so. The object here was two-fold; to accustom the horsemen to their new duties, and to avoid their meeting 
the full force of the enemy’s cavalry, which was numerically superior. 

8. they sounded with ... Cp. Num. x. 8; the addition of ἱεραῖς in some MSS. is probably due to the mention 
of the priests in Num. x. ὃ, from which the phrase here seems to be borrowed ; οἱ ἱερεῖς σαλπιοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς σάλπιγξιν, 
cp. 1 Chron. xv. 24 (Sept.). 

the stronghold. i.e. Kedron, see xv. 39-41. 

10. they fled. i.e. those of the enemy who had not been able to get into Kedron, and who had, therefore, been 

forced to continue their flight. 

the fields of Azotus. i.e. the open country round the city. The ‘towers’ (55319) were used both for the defence 
of cities and for the protection of flocks; for the former use cp. 2 Kings xvii. 19, xviii. 8. 

he burned it with fire. i.e. the city of Azotus; Jonathan had done this to Azotus ten years before (see x. 84), 
but it is not necessary to suppose that either then, or on this occasion, the city was wholly obliterated. 

about athousand men. See critical note. 

11. Ptolemy the son of Abubus. He was the son-in-law of Simon, see below. 

the plain of Jericho. 1M) ΤῚΣ) Joshua v. 10, see also Sept. of this. The plain was ‘seventy furlongs long, 
and twenty broad; wherein it (i.e. the fountain near Jericho) affords nourishment to those most excellent gardens that 
are thick set with trees’ (Josephus, Bed/. Jud. IV. viii. 3). 

12. the high-priest’s son-in-law. See further Josephus (4v¢ig. XIII, vii. 4, viii. 1). 

13. his heart was lifted up. See note on i. 3. 

14. went down to Jericho. For the phrase cp. Luke x. 30. 

the one hundred and seventy-seventh year. i.e. 135 B.C. 

the month Sebat. Properly Shebat (paw); cp. Zech. i. 7. It corresponds approximately to February; the 
fifth civil and eleventh ecclesiastical month in the Jewish Calendar; the month, according to Jewish tradition, in which 
demons prevail. 

15. Dok. Δώκ, Josephus (Antig. XIII. viii. 1; Bell. Lud. 1. ii. 3) calls it Aayay. ‘The name is still retained in that 
of the fountain “Azz ed-Duk, north of Jericho, on the border of the mountain land, in a position very suitable as the site 
of a fortress’ (Schiirer, of. c?#. p. 271). Grimm says that Dws is mentioned as a mountain fortress lying between 
Jericho and Bethel, and belonging to the Templars ; this was still standing in the thirteenth century. 

16. had drunk freely. ἐμεθύσθη means that Simon was intoxicated cp. the murder of king Elah by Zimri under 
similar circumstances (1 Kings xvi. 9, 10). 

17. act of treachery. See critical note. Cp. 2 Macc. xv. Io, 

123 


I MACCABEES 16. 22-24 


22 Slay theealso®*.’ And when he? heard (it), he was sore amazed ; and he laid hands on the men ™ that 
came to destroy "him ™, and slew” them ; ° for he perceived that they were seeking to destroy him®. 

23 And the rest of the acts of John, and of his wars, and of his valiant deeds °which he did°, and of 

24 the building of the walls which he built, and of his (other) deeds, behold they are written in the 
chronicles of his high-priesthood, from the time that he was made high-priest after his father. 


1 John Luc m-M > 93 Sluec nn1> V 00> 71 


23. acts. Lit. ‘words’, but the Hebr. word 127 means ‘act’ as well; cp. 2 Sam. xi. 18 ἀπήγγειλε τῷ βασιλεῖ Δαβὶδ 


πάντας τοὺς λύγους τοῦ πολέμου. ' f : 

the building of the walls. i.e. the walls of Jerusalem which had been broken down by Antiochus VII Sidetes 
(Josephus, Az/7g. XIII. viii. 3). 

24. in the chronicles. ἐπὶ βιβλίου ἡμερῶν ; cp. the Hebrew name of the Books of Chronicles, O%'7 737, lit. ‘the 
acts of the days’. 

Grimm mentions that ‘Sixtus Senensis (4/ddéotheca sancta, lib. i, p. 39) declares that he saw in the library of 
Santes Pagninus in Lyons the manuscript of a very hebraic Greek book of the Maccabees, which embraced the 
history of thirty-one years (according to Josephus, Av/7g. XIII. x. 7, Hyrcanus reigned this number of years), and — 
which began with the words, καὶ pera τὸ ἀποκτανθῆναι τὸν Σίμωνα ἐγενήθη ᾿Ιωάννης ὁ vids αὐτοῦ ἱερεὺς ἀντ᾽ αὐτοῦ ; a book 
which, according to this description, must either have contained the chronicles here mentioned, or have been, at any 
rate, one which contained their substance. Unfortunately, soon after Sixtus Senensis had given this news to the 
world, the library in question was destroyed by fire’. Schiirer (of. cét. ii. 3, p. 14) says regarding this manuscript : 
‘Judging from the enumeration of the contents as given by Sixtus, this book simply narrates the history of John 
Hyrcanus, and precisely as in Josephus (the same facts and in the same order). With regard to this he himself 
observes: “ Hisforiae series et narratio eadem fere est quae apud Iosephum libro Antiquitatum decimo tertio; sed 
Stylus, hebraicis idiotismis abundans, longe dispar.” Consequently he ventures to conjecture that it may have been 
a Greek translation of the history of Hyrcanus mentioned at the end of the First Book of the Maccabees. Many 
modern writers have concurred in this conjecture. . . . But in view of the enumeration of the contents given by 
Sixtus, it seems to me there can hardly be a doubt that the book was simply a reproduction of Josephus, the style — 
being changed perhaps for a purpose.’ 


Vie sEe@NDEBOOK OF MACCABEES 
INTRODUCTION 


§ 1. CONTENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 


2 MACCABEES is the anonymous ἐπιτομή (ii.26,28) or digest of an earlier Maccabaean history which 
had been composed by a Hellenistic Jew called Jason of Cyrene. The writer condensed Jason’s 
five books into one. It is unnecessary to hold that his statements to this effect are simply a literary 
device, as though he were a Jewish Defoe who thus attempted to gain the fictitious authority of age 
for his own composition (so e.g. Kosters in Theolog. Tiydschrift, 1878, 491 f., and Kamphausen). 
Had this been the case, the contents would have been more of a unity than they are, and the lacunae 
would have been fewer. Besides, more than once, the style (e. g. in xiii. 22 f.) suddenly corresponds 
to that of an historian who is hurriedly compressing as well as popularizing some earlier source. 
Upon the whole the materials, the contents, and the style of the book answer fairly to the writer’s 
account of his own method and aims (in ii. 19-32, vi. 12-17, xv. 37-9). His work is an abridgement 
and at the same time more than an abridgement. He must have omitted large sections of Jason’s 
treatise and summarized even what he took over, but, instead of preserving invariably either the 
language or the shape of his selections, he embellished the former to suit the popular taste and 
enlarged the latter, for the sake of edification, with pious amplifications of the miraculous element. 

The outline of the epitome is thus characterized by a unity of religious feeling, rather than by any 
historical sequence. The introductory documents of i. 1-ii. 18, containing two letters, are followed 
by a naive preface (ii. 19-32), after which the epitome proper begins, with five successive pauses 
(ili. 40, vii. 42, x. 9, xiii. 26, xv. 37, perhaps after Jason). The only formal interruption is a short 
passage upon the doctrine of retribution as the clue to Jewish history (vi. 12-17). Judas Maccabaeus 
comes on the scene in v. 27, and, once his story is resumed (in viii. 1 f.), it runs on to the end, the 
only digression being the highly-coloured tale of Antiochus’ death (ix. 1-29 ; x. 1-8 resumes the narra- 
tive dropped at viii. 33). The epilogue (xv. 37-9) echoes the prologue. Indeed the aim of even the 
prefixed letters corresponds to the general purpose of the book, which is to magnify the two festivals 
of the Hanukka and Nicanor’s day,' as the ceremonial glories which recall the heroism of Judas 
Maccabaeus.? 

2 Maccabees is nota sequel to 1 Maccabees. It is, in Luther’s words,’ @ second book upon the 
Maccabaean struggle, not zie second book. As the period of its narrative (175-161 B.C.) coincides 
with part of 1 Maccabees, a comparison of the two books might be expected therefore to clear up 
the problem of their relative value, and furnish a standard for valuating the second. To some extent 
this expectation is realized. But critical opinion has swayed curiously between an undue deprecia- , 
tion of 2 Maccabees as an historical document and an exaggerated claim on its behalf. The former 
tendency is represented by modern critics like Willrich and (especially) Kosters ; the latter by Niese 
(Kritik der beiden Makkabaerbiicher, 1900), who not only succeeds in vindicating the trustworthiness 
of the book at several points, but attempts to prove that it is older and more authentic than 
1 Maccabees—an attempt which has failed to carry conviction (cp. e.g. the articles of Lévi in Revue 
des études juives, 1901, 222-30, Abrahams in Few2sh Quarterly Review, 1901, 508-19, Kamphausen 
in Theolog. Literaturzettung, 1901, 287-g0, and Wellhausen in Nachrichten der kgl. Gesellsch. d. 
Wiss. zu Gottingen, 1905, pp. 117-63). The parallel narratives of the two books are as follow :— 


1 On the improbability of any connexion between the Purim festival of the book of Esther and Nicanor’s day see 
L. B. Paton’s ‘Esther’ (Zztern. Crit. Comm.), pp. 78 f. 
2 Cp. Hochfeld in ZA TW, 1902, pp. 264-84, who emphasizes, after Geiger, the Pharisaic interests and methods 
of the writer. 
8 ‘Man wolt es denn heissen ein anders buch und nicht das ander buch Maccabeorum, alium vel alienum scilicet 
non secundum,’ 
125 


1 MACCABEES 


1 Macc. 
Accession of Antiochus Epiphanes : i. ro. 


Gymnasium, &c., introduced in Jerusalem : i, 11- 15. 


Expedition of Antiochus against Egypt : 1. 16-19. 


Antiochus plunders Jerusalem: i. 20-8. 

His royal commissioner completes secularization of 
Jerusalem: 1. 29 f. ἧς 

The Maccabees leave Jerusalem: 11. τ f. 


Hellenizing decree of Antiochus brought by mes- 
sengers to Jerusalem: temple profaned and pagan 
customs established: i. 41-59. ; 

Jewish mothers and their children? killed: 1. 60-1. 

Jews massacred for keeping sabbath: 1. 29-38. ἣ 

Jews martyred for refusing to eat swine’s flesh: 1. 
62 f. ΄ 


Mattathias and his sons refuse to sacrifice: 11. 15--26. 
Mattathias organizes a revolt: 11. 27 f. 

Judas Maccabaeus succeeds Mattathias : ii. 49-70. 
Successful revolt of Judas: ili. 1-9. 

He defeats Apollonius and Seron: ii. 10-26. 

Lysias commissioned by Antiochus to exterminate 
the Jews : iil. 27 f. ἢ 
Lysias commissions Ptolemaeus, Nicanor, and Gorgias 

to devastate Judaea: ii. 38 f. 
Slave-dealers join expedition : iii. 41. 
Mustering of Jews : iil. 42-60. 
Withdrawal of some: ill. 55-6. 
Defeat of Gorgias: iv. 1-25. 


Defeat of Lysias*: iv. 26-35. 
Entry into Jerusalem : iv. 36-7. 


Purification of temple: iv. 38-51. 
Celebration of Hanukka-feast : iv. 52-61. 


Judas subdues Idumaeans, Baeanites, Ammonites 
under Timotheus: v. 1-8. 

Judas subdues pagans under Timotheus in Gilead, 
Galilee, &c.: v. 9-54. 

Gorgias defeats Joseph and Azarias outside Jamnia : 
Vv. 55-62. 


2 Macc. 


iv. 7: accession of Antiochus Epiphanes, 

iv. 7-8: sacerdotal intrigues of Jason. 

iv. 9-17: gymnasium, &c., introduced in Jerusalem. 
iv. 18-22: fresh intrigues of Jason. 

ν. 23-50: high-priesthood of Menelaus. 

vy. 1: expedition’ of Antiochus against Egypt. 

ν. 2-10: intrigues and death of Jason. 

y. 11-21: Antiochus plunders Jerusalem. 

y. 22 f.: Apollonius, his deputy, completes the work. 


ν. 27: Judas Maccabaeus and his followers leave 
Jerusalem. 

vi. 1-9: Athenian commissioner of Antiochus has 
temple profaned and pagan customs established. 


vi. 10: two Jewish mothers and their children* killed. 

vi. 11: Jews burnt for keeping sabbath. ~ 

vi. 18-31: Eleazar martyred for refusing to eat 
swine’s flesh. 

vii. 1-42: mother and seven sons martyred for refus- 
ing to eat swine’s flesh.’ 


viii. 1-7 : successful revolt of Judas. 


viii. 8 f.: Ptolemaeus, Nicanor, and Gorgias commis- 
sioned to devastate Judaea. 

Vili. 10-11: slave-dealers join expedition. 

Vili. 12-23@: mustering of Jews. 

viii. 12 f.: withdrawal of some. 


viii. 234-29: defeat of Nicanor. 
viii. 30: defeat of Timotheus and Bacchides. 


viil. 31 f.: entry into Jerusalem. 

ix. 1-28: miserable death of Antiochus. 

x. I-5: purification of temple. 

.5f.: celebration of Hanukka-feast. 

. 9-11: accession of Antiochus Eupator. 

15f.: Judas® defeats Idumaeans, Timotheus, &c. 


ΚΕ ΕΣ 


1 This invasion of Egypt by Antiochus is not ‘second’ to the preliminary march south in iv. 21 (Bevan, House of 
Seleucus, ii. 297-8), but the second of the campaigns against Egypt (cp. Dan. xi. 25 f., which agrees better with 
1 Maccabees), the first of which (170 B.C.) was really followed by the attack upon Jerusalem. 


2 The question of circumcision. 


* The earliest martyrology— an important tradition preserved by Jason, though the presence of the king at the 
tortures, even if the scene is transferred from Jerusalem to Antioch, is dramatic rather than historical. 
4 The epitomist (xi. I-12) not only transfers this to the next reign but embellishes it in order to glorify the 


success of Judas. 


On the other hand, he dates the death of Antiochus too early. Whether the one error led to the 


other, and, if so, which was primary, it is impossible to determine. 
° These wars on the neighbours of the Jews may have lasted longer than 1 Maccabees implies, and it is even 
probable that some details which the epitomist has supplied in xii. 1 f. are to be credited, but Niese (pp. 55-60) is not 


justified in proceeding to set aside the fact that they began before the death of Antiochus. 


At his death the king had 


only heard (1 Macc. vi..5-8) of the Jewish rebellion as recorded up to iv. 61, but this does not imply that the Jews 


had not already embroiled themselves with the surrounding tribes. 
of these tribes 15 perfectly natural, and is not to be explained as a mere unhistorical echo of Neh. iv. 1. 
126 


The motive assigned in 1 Macc. v. 1 for the rising 


INTRODUCTION 


1 Macc. 2 Macc. 


Judas subdues Edomites and Philistines : v. 63-8. 
Miserable death of Antiochus: vi. 1-16. 
Accession of Antiochus Eupator: vi: 17: 
Judas attacks citadel of Jerusalem: vi. 18 f. 
xl. 1-12: defeat of Lysias. 
xi. 13 f.: Lysias arranges terms of peace. 
xi. rf.: Judas punishes Joppa and Jamnia, &c., 
defeats pagans under Timotheus' in Gilead, &c. 


Lysias and Eupator invade Judaea: vi. 28-54. xii. tf. : Lysias and Eupator invade Judaea.? 

Lysias concludes a treaty of peace: vi. 55-63. xill. 22 f.: treaty of peace. 

Accession of Demetrius I: vii. 1-4. xiv. r-2: accession of Demetrius I. 

Alcimus installed high-priest by Bacchides: vil. 5—22. | xiv. 3f.: Alcimus to be re-instated high-priest by 
Nicanor.® 

Nicanor’s mission, attempt to seize Judas by treachery, | xiv. 15—xv. 35: Nicanor’s mission, friendliness to 

threats against temple, defeat and death : vii. 23—47. Judas, attempt to seize him, threats against temple, 

defeat and death. 

Institution of feast: vil. 48-50. xv. 36: institution of feast. 


A broad survey of the two documents puts it beyond reasonable doubt that upon religious ques- 
tions like the resurrection of the body (e.g. vii. 11, xiv. 46) and the prohibition of warfare on the 
sabbath (viii. 27, xv. 1 ἢ), 1 Maccabees is decidedly more primitive than 2 Maccabees. It is prob- 
ably the latter interest, among other things, which led the anti-Hasmonean epitomist to omit all 
reference to Mattathias (cp. 1 Macc. ii. 39 f.; also ii. 49 with its absence of any allusion to the resur- 
rection). Niese (pp. 45 f.) attempts to turn the force of this argument against the accuracy and 
impartiality of 2 Maccabees by ascribing the introduction and prominence of Mattathias in 
1 Maccabees to tendency—i.e. to the desire of glorifying the later Hasmoneans through Simon his 
son. But the probabilities are against this theory. It is incredible that Jewish traditions went 
wrong in glorifying the rdle of Mattathias; ‘the Rabbinic tradition (which is independent of both 
books of the Maccabees) recognized Mattathias as the principal figure in the struggle for religious 
liberty’ (Abrahams, of. c7¢. 516), and this consideration corroborates the impression that it is the 
omission of Mattathias in the epitome, not his rdle in 1 Maccabees, which is secondary. 

The chronological disorder of 2 Maccabees, as has been already noted, further tells against the 
hypothesis of its superiority to 1 Maccabees. The first part of the epitome closes with the feast of 
the purification (x. 1-8), the second with the feast of Nicanor’s day (xv. 36). The former feast is 
apparently ὁ dated after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes; but there is really no sound reason for 
doubting that 1 Maccabees has preserved the correct tradition in the reverse order of these events 
(iv. 36 f., vi. 1 f.) as well as in its description of the manner in which Antiochus died, while the entire 
account of Lysias’ subsequent actions (in 2 Macc. xi. 1 f.) shows that the writer, or the sources on 
which he relied, must have confused the two defeats of Lysias. It is not possible, with Niese, to 
establish the historical inferiority of 1 Maccabees on the basis of these incidents. 

The historicity of the Roman correspondence in xi. 34 f. is also supposed to be corroborated not 
only by the fact that, in keeping with contemporary usage, the cognomen is omitted (Niese, 31), but 
by the likelihood that the Romans would no more hesitate to negotiate with the Jews against Deme- 
trius at this juncture than they hesitated to deal with Timarchus who was in arms against the same 
opponent (Diod. Sic. xxxi. 27 a; cp. Niese 63 f., 88 f., and, for a more cautious statement, Laqueur, 
op. cit., pp. 30f.). Still, these considerations do not amount to more than the possibility that such 
documents (as e.g. the letters from Antiochus III in Josephus, Av/ig. XII. iii) were composed at an 
early period by some Alexandrian writer who possessed good knowledge of the situation. At most 
they may reflect an historical nucleus, but in their present form the epistles of xi. 16 f. are almost 
certainly manufactured documents, like those in i-ii. 

Here, as elsewhere, Niese’s arguments and researches prove that the sources (i. 6. especially Jason) 
used by the epitomist evince a knowledge of the age which is hardly likely to have been possessed 


1 An instance of the compiler’s carelessness: he had already killed Timotheus (x. 37). 

2 Even Niese (pp. 76 f.) admits that 1 Maccabees at this point is plainly superior to the self-contradictions and 
patriotic evasions of 2 Maccabees. It is the inferior character of xi1 f. which has led some critics (from Grotius 
onwards) to suspect that Jason is no longer used. 

3 2 Maccabees, fusing the missions of Bacchides and Nicanor, obliterates the real course of events, but gives a not 
incredible account of the latter’s policy and temper. ; 

4 Laqueur (Kritische Untersuchungen zum zweiten Makkabderbuch, 1904, pp. 30f.), arguing that the Antiochus 
of xi. 22 f. was originally Antiochus Epiphanes, not Antiochus V, proposes to transfer x. 1-8 and xi to their true 
position before viii. 30f. But this is a tows de force of criticism. 

127 


1 MACCABEES 


by a Jewish writer after the second century B.C. There are vivid touches which are more than 
circumstantial, and independent notices which point upon the whole to the information of eye- 
witnesses and contemporaries behind some of Jason’s narratives. Upon the other hand, 2 Maccabees 
exaggerates numbers generally (cp. e. g. xiv. 1 with 1 Macc. vii. 1) and horrors invariably, abounds 
in confused and contradictory notices (cp. e.g. on i. 17, ix. 18, xi. 5.) ΧΗ. 23), and is repeatedly 
unhistorical (see on iv. 21, ix. 2, 9, X. 11, xiii. 22, xv. 33), besides containing some references (e. g. 
to the vicarious suffering of the martyrs, vi. 28, and to sacrifices for the dead, xii. 43) which at any 
rate suggest that it is less primitive than its predecessor.!| The result is that Niese must be pro- 
nounced more successful in establishing afresh the historicity of some details which are peculiar to 
2 Maccabees, in opposition to ultra-scepticism, than in depreciating 1 Maccabees in favour of the 
general trustworthiness of the epitome. The epitomist, in fact, has the artistic temperament as well 
as the pious aim of edification ; on both grounds he is naturally careless of the exact accuracy which 
an historian pursues, and satisfied if he can produce his effects in a picturesque manner. The relative 
position of the two Maccabaean books may be, therefore, summed up in Wellhausen’s verdict 
(Geschichte*, p. 246): ‘ Niese’s criticism of the two Maccabean books has taught me a great deal, but 
it has not convinced me that the second book is older than the first and that it deserves preference. 
... We must not indeed look at everything through the spectacles of the first book. Nevertheless 
we have no alternative but to make it our basis.’ 


§ 2. MSS. AND VERSIONS. 


Second ? Maccabees (Μακκαβαίων B, Machabaeorum liber secundus), like 1 Maccabees, is preserved 
in A and V, as well as in a number of minuscules. Probably owing to the influence of Athanasius, 
who objected to the Maccabaean books, it was omitted from the Ethiopic version (Rahlfs, ZA7 IV, 
1908, pp. 63-4). The Syriac version is paraphrastic and of less value than in the case of 1 Maccabees. 
On the other hand, in addition to the pre-Hieronymian Old Latin or Vulgate version, there is a 
version reproduced in Codex Ambrosianus E 76 inf. (cp. A. Peyron’s Ciceronis orationum pro Scauro, 
pro Tullio et in Clodium fragmenta inedita, 1824, pp. 73-117), and yet another in Codex Complutensis 
(cp. 5. Berger’s Notices et Extraits de la Bibliotheque Nationale, 1895, pp. 147-52). Four fragments 
(iv. 39-44, 46-v. 2, v. 3-14, x. 12-26, x. 27—xi. 1) recently published by Mercati (Revue Biblique, 
1902, 184-211, ‘Frammenti Urbinati d’ un’ antica versione latina del libro Π de’ Maccabei editi ed 
illustrati’) seem to be connected with the Peyron-text ; iii. 13-iv. 4 and iv. 10-14, which also occur in 
a fragmentary Breslau MS. (eighth or ninth century), are now published by W. Molsdorf in ZA TW 
(1904, pp. 240-50). It is thus from the Latin versions, as representing varied types, that most help 
is to be gained in the determination of the text. Still, the extant Greek text has been so badly 
preserved at certain points, that neither the aid of the versions nor of conjecture is sufficient to yield 
any sure confidence that we can have a text before us which approximates to the original. 


§ 3. DATE. 


The date of the epitome, and inferentially of Jason, cannot be fixed except within approximate 
limits. It has indeed been argued by Niese (see below) that, as i. 1-ii. 18 represent a composition 
of the author in 125-124 B.C. (i. 7, 10a), this will date the entire epitome. But the integrity of 
the introductory section must be abandoned (see below) ; i. 10 a only dates (or professes to date) the 
particular letter to which it is appended; and, even on Niese’s showing, the loose connexion between 
the introduction and ii. 19 f. would invalidate any argument from the date of the former to that of 
the latter. Furthermore, even supposing that 1 Macc. xvi. 23-4 formed part of the original work, 
these verses do not necessarily presuppose a date subsequent to the death of Hyrcanus (cp. Torrey 
in Ency. Bib. 2859 f., as against Niese on the one hand and Destinon, Wellhausen, and Abrahams 
on the other), so that 1 Maccabees need not be assigned to a period (after 104 B.C.) subsequent 
to the supposed date of the epitome (when the latter, or its source, is placed shortly after the last 
event which it records). The utmost that can be said, with any degree of certainty, as opposed to 
Niese on the one hand and to Willrich (¥zdazca, 1900, pp- 131 f.) on the other, is that the zerminus 
ad quem is fixed by the use of 2 Maccabees not only in Fourth Maccabees and the Epistle to the 
Hebrews (especially xi. 35 6) but in Philo (quod omnis probus liber, § τ 3), while the zerminus a quo 
for its source is 161 B.C., the date of Nicanor’s defeat by Judas (xv. 1-36)—although, if xv. 36 is an 


Lee arisaic < I τ δὰ" - - 
The Pharisaic author of 2 Maccabees may scatter angel appearances and surprising wonders over his romantic 


work. But the pious contemporaries . . . of the Maccabean brethren were content with the providential wonders of 
history’ (Cheyne, Origin of Psalter, 344 f.). 


* The first occurrence of the title is in Eus. Praep. Euangel, viii. 9 ἡ δευτέρα τῶν Μακκαβαίων. 


12 


INTRODUCTION 


allusion to the book of Esther (ix. 21), the source of the epitome can hardly have been written earlier 
than c. 130 B.C., while the epitome itself must be later than 125 B.C. Jason’s work may be dated, 
therefore, roughly after 130 B. C.; the epitome probably falls not later than the first half of the first 
century B.C. The internal evidence, as compared with that of 1 Maccabees, offers remarkably few 
reliable clues to its distance from the period of its subject. The predilection for the supernatural in 
the shape of apparitions (ἐπιφάνειαι, ii. 21), prodigies, and visions, vouchsafed from heaven to its 
favourites in need, is neither unexampled in Greek historians—indeed the apparition of the two 
youths (iii. 6 f.) recalls the cult of the Dioscuri—nor is it necessarily any proof of late composition. 
Legends spring up early on such soil, especially at some distance from the scene, and popular tales 
of the miraculous (so far as they go back to the sources) may be contemporaneous in the main with 
the events which they embellish (cp. Niese, pp. 34f.). But the matter-of-fact air which pervades 
1 Maccabees, in spite of its tendencies and omissions, invests it with superiority as an historical docu- 
ment to 2 Maccabees, and superiority here is practically equivalent to priority. 

There is no obvious reason for conjecturing (so e.g. Kosters recently) that the latter is 
deliberately and primarily an attack on the former, although there is perhaps as little for sus- 
pecting that the epitomist (not Jason) was not familiar with the earlier document.! In any case, 
he had a fine, if uncritical, enthusiasm for the heroes (private as well as public) and the principles 
of the Maccabaean rising; more specifically, as his pages prove, he was an Alexandrian Jew, a 
rhetorical adherent of the Pharisees, who wrote, probably during the third or fourth generation 
afterwards, in order to foster reverence for the temple in Jerusalem and also strictness in the 
observance of the Maccabaean festivals as a bond of union between the Jews of Palestine and Egypt. 
If the anti-Hasmonean bias of the book is emphasized, a more precise ferminus a quo for its com- 
position might be found ς. 106 B.C., when the Pharisees broke with the Hasmoneans (so Hochfeld). 
But this is not inevitable; 2 Maccabees might have been compiled shortly before that date, under 
stress of the growing antagonism, as naturally as after it. 


§ 4. INTEGRITY AND COMPOSITE NATURE OF THE TEXT. 


5 Maccabees, says Luther in his brief preface, appears to be ‘zusammen geflickt aus vielen 
biichern’. This is evident (a) in i. 1-ii. 18, where some critics, like Gratz (‘Das Sendschreiben 
der Palastiner an die agyptisch-judaéischen Gemeinden wegen der Feier der Tempelweihe’, in 
Monatsschrift fiir Geschichte und Wiss. des Fudentums, 1877, pp. 1-16, 49-72), N. Briill (‘ Das 
Sendschreiben der Palastiner an die Alexandriner’, in Yakrbiicher fiir jiidische Geschichte und 
Literatur, 1887, pp. 30-40), and B. Niese (of. cz¢. pp. 1of.), have contended that there is only one 
letter, opening properly at i. 10 after the introductory preface of i. 1-9, while others, e.g. Bruston 
(Zeitschrift fiir die alttest. Wissenschaft, 1890, pp. 110 f.), Willrich (Fuden und Griechen vor der 
makkab. Erhebung, 1895, pp. 76f.),and Laqueur (of. cit. pp. 52 f.), have detected no fewer than three 
(in i. 1-7 a, 7 b-10a, 10b-ii. 18) ; the majority, however, rightly distinguish only two, in i, 1--ἸῸ ἃ 
and i. 10 b-ii. 18, although opinion is still seriously divided upon the precise extent, date, and trust- 
worthiness of both (cp. generally the older pamphlets by F. Schliinkes: /frstezlae quae secundo 
Machabaeorum libro cap. 7. vv 1-9 legitur explicatio, 1844, Difficiliorum epistulae quae 77 Mach, 1. 
10 ad 77]. 18 legitur locorum explicatio, 1847, with Kosters’ essay in Zheol. Tijdschrift, 1898, 
68 f., C. Torrey’s article in Zeztschrift fiir die alttestam. Wissenschaft, 1900, pp. 225-42, and 
H. Herkenne’s full monograph, in Bardenhewer’s Biblische Studien, viii. 4,0n Die Briefe zu Beginn 
des Zweiten Makkabéerbuches, 1904). It is fair to start from the likelihood that, just as in xi. 21, 
33. 38, the date of the first letter is placed at the end (i. 10a). The date in ver. 6 (i. 6. 144-143 B.C.) 
refers to a previous communication, to which the writer (or editor) awkwardly refers in order to lend 
verisimilitude to his present production as one item of a correspondence between the Palestinian 
and Egyptian Jews. The date assigned to this later epistle is 124 B.C. Those who join i. 10a to 
the following letter are involved in the double awkwardness not only of beginning the letter with 
the date but of placing a full stop after ὑμῖν in i. 7 (so Torrey), or else (cp. D. M. Sluys, De AZaccha- 
baeorum libris I et 77 quaestiones, 1904, pp. 1-79) of taking i. 2-6 as aninterpolation. The second 
letter apparently comes from a different source; it is undated, except generally after the death of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, and the writers precede the receivers in the address (i. 10 b,c). But the object 
is the same (i. 18a, ii. 16f. =i. g)—to bring out the historical and religious significance of the 
Maccabaean feast of the Hanukka. Both epistles, as they stand, are specimens of the Alexandrian 
epistolography which was fond of producing such documents for purpose of edification. At the 
same time, the language of i. 18 ἃ (μέλλοντες ἄγειν κτλ) and of ii, 16 (μέλλοντες οὖν ἄγειν κτλ) is 


1 So e.g. Montet (Zssad sur les Origines des Partis Saducéen et Pharisien, 1883, pp. 13 f.). 
1105 129 K 


Il MACCABEEs 


a watermark of interpolation, the intervening paragraphs being a legendary insertion based on the © 


tradition of x. 3 and perhaps on Epist. Jerem. 4-6. The retrospective allusion to Judas in ii. 14 is 
incompatible with the position assigned him in i. 10b, but it fits in with the aim of setting Judas 
within the great succession of Moses, Solomon, Jeremiah, and Nehemiah ; he ranks with Nehemiah 
as a collector of the sacred scriptures, and with the others as a transmitter of the holy fire which 
was essential to the sacrifices of the temple. 

Whether authentic or not, these letters did not belong to the Jason-source, as the position of 
the preface (ii. 19-32) and the discrepancy between the two accounts of the death of Antiochus 
(i. 12 ἢ, and ix. rf.) are enough to show, but there is scarcely sufficient evidence to indicate decisively 
whether both came from the same pen, and if so, whether it was the pen of the epitomist or of 
another. As the insertion (i. 18 b—ii. 15) is in all likelihood his own work, the two letters which 
form the framework may have been found by him in some other source and prefixed to his 
abridgement proper, instead of being placed chronologically in the narrative. It isa further question 
whether he translated one (the second, according to Ewald’s History of the Fews, Eng. Tr. v, pp. 467 f.; 
the first, according to Schliinkes) or both (so e.g. Gratz, Brill, and Torrey) from the original Hebrew 
(Aramaic). Upon the whole, it seems difficult to give a satisfactory answer in the negative, with 
any positive evidence, to such a query, although the rest of the book was undoubtedly written in 
Greek (‘Machabacorum .. . secundus Graecus est; quod ex ipsa quoque φράσει probari potest’, 
Jerome’s Prologus Galeatus). 

(2) This opens up the intricate problem of the sources which lay before the epitomist. Without 
refusing to deny that he had access to a Jason-source, we may conjecture that not only in i. 1—-ii. 18 
but in the body of the epitome (e.g. x. 32 f. and xii. 2 f.) he occasionally employed traditions and 
even documents from other quarters,’ e.g. (i. 10) from the famous Alexandrian Jew Aristobulus 
(cp. Schiirer’s Geschichte, iii, pp. 512 f.). The conjecture, however, cannot be worked out with any 
approach to definiteness. Biichler, in his important Dze Tobiaden uw. die Oniaden im Il Makkabéer- 
buche, &c. (1899), pp. 277 f., 396-8, and Laqueur (of. cit. pp. 72-87) have recently elaborated precise 
theories of the use made respectively of Jason and of a supposed second source, involving frequent 
transpositions of material. The patent variations of style may lend some colour to the hypothesis 
that Jason is specially employed e.g. in viii. 1 f., and that throughout the writer is often an in- 
terpolator (e.g. in iii—v, cf. Biichler, pp. 277 f.) as well as an epitomizer. But as the available data 
(even e. g. in iv. 5-6 and viii. 20) are purely internal, they seldom enable us to check such theories, 
and the possibility—amounting to a probability—that Jason’s large work already contained a variety 
of oral traditions counterbalances any attempt to run literary analysis into a confident scheme of 
results. Unfortunately we possess no independent clue to the character and scope of Jason’s 
treatise. While the second book of τὰ Μακκαβαϊκά is an abridgement, it is not on the same footing 
as e.g. the feriochae of the lost books of Livy. 2 Maccabees is neither a bare synopsis nor the 
summary of a summary; it is a literary composition, whose materials were selected from the 
original work of Jason. The latter’s work has not survived, however, and even his personality is in 
dispute. He has been precariously identified (Herzfeld: Geschichte des Volkes Israel, 1855, 445 f.) 
with the Jason of 1 Macc. viii. 17 (= the Judas* of 2 Macc. i. 10, ii. 14), and even more arbitrarily 
his Jewish nature has been denied (Sluys, of. c¢¢. pp. 74f.). The name (lacwy Κυρηναιος) has been 
found in an Egyptian temple of Thothmes III (cp. Sayce in Revue des études grecques, 1894, p. 297), 
apparently dating from the third century B.C., but, while this does not necessarily tell against a Jew, 
the individual need not, on the other hand, be the author of the epitomist’s source. His connexion 
with Cyrene would suggest a more accurate knowledge of Palestinian sites and affairs than the 
epitome reveals ; its references to the latter are less reliable than in the case of the Syrian realm. 


§ 5. AUTHORSHIP. 
While the relation of the book to 1 Maccabees resembles on the whole that of the books 


of Chronicles to the books of Kings, in so far as a definitely religious pragmatism controls the 


epitomist, the affinities of the latter are with the Pharisaic type of Jewish piety. He lays emphasis 
e.g. upon legal praxis, the divine providence, recompense, the temple cultus, the sabbath, angels, 
and the resurrection. The last-named feature is bound up with the martyr-stories (cpp. vi—vii) 
which have floated the book into wide popularity throughout Christianity as well as throughout 
Judaism. They are told with a detailed ghastliness which jars on modern taste. Probably ‘the 


3 It is impossible to ascertain whether an extra-Biblical touch like viii. 19 f. was due to the author or to Jason. 
2. Attempts have often been made to identify this Judas not with Judas Maccabaeus but with some other Judas 
(so e.g. Ewald and Niese), or to emend the text into τῶν Ἰουδαίων or Ἰουδαίας (Syr., so e.g. Torrey), or Ἰούδας 
Ἀριστόβουλος ‘Ovia (Sluys), but in vain (cp. Grimm 36-7, Herkenne 65). 
130 


| 


INTRODUCTION 


stories had already clothed themselves for the writer in a halo of legend, and he tricks them out in 
that poor rhetoric, that stifled literary jargon, which was the curse of third-rate authors in the 
Hellenistic world ; but if you can penetrate through this repellent medium, you can still touch an 
anguish that was once real and quivering’ (E. Bevan, Ferusalem under the High Priests, 1904, 
p. 83). The anonymous author belongs to Alexandrian rather than to Palestinian Judaism, but 
beyond this general inference it is not possible to pass with any confidence to theories, for example, 
like the ingenious but unconvincing guess of Biichler (of. c7¢, pp. 396 f.), that the author or final 
editor was a Hellenistic Jew who reversed the polemic of the original (written by a Samaritan in 
Egypt) against the temple in Jerusalem. 


§ 6, INFLUENCE ON LATER LITERATURE. 


(a) The use of 2 Maccabees in Philo’ and in 4 Maccabees (see above, § 3) is clearer than the 
evidence for Josephus’ acquaintance with it; none of the latter's relevant passages (Av‘ig. XII. v. 1 
eo) Maccive 1 fi. ΠΝ ἢ = 2 Macc. vi. 2; ΚΠ ΙΧ. 7 = 2 Macc. xiii. 3-8, XII. x. 1 = 2 Macc. xiv. 1) 
makes such a conjecture necessary. More is to be said for the hypothesis that the epitome is 
echoed in the Assumptio Mosis (cp. v. 1-4 = 2 Macc. iv. 11 f., v. 8, &c.; viii. 3 f. = 2 Mace. vi. 4 f., 
ΕΠ ΟΣ ὅσο; 1x. Tf — 2 Macc, vij 18 f.; ix, 6 = 2 Macc. vi. 11, vii 2, x. Ὁ, &c.). The edifying 
narratives of the martyrs in especial led to haggadic developments in Jewish literature (cp. Zunz, 
Die gottesdienstlichen Vortrage der Fuden, pp. 130 f.), and also (4) in early Christianity where the 
Maccabaean martyrs were eventually canonized? and accorded a yearly festival (August Ist) in the 
Greek and Latin churches (cp. Maas in Wonatsschrift fiir Geschichte u. Wiss. des Fudenthums, 1900, 
pp. 145-56). This tallies with the early and widespread diffusion of the book, from the period of 
the epistle to the Hebrews down to Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Origen, Chrysostom, and 
Jerome. Portions of it are read in the Roman Breviary (for October). 


§ 7. THEOLOGY. 


The later popularity of 2 Maccabees is due as much to the support found in it by the Roman 
Church for dogmas like prayers for the dead (xii. 43, 45) and the intercession of the saints 
(xv. 11-16) as to the martyr-stories or the miraculous and legendary incidents (ἐπιφάνειαι). Otherwise,* 
the theological ideas resemble those of the Pharisaic school during the latter half of the second 
century B.C. The doctrine of retribution and chastening is naturally worked out with particular 
care (vi. 12-17). The worst punishment is to be left severely alone by God, as is the case with 
pagan nations ; the Jews, on the contrary, are chastened and thus prevented from lapsing into the 
excesses of sin which draw down upon their neighbours (individuals as well as nations) the shattering 
penalties of God even in this life (cp. e.g. iv. 38, v. 9-10, ix. 5-6, xiii. 4f., xv. 32f). The sufferings 
of the martyrs, again, although due to the sins of their nation, avail to expiate God’s just anger 
(vii. 33-8) on their fellows. After death, only the righteous rise, and rise with their bodies (vii. 11, 
22 f., xiv. 46) to life eternal, i.e. apparently to participation in the messianic kingdom (vii. 29, 33, 37, 
xiv. 15) on earth. The similarity of this conception to that of Eth. En. lxxxiii—xc, where the scene 
of the messianic kingdom is also on earth, suggests that 2 Maccabees, in its eschatological outlook — 
at this point, ‘belongs essentially to the second century’ (R. H. Charles, Eschatology, 1899, p. 230). 
The outlook on the future, as might be expected from the nature of the subject, has nothing of the 
catholic hope which dominated the best of the O.T. prophets. 


§ 8. SPECIAL LITERATURE. 


In addition to essays and monographs already cited: (a) critical editions of text in editions of LXX by Holmes 
and Parsons (Vetus Testamentum Graece, v, 1827), Fritzsche (Librz Apocryphi Vet. Testam. Graece, 1871), 
Tischendorf (Vet. Zest. Graece, 6th ed., 1880), and H. B. Swete (Zhe Old Testament in Greek, iii, 1894); 
(4) annotated editions by Grotius (Axnotationes in Vet. Testamentum, 1644), Grimm (Kurzgefasstes exeget. Handbuch 
zu den Apocryphen des AT, 1857), Keil (Leipzig, 1857), Reuss (La Bzb/e, vii, 1879), E. C. Bissell (The Apocrypha of 
the O.T., 1880, New York, pp. 550-614), W. R. Churton (Canon. and Uncan. Scriptures, pp. 481 f.), Rawlinson 
(Speaker's Comm., 1888, London), Kamphausen (Kautzsch’s Afokryphen u. Pseudepigraphen des AT, 1901), and 
Knabenbauer (in Cursus sacr. s. Comment. in Vet. Test., 1908); (c) general literature, Westcott in Smith’s Dic¢. of 
Bible (ii. 174-8), Welte in Wetzer und Weilte’s Kirchenlexicon (viii. 418-22), André’s Les Apocryphes de ? Ancien 
Testament (Florence, 1903, pp. 86-115), Schiirer’s Geschichte des Jiidischen Volkes* (iii, 1909, pp. 482-9), Fairweather 
in Hastings’ Dict. of Bible (iii. 189-92), Torrey in Encycl. Biblica (2869-79), C. F. Kent in Lsvael’s Historical and 
Biographical Narratives (pp. 38 f., 387 f.), Bertholet in Budde’s Geschichte d. althebriischen Literatur (pp. 345-50), 
and F. Bechtel in Catholic Encyclopaedia (ix. 497-8). 


1 Cp. Lucius, Der Essentsmus (1881), pp. 36-9. 
2 Cp. the Acts of the Christian Felicitas and her Seven Sons, a variation of the same theme. The scene of the 
Maccabaean martyrdom was transferred from Jerusalem to Antioch, where a basilica was erected in their honour. 
5 The book’s angelology is allied to a belief in dreams (xv. 11). 
131 K 2 


THE SECOND. BOOK OF MACCABEES 


J. 1-10a. Furst document. 


1x To the brethren, the Jews in Egypt, greeting. The brethren, the Jews in Jerusalem and 

2 throughout the land of Judaea, wish you perfect peace; yea, may God do good unto you, and 

3 remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants; may he give you 

4 all a heart to worship him and do his pleasure with hearty courage and a willing soul; may he give 

5 you an open heart for his law and for his statutes, and make peace, and hearken to your supplica- 

6 tions; may he be reconciled to you, and not forsake you in time of evil. Such, then, are our 

7 prayers for you in this place. In the reign of Demetrius, in the hundred threescore and ninth year, 

we the Jews have already written unto you in the extreme tribulation that came upon us during 

these years, from the time that Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom, 

8 setting the porch on fire and shedding innocent blood: but we besought the Lord, and were heard ; 

we offered sacrifice and made the meal offering, we lighted the lamps, and set forth the shewbread. 

9.10 See that ye keep the days of the feast of tabernacles in the month Chislev. Written in the hundred 
fourscore and eighth year. 


I. 1ob—II. 18. Second document. 


They that are in Jerusalem and they that are in Judaea and the senate and Judas, unto 
Aristobulus, king Ptolemy’s teacher, who is also of the stock of the anointed priests, and unto the 

11 Jews that are in Egypt, send greeting and health. Having been saved by God out of great perils, 
12 we render great thanks, as befits us to thank One who arrayeth himself against a king. For He 
13 flung away into Persia those who had arrayed themselves against the holy city. For when the leader 
arrived, with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanaea by 
14 the treachery of Nanaea’s priests. Antiochus, on the pretext of marrying her, came into the place, 
he and his Friends who were with him, that they might take a great part of the treasures by way 
15 of dowry; but when the priests of the Nanaeon had set the treasures forth, and he had passed 
with a small company inside the wall of the precincts, they shut to the temple when Antiochus had 
16 entered: then opening the secret door in the panelled ceiling, they threw stones and struck down 
17 the leader, and hewing the company in pieces threw their heads to those who were outside. Blessed 
18 for all things be our God who gave the impious doers for a prey. Whereas we are now about to 
celebrate the purification of the temple in the month Chislev, on the five and twentieth day, we 


I. 7. already written, i.e. referring to some previous communication. The alternative (see J7trod. § 4) is to 
take the perfect (γεγράφαμεν) in the sense of the epistolary aorist (ἐγράψαμεν, ii. 16), and render: we wrzte, as if the ~ 
context dated the present letter. 

extreme tribulation (ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀκμῇ), i.e. that under Demetrius (see 1 Mace. xi. 53). The hendiadys 
et the exaggeration is too obvious to justify Herkenne’s (pp. 42-4) conjecture of ἀλκῇ (= warlike attack) for ἀκμῇ 
cp. iv. 13). 

the kingdom, i.e. the theocracy; Jason’s apostasy is described in iv. 13 f. The following words are a loose 
summary of the outrages subsequent to Jason’s movement, and of the restoration under Judas (1 Macc. iv. 38, 50 f.). 

9. see that ye keep: i.e. in Egypt, as we do in the Holy Land; or, by sending representatives to Jerusalem. The 
Maccabaean festival of the temple’s reconsecration was called either τὰ ἐγκαίνια (cp. John x. 22) or 7) oxnvornyta (John 
vii. 2) τοῦ Χασελεύ, being celebrated for the same time and almost on the same lines (cp. 2 Macc. x. 6-7) as the feast 
of tabernacles, only during Chislev (December) instead of during Tisri (October). 

11. arrayeth himself. Reading, with Bruston and Herkenne, παρατασσομένῳ (cp. Zech. xiv. 3, LXX) for παρατασσό- 
μενοι. 

13. in the temple of Nanaea. i.e. the temple in Elymais of Artemis or Aphrodité (cp. Polyb. xxxi. 2 ; Josephus, 
Fs ix. I, and Appian. Sy7. 66) as identified with the Persian goddess Anaea (Anaitis), or of the Babylonian 

ana. 

14. take ... by way of dowry. For this diplomatic trick see Seneca’s Ovat. Swas. 1, where Antony agrees to 
marry Athené at Athens for a dowry of a thousand talents. Antiochus is said to have tried a similar device at 
Hierapolis in Syria. 

17. gave the impious doers for a prey. In 187 B.C. Antiochus III lost his life in an attempt to plunder a shrine 
of Bel in the Elymaean hills, and Antiochus VII (Sidetes) perished, in 129 B.c., in battle against the Parthians ; 
ἡσσώμενος ἑαυτὸν ἔκτεινεν (Appian. Sy. 68). The writer of the letter may have been so barren in imagination as to 
have embellished the death of this king (so recently Torrey and Niese) with legendary traits drawn from the fate of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, but it is the latter who is (erroneously) meant. 


132 


IP MACCABEES) 1? 18—2. ἃ 


deem it our duty to inform you, that you too may keep the feast of tabernacles.—Now (concerning) 
the fire, on the occasion of Nehemiah offering sacrifices, after he had built both the temple and the 
g altar (, you must know that) when our fathers were to be led into the land of Persia, the godly priests 
| of that time took some of the fire of the altar, and hid it secretly in the hollow of a sort of empty 
Jo cistern, wherein they made it sure, so that the place was unknown to all men. Well, after many 
| years, when it pleased God, Nehemiah was sent on a mission by the king of Persia, and he sent in 
quest of the fire the descendants of the priests who had hid it. When they announced that they had 
|: found no fire, but thick liquid, he commanded them to draw out some and bring it to him: and when 
| the sacrifices had been duly placed (on the altar), Nehemiah commanded the priests to sprinkle the 
}2 liquid both on the wood and on the sacrifices. When this was done, after some time had elapsed 
and the sun, formerly hidden in clouds, had shone out, there was kindled a great blaze, so that all 
men marvelled. And the priests offered prayer, while the sacrifice was being consumed,—priests 
4. and all, Jonathan leading and the rest saying it after him,as did Nehemiah. The following was the 
| prayer: O Lord, Lord God, the creator of all things, who art terrible and strong and righteous and 
5 merciful, who alone art King and gracious, who alone suppliest every need, who alone art righteous 
and almighty and eternal, thou that savest Israel out of all evil, who madest the fathers thine elect, 
16 and didst sanctify them: accept this sacrifice for all thy people Israel, guard thine own Portion, 
}7 and consecrate it. Gather together our dispersion, set at liberty them that are in bondage among 
the heathen, look upon them that are despised and abhorred, and let the heathen know that thou 
8/9 art our God. Torment them that oppress us and in arrogancy shamefully treat us. Plant thy 
| 1 people in thy holy place, even as Moses said. Then the priests sang the hymns. Now as soon as 
| the sacrifice was consumed, Nehemiah ordered the rest of the liquid to be poured on large stones. 
[2 And when this was done, a flame was kindled ; but, when the light from the altar shone over against 
|3it, it was extinguished. And when the matter became known, and it was told the king of the 
| Persians, that, in the place where the captive priests had hid the fire, there had appeared the liquid with 
‘4 which Nehemiah and his company purified the sacrifice, then the king, after verifying the matter, 
55 had the place made a sacred enclosure. And the king exchanged gifts with those in his favour. 
},6 Nehemiah and his company called this thing Nephthar, which is by interpretation, Cleansing ; but 
most people call it Nephthai. 


1 It is also found in the records, that Jeremiah the prophet commanded them that were carried 
' 2 away to take some of the fire, as has been already noted: and how that the prophet charged them 
| that were carried away, after giving them the law, that they should not forget the statutes of the 
Lord, neither be led astray in their minds, when they saw images of gold and silver, and the adorn- 
|} 3 ment thereof. And with other such words exhorted he them, that the law should not depart from 


i 
| 


\4 their heart. This also was in the writing, that the prophet, being warned by God, commanded the 
| tabernacle and ark to accompany him, and that he went away to the mountain which Moses had 


18. the feast of tabernacles. Several critics (from Schliinkes and Grimm to Kosters and Kamphausen) supply 
τὰς ἡμέρας before τῆς σκηνοπηγίας, while Herkenne adds rd. Something like τοῦ ἀνευρεθέντος or δοθέντος or φανέντος is 
usually supposed, also, to have dropped out after πυρός. But if (as the Syriac version suggests) περί is read for kat, 
the text may be rendered as above (so Torrey). Here the long interpolation (i. 18 b—ii. 15) begins. 

built. The v. Δ οἰκονομήσας (125, so Herkenne) for οἰκοδομήσας is an attempt to get rid of the unhistorical state- 
ment about Nehemiah, whose prestige is exaggerated in another direction in 11. 13. 

20. announced. The meaningless ἡμῖν (¢o ws) between διεσάφησαν and μή is rightly omitted by Rawlinson (with 64, 
93, Sy7.) as the result of dittography (ησαν repeated from διεσάφησαν and then amended into ἡμῖν). 

26. thine own Portion. Deut. xxxii. 9. 

29. Cp. Baruch ii. 28-35. 

31. to be poured on. This involves the reading of καταχεῖν (A, vg.) for κατέχειν or κατασχεῖν, and either the addition 
of ἐπί (or εἰς) before λίθους or the construction of καταχεῖν with a double accusative, but there is no more satisfactory 
explanation of a corrupt and obscure passage. 

33-5. The writer appeals to the testimony of the pagan monarch, whose respectful attitude to the phenomenon of 
the fire—as befitted a Persian—adds glory to this Jewish portent. 

35. exchanged gifts, &c. Reading, with V, ἐχαρίζετο after ois—a naive Oriental method of expressing pleasure at 
some happy occurrence (cp. Esth. ix. 19, 22; Apoc. John xi. 10). 

36. Nephthai. An inflammable oil, like the modern naphtha, is in the writer’s mind, but the etymology of the word 
is beyond recovery. The writer equates N. with καθαρισμός, and this is the point of the legend, which connects the 
discovery of the fiery liquid with the purification of the temple (v.18). The least improbable line of explanation 
‘is that which connects the word with the Persian afar; naptar apanm was a Zend epithet for the sacred elemental 
water (arvduzsur), which possessed purifying qualities (cp. Benfey and Stern’s Veber die Monatsnamen einiger alter 
Volker, 1836, pp. 204 f.). 


II. 1. Legend had no scruple in transforming a prophet who was radically indifferent, if not hostile, to the ritual of 
the temple into a pious conservative (cp. further, xv. 14). 


155 


Il MACCABEES 255-32 


5 climbed to view the inheritance of God. On reaching it Jeremiah found a cavernous chamber, in 
“ which he placed the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense ; and he made fast the door. 
6, 7 And some of his followers drew near in order to mark the road, but they could not find it. ‘ Now 
when Jeremiah came to know this, he blamed them, saying, Unknown shall the spot be until God 
8 gather the people again together, and mercy come ; then indeed shall the Lord disclose these things, 
and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, even the Cloud, as in the days of Moses it was visible, and 
g as when Solomon prayed that the Place might be consecrated with solemn splendour. It was also 
τὸ narrated how he, in his wisdom, sacrificed at the consecration and completion of the temple; as 
Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire descended from heaven to consume the sacrifice, so Solomon also 
11 prayed, and the fire descended and burned up the holocaust; [and Moses said, Because the sin 
12 offering had not been eaten, it was consumed in like manner with the rest ;] and Solomon kept the 
eight days. : Ἶ ol 
These things were narrated also in the archives or memoirs of Nehemiah; as well as how he 
founded a library and collected the books about the kings and the prophets, and the books of David, 
14 and letters of kings about sacred gifts. Even so did Judas collect for us all the writings which had 
15 been scattered owing to the outbreak of war. They are still with us. So, if you need them, send , ~ 
some messengers to fetch them for you. 
16 Seeing therefore that we are about to keep the purification, we write thus to you. You will do well, 
17 then, to keep the days (of the festival). Now God, who saved all his people, and restored to all the 
18 heritage, and the kingdom, and the priesthood, and the hallowing, even as he promised through the 
law,—in God have we hope, that he will speedily have mercy upon us, and gather us together from 
under the (wide) heaven to the holy place: for he did deliver us out of great evils, and did purify the 
place. 


13 


II. 19-32. The preface of the epitomist. 


19 Now the things concerning Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers, and the purification of the great 
20 temple, and the dedication of the altar, and further the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes and 
21 Eupator his son, and the heavenly apparitions vouchsafed to those that vied with one another in 
manful deeds for the religion of the Jews—so that, in spite of their small numbers, they plundered 
22 the whole country, and routed the barbarian hordes, and regained the temple renowned all the world 
over, and freed the city, and restored the laws which were on the verge of abolition, since the Lord 
23 showed favour graciously to them: (all) this, recounted by Jason in five books, we will try to compress | 
24 into asingle volume. For, in view of the flood of statistics and the difficulties presented by the mass 
25 of material to those who desire to go into the narratives of the history, we have aimed at attracting 
those who are fond of reading, at smoothing the path for those who like to memorize their facts, and 
26 at being of some service to our readers in general. As for ourselves, we have not found this self- 
imposed task of abridging to be a light business. On the contrary, we have sweated and sat up late 
7 Over it—just as there is no lack of work for any one who has to superintend a banquet and look after 
the interests of others. Still, to reap the gratitude of many, we will cheerfully undertake this 
28 toilsome labour; leaving the historian to investigate details, we will exert ourselves to prepare 
29 an epitome upon the usual lines. For as the masterbuilder of a new house has to look after 
the entire edifice, while the decorator who undertakes to inlay and paint it has only to look out 
30 What is suitable for embellishing the house, so, methinks, is it with us. To enter into details and 
31 general discussions and elaborate researches is the business of the original historian ; on the other 
hand, any one who simply recasts the material must be allowed to aim at conciseness of expression 
and to eschew any thoroughgoing treatment of the subject. 
32. Well now, let us begin the story. We have no more to add, by way of preface ; for it is truly 
stupid to expatiate in introducing a history and then cut short the history itself. 


2 


10. fire descended . . . sacrifice. A midrashic expansion of Lev. ix. 23-4. The Solomonic legend follows the 

midrash of 2 Chron. vii. 1 in preference to 1 Kings viii. 62 f., and a precedent for the Maccabaean ceremonial is 
artificially found in the tradition of 1 Kings viii. 66 (2 Chron. vii. 8). The origin of the incoherent touch in verse II 
must have been also a midrashic paraphrase of Lev. x. 16 f. 
_ 13. about sacred gifts, i.e. about presents made to the temple. A specimen is preserved in Ezra vii. 12. The 
interest of 2 Maccabees in the temple comes out incidentally even in this allusion ; such letters are ranked alongside 
of the sacred scriptures in Nehemiah’s library. The next verse reflects the companion interest in the prestige of Judas 
Maccabaeus. 

18. Cp. Exod. xix. 6; Deut. xxx. 1-10. 
εἰ Πρ άοτεά the whole country. In the sense in which Cromwell’s troops swept over England during the 

ivil War. | 

27. Superintend a banquet. For the duties of the ἀρχιτρίκλινος (Ὁ) see Sir. xxii. 1-2; John ii. 8-9. | 

28. exert ourselves. Reading διαπονοῦντες for ἀτονοῦντες. 


134 


Il MAGCABEES. 3. 1-25 


Ill. 1-39. The miraculous discompiture of Seleucus and Heliodorus in their attack 
apon the temple at Ferusalem. 


τι When the holy city was inhabited in unbroken peace, and the laws were kept right strictly, 
| 2 owing to the godliness of Onias the high-priest and his hatred of wickedness, it came to pass that 
| even kings themselves did honour the Place and glorify the temple with the noblest presents ; 
| 3so much so that Seleucus the king of Asia actually defrayed, out of his own revenues, all the expenses 
᾿ 4 connected with the ritual of the sacrifices. But a certain Benjamite, Simon, who had been appointed 
5 warden of the temple, fell out with the high-priest over the management of the city-market. Unable 
to get the better of Onias, he betook himself to Apollonius of Tarsus, then governor of Coelesyria 
| 6and Phoenicia, and informed him that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of such untold sums 
of money that the wealth of the funds was past counting; they did not belong, he said, to the 
7 accounts of the sacrifices, and they could be got into the hands of the king. So when Apollonius 
met the king, he informed him of the money which had been mentioned to him, and the king 
chose his chancellor, Heliodorus, and dispatched him with orders to carry out the removal of 
Ἢ the aforesaid money. Heliodorus at once started on his journey, giving out that he intended to 
visit the cities of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, though his real object was to execute the king’s design. 
g On reaching Jerusalem, where he was courteously welcomed by the high-priest and the city, he 
submitted the information which had been given him, and explained why he had come, inquiring 
yo further if this information was really true. The high-priest pointed out to him that there were 
στ deposits belonging to widows and orphans, besides monies belonging to Hyrcanus, the son of Tobias, 
a man of extremely high position (by no means what that impious Simon had alleged), and that in 
12 all there were four hundred talents of silver and two hundred of gold; it was utterly impossible, he 
added, that injury should be inflicted on those who had put their trust in the sacredness of the Place 
13 and in the majesty and inviolable sanctity of the temple, honoured over all the world. Heliodorus 
| had his orders from the king, however, and he replied that in any case these monies must be 
confiscated for the king’s treasury. 
4 So, having appointed a day, he went in to superintend the investigation of the treasure. And 
5 there was no small distress throughout the whole city. The priests, arrayed in their priestly robes, 
+ flung themselves before the altar,and called to heaven on him who had appointed the law regarding 
16 deposits, beseeching him to preserve these treasures safe for the depositors. And no one could look 
at the mien of the high-priest without feeling a pang of heart. His countenance and changed colour 
}17 betrayed the anguish of his soul. For terror and a shuddering of the body had come over the 
18 man, which plainly showed to the onlookers the grief that was at his heart. As for the people in 
| the houses, they flocked out with a rush to join in common supplication that the Place should not be 
[το dishonoured. The married women, girt under their breasts with sackcloth, thronged the streets, while 
the maidens who were kept in ward ran together, some to the porticoes, others to the walls, and 
20 Others to look out at the windows; but all, stretching forth their hands toward heaven, made their 
21 solemn supplication. One could not but pity the populace all prostrate with one accord, and the 
|} anxiety of the high-priest in his sore distress. 
|22 Meantime, however, as they were invoking the all-powerful Lord to keep the deposits safe and 
3/24 sure for the depositors, Heliodorus proceeded to execute his orders. But when he and his guards 
|} had got as far as the front of the treasury, the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority prepared 
a great apparition, so that all who had presumed to enter were stricken with dismay at the power 
25 of God and fainted with sheer terror. For there appeared to them a horse with a terrible rider, and 


III. 4. warden of the temple. Whether this office corresponded to that of the ségan (or στρατηγὺς τοῦ ἱεροῦ) or of the 
γαζοφύλαξ (Josephus, Azzig. XX. iii. 11, &c.) depends largely on the meaning assigned to τῆς κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ἀγορανομίας 
(the v. 2. παρανομίας being an attempt to smooth out the difficulty). According to Bichler (of. cit. pp. 33 f.; cp. Bevan, 
House of Seleucus, 11. 163) Simon the Tobiad, as στρατηγός, was also ἀρχιερεύς in the sense that he exercised a certain 
political control of the temple affairs. This identification of Simon with the Simon of Josephus, Avzztiy. XII. iv. 10, is 
preferable to the alternative identification of Onias II (Azzzg. XII. iv. 1-10) with the Onias of 2 Macc. iii (so e.g. Schlatter, 
Willrich, and Guthe in Ezcycl. Biblica, 3504 f.). 

5. of Tarsus. Adopting Hort’s convincing conjecture of Θαρσέα for the Θρασαίου of the MSS. 

7. Heliodorus. Probably the Heliodorus of the Delian inscriptions (cp. Deissmann’s Bzéle Studies, pp. 303-7). 
The payment of the annual instalment of the war indemnity to Rome was one of the causes which made the govern- 
ment press for money in any likely quarter. Simon’s information suggested a welcome and unexpected source of 
revenue. 

9. and. Inserting καὶ (V) after ἀρχιερέως. 

11. Hyrcanus. Perhaps the Jewish Alcibiades of Josephus, Azézg. XII. iv. 2-11, whom Wellhausen sees behind 
Zech. xi. 4-17. 

24. Sovereign of spirits. This is the same expression as Lord of spirits in I Enoch xxxvii. 2, &c. 

presumed to enter. The implied insolence (cp. v. 15) is described in 1 Macc. i. 21. In the following account, 
the first horseman (ver. 25) seems to belong to a different tradition from that of the other two (26 f.). The latter do 
all the work. Similar traces of fusion occur in ix. 6f., as if the author had embroidered his source with outside matter. 


190 


II MACCABEES 8. 25—4. 12 


it was decked in magnificent trappings, and rushing fiercely forward it struck at Heliodorus with its 
26 forefect. And the rider seemed to be armed with a golden panoply. Two youths also appeared — 
before Heliodorus, remarkable for their strength, gloriously handsome, and splendidly arrayed, who 
27 stood by him on either side, and scourged him unceasingly, inflicting on him many sore stripes. He 
dropped suddenly to the ground, and thick darkness wrapped him round, but (his guards) caught him 
28 up and put him into a litter, and carried him away—carried him who had just entered the aforesaid 
treasury with a large retinue and all his guard, but who was now absolutely helpless—recognizing _ 
29 Clearly the sovereign might of God. And so he had been laid prostrate, deprived of speech owing to 
30 God’s strong hand, bereft of all hope and succour. But the Jews blessed the Lord who had done 
marvellous honour to his own place; and the temple, which a little before had been full of terror and 
alarm, was filled with joy and gladness, thanks to the manifestation of the all-powerful Lord. 
31 Now some of Heliodorus’ intimate friends at once besought Onias to call upon the Most High, 
32 and so grant life to him, as he lay quite at the last gasp. The high-priest suspected that the king 
might imagine the Jews had perpetrated some foul play against Heliodorus, and he offered a sacrifice 
33 for the recovery of the man. But as the high-priest was offering the sacrifice of propitiation, the same 
young men appeared again to Heliodorus, arrayed in the same robes ; and they stood and said, Give 
Onias the high-priest hearty thanks, since it is for his sake that the Lord has granted thee thy life; 
34 and do thou, since thou hast been scourged from heaven, publish abroad to all men the sovereign 
35 majesty of God. And when they had spoken these words, they vanished out of sight. So Heliodorus 
offered sacrifice to the Lord and vowed very great vows to him who had preserved his life, and, after 
36 taking a friendly farewell of Onias, he returned with his army to the king, testifying to all men the 
37 deeds of the supreme God which he had witnessed with his own eyes. And when the king asked 
Heliodorus what sort of person would be suitable for another mission to Jerusalem, he said, If thou 
38 hast any enemy or conspirator against the state, send him thither, and thou shalt get him back well 
scourged—supposing he escapes with his life ; for the Place is really haunted by some power of God. | — 
39 He who dwells in heaven above has his eye upon that Place and defends it, smiting and destroying | 
those who approach it for ili ends. ; 


‘ 


III. 40o—IV. 22. Lntrigues of Simon and Fason over the high-priesthood. 


42 Such was the history of Heliodorus and the preservation of the treasury. But the aforesaid | 
4 ; Simon, who had informed about the money and betrayed his country, proceeded to slander Onias, | 
alleging that it was he who had maltreated Heliodorus and who had contrived the whole mischief. 
He dared to accuse of conspiracy the very man who had proved the benefactor of the city, and the 
guardian of his fellow-countrymen, and a zealot for the laws! And when the feud between them 
3 went to such a pitch that one of Simon’s trusted followers actually committed several murders, Onias, 

4 recognizing the danger of the contention, and observing that Apollonius, the son of Menestheus, as 

5 governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, was fanning Simon’s malice, betook himself to the king—not 

that he went about to accuse his fellow-citizens, but simply with a view to the good of all the people, 

6 both public and private ; for he saw that, unless the king intervened and interested himself, it was 

impossible for the State to be at peace, nor would Simon abandon his insensate attempt. 

7 But when Seleucus died, and Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, succeeded to the kingdom,» 

8 Jason the brother of Onias supplanted his brother in the high-priesthood, promising in a petition to 

9 the king three hundred and threescore talents of silver, besides eighty talents from another fund ; in 

addition to which he undertook to pay a hundred and fifty more, if he was commissioned to set up, 
το ἃ gymnasium and ephebeum and to register the Jerusalemites as citizens of Antioch. And when 
the king had given his assent, Jason at once exercised his influence in order to bring over his fellow- 

11 countrymen to Greek ways of life. Setting aside the royal ordinances of special favour to the Jews, 
obtained by John the father of Eupolemus who had gone as envoy to the Romans to secure their 
friendship and alliance, and seeking to overthrow the lawful modes of life, he introduced new customs } 

12 forbidden by the law: he deliberately established a gymnasium under the citadel itself, and made | 


to 


ἘΣ λον.» 


28. recognizing. Reading ἐπεγνωκότες, with the majority of MSS., instead of ἐπεγνωκότα. 


r : } ; : ‘ : Ὁ : e : 
IV. 4. Menestheus. Reading Μενεσθέως, Hort’s certain emendation of μαίνεσθαι ἕως or ὡς, Cp. ii. 21; Apollonius 
was naturally exasperated at the miscarriage of his little plot. 


7, 8. Jason... promising, ἃς, If Josephus is correct, however, the charge of simony is undeserved ; Jason 
succeeded to his brother’s position, as Onias died leaving only an infant son (cp. Azéig, XII. v. 1). 
9. to register . . . as citizens of Antioch. The coveted title of ‘ Antiochenes’ (cp. Schiirer, Gesch. jiid. Volkes*, 


11. 166-7), i.e. ‘loyalists’ (to the Seleucid dynasty and policy), carried with it-certain privileges (cp. ver. 19). The 
copnaty promise (1x. 15) to confer on the Jews\the privileges of Athenian citizens is true to the Hellenistic and 
Athenian proclivities of Antiochus (Niese, pp. 29-30), who probably tried to atticize his Antiochene subjects. 

11. See 1 Macc. viii. 17-32. 


136 


IE MACCABEES 4. 13-35 


τ the noblest of the young men wear the petasus. And to such a height did the passion for Greek 
| fashions rise, and the influx of foreign customs, thanks to the surpassing impiety of that godless 
\14 Jason—no high-priest he !—that the priests were no longer interested in the services of the altar, but 
despising the sanctuary, and neglecting the sacrifices, they hurried to take part in the unlawful 
[δ displays held in the palaestra after the quoit-throwing had been announced—thus setting at naught 
(6 what their fathers honoured and esteeming the glories of the Greeks above all else. Hence sore 
| distress befell them; the very men for whose customs they were so keen and whom they desired 
\17 to be like in every detail, became their foes and punished them. For it is no light matter to act 
impiously against the laws of God ; time will show that. 
18 Now games, held every five years, were being celebrated at Tyre, in the presence of the king, 
19 and the vile Jason sent sacred envoys who were citizens of Antioch to represent Jerusalem, with 
three hundred drachmas of silver for the sacrifice of Heracles. The very bearers, however, judged 
j20 that the money ought not to be spent on a sacrifice, but devoted to some other purpose, and, thanks 
to them, it went to fit out the triremes. 
21 Now when Apollonius the son of Menestheus was sent to Egypt to attend the enthronement 
of king Ptolemy Philometor, Antiochus, on learning that the latter was ill-disposed to him, proceeded 
22 to take precautions for the security of his realm. Thus he visited Joppa, and travelled on to 
Jerusalem, where he had a splendid reception from Jason and the city, and was brought in with 
blazing torches and acclamation. Thereafter, he and his army marched down into Phoenicia. 


IV. 23-50. Jutrigues of Menelaus. 


23  Nowafter a space of three years Jason sent Menelaus, the aforesaid Simon’s brother, to convey the 
24 money to the king and to remind him of some matters which required attention. But Menelaus got 
| into favour with the king, whom he extolled with an air of impressive authority, and secured the high- 
25 priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver. On receiving the royal 
mandate, he appeared in Jerusalem, possessed of no quality which entitled him to the high-priesthood, 
26 but with the passions of a cruel tyrant and the rage οἵ ἃ wild beast. So Jason, who had supplanted 
his brother, was in turn supplanted by another man, and driven as a fugitive into the country of the 
}27 Ammonites. Menelaus secured the position, but he failed to pay any of the money which he had 
28 promised to the king, although Sostratus the governor of the citadel demanded it. As the latter 
[29 was responsible for collecting the revenue, the king summoned both men before him; Menelaus left 
his brother Lysimachus to act as his deputy in the high-priesthood, while Sostratus left (as his 
deputy) Crates, the viceroy of Cyprus. 
30 At this juncture, it came to pass that the citizens of Tarsus and Mallus raised an insurrection, 
}31 because they were to be assigned as a present to Antiochis, the king’s mistress; so the king went 
| off hurriedly (to Cilicia) to settle matters, leaving Andronicus, a man of high rank, to act as his 
132 deputy. Then Menelaus supposed he had got a favourable opportunity, so he presented Andronicus 
with some golden vessels which he had stolen from the temple ;—others he had already sold to Tyre 
}33 and the surrounding cities. On ascertaining the truth of this, Onias sharply censured him, withdrawing 
34 for safety into the sanctuary of Daphne, close to Antioch. Whereupon Menelaus took Andronicus 
aside and exhorted him to kill Onias. So Andronicus went to Onias, gave him pledges by guile and 
| also his right hand with oaths (of friendship), and persuaded him, despite his suspicions, to come out of 
35 the sanctuary. He then killed him at once, regardless of justice. This made not only the Jews but 


12. the petasus, i.e. a broad-brimmed felt hat, which, as the mark of Hermes, was the badge of the falaestra. 
The otiose ὑποτάσσων of V probably arose from dittography with the following ὑπὸ πέτασον. 

16. For this idea of the punishment fitting the crime see ver. 38 (= Herod. iii. 64), v. 9-10, viii. 33, ix. 6, xiii. 8, 
Xv. 32, Wisd. xi. 16, Test. Gad v. Io. 

18. The celebration of games, in imitation of the Olympic festival and the Panathenaea, was an important part of 
the Hellenizing policy (cp. vi. 7). For the games held by Alexander the Great at Tyre see Arrian ii. 24. 6, iil. 6. τ. 

20. thanks tothem. Reading, with V, τῶν παρακομιζόντων, instead of τῶν παρόντων. 

21. Antiochus, on learning that the latter was ill-disposed, &c. Apollonius, the representative of Antiochus 
at the enthronement (πρωτοκλισία or πρωτοκλησία = the ἀνακλητήρια of Polybius xxvill. 12. 8, τὰ νομιζόμενα γίνεσθαι τοῖς 
βασιλεῦσιν ὅταν eis ἡλικίαν ἔλθωσιν) of the young Ptolemy, evidently reported to his master that a move was on foot to 
regain Coelesyria for Egypt. Antiochus took the initiative by concentrating his forces in Phoenicia. The writer, 
however, merely narrates the episode for the purpose of branding Jason’s servility. In the following episode (30-8), 
either he or his source must be assumed to have coloured and shaped the death of Onias from the story of prince 
Seleucus’ murder at the hands of Andronicus (so Willrich’s /uden und Griechen, pp. 86 f., 120f., and Wellhausen’s 
Geschichte’, pp. 243 f.), even though the murder of Onias is taken (as e.g. by Niese and Guthe) to be historical. 

29. deputy. In the semi-technical sense of διάδοχος, the Egyptian court-title (cp. ver. 31 and xiv. 26). As Cyprus 
belonged to the Ptolemies, Crates can only have been viceroy of the island during the later and brief occupation by 
Antiochus. The phrase is therefore proleptic. 

34. pledges. Reading πίστεις (62, 50 Niese) for πεισθείς, with δεξιὰς θεὶς μεθ᾽ ὅρκων, and ἀπέκτεινεν (so Niese after 
vg. and 3S) for παρέκλεισεν. 


197 


Il MACCABEES 4. 36—5. 9 


36 many people of other nationalities indignant and angry over the unjust murder of the man. So 
when the king returned from the regions of Cilicia, the Jews of the capital (with the support of the 

37 Greeks who also detested the crime) complained to him about the illegal murder of Onias. Antiochus 
was heartily sorry about it, and was moved to pity and tears for the dead man's sober and well- 

38 ordered life ; inflamed with passion, he at once had Andronicus stripped of his purple robe, and 
led, with rent under-garments, all round the city to the very spot where he had committed the 
outrage upon Onias; there he had the murderer dispatched, the Lord rendering to him the punish- 
ment he had deserved. ᾿ : ; 

39 Now when many acts of sacrilege had been committed in the city by Lysimachus, with the 
connivance of Menelaus, the report of these spread abroad throughout the country, till the people rose 
against Lysimachus; for by this time a large number of gold vessels had been sold in all directions. 

40 But when the people rose in a frenzy of rage, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men and 
took the offensive with a bold charge, led by a certain Auranus, a man well up in mad folly no less than 

41 in years. On realizing that Lysimachus was attacking them, however, some of the people caught 
up stones, others logs of wood, and some snatched handfuls of ashes that lay near, flinging them all 

42 pell-mell upon Lysimachus and his troops. In this way they wounded many, felled some to the 
ground, and routed the whole band, slaying the sacrilegious robber himself beside the treasury. 

43,44 In connexion with this affair, proceedings were taken against Menelaus, and when the king 

45 reached Tyre, three men sent by the senate laid their accusation before him. Menelaus felt that all 
was now over with him, but he promised a large sum of money to Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, 

46 in order to get the king talked over. So Ptolemy took the king aside into a gallery, as though to 

47 get some fresh air, and induced him to change his mind, the result being that he acquitted Menelaus, 
who was responsible for all the trouble, and condemned to death the hapless trio, who would have 

48 been discharged as innocent, even had they pled before Scythians. This unjust punishment was 

49 inflicted instantly upon these spokesmen for Israel’s city and folk and sacred vessels; which moved 

50 some Tyrians, who hated the crime, to provide magnificent obsequies for them. Menelaus, however, 
still remained in power, thanks to the covetousness of the authorities, and, waxing more and more 
vicious, he proved a great plotter against his fellow-citizens. 


V. 1-27. Profanation of temple and oppression of Fews by Antiochus Epiphanes. — 


51,2 Now about this time Antiochus made his second inroad into Egypt. And it so befell that 
throughout all the city of Jerusalem for almost forty days horsemen were seen charging in mid-air, 
3 wearing robes inwrought with gold, armed with lances, and arrayed in troops: swords flashing, 
squadrons of horse in array, assaults and charges repeated from one side and another, shields shaken, 
spears massed together, darts hurtling to and fro, the sheen of golden trappings, and corselets of all 
4 kinds. Which made all men pray that the apparition might betoken good. 
5 Now a false rumour got abroad that Antiochus had died. Whereupon Jason took not less 
than a thousand men, and made a sudden attack on the city; the troops stationed on the walls were 
6 routed, and, as the city was now practically captured, Menelaus took refuge in the citadel, while 
Jason proceeded to slaughter his fellow-citizens without mercy, reckless of the fact that to get any 
advantage over kinsfolk is the worst kind of disadvantage, and imagining to himself that he was winning 
7 trophies from foes and not from fellow-countrymen. He failed to secure the place of power, 
however; and in the end he reaped only shame from his conspiracy, and had to pass over again as 
g a fugitive into the country of the Ammonites. As for the end of his wretched career—imprisoned 
under Aretas the Arabian prince, flying from city to city, pursued by all men, hated as an apostate 
from the laws, and loathed as a butcher of his country and his fellow-citizens, he was expelled into 
9 Egypt. He who had driven so many into exile, died himself in exile, crossing over to the Lace- 
daemonians, with the idea of finding shelter there among kinsfolk. He who had flung out many 


40. Auranus. The variant reading ‘Tyrannus’ (Τυράννου, V; cp. Acts xix. 9) is more likely to have arisen from 2 
the uncommon Αὐράνου (A, 55, 74, 106) than vice versa. The latter, even when read as Αὐὑράνου, cannot mean 
‘homo in Auranitide’, which would be Αὐρανίτιος or Αὐρανιτίτης. Nor is there any connexion between this assassin’s | 
name and Eleazar’s title of Avaran (Avapay) or the ‘stabber’ (?) in 1 Macc. ii. 5. s 


Ν. 8. imprisoned. Owing to the compressed style of this passage, which recapitulates generally the closing 
adventures of Jason, the conjectural reading ἐγκληθείς (= arraigned ; so read many editors from Luther and Grotius to 
Grimm), instead of ἐγκλεισθείς (cp. Nestle’s Septuaginta-Studien, iv, p. 22), is plausible, but the lack of connexion in | 
the epitome here is enough to explain how Jason could be described as fleeing from city to city after being a prisoner. | 
Probably ἔτυχεν goes with ἐγκλεισθείς (cp. iv. 32), and πέρας with κακῆς ἀναστροφῆς. The easier v. ὦ. ἔλαβεν (V) enables | 
mepas to be taken not in an absolute construction but in close connexion with the verb. | 

9. kinsfolk. Cp. 1 Macc. xii.21; Josephus, Wars, i.26.1. On the origin of the legend see Biichler, of. c7¢., pp. 126 f. 

H. Winckler (A/torient. Forschungen, ii. 3. 565.) takes the Maccabaean references as editorial additions based on 
a misunderstanding of the original D'N2. 


138 


II MACCABEES 5. 1to—6. το 


a corpse to lie unburied had none to mourn for him, nor had he a funeral of any kind or place in the 
j11 sepulchre of his fathers. Now when tidings of what had happened reached the king, he thought 
12 Judaea was in revolt. He therefore started from Egypt in a fury, stormed the city, and commanded 
his soldiers to cut down without mercy any one they met, and to slay those who sheltered in their 
[1 houses. So there was a massacre of young and old, an extermination of boys, women, and children, 
[14 a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the short space of three days eighty thousand were destroyed, 
|15 forty thousand of them in close combat, and as many again were sold into slavery. Not content 
with this, he dared to enter the most holy temple on earth, under the guidance of Menelaus, who 
τό proved himself a traitor both to the laws and to his country ; he laid polluted hands on the sacred 
vessels, and swept off with his profane hands what other kings had dedicated to enhance the glory and 
}17 honour of the Place. Uplifted in spirit, Antiochus did not consider that it was on account of the sins 
of those who dwelt in the city that the Sovereign Lord was provoked to anger for a little while ; hence 
{18 His indifference to the Place. Had they not been involved in so many sins, this fellow would have 
fared like Heliodorus, who was sent by king Seleucus to pry into the treasury—he would have been 
19 scourged as soon as he pressed forward, and turned back from his presumption. But the Lord did not 
20 choose the nation for the sake of the Place; he chose the Place for the sake of the nation. And so 
| the Place, after partaking in the calamities that befell the nation, shared afterwards in its prosperity ; 
forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty, it was restored again in full glory when the great Sovereign 
became reconciled. 
2: Antiochus, then, carried off from the temple eighteen hundred talents and hurried away to 
Antioch, thinking in his arrogance to make the land navigable and the sea passable by foot—so 
22 uplifted was he in heart. He also left governors behind him to ill-treat the Jewish people: at 
Jerusalem, Philip, a Phrygian by race, whose disposition was more barbarous than that of his 
[23 master; at Gerizim, Andronicus; and, besides these, Menelaus, who lorded it worst of them all 
[24 over the citizens. And in malice against the Jews he sent the Mysian commander Apollonius with an 
| army of two and twenty thousand, under orders to slay all those that were of full age and to sell 
25 the women and the younger men. This fellow, on reaching Jerusalem, played the réle of a man of 
peace, waiting till the holy day of the sabbath; then, finding the Jews at rest from work, he com- 
[26 manded his men to parade in arms, put to the sword all who came to see what was going on, and 
27 rushing into the city with the armed men killed great numbers. Judas Maccabaeus, however, with 
| about nine others got away, and kept himself and his companions alive in the mountains, as wild 
beasts do, feeding on herbs, in order that they might not be polluted like the rest. 


VI. 1-31.. Enforced Hellenization of the Fewws. 


δὲ Shortly after this the king sent an old Athenian to compel the Jews to depart from the laws 
| 2 οὗ their fathers, and to cease living by the laws of God; further, the sanctuary in Jerusalem was to 

be polluted and called after Zeus Olympius, while the sanctuary at Gerizim was also to be called 
3 after Zeus Xenius, in keeping with the hospitable character of the inhabitants. Now this proved a sore 
4 and altogether crushing visitation of evil. For the heathen filled the temple with riot and revelling, 

dallying with harlots and lying with women inside the sacred precincts, besides bringing in what 
5 was forbidden, while the altar was filled with abominable sacrifices which the law prohibited. And 
6a man could neither keep the sabbath, nor celebrate the feasts of the fathers, nor so much as 
7 confess himself to be a Jew. On the king’s birthday every month they were taken—bitter was the 

necessity—to share in the sacrifice, and when the festival of the Dionysia came round they were 
8 compelled to wear ivy wreaths for the procession in honour of Dionysus. On the suggestion of 

Ptolemy, an edict was also issued to the neighbouring Greek cities, ordering them to treat the Jews 
gin the same way and force them to share in the sacrifices, slaying any who refused to adopt 
to Greek ways. Thus any one could see the distressful state of affairs. Two women, for example, 
were brought up for having circumcised their children; they were paraded round the city, with 


23. And in malice against the Jews. Omitting (with V) πολίτας in ver. 23, and taking ἔχων... ἀπεχθὴ with 
what follows (so Grimm, and R.V. margin). 

24. the Mysian commander. τὸν μυσάρχην may be either a derogatory epithet or an official title ; probably it is 
both. The Mysians (Μυσοί, cp. Polyb. xxxi. 3. 3) formed a special division or guard in the Seleucid armies, and the 
unique formation Μυσάρχης means ‘commander of the Mysians’ (cp. Κυπριάρχης, Xil. 2 = ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν Κυπρίων, for the 
form, though μυσιάρχης would mean ‘governor of Mysia’). But the ill-repute of the Mysians (Μυσῶν ἔσχατος, a 
scoundrel) suggested a play on the term, as if it meant * detestable ringleader’. 

27. Cp. x. 6, Heb. xi. 37-8. 

VI. 2. Zeus Xenius. i.e. the protector of strangers or guests. 

7. the king’s birthday every month. For the monthly celebration of a royal birthday see the evidence from 
Egypt, Commagene, and Pergamum, collected by Schiirer in Preuschen’s Zeztschrift fiir die neutestamentliche Wissen- 
schaft (1901), pp. 48-52. 

139 


Il MACCABEES 6. 11—7. 5 


11 their babies hanging at their breasts, and then flung from the top of the wall. Some others, who 
had taken refuge in the adjoining caves in order to keep the seventh day secretly, were betrayed 
to Philip and all burnt together, since they scrupled to defend themselves, out of regard to the 
honour of that most solemn day. 

12 Now I beseech the readers of this book not to be discouraged by such calamities, but to reflect 

13 that our people were being punished by way of chastening and not for their destruction. For 
indeed it is a. mark of great kindness when the impious are not let alone for a long time, but 

14 punished at once. In the case of other nations, the Sovereign Lord in his forbearance refrains from 
punishing them till they have filled up their sins to the full, but in our case he has deter- 

15 mined otherwise, that his vengeance may not fall on us in after-days when our sins have reached 

16 their height. Wherefore he never withdraweth his mercy from us; and though he chasteneth his 

17 own people with calamity, he forsaketh them not. So much by way of a reminder to ourselves ; 
after these few words we must come back to our story. 

18. Eleazar, one of the principal scribes, a man already well stricken in years and of a noble counten- 

19 ance, was compelled to eat swine’s flesh. But he, welcoming death with renown rather than life 

20 with pollution, advanced of his own accord to the instrument of torture, affording an example of 
how men should come forward who have the courage to put from them food which, even for the 

21 natural love of life, they dare not taste. Now those in charge of that forbidden sacrificial feast took 
the man aside, for the sake of old acquaintance, and privately urged him to bring some flesh of his 
own providing, such as he was lawfully allowed to use, and to pretend he was really eating of the 

22 sacrifice which the king had ordered, so that in this way he might escape death and be kindly treated 

23 for the sake of their old friendship. But he with a high resolve, worthy of his years and of the 
dignity of his descent and of his grey hair reached with honour and of his noble life from childhood _ 
and, still more, of the holy laws divinely ordained, spoke his mind accordingly, telling them to 

24 dispatch him to Hades at once. ‘It ill becomes our years to dissemble,’ said he, ‘and thus lead 
many younger persons to imagine that Eleazar in his nineticth year has gone over to a heathenish 

25 religion. I should lead them astray by my dissimulation, for the mere sake of enjoying this brief 

26 and momentary life, and I should bring stain and foul disgrace on my own old age. Even were I for 
the moment to evade the punishment of men, I should not escape the hands of the Almighty in 

24 life or in death. Wherefore, by manfully parting with my life now, I will show myself worthy of my —_ 

28 old age, and leave behind me a noble example to the young of how to die willingly and nobly 

29 on behalf of our reverend and holy laws. With these words he stepped forward at once to the 
instrument of torture, while those who a moment before had been friendly turned against him, 

30 deeming his language to be that of a sheer madman. Now, just as he was expiring under the 
strokes of torture, he groaned out, The Lord, who hath holy knowledge, understandeth that, — 
although I might have been freed from death, I endure cruel pains in my body from scourging and 

31 suffer this gladly in my soul, because I fear him.’ Thus he too died, leaving his death as an 


example of nobility and a memorial of virtue, not only to the young but also to the great body of 
his nation. 


VII. 1-42. Wartyrdom of seven brothers and their mother. a7 


71 It also came to pass that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and shamefully lashed © 
with whips and scourges, by the king’s orders, that they might be forced to taste the abominable 
2 swine’s flesh. But one of them spoke up for the others and said, Why question us? What wouldst 
3 thou learn from us? We are prepared to die sooner than transgress the laws of our fathers. Then 
4 the king, in his exasperation, ordered pans and cauldrons to be heated, and, when they were heated 
immediately, ordered the tongue of the speaker to be torn out, had him scalped and mutilated 
5 before the eyes of his brothers and mother, and then had him put on the fire, all maimed and 
crippled as he was, but still alive, and set to fry inthe pan. And as the vapour from the pan spread 


18. of a noble countenance, was compelled. Reading κάλλιστος τυγχάνων ἠναγκάζετο (19, 52, 62, 93, Syr.; V om. Ἴ 
ἀναχαίνων) with Niese and Nestle (Seft.-Studien, iv. 20). 

20. affording an example. For προπτύσας δέ (= but spat out the flesh first), which comes in awkwardly, read 
προτυπώσας (SO One minuscule: Nestle, pp. 20-1) as above, which tallies with 27-8 better than πρωτεύσας (V2). The 
less natural alternative is to omit δὲ (with Niese) and read τόπον (so Grotius) for τρύπον. 

23. descent. For γήρους (A) or γήρως (V) read, with Niese, γένους. The two considerations of age and race are 
developed in the following clauses, where ἀναστροφῆς (R.V. margin, so A, 52, 55, 62) is preferable to ἀνατροφῆς (R.V. text). 

26. Cp. Heb. x. 31, xi. 35 ; also. vv. 19 and 30 with Heb. xi. 35 (ἄλλοι δὲ ἐτυμπανίσθησαν), and vii. 28 with Heb. xi. 3. 


VII. 4, scalped. πΠερισκυθίσαντας refers to the practice of the Scythians, the typical savages (see above, iv. 47) and 
Red Indians of the ancient East, who flayed and scalped their victims (Herod. iv. 64). ; 


140 


Le MACCABEES 7. 6=36 


6 abroad, they and their mother exhorted one another to die nobly, uttering these words: The Lord 
God beholdeth this, and truly hath compassion on us, even as Moses declared in his Song which 
testifieth against them to their face, saying, 

And he shall have compassion on his servants. 

ἡ And when the first had died after this manner, they brought the second to the shameful torture, 
tearing off the skin of his head with the hair and asking him, Wilt thou eat, before we punish thy 

8 body limb by limb? But he answered in the language of his fathers and said to them, No. So he 

g too underwent the rest of the torture, as the first had done. And when he was at the last gasp, he said, 
Thou cursed miscreant! Thou dost dispatch us from this life, but the King of the world shall raise 

zo us up, who have died for his laws, and revive us to life everlasting. And after him the third was made 

a mocking-stock. And when he was told to put out his tongue, he did so at once, stretching forth 

τι his hands courageously, with the noble words, These I had from heaven; for His name’s sake 

121 count them naught; from Him I hope to get them back again. So much so that the king 

himself and his company were astounded at the spirit of the youth, for he thought nothing of his 

13 sufferings. And when he too was dead, they tortured the fourth in the same shameful fashion. 

14 And when he was near his end, he said: ’Tis meet for those who perish at men’s hands to cherish 

hope divine that they shall be raised up by God again; but thou—thou shalt have no resur- 

16 rection to life. Next they brought the fifth and handled him shamefully. But he looked at the 

king and said, Holding authority among men, thou doest what thou wilt, poor mortal; but dream 

17 not that God hath forsaken our race. Go on, and thou shalt find how His sovereign power will 

18 torture thee and thy seed! And after him they brought the sixth. And when he was at the point 

of death he said, Deceive not thyself in vain! We are suffering this on our own account, for sins 

19 against our own God. That is why these awful horrors have befallen us. But think not thou shalt 

20 go unpunished for daring to fight against God! The mother, however, was a perfect wonder ; she 

| deserves to be held in glorious memory, for, thanks to her hope in God, she bravely bore the sight 

21 of seven sons dying ina single day. Full of noble spirit and nerving her weak woman’s heart with 

the courage of a man, she exhorted each of them in the language of their fathers, saying, How you 

| 22 were ever conceived in my womb, 1 cannot tell! "T'was not I who gave you the breath of life or 

23 fashioned the elements of each! *Twas the Creator of the world who fashioneth men and deviseth 

the generating of all things, and he it is who in mercy will restore to you the breath of life even 

24 as you now count yourselves naught for his laws’ sake. Now Antiochus feit that he was being 

humiliated, but, overlooking the taunt of her words, he made an appeal to the youngest brother, 
who still survived, and even promised on oath to make him rich and happy and a Friend and 

25 a trusted official of State, if he would give up his fathers’ laws. As the young man paid no atten- 

26 tion to him, he summoned his mother and exhorted her to counsel the lad to save himself. So, 

27 after he had exhorted her at length, she agreed to persuade her son. She leant over to him and, 

befooling the cruel tyrant, spoke thus in her fathers’ tongue: My son, have pity on me. Nine 
months I carried thee in my womb, three years I suckled thee; I reared thee and brought thee up 
| 28 to this age of thy life. Child, I beseech thee, lift thine eyes to heaven and earth, look at all that is 
therein, and know that God did not make them out of the things that existed. So is the race of 

29 men created. Fear not this butcher, but show thyself worthy of thy brothers, and accept thy death, 

30 that by God’s mercy I may receive thee again together with thy brothers. Ere she had finished, the 

young man cried, What are you waiting for? 1 will not obey the king’s command, I will obey the 

31 command of the law given by Moses to our fathers. But thou, who hast devised all manner of evil 

32 against the Hebrews, thou shalt not escape the hands of God. We are suffering for our own sins, 

33 and though our living Lord is angry for a little, in order to rebuke and chasten us, he will again be 

34 reconciled to his own servants. But thou, thou impious wretch, vilest of all men, be not vainly 

35 uplifted with thy proud, uncertain hopes, raising thy hand against the heavenly children ; thou hast 

| 36 not yet escaped the judgement of the Almighty God who seeth all. These our brothers, after 


6. Song which testifieth . . . face. This sententious description of the Song (Deut. xxxii. 36) is not only out of 
keeping with the mdse en scene, but far-fetched ; the testimony of the Song in question was borne against faithless 
Israel, not against outside oppressors. 

18. Some MSS. insert διό before, or γάρ after, ἄξια. Niese, reading the latter, and following V® (ἄξιοι) and V 
(γεγόναμεν), conjectures κολασμοῦ for θαυμασμοῦ (i.e. and have deserved punishment), But the above reading, though 
characteristically abrupt, yields a good sense. 

23. men. For ἀνθρώπου γένεσιν read with Niese ἄνθρωπον (or ἀνθρώπους), the first γένεσιν being repeated fer ¢xcuriant 
from the second. 

24. overlooking. For ὑφορώμενος (‘suspecting’) read ὑπερορώμενος (Vg. = exprobrantis uoce despecta) with 
Kamphausen. For the promised rank of Friend (i. 14, vill. 29, 1 Macc. i1. 18, &c.) see Deissmann’s L74/e-Studies, 

ΤΟΤΕ 
ΝΜ 7 eave thee. Omitting (with 71, Vg, S$) the anticlimax of καὶ τροφοφορήσασαν (= and sustained thee, lit. 
nursed). 


141 


II MACCABEES 7. 36—8. 20 


enduring a brief pain, have now drunk of everflowing life, in terms of God’s covenant, but thou shalt — 
37 receive by God’s judgement the just penalty of thine arrogance. I, like my brothers, give up body ~ 

and soul for our fathers’ laws, calling on God to show favour to our nation soon, and to make thee 
58 acknowledge, in torment and plagues, that he alone is God, and to let the Almighty’s wrath, justly 
39 fallen on the whole of our nation, end in me and in my brothers. Then the king fell into a passion — 
yo and had him handled worse than the others, so exasperated was he at being mocked. Thus he also 
41 died unpolluted, trusting absolutely in the Lord. Finally after her sons the mother also perished. 
42 Let this suffice for the enforced sacrifices and the excesses of barbarity. 


i 


VIII. 1-36. Revolt and early successes of Fudas Maccabaeus. 


81 But Judas, who is also called Maccabaeus, together with his companions, went round the 

villages by stealth, summoning their kinsfolk and mustering those who had adhered to Judaism, till 

> they collected as many as six thousand. And they invoked the Lord to look upon the people whom 

3 all men oppressed, to have compassion on the sanctuary which the godless had profaned, and also 

to pity the ruined city which was on the point of being levelled with the ground, to hearken to the 

4 blood that cried to him, to remember the impious massacre of the innocent babes and the blasphemies 

; committed against his name, and to manifest his hatred of evil. Now as soon as Maccabaeus had 

got his company together, the heathen found him irresistible, for the Lord’s anger was now turned 

6 into mercy. He would surprise and burn both towns and villages, gaining possession of strategic 
7 positions and routing large numbers of the enemy. He took special advantage of the night for such 

attacks. And the whole country echoed with the fame of his valour. 

s So when Philip saw that the man was gaining ground inch by inch and adding daily to his 

successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, for support in maintaining 

9 the king’s cause. The latter lost no time in selecting Nicanor, the son of Patroclus, one of the fore- \ 
most among the king’s Friends, whom he dispatched at the head of no fewer than twenty thousand 
troops of all nationalities to exterminate the entire population of Judaea; and with him there was 
associated Gorgias, a military commander who had considerable experience of active service. 
το Nicanor, however, determined to sell the Jews into slavery, and so to make up the sum of two 
11 thousand talents which the king owed by way of tribute to the Romans. He therefore sent at once 
to the maritime towns, inviting them to purchase Jewish slaves, whom he promised to sell at the rate 
of ninety a talent—little imagining the judgement that was to overtake him from the Almighty. “ 
12 Now when Judas was informed of Nicanor’s inroad, and when he told his followers about the 
13 arrival of the host, those who were cowardlyand sceptical about God’s judgement ran off and decamped, 
14 while others sold all their remaining possessions and withal besought the Lord to deliver those 
5 whom the impious Nicanor had already sold before the battle ; and this, if not for their own sakes, 
at least for the sake of the covenants made with their fathers and for the sake of His reverend and 
16 glorious name, by which they were called. But when Maccabaeus had got his men together, six 
thousand in number, he bade them have no fear of chains and slavery and no dread of the vast 
17 number of the heathen who had attacked them wrongfully ; let them fight nobly, keeping before their 
eyes the wanton and lawless outrage of the heathen upon the holy place, the shocking and despiteful 
18 violence done to the city, and further the overthrow of their ancestral polity. They trust to arms 
and daring deeds, he said, but we rely upon the Almighty God, who by a nod can lay low our 
19 enemies, aye and the whole world. Then he rehearsed to them the aid repeatedly vouchsafed in the 
days of their ancestors, as in the days of Sennacherib, when a hundred and eighty-five thousand 
20 perished, and as at the battle fought against the Galatians in Babylonia, where only eight thousand 


36. drunk. Hort’s conjecture, πεπώκασι, for the MSS. πεπτώκασι, restores the original sense of the passage. 


VIII: 4. massacre of the innocent babes. Cp. above, vi. 10, and 1 Macc. i. 61. 
_6. villages. κώμας (‘villages’) is to be read for χώρας. 


routing ...enemy. Cp. Heb. xi. 34. 
13. God’s judgment. i.e. on their foes (cp. ver. 11). Contrast the account of 1 Macc. ili. 56. 
14. those whom . . . sold before the battle. i.e. not stray captives picked up by the way but the speakers 


themselves, whom Nicanor had sold in advance. 
16. six thousand in number. But this was the original number of the army (ver. 1) ! 
slavery. For τοὺς πολεμίους (V) or τοῖς πολεμίοις read τοῖς δεσμοῖς, which has been altered in A into τοῖς δεσμίοις» 
as the variant (19, 62) τοῖς πολέμοις has been altered into τοῖς πολεμίοις. 
18. by anod. Cp. Apoc. Bar, xxi. 5, &c. 
and the whole world. For the turn of expression see I John ii. 2. 

20. the battle ...in Babylonia. Nothing is known of the engagement which forms the subject of this 
exaggerated boast. The eight thousand, who are obviously Jews, may have been fighting either under Antiochus the 
Great against a body of Gallic mercenaries under Molon, the rebellious satrap of Media (221-220 B.C.), or, earlier, in 
the ranks of Antiochus Soter (281-261 B.C.), who is said to have won his title (Appian, Sy7. 66) from his efforts against 
the Gallic raiders in Asia Minor. ὃ 


142 


II MACCABEES δὲ 20—9. 4 


men, together with four thousand Macedonians, took the field, and where, after the Macedonians were 
hard pressed, the eight thousand slew the hundred and twenty thousand, owing to the aid vouchsafed 
21 them from heaven, and won rich booty. With these words he inspirited them and got them ready 
22 to die for the laws and for their country. He then divided his army into four, and put his brothers 
at the head of the various divisions, Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan each being in command of fifteen 
23 hundred men; he also made Eleazar read aloud the holy Book, and taking ‘God’s Help’ as a watch- 
24 word put himself at the head of the first division, ‘and engaged Nicanor. And, since the Almighty 
fought on their side, they slew over nine thousand of the enemy, wounded and disabled the greater 
25 part of Nicanor’s army, and forced them all to flee. They also secured the very money of those who 
26 had arrived for the purpose of buying them. Then, after pursuing them for some distance, they were 
obliged to turn back on account of time ; it was the day before the sabbath, and therefore they made 
27 no effort to follow them up. So, after collecting the arms of the enemy, and stripping them of their 
spoils, they attended to the duties of the sabbath, loudly blessing and praising the Lord who had 
28 preserved them unto this day and thus begun to show them mercy ; after the sabbath, when 
they had apportioned part of the spoils to their own wounded and to the widows and orphans, they 
29 shared the remainder among themselves and their children. This done, they united in supplication, 
beseeching the Lord of mercy to be fully reconciled to his servants. 
30 ©Inan encounter with the forces of Timotheus and Bacchides, they also killed over twenty thousand 
and got possession of some extremely high strongholds, securing a large quantity of plunder which 
they distributed equally with themselves not only among the wounded, the orphans, and the widows, 
31 but also among the older people. Then, after collecting the arms of the enemy, they stored them all 
32 carefully in the most important forts, conveying the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem. They also slew 
Phylarches, who belonged to Timotheus’ forces, a most impious scoundrel who had inflicted serious 
33 injuries on the Jews. And while they were celebrating the victory in the city of their fathers, they 
burned Callisthenes and some others, who had set fire to the sacred gates, and who had taken refuge 
34.in a small house; thus did these men receive the due reward of their impiety. As for the thrice- 
35 accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews for slaves, those whom 
he reckoned of no account humbled him by the help of the Lord ; doffing his splendid uniform, he 
had to make his way alone, like a runaway slave, straight across country to Antioch, having fared 
36 disastrously in his expedition and having left his army annihilated. So the man who undertook to 
secure tribute for the Romans by selling the Jerusalemites into captivity, proved the means of 
showing that the Jews had a Champion and that they were invulnerable since they followed the laws 
which He enacted. 


IX. 1-29. The miserable death of Antiochus Epiphanes. 


); Now about that time it happened that Antiochus had to beat a disorderly retreat from the region 
2 οἵ Persia. He had entered the city called Persepolis and tried to rob temples and get hold of the 
city; whereupon the people flew to arms and routed him, with the result that Antiochus was put to 
3 flight by the people of the country and broke up his camp in disgrace. And while he was at 
4 Ecbatana, news reached him of what had happened to Nicanor and the forces of Timotheus. So, in 


22. Joseph, here and in x. 19, is an error of the author or of a copyist for John (cp. : Macc. ix. 36 f.}. 

23. made Eleazar read aloud. Reading (Vg, 3, 19, 62, 64, 93, so Grimm, Rawlinson, and Kamphausen) 
παραγνῶναι for mapavayvous (A.V. Fritzsche, Swete). ‘God’s Help’ is a play on the name of Eleazar. 

26, 27. The real reason was not sabbatarian strictness (cp. 1 Macc. iv. 17f.), and the spoiling of the enemy is 
ante-dated (cp. 1 Macc. iv. 18, 23). On the Sabbatarianism see above, vi. 11, and Jub. 7. 6-13. 

27. after collecting the arms. Here, though not in ver. 31, ὁπλολογήσαντες αὐτούς might also be rendered, ‘ having 
piled their arms’ (contrast 1 Macc. iv. 6). 

thus begun to show them mercy. The pretty reading, στάξαντος (‘distilled’), is less well supported than 
τάξαντος (as above, cp. ver. 5) or τάξαντι (62). Niese, reading the latter, with καί after αὐτούς, renders, ‘to him who 
had preserved them and appointed this day to be the beginning of mercy for them.’ 

29. to be fully reconciled. i.e. to show the permanence of his favour by continuing to crown their efforts with 
success. Grimm quotes a similar phrase from Euseb. 1. £. viii. 16. 2 (τῆς θείας προνοίας... τῷ μὲν αὐτῆς καταλλατ- 
τομένης λαῷ, of the cessation of persecution). 

33. a small house. The point of mentioning the smallness of the house (οἰκίδιον, a real diminutive) is obviously to 
contrast the number who took refuge in it. This tells, together with the position of ὑφῆψαν after Καλλισθένην, in favour 
of πεφευγότας instead of πεφευγότα (as if Callisthenes was the only incendiary who hid himself in the hut or cottage), 
οἵ καί τινας ἄλλους after Καλλισθένην, and of ἐκομίσαντο for ἐκομίσατο. 

reward of their impiety. For the phrase cp. 2 Pet. ii. 13. 

35. fared disastrously. Reading ὑπεράγαν δυσημερηκώς. 


IX. 2. Persepolis was not in Elymais; consequently, unless ‘ Elymais’ in 1 Macc. i. 6 is a corruption (cp. Cheyne 
in Encyclopaedia Biblica, 1284, 3660), there is a geographical contradiction between the two narratives. See i. 12 f. 
tried successfully, according to Appian (Sy7. 66). 
3. Ecbatana, the capital of Media, was not near the route of his flight to Babylon (1 Mace. vi. 4). 


143 


Il MACCABEES 9. 4-24 


a transport of rage, he determined to wreak vengeance on the Jews for the defeat which he had 
suffered at the hands of those who had forced him to fly, and ordered his charioteer to drive — 
on without halting till the journey was ended. Verily the judgement of heaven upon him was 
imminent! For thus he spoke in his arrogance: When I reach Jerusalem, I will make it a common 
5 sepulchre of Jews. But the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, smote him with a fatal and unseen 
stroke; the words were no sooner out of his mouth than he was seized with an incurable pain in 
6 the bowels, and his internal organs gave him cruel torture—a right proper punishment for one who 
7 had tortured the bowels of other people with many an exquisite pang. He did not cease from his 
wild insolence, however, but waxed more arrogant than ever, breathing fire and fury against the Jews, 
and giving orders to hurry on with the journey. And it came to pass that he dropped from his 
8 chariot as it whirled along, so that the bad fall racked every limb of his body. ἃ Thus he who in his 
overweening haughtiness had supposed the waves of the sea were at his bidding and imagined he 
could weigh the high mountains in his scales, was now prostrate, carried along ina litter—a manifest 
9 token to all men of the power of God. Worms actually swarmed from the impious creature's body ; 
his flesh fell off, while he was still alive in pain and anguish; and the stench of his corruption turned 
τὸ the whole army from him with loathing. A man who shortly before had thought he could touch 
ir the stars of heaven, none could now endure to carry, such was his intolerable stench. Then it was 
that, broken in spirit, he began to abate his arrogance, for the most part, and to arrive at some know- 
ledge of the truth. For, as he suffered more and more anguish under the scourge of God, unable 
12 even to bear his own stench, he said: Right is it that mortal man should be subject to God, and not 
13 deem himself God’s equal. The vile wretch also made a vow to the Lord (who would not now 
14 have pity on him), promising that he would proclaim the holy city free—the city which he was 
15 hurrying to lay level with the ground and to make a common sepulchre—that he would make all 
the Jews equal to citizens of Athens—the Jews whom he had determined to throw out with their 
16 children to the beasts, for the birds to devour, as unworthy even to be buried—that he would 
adorn with magnificent offerings the holy sanctuary which he had formerly rifled, restoring all the 
sacred vessels many times over, and defraying from his own revenue the expense of the sacrifices ; 
17 furthermore, that he would even become a Jew and travel over the inhabited worid to publish abroad 
18 the might of God. But when his sufferings did not cease by any means (for God’s judgement had 
justly come upon him), he gave up all hope of himself and wrote the following letter, with its humble 
supplication, to the Jews : 
19 To his citizens, the loyal Jews, Antiochus their king and general wisheth great joy and health 
20 and prosperity. If you and your children fare well and your affairs are to your mind, I give thanks 
21 to God, as my hope is in heaven. As for myself, I am sick. Your esteem and goodwill I bear in 
loving memory. On my way back from Persia I have fallen seriously ill, and I think it needful to 
22 take into consideration the common safety of all my subjects—not that I despair of myself (for, 
23 on the contrary, I have good hopes of recovery), but in view of the fact that when my father marched 
24 into the upper country, he appointed his successor, in order that, in the event of anything un- 


8) €pavaz2; Usa. 512) 11- 15: A 

9. worms, &c. A conventional doom for blasphemous persecutors (cp. Acts xii. 23). The narrative of Jason 
probably described the disease as a result of the fall from the chariot. The epitomist not only puts in the supernatural 
touch of ver. 5, but some of the high colouring in the edifying sequel. 

11. broken in spirit. V's reading (imoreOpavopevos) may mean either that he grew steadily worse (Bissell) or that 
he was suffering severely (an instance of meiosis, so Grimm and Kamphausen) ; but the variant of A (τεθραυσμένος, so 
Fritzsche, Rawlinson, &c.) gives a better sense, and Niese’s conjecture that κατὰ στιγμήν has arisen by dittography 
from μάστιγι (cp. 62, μάστιγμην) is very plausible. ‘Ferner muss man mit 19, 62, 64, 93 lesen: καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν 
ἔρχεσθαι ἀληθείας" θείᾳ yap μάστιγι ἐπιτεινόμενος ταῖς ἀλγηδύσι καὶ μηδὲ τῆς ὀσμῆς δυνάμενος ἀνέχεσθαι Ktr” (Kritik, p. 113). 
In ver. 12 ὑπερήφανα (A, 55, 71, 74, 106, 243) is probably (so Grimm, Bissell, Kamphausen) a gloss upon ἰσόθεα 
(cp. Phil. ii. 6; Aesch. Pevsae, 820, &c.). 

17. become a Jew, &c. The narrative makes Antiochus outdo even Nebuchadrezzar (Dan. iv. 37) in the way of 
abject penance, or at least of promises. 

18. the following letter, with its humble supplication. The letter does not answer to this description, and, as 
addressed to Judas and his party, is entirely out of keeping with the facts of the situation. Bevan (Howse of Seleucus, 
ii. 177, 298), like Niese (30), defends it by supposing that it was originally meant for the Hellenizing Jewish community 
of Jerusalem, which Antiochus affected to regard as the genuine article. He calls them χρηστοί in the sense in which 
the Cavaliers in seventeenth-century England were called the ‘honest’ party (cp. e.g. Aristoph. Frogs 783 ὀλίγον τὸ 
χρηστόν ἐστιν), and describes himself as their στρατηγός (general) by way of flattery, implying that he was proud to be 
strategos in Jerusalem no less than in Athens. Had the author, or Jason, composed the letter, he would probably 
have coloured and shaped it to fit the context. Its very discrepancies with the present setting tell in favour of the 
hypothesis that it reflects some authentic document. 

21. lam sick. Your esteem, ἄς. The asyndeton is awkward, but it is more awkward to insert εἰ μή before 
ἀσθενῶς or ἄλλως yap before ὑμῶν, and translate (with Rawlinson): ‘I am sick, otherwise I would have remembered, 
ἃς, (retaining the ἄν before ἐμνημόνευον, which probably arose from the last syllable of the preceding εὔνοιαν). 

23. marched into the upper country. Cp. 1 Macc. iii. 37. 

24. anything unexpected. A euphemism for the king’s death, like ‘the coming event ’ (ver. 25). 


144 


II MACCABEES 9. 24—10. τό 


expected occurring or any unwelcome news arriving, the residents at home might know whom the 
}5 State had been entrusted to, and so be spared any disturbance. Besides these considerations, as 
I have noticed how the princes on the borders and the neighbours of my kingdom are on the alert 
for any opportunity and anticipate the coming event, I have appointed my son Antiochus to be king. 
| I have often committed and commended him to most of you, when I hurried to the upper provinces. 
61 have also written to him what I have written below. I therefore exhort and implore you to 
| remember the public and private benefits you have received and to preserve, each of you, your 
[ἡ present goodwill toward me and my son. For I am convinced that with mildness and kindness he 
| will adhere to my policy and continue on good terms with you. 

+8 So this murderer and blasphemer, after terrible suffering such as he had inflicted on other people, 
}9 ended his life most miserably among the mountains in a foreign land. His bosom-friend Philip 
brought the corpse home; and then, fearing the son of Antiochus, he betook himself to Ptolemy 
Philometor in Egypt. 


X. 1-8. The temple purified and the feast of dedication instituted. 


11 Now Maccabaeus and his followers, under the leadership of the Lord, recaptured the temple and 
2 the city, and pulled down the altars erected by the aliens in the market-place, as well as the sacred 
3inclosures. After cleansing the sanctuary, they erected another altar of sacrifice, and striking fire 
out of flints they offered sacrifices after a lapse of two years, with incense, lamps, and the presentation of 
4 the shew-bread. This done, they fell prostrate before the Lord with entreaties that they might never 
again incur such disasters, but that, if ever they should sin, he would chasten them with forbearance, 
5 instead of handing them over to blasphemous and barbarous pagans. Nowit so happened that the 
cleansing of the sanctuary took place on the very day on which it had been profaned by aliens, on 
6 the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which is Chislev. And they celebrated it for eight days 
with gladness like a feast of tabernacles, remembering how, not long before, during the feast of 
7 tabernacles they had been wandering like wild beasts in the mountains and the caves. So, bearing 
wands wreathed with leaves and fair boughs and palms, they offered hymns of praise to him who had 
8 prospered the cleansing of his own place, and also passed a public order and decree that all the 
Jewish nation should keep these ten days every year. 


X. 9-38. Hurther campaigns of Fudas. 


‘© Such was the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes. We will now explain what occurred 
under Antiochus Eupator, the son of that godless man, summarizing the calamities of the wars. 
‘t When he succeeded to the throne, he appointed a certain Lysias as his chancellor and as supreme 
‘2 governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia. For Ptolemy, who was called Macron, had set an example 
of justice to the Jews in righting wrongs done to them, and had endeavoured to deal amicably 
“τ with them. For this he was arraigned before Eupator by the king’s Friends ; on every side he heard 
himself called a traitor for having abandoned the island of Cyprus which Philometor had entrusted 
to him, and for having sided with Antiochus Epiphanes: so, feeling unable to maintain the prestige of 
his position, he took poison in a fit of despair and made away with himself. 
jt4 But when Gorgias became governor of this district, he maintained a force of mercenaries and kept 
{5 up war with the Jews at every turn. Besides that, the Idumaeans, who were in possession of important 
strongholds, harassed the Jews and did their utmost tc keep the feud going by welcoming the refugees 
τό from Jerusalem. But Maccabaeus and his men, after solemnly imploring and beseeching God to 


_ 29. bosom-friend. A Hellenistic court title (cp. Frankel in A/ferthiimer von Pergamon, Vili. 1, pp. 111 f.) here as 
in Acts xiii. 1 and in the inscription of Delos (see above, on iii. 7) which assigns it to Heliodorus. 


X. 3. striking fire out of flints. According to the ancient view that only fire obtained thus fresh from nature, 
i.e. struck from flints or otherwise (cp. i. 22 f.), could be used to rekindle altar-fires. ‘Two’ years is a mistake for 
‘three’ (cp. I Macc. iv. 54). 

6. wandering, &c. v. 27, Heb. xi. 37-8. 

11. a certain Lysias. The off-hand allusion to Lysias (τινά) is on a par with the unhistorical conception of the 
regent’s position (cp. 1 Mace. ili. 32, vi. 17, &c.). 

12. For gives the reason why Lysias was made governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, which Ptolemy (cp. viii. 8) 
had hitherto ruled. The boy-king must have been a puppet in the hands of Lysias ; the latter was responsible for the 
impeachment of Ptolemy, who was evidently suspected by the anti-Semites on much the same flimsy pretext as 
Desdemona (‘She did deceive her father, marrying you. And.. .’). 

13. the king’s Friends. This title was revived by the phalanx of political mercenaries in the eighteenth century 
who intrigued for George III. As though, said Junius, the mass of Englishmen were enemies of the king ! 

prestige. Grimm’s conjecture, εὐγενίσας, for the textual variants (εὐγενναίσας, evyevvacias, εὐγεννασίαν, &c.) gives 
an excellent sense, but the words ὑπ᾽ ἀθυμίας (56), though poorly supported by MS. evidence, are too vivid and essential 
to be a gloss. 

15. the refugees. i.e. Hellenistic Jews expelled by Judas. 

1105 145 Ι, 


Il MACCABEES 10. 17—11. 4 


17 fight on their side, rushed at the strongholds of the Idumaeans and, after a vigorous assault, captured 
the positions, beating off those who manned the walls, slaying any whom they came across, and 
1g slaughtering no fewer than twenty thousand. No less than nine thousand took refuge in two 
19 extremely strong towers, which were well equipped to stand a siege ; so Maccabaeus left Simon and 
Joseph, together with Zacchaeus and his division, as a force adequate for the siege, and went off — 
20 in person to various places where he was needed. But the covetous retinue of Simon allowed them- 
selves to be bribed by some of those inside the towers, and let some of them slip out, on payment of 
21 seventy thousand drachmas. When Maccabaeus learned of what had occurred, he summoned the — 
leaders of the nation and accused them of selling their brethren for money, by setting their enemies — 
22 free to fight against them; then he slew these men for having turned traitors and instantly stormed 
23 the two towers. Successful in every feat of arms which he undertook, he destroyed in the two 
strongholds more than twenty thousand men. 
24 Now Timotheus, who had been previously defeated by the Jews, mustered a foreign force of vast 
size, and raised a large detachment of Asiatic cavalry, and arrived in Judaea as though he meant 
55 to capture it by force of arms. But on his approach Maccabaeus and his men sprinkled earth upon 
6 their heads and girded their loins with sackcloth, in supplication to God, and falling down upon the 
step in front of the altar besought Him to show favour graciously to them, to be the enemy of their 
27 enemies, and the adversary of their adversaries, as the law affirmeth. Then rising from prayer they 
took up their arms and advanced some distance from the city, halting when they drew near to the 
28 enemy. And when the dawn came, the two armies joined battle; one had a pledge of success and 
victory, not only in their valour but in their appeal to the Lord, while the other side were impelled 
29 to the struggle by their own passions. And as the fight waxed fierce, the enemy saw five resplendent 
30 men from heaven on horses with golden bridles, who led on the Jews and took Maccabaeus between 
them, sheltering him with their armour and preserving him scatheless ; they also showered arrows 
and thunderbolts on the enemy till, blinded and disordered, they were utterly bewildered and cut to 


2 


, 32 pieces. Twenty thousand five hundred were slain, with six hundred horsemen, and Timotheus 


himself took refuge in a stronghold called Gazara, which was very strongly fortified under command 
33 of Chaereas. The troops of Maccabaeus laid eager siege to this fort for twenty-four days, during 
34 which time the besieged, who relied on the strength of the place, blasphemed furiously and gave 
35 vent toimpious cries. But, as the twenty-fifth day dawned, twenty youths from the Maccabaean army, ~ 
burning with anger at all this blasphemy, stormed the wall like men, and in a wild fury of passion 
36 proceeded to cut down every one they met. Meantime others had followed them up by a wheel 
movement and had set fire to the towers, kindling fires and burning the blasphemers alive, while 
37 some burst the gates open and admitted the rest of the band. So they captured the city, and killed 
Timotheus, who had concealed himself in a cistern, and his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes. 
38 Having accomplished this feat, they sang hymns of thanksgiving, blessing the Lord who rendereth 
great services to Israel and giveth them the victory. 


XI. 1-38. Defeat of Lysias, and terms of peace arranged. 


Quite soon after this, Lysias, the king’s guardian and kinsman and chancellor, who was seriously 
annoyed at what had taken place, collected about eighty thousand infantry with all his cavalry and 
marched against the Jews, intending to make the city a residence for Greeks, to levy tribute on the 
temple as on the other sacred places of the nations, and to put up the high-priesthood for sale 
4 every year; for he never reckoned with the might of God, but was puffed up with his own myriads 


wn = 


19. Zacchaeus (cp. viil. 22) is otherwise unknown, unless his name is explained from 1 Macc. v. 56. Thus Grotius 
conjectured that the original reading here was καὶ τὸν τοῦ Zaxyaiov. 

21. Selling their brethren for money. i.e. betraying the wider interests of the nation for the sake of pecuniary 
advantage to themselves. 

24. Asiatic cavalry. The Iranian cavalry were a famous item in the Seleucid armies; but if ἵππους here is 
equivalent to horses, probably Media is intended specially. 

25. sprinkled earth upon their heads. See xiv.15 and 1 Macc. xi. 71. 

26. as the law affirmeth. Cp. Exod. xxiii. 22. 

28. came. Literally ‘succeeded the night’ (διαδεχομένης as in Wisd. vii. 30). 

30. led on the Jews, ἄς, Reading Ιουδαίων, of καὶ κτλ. (instead of Ιουδαίων of δύο καὶ κτλ.). Avo is the gloss of a 
scribe who wished to emphasize that Judas was escorted by two of the angels, one on each side (so Grimm). 
_ 32. Gazara. Gezer was really captured by Simon (1 Macc. xiii. 43 f.), but, in this extract, the credit of the exploit 
is assigned to the troops of Judas, the only Maccabee in whom the book is interested, and the story is retold in order 
to bring out the religious fanaticism of the Jewish army (cp. Kosters in 7heolog. Tijdschrift, 1878, pp. 519 f.). This 
strong post, on a ridge of the Shephelah, was ‘virtually the key of Judaea at a time when Judaea’s foes came down the 
coast from the north’ (G. A. Smith, Hzs¢. Geogr. of Holy Land, pp.215f.). But, if the story is taken as an independent 
narrative, Gazara must be identified with Jazer (1 Macc. v. 8) in Gilead. 


146 


: 


PeVNCCABEES Lf, 5-33 


5 of infantry and thousands of cavalry and eighty elephants. On entering Judaea, he came up to 
6 Bethsuron, a strong fort about five leagues from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard. Now when Maccabaeus 
| and his men learned that he was besieging the strongholds, they and all the people wailed and wept, 
[7 beseeching the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel. Maccabaeus himself was the first to take 

} up arms, and he urged the others to join him at the hazard of their lives, in order to succour their 
[8 brethren. So they sallied forth, all together, right willingly. And ere ever they had left Jerusalem, 
[9 a rider appeared at their head, in white apparel, brandishing weapons of gold; and they joined in 
| blessing God the merciful and were still more encouraged ; ready now to break through not only 
}o men but ferocious beasts and walls of iron, they advanced in array with their heavenly ally—for the 
‘|x Lord had mercy on them. And leaping like lions upon the foe, they slew eleven thousand of 
| }2 their infantry, and sixteen hundred of their cavalry, and forced all the rest to flee. The majority 
only escaped with wounds and the loss of their arms, while Lysias himself had to save his life by 
[3 a disgraceful flight. Now Lysias was no fool. Thinking over the defeat he had sustained, and 
4 recognizing that the Hebrews were invincible, thanks to the mighty God who was their ally, he sent 
to persuade them to agree to a fair and comprehensive settlement, undertaking that he would even 
}5 induce the king to become their friend. Maccabaeus agreed to all the terms proposed by Lysias, 
| thereby showing a sagacious regard for the interests of the people, since the king did grant all the 
[6 written demands which Maccabaeus made to Lysias on behalf of the Jews. Now the letter addressed 
by Lysias to the Jews was to this effect : 

Lysias to the people of the Jews, greeting. Your envoys, John and Absalom, have presented the 
|g appended petition and asked for a decision upon its contents. I have therefore informed the king 
᾿ 9 of whatever had to be laid before him, and he has agreed to all that could be granted. If you will 
fo maintain your goodwill toward the State, I will endeavour in future to promote your interests, and, 
{ as for this particular business, I have instructed your representatives and my own to confer with 
fix you. Fare ye well. Written in the hundred and forty-eighth year, on the four and twentieth day 
| of the month Dioscurus. 

j:2 The king’s letter ran as follows: 

"3 King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greeting. Now that our father hath passed over to the 
| gods, it is our pleasure that the subjects of the realm should live undisturbed and attend to their own 
j:4 concerns. As for our Jewish subjects, we understand that they object to our father’s. project of 
bringing them over to Hellenism, preferring their own ways of life and asking permission to follow 
5 their own customs. It is our will therefore that this nation also shall not be disturbed, and we have 
decided to give them back their temple and to permit them to live after the manner of their 
26 ancestors. Thou wilt do well therefore to send messengers to them and give them the right hand 
of fellowship, that they may know our purpose and be of good heart and cheerfully settle down to 
their own business. 

[27 The king’s letter to the nation was as follows: 

28 King Antiochus to the senate of the Jews and to the rest of the Jews, greeting. If you fane well, 
\29 it is as we wish; we too are in good health. Menelaus has informed us of your desire to return 
30 home and attend to your own affairs. Those Jews then who return home up to the thirtieth day of 
51 Xanthicus shall have our friendship, with full permission to use their own food and to observe their 
4 it own laws as of yore; none of them shall be molested in any way for any unwitting offence. More- 
}33 Over, I have sent Menelaus to reassure you. Fare ye well. Written in the hundred and forty-eighth 
year, on the fifteenth day of Xanthicus. 


XI. 5. Bethsuron (Βεθσούρων, gen. after συνεγγίσας as in 1 Mace. xi. 4, xiii. 3, &c.) in 1 Macc. iv. 29 is the strategic 
fort of Beth-zur, commanding the highroad from Jerusalem to Hebron. The v. Δ σχοίνους (σχοῖνος = thirty stadii) for 
σταδίους is probably an attempt to correct the error of placing B. so near to Jerusalem, unless the writer (or his source) 
confused the place with another of the same name in the vicinity of the capital, e. g. Bét Sahtr (Grimm), or Kefr-et-Tar 
(on the Mount of Olives, cp. Schick in Palest. Explor. Fund Quarterly, 1895, Ρ. 37). The oxoivovs-reckoning, which 
brings up its distance to 150 stadii, would almost harmonize with the statement of Eusebius that Beth-zur lay 160 stadii 
from Jerusalem, but this reckoning never occurs elsewhere in 2 Maccabees (cp. xii. 9, &c.). 

6. a good angel. Cp. xv. 23; Tobit v.21. He came in white apparel, the conventional guise of angels. 

14. induce the king. Text corrupt. Translation omits ἀναγκάζειν. 

16. to this effect. For an analogous expression see Acts xxiii. 25. 

people. πλῆθος here, as in I Macc. viii. 20, &c., is used in its official and political sense of δῆμος (see below, ver. 34). 

17. Absalom. Possibly the same as the Absalom of 1 Macc. xili. 11. 

21. the month Dioscurus. The Διοσκορινθίου of A, ἅς. (cp. the Διοσκορίδου of V in ver. 28) is either a corruption 
of Avorpov (read by some MSS. in Tobit ii. 12; Addit. Esth. xiii. 6, as an equivalent for Adar), or some intercalary 
month between Dystrus and Xanthicus (cp. below, vers. 33 and 38), or, most probably, an error for Διοσκυροῦ (i.e. the 
third month of the Cretan calendar). When Διὸς Κορινθίου is read, the first month of the Macedonian calendar is 
perhaps meant (Atos = Marcheshvan, the Μαρσουάνης of Josephus, Avéig. I. iii. 3, &c.), and the name betrays the king’s 
love of introducing Hellenic novelties into the very calendar of the East. 

29. to return home. Literally ‘to go down’ (i.e. from Jerusalem to the country-districts). 


147 Ι, 2 


II MACCABEES 11. 34—12. 20 


34 The Romans also sent them a letter to this effect : 
Ouintus Memmius and Titus Manlius, ambassadors of the Romans, to the nation of the Jews, 
35 greeting. With reference to what Lysias, the king’s kinsman, has granted you, we hereby give our 
36 consent. As for the points which he decided were to be referred to the king, send some one at once 
37 to advise on them, that we may act in your interests. We are off to Antioch; make haste, then, to 
38 send some of your number, that we may know what your mind is. Fare ye well. Written in the — 
hundred and forty-eighth year, on the fifteenth day of Xanthicus. 


XII. 1-45. Fresh campaigns of Fudas. 


12: After these agreements had been concluded, Lysias went away to the king, while the Jews 
2 devoted themselves to husbandry. But some of the local governors, Timotheus and Apollonius, 

the son of Gennaeus, with Hieronymus and Demophon, and also Nicanor, the governor of Cyprus, — 
3 would not let them alone or leave them at peace. Some inhabitants of Joppa also perpetrated the 
following crime: they invited the Jewish residents to embark, with their wives and children, in boats 
which they provided, as if they meant no harm at all but were simply acting according to the public 

4 regulations of the town. The Jews agreed to go, since they wished to be peaceable and had πὸ 

suspicions ; but, when they were out at sea, the men of Joppa drowned no fewer than two hundred ~ 

5 of them. Now when Judas heard of this brutal cruelty to his fellow-countrymen, he summoned his | 
6 men, called on God the righteous Judge, and attacked the murderers of his brethren, setting fire to 
7 the haven by night, burning the boats, and putting to the sword those who had fled thither. Then, 
as the town was shut against him, he retired, intending to come back and extirpate the entire 
8 community of Joppa. And on learning that the inhabitants of Jamnia meant to carry out the same 

9 kind of plot against the local Jews, he attacked them also by night, and set fire to the haven and ~ 
the fleet, so that the glare of the light was seen at Jerusalem, two hundred and forty furlongs distant. 
1o Nowwhen they had drawn off nine furlongs from thence, on their march against Timotheus, they 

11 were attacked by no fewer than five thousand Arabs, with five hundred horsemen, and a stiff fight — 

was waged in which, by God’s help, Judas and his men won the victory. The vanquished nomads ~ 
besought Judas to be their friend, promising to give him cattle and to be of service in other ways, 

12 and Judas, with the idea that they would really be of use in a number of ways, agreed to keep — 

peace with them ; whereupon, after pledging friendship, they departed to their tents. 

13 Healso fell upon a town which was strongly fortified with earthworks and walls, and inhabited 
14 by a mixed population; its name was Caspin. The inhabitants, relying on the strength of their — 
walls and their ample provisions, scoffed insolently at Judas and his men, and, more than that, 
15 blasphemed and uttered cries of impiety ; but Judas and his men, invoking the great Sovereign of 
the world, who without rams and instruments of war had laid Jericho low in the days of Joshua, 
16 made a furious attack on the walls, and, capturing the town by the will of God, they massacred an 
unspeakable number, so much so that the adjoining lake, which was two furlongs broad, looked as 

though it were filled with the deluge of blood. 
17 Drawing off seven hundred and fifty furlongs from thence, they made their way to Charax, to the 
18 Jews who are styled Tubieni. Timotheus they did not find in that locality ; he had gone off without 
19 achieving any success, and left behind him in a certain post an extremely strong garrison. But 
Dositheus and Sosipater, captains of Maccabaeus, sallied out and destroyed the troops left by 
20 Timotheus in the stronghold, over ten thousand men. Whereupon Maccabaeus, arranging his men 
in divisions, set a leader over each division, and hurried after Timotheus, who had with him 


34. Titus Manlius. In 163 B.C., two years later than the date of this letter, a certain Manius Sergius was one of 
the envoys to Antiochus Epiphanes (Polybius, xxxi. 9. 6), and in 164 B.c. T. Manlius Torquatus went on a mission to 
Egypt (Livy, xliii. 11), but there is no record of any Roman envoys to Syria bearing the names of Q. Memmius and 
T. Manius (or Manlius). Niese (72 f.), in his desire to identify one of them, emends the reading of V (Mavos Epmos) 
into Μάνιος Σέργιος, and takes Τίτος as the corruption of a name ending in -tius. But this is too heavy a price to pay 4 


for vindicating the historicity of the passage. For πρεσβύτης (senex) == πρεσβευτής (/egatus) see 1 Macc. xiv. 22, xv. 17, 
Philemon 9. 4 
| 


XII. 6. thither. i.e. to the coast, where refugees from the interior were trying to escape by sea. 2 
_13. earthworks. For yepupoiv (om. V, Syr., &c.) read γεφύραις (55, Vg. = firmam pontibus) with Grimm and ii 
Kamphausen, in sense of ‘embankments’ or ‘earthworks’. In 1 Macc. v. 26-36 Judas, during his raid into Gilead, ; 
captures Casphor among other towns, and subsequently (46 f.) storms Ephron, an ‘extremely strong’ town. When | 
Gephyrun’ is retained here, it may be identified with this Ephron, as the ‘Gephyrus’ of Polyb. v. 70. 12, or with | 
Heshbon, which had a large reservoir adjacent (ver. 16). Otherwise the town’s name, Caspin (or Caspis), must be | 
connected with Casphor, i.e. the modern el-Muzeirit, ‘the great station on the Hajj road’ (so G. A. Smith, Ezcycl. 
Liblica, i. 707-8, who pronounces Furrer’s identification of Casphon with Chisfin as ‘ philologically improbable’). 
20. over each division. Reading τούς, Grimm’s conjecture for the MSS. αὐτούς. 


148 


IPMACCABEES: 12: 21-42 


τ ἃ hundred and twenty thousand infantry and two thousand five hundred cavalry. Now as soon as 
| Timotheus heard of the onset of Judas, he sent forward the women and children and also the 
baggage into a place called Carnaim, which was hard to besiege and difficult of access owing to its 
2 Narrow approaches on all sides. But when the first division of Judas appeared in sight, panic seized 
| the enemy, who were terrified by the manifestation of Him who beholdeth all things ; they took 
| to flight in all directions, so that many got hurt by their own men and wounded by the points of 
3 one another's swords, while Judas kept up a hot pursuit, putting the wicked wretches to the sword, 
¢ and destroying as many as thirty thousand men. Timotheus himself fell into the hands of Dositheus 
/ and Sosipater, whom he adjured with plenty of specious guile to spare him and let him go, on the 
ground that he had the parents of many and the brothers of some in his power, and that (if he were 
|5 not released) it would be the worse for them. So, to save their brethren, they let him go, after he 
5 Πα4 solemnly pledged himself with many an oath to restore them unhurt. Then Judas attacked 
7 Carnaim and the temple of Atergatis, massacring twenty-five thousand persons, and after this rout 
and slaughter he made war against Ephron, a strong city, where Lysias had a residence and where 
the inhabitants came from all nationalities. Stalwart young men drawn up in front of the 
ΙΒ walls offered a resolute defence, and the place held ample stores of military engines and darts, but 
the Jews invoked the Sovereign who crusheth forcibly the strength of his enemies, and got the city 
g into their hands, destroying as many as twenty-five thousand of the inhabitants. Setting out from 
thence they marched in haste against Scythopolis, which is six hundred furlongs from Jerusalem, 
o but since the local Jews testified to the goodwill shown them by the Scythopolitans and to their 
1 humane conduct during periods of misfortune, they simply thanked them and enjoined them to 
continue well-disposed to their race in future. Then they marched up to Jerusalem, as the feast 
of weeks was close at hand. 
3 After the feast called Pentecost they hurried against Gorgias, the governor of Jamnia, who came 
4 out to meet them with three thousagd foot soldiers and four hundred cavalry. And when they 
5 joined battle, it came to pass that a few of the Jews fell. But a man Dositheus, belonging to the 
Tubieni, who was a powerful horseman, caught hold of Gorgias and, gripping his mantle, dragged 
him off by main force, meaning to capture the accursed wretch alive. A Thracian horseman bore 
6 down on him, however, and disabled his arm, so that Gorgias managed to escape to Marisa. And 
as Esdris and his men were now exhausted by the long fight, Judas called upon the Lord to 
'7 show he was their ally and leader in the fight; then, raising the war-cry and songs of praise in the 
language of the fathers, he made an unexpected rush against the troops of Gorgias and routed them. 
8 And Judas took his army to the town of Adullam, where, as the seventh day was coming on, they 
9 purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath. Next day, when the troops of Judas 
went—as it was high time they did—to pick up the corpses of the slain, in order to bring them 
}o home to lie with their kinsfolk in their fathers’ sepulchres, they discovered under the shirts of every 
one of the dead men amulets of the idols of Jamnia—a practice forbidden the Jews by law. All saw 
at once that this was why they had perished, and, blessing the (dealings) of the Lord, the just Judge 
who revealeth what is secret, all betook themselves to supplication, beseeching that the sin com- 
mitted might be wholly blotted out ; and the noble-hearted Judas exhorted the people to keep them- 
selves from sin, after what they had seen with their own eyes as the result of sin committed by those 


92) 


om 


21. Carnaim. The Carnaim of 1 Macc. v. 26, 43, where Derkéto, the fish-goddess (cp. W. R. Smith’s Religion of 
Semites*, pp. 171 f.; Cheyne in Excycl. Biblica, i. 379), was worshipped as Atargatis (see below, ver. 26). 

26. Then, ἅς. Resuming the narrative of ver. 23, after the interlude of vv. 24-25. 

29. Scythopolis, the Bethshan of 1 Macc. v. 52, is so named in Judith 111. 10 and Polybius v. 70. 4 (cp. Rix, Zent 
ee Testament, pp. 152f.). Though a Hellenistic town under the Syrian power, it was not bitterly anti-Semitic at 
this period. 

32. Jamnia. The change (Grotius) of ᾿Ιδουμαίας into ᾿Ιαμνείας brings the narrative more into line with ver. 40, 
I Mace. v. 58-9, and Josephus, Az. XII. viii. 6 (where Gorgias is called ᾿Ιαμνείας στρατηγός). 

35. Dositheus. Evidently a different man from the Dositheus of vv. 19 and 24. For τοῦ Βακήνορος read (with 19, 
62, 64, 93; so Niese) τῶν Τουβιηνῶν (Τωβιηνῶν). Dositheus belonged to the Tubieni Jews of ver. 17. 

36. Esdris. The Γοργίαν of A 44, 64, &c., is more probably a correction of ᾿Εσδρίν, due to the feeling that Esdris 
(for the name cp. 1 Chron. xxvii. 26) has not hitherto been mentioned, than of "Εσδραν (i.e. priests called after Ezra, 
Ewald). The epitomist, with characteristic carelessness, has forgotten to transcribe from Jason any previous allusion 
to this Jewish captain ; hence the abruptness of his introduction. ‘The earlier part of the engagement seems to have 
aoa costly and doubtful (for the reason assigned in ver. 40), but Judas as usual, with divine aid, proves successful in 

e end. 
ae the town of Adullam. Not far from Marisa (the Mareshah of 1 Macc. v. 66); cp. Micah i. 15; 2 Chron. xi.7 ; 

eh. xi. 30. 

purified themselves. i.e. from the stains of recent contact with pagans as well as of bloodshed. 

40. a practice forbidden. Deut. vii. 26, ἅς. These ἱερώματα were small portable idols, worn as amulets (see 

W. Robertson Smith, Religion of Semites*, pp. 208-9, and L. Blau, Das altjiid. Zauberwesen, pp. 86-7). 


149 


II] MACCABEES 12.°43—13. 22 


43 who had fallen. He then collected from them, man by man, the sum of two thousand drachmas of 
silver, which he forwarded to Jerusalem for a sin-offering. In this he acted quite rightly and 

44 properly, bearing in mind the resurrection—for if he had not expected the fallen to rise again, it 

45 would have been superfluous and silly to pray for the dead—and having regard to the splendour of 
the gracious reward which is reserved for those who have fallen asleep in godliness—a holy and 
pious consideration! Hence he made propitiation for the dead, that they might be released from 


their sin. 
XIII. 1-26. Lysias and Eupator forced to make terms with Fews. 


13: Inthe hundred and forty-ninth year tidings were brought to Judas and his men that Antiochus 
2 Eupator was marching with large troops against Judaea, accompanied by Lysias his guardian and 
chancellor, each commanding a Greek force consisting of a hundred and ten thousand foot-soldiers, 
five thousand three hundred cavalry, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with — 

3 scythes. Menelaus also attached himself to them and, making loud pretences of patriotism, abetted 
Antiochus—not that he cared for the safety of the fatherland, but because he thought he would — 
4be appointed to office. But the King of kings stirred the anger of Antiochus against the 
scoundrel, and, learning from Lysias that he was responsible for all the troubles, he ordered him to 
~ 5 be taken to Beroea and put to death there in the local fashion. For at Beroea there is a tower, fifty 
cubits high, filled with (hot) ashes, and a revolving contrivance which drops the victim sheer into the 
ashes. To this they bring any one who is guilty of sacrilege or other heinous crimes, and they all _ 
7 push him on, to meet his doom. By such a fate it befell that Menelaus, the law-breaker, died, 
8 not even getting a grave in earth. And this was perfectly just. Many a sin had he committed — 

against the altar, whose fire and ashes were holy ; by ashes, then, he got his death. 

9 Now the king was coming in hot indignation to inflict on the Jews the very sorest of the sufferings — 

10 that had befallen them in his father’s time. But when Judas heard this, he bade the people call day 
and night on the Lord, that he would succour them, now if ever, as they were on the point of losing — 
11 the Law, their country, and the holy temple, and that he would not allow the people, after their brief 
12 and recent revival, to fall into the hands of profane pagans. Now when they had all done so with one 
accord, and implored the merciful Lord for three days without ceasing, weeping and fasting and — 
13 lying prostrate, Judas addressed them and ordered them to get ready. After consulting privately 
with the elders, he determined that, before the king could throw his army into Judaea and master 
14 the city, they would march out and decide the issue by the help of God. So, committing the 
outcome of it to the Creator of the world, and charging his men to fight stoutly, even to death, for 
. 15 laws, temple, city, country, and polity, he pitched his camp near Modin, and, giving his troops the — 
watchword of VICTORY IS GOD’s, he and a picked body of his bravest young men made an onset 
by night upon the royal tent and slew as many as two thousand men within the camp; they also — 
16 stabbed the chief elephant and his mahout, and finally, after filling the camp with panic and 
17 confusion, got away triumphantly, just as the day began to dawn. This was due to the help of 
God’s protection. ᾿ 
18,19 After this taste of the Jews’ prowess the king used stratagem in attacking their positions. Thus | 
he moved upon Beth-sura, a strong fortress of the Jews, was routed, dashed at it (again), was worsted. 
20, 21 Judas got the necessaries of life conveyed to those inside. But Rhodocus, a Jewish soldier, betrayed 
the secrets of the Jews to the enemy ; search was made for him, he was arrested and imprisoned. 
22 Again the king made overtures to the residents in Beth-sura, pledged his right hand, took theirs, 


43. man by man. κατ᾽ ἀνδρολογεῖον (Swete) or kar’ ἀνδραλογίαν (V, 74, Fritzsche) is a corruption of κατ᾽ ἄνδρα λογίαν 
(44, 71, cp. Deissmann’s Bzble-Studies, pp. 219-20) or Noyeiav. The following κατασκευάσματα is to be omitted (with 
52, 55, 74, 106, 243) asa gloss. The sacrifice for the dead is recounted in such a way as to suggest that the writer 
anticipated, not unnaturally, objections to it on the score of novelty. It is, from the religious standpoint, one of the 
remarkable contributions made by this book to our knowledge of contemporary Judaism. 


XIII. 2. elephants. The elephants and their mahouts (ver. 15) were imported by the Seleucid monarchs from 
India. The ‘futile device’ of the scythed chariot (ἅρμα δρεπανηφόρον, currus falceatus) was usec. as late as the battle 
of Magnesia (cp. Livy xxxvii. 40-1), ‘but it may be questioned whether after the experience of that day they were 
used again’ (Bevan, House of Seleucits, ii. 290). 

5. Nothing otherwise is known of this local custom at Beroea (the modern Aleppo), ‘ but suffocation in a pit full of 
ashes was a recognized Persian punishment, and one frequently inflicted upon offenders of a high class’ (Rawlinson). 
See Ovid’s /dzs, 317-18. 

6. they bring. Reading ἄραντες (Niese) for the unintelligible ἅπαντες of the MSS., and προωθοῦσιν below (‘push 
on’) for the προσωθοῦσιν of the MSS. With 7-8 cp. iv. 26, ix. 5—6, Wisd. xvi. I. é 

15. stabbed. Reading συνεκέντησε (cp. xii. 23), Grimm’s ingenious correction of the meaningless συνέθηκεν of the MSS. 

17. just as... dawn. This. Omitting (with V) the δέ after ὑποφαινούσης and adding (with V, so Niese) δέ after 
τοῦτο. Judas still believed in night-attacks (viii. 7). 

21. Rhodocus apparently was more leniently treated than the earlier traitors (x. 22). 

22. pledged his right hand, took theirs, &c. See xii.12. The writer, or the source which he is hurriedly recapitu- 


150 


II MACCABEES 18. 23—14. 21 


|, departed, attacked the forces of Judas, was defeated, heard that Philip who had been left as 
| chancellor in Antioch had become desperate, was confounded by the news, proposed peace to the 
| Jews, submitted with an oath to all their equitable conditions, came to terms with them and offered 
‘sacrifice, honoured the sanctuary and the sacred Place, behaved humanely, took gracious farewell 
+ of Maccabaeus, left Hegemonides in command from Ptolemais to Gerar, went to Ptolemais. The 

men of Ptolemais felt sore over the treaty; they were excessively indignant with the Jews and 
} wanted to annul the articles of the agreement. Lysias advanced to the béma, defended it as well 
as possible, convinced them, pacified and won them over, departed to Antioch. Such was the course 
- of the king’s inroad and retreat. 


| 


XIV. 1-46. Jntrigues and threats of Nicanor. 


4: Now after the space of three years Judas and his men learned that Demetrius the son of Seleucus 
12 had sailed into the haven of Tripolis with a powerful army and fleet, and had seized the country, 
13 after making away with Antiochus and Lysias his guardian. And Alcimus, a former high-priest, 
who had voluntarily polluted himself in days when there was no trafficking (with the Gentiles), and 
who therefore judged he was no longer safe and that he was now debarred entirely from the holy 
4 altar, came to king Demetrius in the hundred and fifty-first year with the present of a golden crown 
and palm, and, in addition to these customary gifts, some of the olive-branches from the temple. 
5 The first day he said nothing. But when he did get a chance of furthering his infatuated enterprise, 
on being summoned to confer with Demetrius and being asked about the temper and aims of the 
6 Jews, he replied: It is the Jews called Hasidaeans, led by Judas Maccabaeus, who are keeping up the 
7 feud and stirring sedition; they will not let the kingdom settle down in peace. Wherefore, deprived of 
8 my ancestral glory—-I mean, the high-priesthood—I have now come hither, primarily from a sincere 
concern for the king’s interests, and secondly from anxiety on behalf of my own fellow-citizens ; for 
[9 the recklessness of the aforesaid party has involved our nation in no small misfortune. Acquaint 
| thyself, O king, with the details of this business, and take measures on behalf of our country and our 
ὁ sorely tried nation, according to the gracious kindness which thou showest to all. For as long as 
τ Judas is alive, it is impossible for the State to be at peace. When he said this, the rest of the king’s 
Friends, who cherished ill will against Judas, hastened to inflame Demetrius still further against him, 
2and, after instantly summoning Nicanor, formerly master of the elephants, and appointing him 
3 governor of Judaea, he dispatched him with written instructions to make away with Judas and to 
4 scatter his troops and to set up Alcimus as high-priest of the great temple. Now all the heathen 
throughout Judaea, whom Judas had driven to flight, flocked to join Nicanor, anticipating that the 
-5 misfortunes and calamities of the Jews would mean gain to them. But when the Jews heard of 
Nicanor’s inroad and the onset of the heathen, they sprinkled earth upon their heads and solemnly 
invoked Him who had established his own people to all eternity and who ever upholds those who 
[6 are his Portion with visible aid. Then, by order of their leader, they at once started out and joined 
ΤΠ battle with them at a village called Lessau. Now Simon, the brother of Judas, had already 
-| encountered Nicanor and, thrown suddenly into consternation by the foe, had sustained a temporary 
18 check. Nevertheless, Nicanor shrank from deciding the issue at the sword’s point, as he had 
heard of the manliness and the courage shown by the troops of Judas in fighting for their country. 
τὸ He therefore sent Posidonius and Theodotus and Mattathias to give and receive pledges of friend- 
jzoship. After full consideration, when the proposals were laid by the general before the troops, and 
21 it appeared they were all of one mind, the compact was agreed to, and a day was fixed for the two 


lating, glosses over the fact that the fortress was starved into surrender (1 Macc. vi. 49-50), and that Judas was routed 
(cp. Josephus, Amz. XII. ix. 5). 

23. Cp. v. 22, ix. 29, where a different tradition emerges. It was really Lysias, not the king, who was upset by the 
news of Philip’s move (cp. 1 Macc, vi. 55 f.). 

24. Hegemonides. If ἡγεμονίδην is equivalent to ἡγεμόνα, the story is guilty of another historical error in making 
Lysias appoint Judas as governor. But the word is more probably a proper name, formed on the analogy of ᾿Ηγεμόνιος, 
especially as στρατηγόν would otherwise be superfluous. 

Gerar. For Γερρηνῶν (V), = ‘the inhabitants of Gerrha’, read Γεραρηνῶν (Γεραρήρων 55) = Gerar, SE. of Gaza (so 
Ewald), or Garar (Syr.), i.e. Gezer (Gazara) near Lydda (1 Macc. xv. 28,35). The phrase means ‘from Ptolemais on 
the north to G. on the south’. Gerrha (Gerra), between Rhinocura and Pelusium, belonged at this time to Egypt. 
Hence, unless the writer is held guilty of a serious error, the other reading is preferable. 


XIV. 3. voluntarily polluted himself, &c. The Hellenistic proclivities of Alcimus were aggravated, to the 
writer’s mind, by their gratuitousness ; he had not been forced to adopt Syro-Greek customs, and he had not the 
excuse of any syncretisfic current during his high-priesthood (cp. ver. 38). 

14. whom Judas had driven to flight. A solecism (πεφυγαδευκότες τὸν ᾿Ιούδαν) apparently based on the analogous 
uses of φεύγειν τινά = ‘to fly from one’ (e.g. Herod. v. 62). 

16. Lessau. The v. /. Δεεσαού is connected by Ewald with the Adasa of 1 Macc. vii. 40, 45; otherwise neither 
Lessau nor Dessau can be identified. 

17. atemporary check. Reading βραχέως (V) instead of βραδέως (A, 19, 44, 62, Kc.). 

151 


44, 


II MACCABEES 14. 22—15. 7 


22 leaders to meet by themselves. A litter was carried forward from each army; chairs of state were 
placed ; Judas stationed armed men ready in suitable positions, lest the enemy should spring any 
23 treacherous attack ; they carricd through the conference duly. Nicanor stayed a while in Jerusalem 
24 and did nothing amiss; he even disbanded the hordes who had flocked to join his standard ; 
25 he kept Judas always beside him; he had become heartily attached to the man, urged him to — 
marry and beget children. He did marry, settled down, and enjoyed lifes 
26 But when Alcimus saw their mutual goodwill, he got hold of the treaty which had been concluded ' 
and went to Demetrius, alleging that Nicanor was ill affected toward the State, since he had 
24 appointed that conspirator Judas to be his successor. At this the king fell into a passion — 
and, exasperated by the calumnies of the scoundrel, wrote to Nicanor that he was displeased 
at the compact, and ordered him to send Maccabaeus instantly as a prisoner to Antioch, 
28 Nicanor was confounded by this news and sadly vexed at the thought of annulling the terms 
29 arranged, as the man had done no wrong. However, as the king could not be gainsaid, he bided 
30 his time to carry out the business by a stratagem. But Maccabaeus noticed that Nicanor was 
treating him with less friendliness and behaving more rudely than was his wont ; so, reckoning this 
harshness was of a sinister character, he gathered a considerable number of his men and hid from 
31 Nicanor. The latter, conscious that he had been pluckily outwitted by Judas, went to the great and 
holy temple, while the priests were offering the usual sacrifices, and commanded them to deliver up 


2, 33 the man. And when they swore they did not know where the man was whom he sought, he 


stretched forth his right hand toward the sanctuary, and swore this oath: Unless you hand over 
Judas as my prisoner, I will raze this shrine of God to the ground, and break down the altar, and 
34 erect on this spot a temple of Dionysus for all to see. With these words he went away. But the 
priests stretched forth their hands to heaven, invoking Him who ever fighteth for our nation, thus: 
35 O Lord, who hast no need of aught, as it hath pleased thee to have among us a sanctuary where thou 
36 dwellest, so now, O holy Lord, from whom is all hallowing, keep free from defilement for evermore 
this house so lately cleansed, and shut every impious mouth. 
31 Now information was laid before Nicanor against a Jerusalemite elder called Razis, a patriot who 
was very highly esteemed, and addressed as Father of the Jews on account of his benevolence. For 
38 in bygone days, when there was no trafficking (with the Gentiles), he had been accused of Judaism, 
39 and had most resolutely risked body and life for Judaism. So Nicanor, with the intention of 
40 showing his hostility to the Jews, sent over five hundred soldiers to arrest him. For he meant to 
41 strike a blow at the Jews by this arrest. But when the troops were on the point of capturing the 
tower, forcing the outer door of the courtyard and calling for fire to set light to the doors, he fell 
42 upon his sword, seeing he was surrounded on every side; he preferred to die a noble death rather 
43 than fall into the scoundrels’ hands and suffer outrages unworthy of his noble character. Owing to 
the hurry of the struggle, however, he missed his stroke, and, as a crowd of men was now pouring 
through the door, he pluckily ran up to the wall and threw himself bravely down among the crowds. 
45 They drew back at once, so that he fell between them on the open street. Still alive, however, he 
got up in a fury of anger and ran, with blood pouring from him, sore wounded as he was, right 
46 through the crowds ; then, standing on a steep rock, his blood now drained from him, he tore out 
his bowels, taking both his hands to them, and flung them at the crowds. So he died, calling on 
Him who is lord of life and spirit to restore them to him again. 


XV. 1-36. Attack, defeat, and death of Nicanor. 


151 Now, learning that Judas and his men were in the region of Samaria, Nicanor determined to 


2 attack them without any risk upon the day of rest. And when the Jews who were forced to accom- 
pany him said, Destroy them not so savagely and barbarously, but show honour to the day which 

3 He who beholdeth all things hath hallowed in his holiness, the thrice-accursed wretch asked them 

4 if there was a Sovereign in heaven who had ordered the observance of the sabbath day. And when 
they declared, There is the living Lord, himself a Sovereign in heaven, who bade us observe the 

5 seventh day, he replied, I too am a sovereign on earth, and my orders are to take arms and execute 
the king’s business. Nevertheless he did not succeed in executing his shocking purpose. 

6 Now Nicanor, in the height of his overweening pride, had determined to erect a public trophy of 

7 victory over Judas and his men ; but Maccabaeus still ceased not to trust with absolute confidence 


24. the hordes, i.e. the supporters mentioned in ver. 14. 
36. and shut every impious mouth. So 19, 62, φράξον δὲ πᾶν στόμα ἄνομον (φράξεις . . . ἄδικον, 64, 93a), and S. 
42. A higher motive for suicide than in the case of Ptolemy Macron (x. 13). 


_ XV. 5. he did not succeed, ἄς. The writer gives no account of what transpired. The purpose of the excerpt is 
simply to exalt, in ultra-Pharisaic and unhistorical fashion (cp. 1 Macc. ii. 41), the rigid sabbatarianism of the ἡ 
Maccabaean army. 

152 


II MACCABEES 15. 8-36 


ἢ that he would obtain help from the Lord, and exhorted his company not to dread the onset of the 

| heathen, but to keep in mind all the help they had formerly received from heaven and to expect at 

|) the present hour the victory which would be theirs from the Almighty ; and comforting them out 

‘| of the law and the prophets, as well as recalling the struggles they had endured, he made them 
}) more eager (for the fray). Then, after rousing their spirits, he issued his orders, and at the same time 

τ pointed out the heathen’s perfidy and breach of their oaths. He armed each man, not so much with 

| confidence in shields and spears as with the heartening which comes from apt words, and also 

. cheered them all by recounting a reliable dream, a sort of vision. This was what he had seen: Onias, 
the former high priest, a good and great man, of stately bearing yet gracious in manner, well-spoken 
and trained from childhood in all points of virtue—Onias with outstretched hands invoking blessings 

; on the whole body of the Jews; then another man in the same attitude, conspicuous by his grey 

| hairs and splendour, and invested with marvellous, majestic dignity. This, Onias explained to him, 
is the lover of the brethren, who prayeth fervently for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah the 

|; prophet of God. And Jeremiah held out his right hand to present Judas with a golden sword, and 
as he gave it he addressed him thus: Take this holy sword as a gift from God, and with it thou 
shalt crush the foe. 

1 So, encouraged by these truly heroic words of Judas, which had the power of rousing young souls 
to valour and stirring them to manliness, they determined not to pitch camp but manfully to set 
upon the foe and, by engaging them right valiantly hand to hand, to decide the issue, since the city 

3nd the sanctuary and the temple were in danger. For their anxiety about wives and children, as 

| well as about brethren and kinsfolk, weighed less with them than their supreme and chief anxiety 
|) about the consecrated sanctuary. Whereas those left behind in the city were uneasy about the 

}> encounter in the open country, and suffered no slight anguish. All were now waiting for the critical 

moment, the enemy had now united their forces and drawn up their line of battle, the elephants 

τ were arranged for easy action, and the cavalry stationed on the wings, when Maccabacus, surveying 

the hordes in front of him, with their varied weapons and fierce elephants, held up his hands to 

| heaven and called upon the Lord, the worker of wonders, for he knew that victory is not decided 
|: by weapons but won by the Lord for such as He judgeth to deserve it. And his prayer was in these 
terms: Thou, Sovereign Lord, didst send thine angel in the days of Hezekiah king of Judaea, and 

3 he slew as many as a hundred and eighty-five thousand of Sennacherib’s host ; so now, O heavenly 

‘|t Sovereign, send a good angel before us to scare and terrify'the foe; by the great strength of thine 
3 arm may those who have blasphemously assailed thy holy sanctuary be utterly dismayed. And as 

}5 he ended with these words, Nicanor and his men advanced with trumpets and paeans. But Judas 

7 and his men joined battle with the enemy, calling upon God and praying ; and so fighting with their 

hands, while they prayed to God with their hearts, they slew no fewer than thirty-five thousand men, 

3 mightily cheered by the manifest help of God. The battle over, they were returning with joy, when 

) they recognized Nicanor lying dead in full armour; a shout of excitement arose, they blessed the 

5 Sovereign Lord in the language of their fathers, and he who was ever in body and soul the protagonist 

of his fellow-citizens, he who retained through life his youthful patriotism, ordered Nicanor’s head 

1 and arm to be cut off and carried to Jerusalem. When he arrived there, and had called his country- 

2 men together and set the priests before the altar, he sent for the garrison of the citadel, showed them 

the vile Nicanor’s head and the impious creature’s hand which he had stretched out vauntingly 

3 against the holy house of the Almighty ; then, cutting out the impious Nicanor’s tongue, he said he 

would throw it piecemeal to the birds and hang up the rewards of his insensate folly opposite the 

4sanctuary. And they all lifted to heaven their cry of blessing to the Lord who had manifested 

[5 himself, saying, Blessed be He who hath preserved his own Place undefiled. And he hung Nicanor’s 

6 head from the citadel, a clear and conspicuous token to all of the Lord’s help. And all decided, by 

public decree, never to let this day pass uncelebrated, but to celebrate the thirteenth day of the 

twelfth month—called Adar in Syriac—the day before the day of Mordecai. 


11. a sort of vision. Reading ὕπαρ τι for ὑπέρ τι. This intercessory function of the saints is denied in Slav. En. 
hii. 1. 

20. united their forces. Reading συμμιξάντων (V) for προσμιξάντων (A). 

21. and fierce elephants. Omitting, with V, ἐπὶ μέρος εὔκαιρον. 

24. sanctuary. Reading ναόν (V) for λαόν (A). Cp. xiv. 33. 

33. the rewards of his insensate folly. i.e. the mutilated head and hand (cp. 1 Macc. vii. 47), which were the 
miserable recompense of his insensate attack on the Jews. The citadel was not in the hands of the Jews at this period, 
however, but held by a Syrian garrison. 

34. to heaven .. . tothe Lord. Cp. 1 Macc. iv. 24, 55. 

( 35. Cp. 1 Sam. xxxi. 10, Judith xiv. 1. For ‘head’ (as a rendering of προτομήν) R. V. prefers ‘head and shoulder’ 
cp. ver. 30). 


II MACCABEES 15. 37-39 


XV. 37-39. Epilogue of the epitomist. - 


37 Such was the history of Nicanor; and as the city was held from that period by the Hebrews, 
38 I will make this the end of my story. If it has been well told, if it has been skilfully arranged, such 
39 was my desire ; but if it is poor and indifferent, that was all I could manage. For just as it is bad 
to drink wine alone or again to drink water alone, whereas wine mixed with water proves at once 
wholesome and delightful, so the skill with which a book is composed is a delight to the taste 
of readers. : 
And here shall be the end. 


37. the city was held from that period. A pious exaggeration; the citadel was not captured by the Jews till 
142-141 B.C., and Antiochus Sidetes recaptured the city in 133 B.C. - ἢ 

39. This verse carries on the thought of the first part of the preceding verse; it has nothing to do with the second. 
part. The writer expresses himself obscurely, although the obscurity may be due to some corruption of the text, but 
it is clear that he is not comparing graphic and prosaic passages in his narrative to wine and water, as if defending the 
blend of the two. He did his best, he pleads, to be pointed. For good style, blended with sound matter, adds to the 
reader’s profit and pleasure ; facts alone, and style alone, are alike inferior to this combination of history and literature, 


154 


ΠΕ BOOK OF MACCABEES 
INTRODUCTION 


δι. CONTENTS AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS. 


THE scene of 3 Maccabees is placed in the reign of Ptolemy IV (Philopator) at the time of the 
battle of Raphia (217 B.C.). It narrates an attempt made by the king to enter the Temple at 
Jerusalem, and his miraculous repulse. In consequence he determines to wreak his vengeance on 
the Jews of Alexandria, and of Egypt as a whole, first by interfering with their religion, and altering 
their political status, and afterwards by letting loose drunken elephants to trample them to death in 
the Hippodrome of Alexandria. After his purpose has been several times providentially delayed, 
it is finally foiled by a vision of angels which turns the elephants upon the persecutors. The king 
repents and becomes the patron of the Jews, who return in safety and rejoicing to their homes. The 
story as it stands is full of impossibilities and bombastic exaggerations, but each one of the incidents 
taken singly may well rest on some basis of fact, though they certainly did not all take place in the 
same reign. The general accuracy of the technical and official language of the book is confirmed 
by a comparison with Ptolemaic Papyri, and the book as a whole has striking points of contact with 
2 Maccabees and the Letter of Aristeas. It would seem to have been written in Alexandria at about 
the same time as these books, not far from 100 B.C., a date which is confirmed by indications drawn 
from Papyri. The writer apparently used the lost memoirs of the reign of Philopator, written by 
Ptolemy Megalopolitanus shortly after his death. He seems to have combined a narrative of 
Philopator’s attempt to enter the Temple with a later story, preserved in another form by Josephus, 
of a persecution of Egyptian Jews by Physcon. 


25 DICE: 


Maccabees is really a misnomer, unless with Fritzsche we consider the book to be part of a prolego- 
mena to a complete history of the Maccabees. Πτολεμαικά (see below, § 9) would be more accurate. 
Syncellus (I. 516) cites the Letter of Aristeas as πτολεμαικά. It is probable that the present title 
is not original. It may easily have arisen from its collocation with the other books of Maccabees 


in the MSS. 
§ 3. MSS. AND VERSIONS. 


The book is found in A and V (=Holmes and Parsons 23), and in many cursives ; see Fritzsche, 
Libr. Apocr. Graece, Ὁ. xx, and Swete, 7γέγ. to the O.T. in Greek, pp. 148 ff.; το, 62, 64, 93 agree 
continually and give a Lucianic Text. It is not in the Vulgate, but is found in the Syriac Peshitta, 
the text of which represents a free and expanded rendering, sometimes agreeing with the 
Lucianic Text. There is also an Armenian version, which is probably to be dated A.D. 400-600, 
in the golden age of Armenian literature. It is a loose, but very literary, translation in the style 
of the fifth-century historian, Faustus of Byzant, and is found in most MSS. of the Armenian 
Bible.! 

The text is generally well preserved and presents as a whole no serious problems. The 
variations of reading seldom affect the sense, and usually arise from the desire to substitute for 
the forced phraseology of the writer a simpler and more familiar expression. Even in cases where 
the MSS. seem to be corrupt, the general meaning is clear, and the confusion always appears to be 
due to the difficulties raised by the verbose and obscure style of the book. Emendation is very 
uncertain, as the ordinary canons of language and grammar can hardly be applied. There are 
interesting examples of probable conflation, e.g. in ii. 6, 24, v. 43. 


1 For these facts, and for the readings from the Armenian version in the critical notes, I am indebted to the ready 
help of Mr. F. C. Conybeare. 
155 


III MACCABEES 


§ 4. DATE AND ORIGIN. 1 


The date must be determined by internal considerations. There is no early attestation to the | 
existence of the book (see below, § 9), but it cannot have been written after the destruction of 
the temple. It clearly belongs to the Jewish apologetic literature which sprang into being in the | 
second century B.C. and continued to be popular for some time. It has points of contact with © 
Esther and ¥udith on the one hand, though unlike them it has no hero, and with Stvach, Wisdom, 


and 4 Maccabees on the other. But the connexion is specially close with 2 Maccabees and the Letter 


of Aristeas. 

(a) Relation to 2 Maccabees. 
The repulse of Heliodorus (2 Macc. 1] 
3 Mace. ii. 21-4); miraculous visions (iii. 25, 
of the temple and prayers for its 
ii. 1 ff.); attacks on religion (vi. 
alien citizenship (iv. 9; cf. 3 Macc. ib.) ; 
vi. 30-6. An aged and pious 
letters are included (ix. 18 ff., xi. 16 ff. ; 


(8) There is a strong resemblance in 
of literary, or pseudo-classical, Greek. 


defence (iii. 15-22, vill. 
G, Gee Co 3 Mace. ii. 27 ff., iii. 21); attempts to enforce an 
stress laid on memorial feasts (x. 6, xv. 36; cf. 3 Mace. 
Eleazar appears in both books (vi. 18; cf. 3 Macc. vi. 1); official — 
cf. 3 Macc. iii. 12 ff, vii. 1 ff.); the picture of the general ~ 
horror in iii. 15 ff. is like that in 3 Macc. i. τό ff, iv. 3-8. 

style and language. 
Crasis of the definite article, and various classical syn- — 


(a) Many of the leading ideas and incidents are the same :— 
iii. 22-31), and the punishment of Antiochus (ix. 4 ff, cf. 
x. 29, xi. 8; cf. 3 Macc. vi. 18); stress on the sanctity 


2-4, Xiv. 34-0; οἵ. 3 Macc. i) τ 


Both books present the same type — 


tactical forms, are common to the two books and found nowhere else in the LXX!; both show 


5 = , 
the same fondness for connecting sentences with δέ. 


nowhere else in the LXX :— 

; ἵν. 5, ix. 29 in passive. 

δοριάλωτος 1. 5 3 V. II. 

ἀντίπαλοι 1. 5 ; XIV. 17. 

εὐταξία 1. 10; ἵν. 37. 

παραναγιγνώσκω 1. 12 ; Vill. 23. 

φρυάσσομαι ii, 2 ; vii. 34 [cf. Acts iv. 25]: 

κραδαίνω Il, 21; ΧΙ. 

ἀντιλήμψεως τεύξασθαι il. 33; xv. 7 [the same peculiar 
form of the Aorist ; see Thackeray, ὁ. ¢., p. 287]. 

ἀλιτήριοι 111]. 16; Xii. 23, ΧΠ]. 4, XIV. 42. 

ὑψαυχενῶν 111. τῷ ; Xv. 6. 

ὑφορώμενος 111. 23; Vil. 24. 

πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν λαμβάνειν iv. 43 Vill. 17. 

ὁμοεθνής ἵν. 12, Vii. 143 iV. 2. 


3 διακομίζω i. 2 ; 


The following words are found in both books, 


κατάκλειστος i. 18; iii. 19 [in both cases with παρθένοι] ; 
Wisd. xviii. 4. 

ἀγερωχία, -ος i. 25, ii. 3; ix. 7; Wisd. il. 9. 

ἀπροσδεής [of God] ii. 9; xiv. 35; 1 Macc. xii. 9 [not 
of God 

ἐπόπτης [of God] ii. 21; iii. 39, vii. 35; Ad. Esth. v. τ. 

ἀνίκητος 1V. 21; ΧΙ. 13; 4 Macc. fer. 

ἀπεχθής, -ws 111. 4, V. 33 V. 233 Wisd. xix. 15. 


The similarity of phrase in the following cases 


χειρονομία 1. 5 ; ἐν χειρῶν νομαῖς V. 14. 

κισσόφυλλον il. 29; κισσοί vi. 7 and reference to 
Dionysiac worship. 

χείριστος μόρος ili. I ; οἴκτιστος μόρος ix. 28. 

ἀποτυμπανίζω 111. 27 ; τύμπανον V1. 19, 28. 


The following words found in both occur 


μιᾶς ὑπὸ καιρὸν ἡμέρας ἵν. 14 ; Vil. 20. 

ἐλεφαντάρχης ν. 4, &C. ; XIV. 12. 

μεγαλομερῶς Vi. 33 [84]. ν. 8]; iv. 22, 49. 

προσημαίνω V. 13, 47; ἵν. 23. 

ἀθέμιτος V. 20; Υἱ. 5, Vil. I, Χ. 34. 

ὁ ἐπιφανὴς Κύριος ν. 35 3 XV- 34. 

ἀλογιστία ν. 42; χῖν. 8. 

ἰσόπεδος V. 43; Vill. 3, ΙΧ. 14. 

ἄτρωτος ν. 47; Vill. 36, x. 30 [in classical sense = un- 
wounded |. 

καταστέλλω Vi. I; 1V. 31. 

τερατοποιύς [of God] vi. 32; Xv. 21. 

οἰωνόβρωτος V1. 343 1X. 15. 


and are rare otherwise :— 

ἀπήμαντος Vi. 6; xii. 25; Wisd. vil. 22. 

ἀδιαλείπτως Vi. 333 ili. 26, &c.; 1 Mace. ΧΙ]. 11. 

ξενίζων [as adj.] vii. 3; ix. 6; Esther ii. 13. 

εὐσταθεῖν Vil. 43 Xil. 2, Xiv. 253 Jer. XXX. 9. 

ἄδεια vii. 12; xi. 30; Wisd. ΧΙ]. 11. 

καθιδρεύειν vil. 20; iv. 12; Ep. Jer. 17. 

προειρημένος five times in 3 Macc.; six times in 2 Macc.; 
τ Esdras vi. 32 [A]. 


is noticeable :— 

πασῆς δυνάμεως δυναστεύων VY. 7 [cf. δυνάστης V. Sus 
πασῆς ἐξουσίας δυνάστης iii. 24 [all of God]. 

βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων Y. 35°; B. βασιλέων ΧΙ]. 4 [ both 
of God]. 

‘Scythian’ cruelty vii. 5; iv. 47- 


Add also the idea of the ἐπιφάνεια of God, and the use of τόπος for the temple, which are frequent 


in both books. 


Though these resemblances are sufficiently striking, there are differences which prevent our 


ascribing the books to the same author. 


00k The style of 2 Maccabees is much better than that of 
3 Maccabees; it is less involved and exaggerated, and more akin to the style of Polybius. 


Nor 


: See Thackeray, Gr. O.T. in Greek, pp. 138, 248. 279. 
* In each verse the reference to 3 Macc. is given first. 


156 


INTRODUCTION 


is it easy to establish a direct literary dependence on either side.1 The impression left is that 
both books belong to the same school of thought, and probably to the same period. 

(ὁ) Relation to the Letter of Aristeas. (a) There is a general similarity in the idea and 
purpose of the books. Both aim at glorifying the Jew in his own eyes and in the eyes of the 
| Greek world ; stress is laid on the importance of his position, and his fidelity to the Ptolemies 
| (Aristeas, 36, &c.).2 A Ptolemy is the central figure in each book, and he is represented as acknow- 
ledging the protection of the God of the Jews (τό, 19, 37 ; cf. 3 Macc. iii. 21, v. 31, vi. 24 ff, vii. 6 ff.). 
Much is made of the inviolability and beauty of the temple (83 ff.) and the overwhelming awe 
inspired by it (99); the latter would seem to be a simpler expression of the physical terror and 
helplessness which in 3 Macc. ii. 21 overtakes Philopator; cf. also the punishments of those who 
profaned the secrecy of the text of the law (313 ff.). Other points of contact are the discussion of 
Jewish separateness in food and life (128 ff.; cf. 3 Macc. iii. 3 ff.), the place played in each story 
by the repeated royal feasts (187 &c., 3 Macc. iv. 16, v, vi), the inclusion of official letters, and 
the position of the typical priest Eleazar (22, 29, 33, 41; cf. 3 Macc. iii, 12, vii. 1; 33, 41, 
Ὅσοι ΣΝ]. τὴ: 

(8) Style and language. The most striking resemblances are found in the official letters, or 
decrees :—* 


χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρῶσθαι 111. 12, vil. 1; 353 cf. 41. Cf. also iii. 25 with 25 [διειλήφαμεν γάρ, &c.]; and 
προστετάχαμεν 111. 25, vil. 8; 24. ὑπομαστιαίων In ili. 27 with ἐπιμαστιδίων in 27. 
μηνύειν τὸν βουλόμενον ἐφ᾽ ᾧ . . . ili. 28; τὸν βουλόμενον ὁ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς τύπος οὕτως ἐγέγραπτο ili. 30 ; ἐπιστολὴ τὸν 
προσαγγέλλειν περὶ τῶν ἀπειθησάντων ἐφ᾽ ᾧ. . .. 25 τύπον ἔχουσα τοῦτον 34. 
[reward follows in each case]. καθ᾽ ὁντινοῦν τρόπον Vil. 7; 24. 


Remarkable words or phrases common to both books include the following :— + 


Τέντυχία [technically of a petition] vi. 40: 1. Τάἄπταιστος Vi. 39 ; 187. 

Τἀπόλυσις Vi. 37, 40; τό. τραπῆναι εἰς [pds | εὐφροσύνην ν. 36; 202, 294. 
6 πάντων ἐπόπτης θεός il. 21; τό. ἀπροσδεήῆς 11. 9; 211. 

ὁλοσχερής V. 31; 27 [-ῶς]. ἀλόγιστος V. 42, Vi. 12 ; 213. 

ἸἨαἀλόγως Vi. 25 ; 24, 107. εὐστάθεια ili. 26, vi. 28; 217, 261. 

θεωρία V. 24; 31. Τκατευφημεῖν Vil. 13 5 217. 

καταχωρίζω [technically] ii. 29 ; 36. avedukros 11. 15 ; 223, 283. 

παραναγιγνώσκω 1s 12; 42. tpeyadopepns Vv. 8; 226, 319. 

ἀδιάλειπτος, τως V1. 33; 86, 92, 294. ἐπιφάνεια | of God] v. 8; 264. 

Τέως [dawn] v. 46; 88. ἐνέργεια [of God] iv. 21, v. 12; 266. 

ἰδιότης Vil. 175 97. Ῥἄληκτος iv. 2 [V]; 269. 

παρὰ πόδας ὁρῶντες, Or ἔχοντες iv. 8, ν. 8; 135. ἐπιείκεια καὶ φιλανθρωπία [in technical sense, of king] 
δυναστεύων [of God] v. 7; 168, 195. ili, 15 3 290. 


As with 2 Maccabees, the connexion seems to be of school and date. The similarity in the use of 
technical and official language is specially remarkable; as we shall see in the next paragraph, this 
language was that actually in use in documents of the Ptolemaic period. 

(c) Relation to Papyri. The evidence of the papyri confirms the general accuracy of the 
official and technical language of the book, and suggests that it belongs to the Ptolemaic period, 
not the Roman. 

Applying Thackeray’s test® of οὐθείς (μηθείς) as against οὐδείς (μηδείς), we find the @ form in 
i. 13 (A), ii. 28 (V), vii. 8 (A), as against six times where the MSS. agree with the spelling with 6. 
The fluctuation is much the same as in Wisdom (see Introd. to Wisdom zz /oc. in this volume), 
and both books are probably to be referred to the ‘ period of transition’ 132 B.C. to 100 B.C., or 
rather later. 

Again, the formula χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρῶσθαι κτλ. (iii. 12, vii. 1), which it will be remembered is 
found in the Letter of Aristeas, seems ‘to point to a date at the end of the second or the beginning 
of the first century B.c.’° Earlier papyri usually have a conditional sentence ; papyri of the end 


1 It is usually assumed without any serious attempt at proof that the writer of 3 A/accabees used 2 Maccadees. 
Willrich argues, on the other hand, that the reverse is true (Judaica, pp. 163 ff.). rte 

* The references are to Wendland’s paragraphs, as printed in Mr. Thackeray’s edition in Swete’s Ltr. to the 
O.T. in Greek*®, The English translation with critical and exegetical notes will be found in vol. ii of this work. 

3 Thackeray has already called attention to some of these in Swete, ὁ. ¢., p. 502, ἢ. 3. As before, the reference 
to 3 Macc. is in each case given first. 

4 Those marked with + do not occur elsewhere in the LX X. 

5 Grammar O.T. in Greek, pp. 58 ff. : 

® For the facts and references in this paragraph I am indebted to information kindly placed at my disposal by 
Mr. Thackeray in a private letter. 


157 


II] MACCABEES . 


of the first century B.C. and onwards have πλεῖστα χαίρειν. Cf. especially P. Grenf. ii. 36 (95 B.C.) 
and P. Lips. 104 (c. 96 B.C.), where the resemblance to 3 Maccabees is peculiarly close. ; 
λαογραφία (ii, 28), which had been supposed to point to the Roman period, has been proved — 
to be entirely in place in the Ptolemaic age; and again the dating by Egyptian months alone 
(vi. 38), in which Willrich? finds a sign of late date, occurs much earlier, the equalizing a the 
Egyptian and Macedonian months having taken place in the reign of Euergetes II (Physcon). a 
“In Tebt. P. 5 (an official document of the beginning of the same reign) we find οἱ ἐπὶ τῶν 
προσόδων (cf. 3 Macc. vi. 30) ; οἱ τεταγμένοι ἐπὶ πραγμάτων [χρειῶν] (cf. vii. τ, v. 14): καθ ὁντινοῦν 
τρόπον (cf. vii. 7 and Letter of Aristeas, 24). In Louvre P. 63 (an official letter of Philometor’s 
reign) occur the words τιθηνεῖσθαι (cf. iii. 15), σκεπάζειν (cf. 1{|: 27))). εὐχρηστία (ch 11: 25} ἀσχολία 
(cf. v. 34), the first two words being used in the same technical sense. καταχωρίζω (= enroll, ii. 29 ; 
Aristeas 36) occurs in the Canopus and Rosetta inscriptions, and frequently in Papyri; the same 
inscriptions speak of records on a στήλη (ii. 27, vii. 20), and afford evidence οἱ the popularity of 
commemorative feasts (vi. 36, vii. 19). μηνύειν τὸν βουλόμενον (iii. 28),* παρουσία ὃ (iii, 17, of a royal 
visit), φιλανθρωπία (of royal clemency, iii, 15-1 8), ἐντυγχάνω (= petition, vi. 37-49), are) Vall 
familiar in Papyri. γραφικοὶ κάλαμοι (a hitherto unparalleled phrase, iv. 20) occurs in Grenfell P., 
ii. 38 (first century B.C.) ; οἰκετικός (ii. 28) in B.M.P. cecci (c. 116 8. C.)5_ κακοτεχνεῖν (vii. 9) in 
P. Eleph. 1 (311 B.C.); θεωρία (v. 24) in P. Tebs. 33 (112 B.C.) ; σκυλμός (iii, 25 metaphorically) 
in P. Tebt. 41 (119 B.C.). 
(d) We have therefore converging lines of evidence. There are good reasons for connecting 
Maccabees with Alexandria; Jason is probably to be placed between 130 and Ioo B.C., and 
Maccabees not much later. The Letter of Aristeas is certainly Alexandrian and of the same 
period.’ Indications derived from the papyri (the nature of the official language, the greetings in 
the letters, and the use of the forms οὐθείς and μηθείς) suggest a date somewhere about 100 B.C. As 
we regard the connexion between 3 Maccabees and the other books as one of school and thought, 
and not of direct literary indebtedness, it may possibly have been written shortly before them. Its 
superior limit is fixed by the apparent quotation in 6° from The Song of the Three Children (LXX), 
which probably dates from the last quarter of the second century B.C. 
Mahaffy ὃ points out that polemical tracts for and against the Jews came into vogue during the 
reign of Physcon (146-117 B.C.), and they certainly continued to be the fashion. Our book clearly 
belongs to this class of literature. It was apparently written primarily for Jews to encourage and 
confirm their faith in themselves and their destiny,” but it was certainly meant to be read by the 
outside world as well. It is an apology, representing the Jew as the Ptolemies’ most loyal supporter, 
just as later apologists represented the Christian as the Emperors’ best citizen. There is also, not 
far below the surface, the further suggestion that it is not prudent to interfere too far with him or 
his religion. The book is further a tract on the orthodox side, supporting the strict view of the 
Hasidim, as against the laxer Hellenizing section,!? which must have been even stronger in Egypt 
than in Palestine. There is, however, little evidence that this polemic was specially directed against 
a Samaritan element, or even very definitely against the Onias temple. 
(ὁ) The chief alternative date is that suggested by Ewald."! He connects the book with the 
attempt of Caligula to place his image in the temple, and with the persecutions of the Alexandrian 
Jews which took place in his reign. Philo tells the story in the adv. Flaccum, and the Legatio ad 
Caium.* Certain points are found in his story and in 3 JZaccabees as well, e.g. the injustice of the 
persecution, the loyalty of the Jews, the punishment of the persecutor. But these are commonplaces. 
We miss the characteristic features of the Caligula story, the attempt to force the Emperor’s image 
into the temple and the synagogues of Alexandria, the attacks on the synagogues, and Caligula’s 
claim to divine honours ; 15. since the Ptolemies were θεοί, this feature could have been easily trans- 
ferred. Further, in Philo the hostility comes first from the populace, the outbreaks in Alexandria 
precede the events in Jerusalem, and the Jews in fact suffer severely. Those who accept this date 
are therefore forced to hold with Grimm that the author was afraid to work out his parallel too 
closely. But the tone of 3 Maccabees is not that of a period of oppression and martyrdom ; it belongs 
rather to a time when the nation is prosperous, and its position has been triumphantly vindicated. 


by Ὁ 


Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 343. 5 Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, pp. 372 ff. 
£. B., art. 2 Maccabees. 7 Wendland and Thackeray, 100-80 B.C. 
> Emp. Ptol., p. 390. 


_* It may also have been intended to be read publicly on the occasion of the festivals commemorating the 
deliverances (vi. 36, vii. 19). 


ΟΡ τ 91. Vil 1Ο. "Hist. Isr. v, pp. 468 ff. 15. See also Josephus, 47¢. XVIII. viii. 


: See note on ii. 28. 2. Judaica, p. 166. 5. Mahaffy, Zhe Ptolemaic Dynasty, p. 205. 
6 


158 


4 Ne .«., 


-- 


INTRODUCTION 


And tempting though Ewald’s suggestion appears at first sight, it cannot outweigh the positive indica- 
tions of an earlier date which we have gained from other sources. 

Attempts have also been made to find the occasion for the writing of the book in Pompey’s 
attack on the Temple in 64 B.C., or in the incidents narrated of Herod (Josephus, Av¢. XVII. vi. 5) 
or Pilate (ib. XVIII. iii. 1). But the resemblances in these cases are still slighter, and could only be 
seriously considered if there were independent grounds for ascribing the book to the Roman period. 


δ 5. HISTORICAL BASIS. 


(a) Relation to Polybius. Generally speaking the account of the battle of Raphia, and the 
picture of Philopator’s character, agree with Polybius v. But there are important differences in 
detail, for which there is no obvious reason ; see notes on ch. i. Now there was a certain Ptolemy 
of Megalopolis (a fellow-townsman of Polybius), who is mentioned by him as governor of Cyprus 
(xviii. 55. 6, &c.), and who wrote an anecdotic account of the reign of Philopator, giving a very 
unfavourable picture of the king.! Scala* shows that he was one of the sources used by Polybius, 
particularly in the story of Agathocles (xv. 25-33) ;* the comment which he appends to that story 
(xv. 34. 1) probably refers to Ptolemy’s history. ‘Iam quite aware of the miraculous occurrences 
and embellishments which the chroniclers of this event have added to their narrative with a view of 
producing a striking effect upon their hearers, making more of their comments on the story than 
of the story itself and the main incidents. Some ascribe it entirely to Fortune, and take the oppor- 
tunity of expatiating on her fickleness, and the difficulty of being on one’s guard against her. Others 
dwell on the unexpectedness of the event and try to assign its causes and probabilities.’ + Mahaffy$ 
apparently independently, also arrives at the conclusion that this Ptolemy is the authority for the 
Agathocles section, and is ‘ probably the source which has blackened the name of Philopator’. Now 
on the other hand it has been recognized that the author of 3 J7accabees apparently used some good 
authority, other than Polybius. for his account of Raphia and the character of Philopator.° Can we 
not then identify this unknown source with the lost history of Ptolemy Megalopolitanus? The 
characteristics which Polybius ascribes to him, love of ‘ miraculous occurrences and embellishments ’, 
and the fondness for tracing out causes, are exactly those of 3 JZaccabees, and would make him 
a congenial pattern for the author of the latter book. It is noticeable that in one of his extant frag- 
ments’ he speaks of Philopator’s boon companions, of whom we hear so much in 3 Maccabees. There 
are again many features in the Agathocles section which remind us of the Jewish story, e. g. the 
stress laid on the popularity of Arsinoe (cf. 3 Macc. i. 4 ff.), the picture of the confusion in the streets 
of Alexandria, the debaucheries, the cruelties, the unexpected escape of Moeragenes.* These are 
sufficient to show that the sort of story told in 3 Maccabees is just that which was narrated by 
Ptolemy in his anecdotes. I would suggest then that the narrative of the opening verses of 
3 Maccabees may be derived directly from him, and that amongst the stories which he told 
of Philopator were some which a pious Jew could adapt for the glorification of his own nation. 

(ὁ) Relation to Fosephus. In c. Ap. ii. 5 there is a story which is certainly in some way 
connected with that of 3 MJaccabees. After the death of Philometor the Alexandrian Jews sup- 
ported Cleopatra against his brother Physcon (Ptolemy IX, 146-117 B.c.). The latter in revenge 
exposed the Jews and their families to drunken elephants, which, however, turned on Physcon’s 
followers and slew many of them. A phantom also appeared to the king, preventing him from 
further attempts to injure them. But the parallel does not stop here. Earlier in the chapter 
Josephus mentions a visit of Ptolemy Euergetes I to Jerusalem to offer thankofferings after 
a victory ; stress is laid on the services of Onias and Dosztheus, Jewish generals; and reference is 
made to the intercession of Ithaca, or Irene, Physcon’s concubine, on behalf of the Jews, as well as 
to a memorial feast kept by the Alexandrian Jews on the day of their deliverance. It is at once 
obvious that Josephus’ version is far more probable than the exaggerated and sensational narrative 
of 3 Maccabees.’ The mention of the festival in both suggests that some historical incident lies 


’ See Miiller, vag. Hist. Graec. iii, p. 66. ἡ Studien des Polybius, pp. 58-60, 263-7. 

5. Also in the character of Philopator, xiv. 11, 12; Cleino, his cup-bearer, mentioned there, is also mentioned in 
one of the extant fragments of Ptolemy. 

* Shuckburgh’s translation. 5 Empire of the Ptolemies, p. 272, τ. 1; Ptolemaic Dynasty, pp. 143 ft. 

δ e.g. by Mahaffy (Ef. Pz., p. 267); Willrich (A/a, vii, p. 293); Biichler (Zodcaden und Oniaden, p. 174). 

τ apud Athen. vi, p. 246 Ὁ. 

* There is no striking resemblance in the language, which is that of Polybius himself ; but ἀμετάθετος and παραδει- 
γματίζειν, which occur in 3 Macc. v. 1, 12, iv. 11, and nowhere else in LXX, are found in this section (32. 7, 32.5); also 
cf. 31. 5 (χωρήσαντες cis τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς διάθεσιν) with ii. 28, 29. 

* Josephus clearly did not know, or at any rate care to use, 3 MWaccadees. 


159 


III MACCABEES 


behind the legends, and there is indeed no a priori reason for doubting this. But is Josephus right 
in placing it in Physcon’s reign? The evidence of the papyri tends to show that the Jews as — 
a whole were well treated by this king, and this fact has led Mahaffy and others to reject Josephus’ 
setting of the incident.' But the evidence is somewhat scanty and refers to the latter part of the | 
reign. Josephus places the persecution at the very beginning, and implies, as does the author οἵ 
3 Maccabees even more clearly, that the persecutor afterwards became a protector of the Jews. In 
neither story is there any question of a long continued oppression, but only of a single abortive 
attempt at vengeance. Further, in the troubles which broke out on the death of Philometor, it is in 
every way probable that his widow Cleopatra and her infant son were supported by Onias and the 
loyal Jews of Leontopolis ;* it is equally probable that in the reprisals with which Physcon signalized 
his success ἢ he may have attempted to punish the Jews. Such a view agrees with the impression 
left by 3 Maccabees that the main attack was made on Faytim Jews brought to Alexandria for the 
purpose.t Again, the fact that in Justin 38. 8 we may have ‘traces of an edict [of Physcon] 
by which Egyptians and Syrians (Jews) were granted the privileges of Alexandrian citizenship *® 
harmonizes exactly with 3 Macc. ii. 30, ili. 21. 

On the other hand the Jerusalem incident is probably rightly placed by the writer of 3 Maccabees 
in the reign of Philopator. In his triumphal progress after Raphia the king would not be likely to 
leave out the Jewish capital.© With his love of architecture and interest in religion he would 
certainly wish to enter the Temple. The Jews would no less certainly have tried to prevent him, 
and his superstitious fears may well have been worked on in some such manner as to give rise to 
the highly coloured narrative of our book.’ It is even possible that the story may have been taken 
in substance from the memoirs of Ptolemy Megalopolitanus. 

The hypothesis that two independent stories have been united in 3 AZaccabees is confirmed by 
an examination of the book itself. The connexion between the Jerusalem episode and the subsequent 
persecution in Egypt is very artificial. No doubt it is difficult to set bounds to the ἀλογιστία of a 
despot, but it is not very probable that Philopator should have wished to destroy the innocent and 
loyal Jews of Egypt merely on account of an insult offered by their fellow-countrymen in Jerusalem, 
and the narrative itself in its references to taxation and local religious differences affords a far more 
reasonable explanation of the origin of the persecution. Ρ 

It would seem, then, that the writer of 3 Maccabees has combined the Physcon and Philopator 
stories, transferring the former to the earlier reign. There was an obvious advantage in doing so, 
since in the original narrative as preserved by Josephus the position of the Jews was a little 
ambiguous. It is true they had been loyal to Cleopatra, but they had unfortunately sided with the 
defeated party, and from the point of view of the conqueror they could be regarded as rebels. No 
such objection attached to the representation in 3 AZaccabees. The writer has also, by the way, 
worked in a reference to another story glorifying the Jew. Dositheus is mentioned in the Physcon 
story side by side with Onias as a Jewish general who did good service to the Ptolemies. In the 
Hibeh P. 90 and elsewhere a Dositheus sox of Drimylus is found as an Alexander priest of 222 B.C. 
The writer in i. 3 apparently identifies the two, and turns the son of Drimylus into a renegade Jew. 
At the same time he makes him play the réle of a Mordecai and save the king’s life.’ It is possible 
that the reference to Arsinoe in i. I, 4 may be explained on similar lines. She plays no further part 
in the story and her introduction seems quite pointless. But the writer may have intended that she 
should play the rdle which Ithaca plays in Josephus, and intercede for the Jews; for some reason 
he dropped this feature, but omitted to expunge the earlier references to her. On the other hand 
the episode may have been taken directly from Ptolemy Megalopolitanus, in whose narrative she 
seems to have figured prominently. In that case she is simply part of the historical setting of 
the picture, and her introduction was never intended to have any further significance. 

It is at any rate clear that the aim of the writer was to combine in a single picture as many 


* Ptolemaic Dynasty, pp. 192 ff.; Willrich, Juden und Griechen, pp. 151 ff. 

* Mahaffy, ib., p. 183. * e.g. the massacre of Cyrenaeans, Diod. xxxiii. 13. 

* v. inf. καὶ 6, and cf. Abrahams, J. Q. R. ix, pp. 39 ff. 

5 Mahaffy, ib., p. 190. 6 Ib. p. 134. 

7 The Letter of Aristeas 99 speaks of the ἔκπληξις and θαυμασμὸς ἀδιήγητος inspired by the Temple; Stanley 
epapates Ἦ story of Ibrahim Pacha struck down on attempting to enter the shrine of Isaac (27251 7. Ch. iil, 
p. 219, n. 1). 

® See Willrich, AZo, vii (1907), p. 293f. The same writer in Ludaica, p. το f., and Hermes, xxxix. 244 ff., calls 
attention to the undoubtedly curious coincidence that in Ad. Esth. xii. 1 Tharra the Eunuch slain by Mordecai is 
called, in Lagarde’s a text, Thedeutos or Theudetos, while Josephus (Av¢. XI. vi. 4) calls him Theodosites, or in Ant. 
XI. vi. 10 Theodestes ; cf. the Theodotus of 3 Macc. i. 2. Again in Ad. Esth. xi. 1 Dosztheuws a priest and Levite is 
named as the bearer of the book to Egypt. But his elaborate attempt to reduce all these narratives to versions of 
a single legend can hardly be followed; it involves a theory of Esther which ‘has found no favour thus far among 
critics’ (Paton, Esther [in Int. Crit. Com.], p- 77). 


160 


INTRODUCTION 


features as possible, all tending to the glorification of the faithful Jew. We thus have brought 
together in a single canvas the frustrated attempt to enter the Temple, the saving of the king’s life 
by a Jew, the attacks on religion and attempts to hellenize, affecting both the Jews in Alexandria 
and in Egypt as a whole, the testimonies to their great influence and unswerving loyalty, the marvels 
of divine intervention, and the vengeance on renegades. The result is not very convincing artistically 
or historically. But on the other hand each feature, taken by itself and stripped of its sensational 
colouring, is entirely credible and probably has some foundation in fact. Our knowledge of the 
history of the Jews in Egypt under the Ptolemies is too fragmentary to justify us in denying the 
possibility of sporadic outbreaks of anti-Semitism in the second and third centuries B.c. As we have 
seen, the papyri confirm in various ways the general accuracy of the writer, and we shall probably be 
justified in giving his work a somewhat higher historical value than has usually been assigned to it. 

On one point all are agreed. The character of Philopator is in full accordance with the picture 
which history had come to form of him. ‘ Noctes in stupris, dies in conviviis consumit.’1 Whether 
the picture is quite a fair one is another question. It may be due to the bias of Ptolemy Megalo- 
politanus, and inscriptions suggest that there was something to be said on his side.* At any rate 
they prove an interest in architecture and religion, and a ready liberality to cities and temples, which 
agree with the statements of 3 Maccabees. 


$6. INTEGRITY OF THE BOOK. 


It is sometimes held that the book is only a fragment of a larger work (Ewald, Fritzsche), or 
that at any rate the opening has been lost (Grimm). The arguments for this view are found in the 
~abruptness of the introduction,® the reference to the plot of Theodotus in i. 2 as though it were well 
known, and to the ‘ before-mentioned companions’ in ii. 25, who have not in fact been introduced 
previously. But if we accept the hypothesis of the writer’s dependence on Ptolemy Megalopolitanus, 
it will be more reasonable to suppose that these are slips, due to a careless reproduction of the 
source. Ini. 2 we have ‘a certain Theodotus’,as though from the writer's standpoint he was being 
mentioned for the first time, while the following words imply a previous reference to his treachery. 
The source is evidently only imperfectly adapted; the τις shows that Theodotus cannot have been 
already named in a lost opening of the book itself. 

Biichler,* on the other hand, argues that 3 Maccadees, as it stands, has been drastically edited, and 
contains copious interpolations which have introduced confusion into the story. He points out that 
in the concluding chapters the Alexandrian Jews are hardly mentioned ; they deal solely with the 
return of country Jews to Moeris and the Arsinoite nome. He suggests that the original narrative 
dealt with a persecution of Fayim Jews, who had refused to join in a birthday feast to Dionysus on 
some occasion when Philopator attempted to establish his cult at Bakchis and Dionysias on the 
banks of Moeris. The references to renegades point to a Samaritan element which was ready to fall 
in with a lax syncretism. In accordance with this theory he makes very considerable excisions in 
the book. There are no grounds for doing this, and it is more probable that the writer himself com- 
bined various stories and is responsible for the resultant confusion. At the same time Biichler’s 
hypothesis as to the reasons which led to the persecution of the Fayim Jews is probable enough, 
and may well indicate one of the historical elements in the story. 


ὃ 7. STYLE. 

The book is a product of Alexandrian literature, exemplifying in its extremest form the pseudo- 
Classicalism of the Atticists. It would, however, be misleading to speak of it as written in the most 
literary style, since its artificiality and extravagance make it hardly worthy of the name of literature. 
Particularly when the writer attempts in descriptions to introduce purple passages, he succeeds only 
in being obscure and bombastic: e.g. i. τό ff., iv, v. 6 ff. His sentences are full of repetitions and 
awkwardly constructed, and for all their attempt at rhetoric are marked by an excessive use of the 
weak introductory particle δέ; e.g. of the first 11 verses, 10 begin with it. The vocabulary is 
varied ; Swete® gives a selection of 32 words not found elsewhere in the LX X, but in fact the list can 
be extended to over 100; its character may be judged from the fact that it includes 20 adjectives 
compounded with a privative; many again are poetical, such as πανόδυρτος, or πολύδακρυς. There 
are also about 14 words not found elsewhere in Greek literature, verbs such as ψυχουλκεῖν, tpoov- 
στέλλειν, and compound adjectives of the type of βυθοτρεφής, μισούβρις, μυροβρεχής, πουτόβροχος, 
φοβεροειδής, πυρόπνους. 

Among the Classical forms, unique or unusual in the 1, ΧΧ, which mark the writer as an Atticist, 


1 Justinus xxx. 1. 8; his nickname was Τρύφων. 2 Mahaffy, Emp. Pol., pp. 270 ff. 
3 Xenophon’s Oecov. and Josephus’ Zzfe also begin with a δέ clause, but apparently in neither case were they 
meant to be regarded as independent works. 
* Tobiaden und Oniaden, pp. 172 ff. 5 Intr. O.T. in Greek, p. 312. 
1105 161 ὶ Μ 


III MACCABEES 4 


are the following ! :—rédcov, τελέως, δεσμά, ἴστε, διηρπάσθην, καθειστάντες, ᾧκτειρα, and the use of crasis _ 
with the definite article (τοὐνάντιον, τἀληθές). i νὰ 

At the same time the writer shows the influence of the κοινή in such forms as τεύξασθαι 
κατεσχέθη, ἠνέῳξα, εἰάσθησαν, θεέ, τετάρτη (for rérpas). In iv. 19 there is an interesting example of 
a superfluous ἐν with dative after xpao@a.* 


§ 8. THEOLOGY. 


The book represents the most orthodox type of old-fashioned Judaism, with its devotion to the 
temple, the law, and the peculiar position of the chosen people. The business of God is to act as 
their champion; there is no trace of universalism, or even any desire for proselytes ; Philopator is 
forced to respect God, but he does not worship Him, as does Nebuchadnezzar, nor is there any of the 
syncretism which we find in the Letéer of Artsteas. At the same time, side by side with the tone of 
somewhat arrogant self-satisfaction and narrow materialism, there is a real piety and an absolute 
faith in the power of prayer. There are no references to the Messianic hope, or apocalyptic ideas, 
or the future life. An angel vision terrifies Ptolemy and his followers, but it is not seen by the Jews; 
there is no sign of the desire to interpose intermediaries between God and man, nor is He described 
by periphrases; e.g. His πρόνοια is mentioned, but in no way personified (iv. 21, v. 30). He is 
addressed directly, and the variety and number of the attributes ascribed to Him is remarkable. The 
heaping up of such attributes in prayer was a feature of Hellenistic Judaism ® (ii. 2 ff., 21, v. 7, 
vi. 2-9, 18, 28 ; cf. 2 Macc. i. 24, Pr. Man. 1-4). Among the titles of God not found elsewhere in the 
LXX are the following :--- μόναρχος (ii. 2), προπάτωρ (ii. 21), μεγαλοκράτωρ (vi. 2), μισούβρις (vi. 9), 
ἔντιμος (vi. 13), weyadddogos (vi. 18), as well as several phrases of the type of πάσης δυνάμεως δυναστεύων." 
Unusual titles are πάντων ἐπόπτης (ii. 21), ἅγιε ἐν ἁγίοις (ii. 2, 21), ὁ ἐπιφανὴς Κύριος (v. 35), τερατοποιός 
(vi. 32), ῥύστης Ἰσραήλ (vii. 23). 

From the theological standpoint, therefore, the book seems to belong to the strict and con- — 
servative school of the Hasidim, devoted to the law, and finding its inspiration in the lessons of the 
national history (ii. 2-20, vi. I-15). It expresses a bitter opposition to the attempts at hellenizing, 
which so nearly overwhelmed Judaism in the second century B.C.,and shows no sympathy with the 
developments of thought and doctrine, which at that time were growing up within the Jewish Church. 
Though it belongs to Alexandria, it shows no trace of the influence of the typical Alexandrian ideas.° 
The keenest heresy-hunter could have found no fault with its uncompromising orthodoxy. 


$9. USE OF THE BOOK. 


The references to 3 Maccabees are very few, and entirely confined to Christian writers. They 
include Afost. Canons 85, the Stichometry of Nicephorus, Synopsis Athanasit, Eus. Chron. ii. 122. 
The Stichometry of Codex Claromontanus implies a knowledge of the book, by mentioning the fourth 
book of Maccabees. In the Syxopsis Athanasii we find Μακκαβαικὰ βιβλία δ΄ Πτολεμαικά, where 
Credner’s emendation of καί for δ΄ is usually followed; Zahn’s πολεμικά has found little support. 
Theodoret of Antioch summarizes the book and treats it as historical (ad Dan. xi), and Swete ὃ calls 
attention to an interesting combination of Isa. lvii. 15 with 3 Macc. ii. 2 in the Liturgy of St. Clement. 
It will be seen that the attestation is entirely Eastern; the book was not accepted in the Western 
Church and does not appear in the Vulgate. 


§ Io. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


The translation which follows is based to some extent upon Churton’s, but is practicallya new one. The attempt 
has been made to give an idea of the characteristics of the Greek by preserving the complexity of the sentences, and the 


i . A smoother and more literary rendering would have given a wrong impression of the book. 
In the notes Gr. and Α΄. refer to the editions of Grimm and Kautzsch. 


1 These examples are collected from Thackeray, Gr. O.7. 7 Greek; the references will be readily found in the 


index to that book. 2 Cf. Moulton, Grammar of N.T. Greek IO. 

5 Deissmann, Bible Studies, pp. 297 ff. ‘ : 7 ἷ EPS ae 
: V. 7, 28, 51, vi. 2, vii. 9; cf. 2 Macc. ili. 34; Esther viii. 13; Wisd. xiv. 3. 
The attempts made to find characteristic features of Philonian thought are very unconvincing. 
° Intr. O.T. in Greek, p. 472. 


162 


lation BOOK OF MACCABEES 


»t Now when Philopator had learned from those who had returned of the capture by Antiochus of the 
_ places which had been held by him, he issued orders to all his forces, foot and horse, and taking with 
him his sister Arsinoe, marched to the district over against Raphia, where the army of Antiochus 
/2was encamped. But a certain Theodotus, determining to carry out his plot, took with him the 
bravest of the soldiers of Ptolemy who had been previously assigned to him, and went by night to 
| 3 the tent of Ptolemy, intending to kill him single-handed, and thereby put an end to the war. But 
Dositheus, called the son of Drimylus, who was by birth a Jew, but had subsequently abandoned 
the observance of the law, and renounced his ancestral faith, had conveyed Ptolemy away, and put 
some obscure person to sleep in the tent ; and so it happened that on this man fell the vengeance 
᾿ 4intended for the other. And when a fierce battle had begun, and things were favouring Antiochus, 

Arsinoe went frequently up and down the ranks, and her hair dishevelled, exhorted them with 

lamentation and tears to fight manfully for themselves, their children, and their wives, promising to 
5 give them if they conquered two minae of gold each. And thus it came about that their adversaries 
6 were destroyed in the encounter, and that many were also taken captive. So Ptolemy, having 
, ctushed the attack, determined to visit the neighbouring cities, and encourage them. And having 
8 done this, and given gifts to their shrines, he inspired his subjects with confidence. And when the 

Jews had sent to him some of the senate and elders to greet him, and bring him gifts, and con- 

gratulate him on what had happened, he became the more eager to visit them as quickly as possible. 
9 And when he had come to Jerusalem he sacrificed to the Most High God and offered thankofferings, 

acting in some measure according to what was suitable to the place. And entering into the oly 
το place, and being struck by the care dzsplayed, and the beauty, and admiring also the good order of 
11 the temple, it came into his mind to purpose to enter into the sanctuary. And when they said that 
this was not allowed, since not even members of their own nation could enter, or all the priests, but 
12 only the high-priest who was chief of all, and he once a year, he was by no means convinced. And 
when the law had been read out to him, not even then did he desist from his claim that he himself 
13 should enter, saying, Even if they are deprived of this honour, I must not be so. And he asked 
14 why, when he entered into every shrine, none of those present hindered him? And some one 


I. 9. μεγιστω] mora A των eEns τι] wv εξεστι 64: mepirrov τι, or εξοχον τι Arm 


I. 1. The opening describes the relations between Ptolemy IV, Philopator (222-204 B.C.), and Antiochus III, the 
Great (224-187 B.C.), immediately before the battle of Raphia, which took place in the spring of 217; Antiochus had 
captured Seleukeia, and occupied Syria and Palestine. See Pol. v. 40 ff.; 82 ff.; Mahaffy, Zypire of the Ptolemies, 
ch. vii. The story of Raphia is in substantial agreement with the account of Polybius, but there are certain divergences ; 
(a) in Polybius the two armies reach Raphia at about the same time; (ὁ) Arsinoe encourages the army in concert with 
Philopator defore the battle ; Antiochus is at first victorious on the right wing, but at the crisis it is the king himself 
who changes the fortune of the day; (c) Polybius refers to the ready submission of Coele-Syria and to Ptolemy’s visits 
to its cities, but he lays stress on their gifts and homage to him, not on his to them, as in 3 Macc.i. 6,7. On the 
significance of these differences see Intr. ὃ 5 a; see also § 6 for the abruptness of the opening, and § 5 ὁ for character 
of Philopator. Raphia is referred to in Dn. xi. 11, 12. 

his sister Arsinoe. This is correct at the date of Raphia; subsequently, according to Egyptian custom, she 
became Ptolemy’s wife ; Livy (xxxvii. 4) calls her Cleopatra ; Justinus (xxx. 1.7) Eurydice. On the significance of her 
mention here see Intr. § 5 ὁ. 

2. This Theodotus was a deserter from Ptolemy, who had been of great service to Antiochus (Pol. v. 40, 46, 61). 
His attempt is narrated ib. 81; there he takes two men with him, Dositheus is not mentioned, Ptolemy is saved 
because he did not sleep in his official tent, and Theodotus wounds two men and kills Andreas the king’s physician 
(? = the ἄσημός τις of ν᾿). See further Intr. § 5 ὁ. 

ὅπλων Πτολεμαικῶν τὰ κράτιστα. The translation given above is that of most Edd., and κράτιστα makes it probable. 
But the reference may be toarms and equipment which were Πτολεμαικά, and therefore not noticed (n. b. ὡς μόνος κτεῖναι). 
Polybius remarks that the varieties of dress in the two armies prevented discovery. 

3. Dositheus, see Intr. ὃ 5 ὁ. ; 

4. The promise seems impossibly extravagant, but it must be remembered that Egyptian queens had large private 
property, and Abrahams suggests that the promise was only made to the Greek mercenaries. 

_ 5. According to Polybius, Antiochus lost nearly 10,000 infantry, 300 cavalry, and 4,000 prisoners; Ptolemy 1,500 
infantry and 700 cavalry. 

9. πόπος the temple, as regularly in 2, 3 Macc. and elsewhere. ; 

13. πᾶν τέμενος. Gr. and K. (with hesitation) understand this of the Jewish temple, as though it were πᾶν τὸ τέμενος ; 
why had he been allowed to enter at all, if he might not penetrate into the inmost shrine? But the argument is weak 
even for a despot, and the translation given above is more pointed. 

163 M 2 


III MACCABEES 1. 15—2. 9 i: 


1s answered thoughtlessly that he did wrong to make this boast. But since this is so, he said, why 
16 should I not enter in any case, whether they wish it or not? Then the priests in all their robes fell 
down, and besought the Most High God to aid them in that which had come upon them, and to 
turn the violence of him who was making this wicked attack, filling the temple with lamentation 
17 and tears; and those who were left in the city hurried forth in confusion, concluding that something 
18 strange was happening. The virgins who had been shut up in their chambers rushed forth with 
their mothers, and covering their hair with dust and ashes, filled the streets with groanings and 
19 lamentations. And those who had been lately married, leaving the chambers prepared for wedded 
20 intercourse and forgetting their proper modesty, ran about in confusion through the city. And as 
for the new-born children, the mothers and nurses who had charge of them left them here and there, 
in the houses or in the streets without care,and came in crowds to the temple which is high above all. © 
21 And manifold were the supplications of those gathered here because of the impious enterprise of the 
22 king. And with them the bolder from among the citizens would not endure his carrying the matter 
23 to an extremity, or his determination to complete his project; but calling oz one another to rush 
to arms, and to die bravely for the law of their fathers, they made great confusion in the place, 
and being with difficulty turned from their purpose by the elders and the priests, they joined in 
, 25 supplication with them. And the multitude continued meanwhile praying as before. But the 
elders who were with the king tried in many ways to turn his haughty mind from the purpose he 
26 had conceived. But being emboldened and now setting them all aside, he was even beginning to 
27 approach, thinking that he would complete the des7gu aforesaid. Therefore those who were with 
him seeing this, joined with our own people in beseeching him who has all power to defend them in 
28 their present need, and not to disregard the lawless and insolent deed. So incessant and vehement 
29 was the united cry of the multitude that an indescribable uproar arose. For it might have been 
thought that not only the people, but even the walls and the whole pavement were crying out, since 
all preferred death to the profanation of the λον place. 
tr Then the High-Priest Simon bowing his knees before the holy place, and spreading out his hands 
2 in calm reverence, prayed after this manner: Lord, Lord, king of the heavens, and sovereign of all 
creation, holy among the holy ones, only ruler, almighty, give ear to us who are grievously troubled 
3 by one wicked and profane, made wanton in insolence and might. For thou who hast created all 
things, and governest the whole world, art a righteous ruler, and judgest those who do aught in 
4 violence and arrogance. Thou didst destroy those who aforetime did iniquity, among whom were 
5 giants trusting in their strength and boldness, bringing upon them a boundless flood of water. Thou 
didst burn up with fire and brimstone the men of Sodom, workers of arrogance, who had become 
known of all for their crimes, and didst make them an example to those who should come after. 
6 Thou didst try with manifold and grievous punishments the insolent Pharaoh when he enslaved thy 
7 holy people Israel, and didst make known thy mighty power. And when he pursued with chariots 
and a multitude of peoples thou didst overwhelm him in the depth of the sea, but those who trusted 
8 in thee, the ruler of all creation, thou didst bring safely through. And they seeing the works of thy 
9 hands did praise thee, the almighty. Thou, O King, when thou didst create the boundless and 


15. παντως] παντων A; παντες V 16. macas ταις εσθησεσιν] A V 44, 55, 74: Tas ays εσθ. al; πασαῖις ταις 
αγιαις εσθ. Arm 18. σποδω καὶ] ἀπεδωκαν A V 44, 55, 71, 74; > Arm yoou te 44, 55, 74 Arm; zou ye A; 
yoor τε al. 19. τοὺς πρὸς ἀπαντησιν διατεταγμενοὺυς παστους] τοὺς πρὸς amav vuy διατεταγμενους (A -nv) A V 553 
aravras 44, 74, with further variations in cursives; ‘were sitting veiled (07 curtained off) and prepared’ Arm. The 
parallel in iv. 6 confirms παστούς, and διατεταγμένην in A suggests that ἀπάντησιν is the original reading. 23. τερεων] 
Luc text, Syr; γεραιων A Arm al; γερεων V 28. cuvayopuerns| -ων Syr Arm and Edd 


Il. τὸ AV 55,71 > whole verse; καὶ εἰπὸν ὁμοθυμαδὸν 44,74; ‘they began to pray and said’ Arm 6. δοκι- 
μασας τιμώριαις ἐγνώρισας TO peya Gov κρατος] V; + (after eyvwpicas) τὴν σὴν δυναμιν ed ats εγνωρισας A Arm and most 


cursives with variations ; a conflate reading δοκιμασας] «5. A; δαμασας Luc text 9. nytagas ... σοι] +(before 
got) εἰς cov ονομα A Arm; ets ovopa σου (> cot) V 


15. Text and grammar are in some confusion, but the general meaning is clear. 
18,19. The same remark applies ; cf. 2 Macc. iii. 19 for the general picture. mpocapriws is not found elsewhere ; 
L. and S. ‘lately’; Edd. ‘completely’. 
ἐσταλμέναι. There is no parallel for the meaning ‘married’, which is required by the verse. Gr. and K. 


suggest ‘secluded’, others vestem (sc. nuptialem) indutae. Arm. translates ‘who had just then only been newly 
introduced’, which is probably right. 


II. 1. Simon II, son of Onias II (219-199 B.c.). Perhaps referred to in Sir. 1. 1, but it is doubtful whether Simon 
the Just is to be identified with Simon I or II. 


2. This heaping up of the attributes of God is characteristic of Hellenistic Judaism; see Intr. ὃ 8, ἅγιε ἐν ἁγίοις 


eed ΤῊΝ 188, Ivii. 14; see Intr. § 9 for the liturgical use of the phrase. μόναρχος occurs in Eus. and later writers as 
a title of God. 


᾿ς, 4. For giants cf. Judith xvi. 7 ; Sir. xvi. 7; Wisd. xiv. 6; Enoch vii. 2, ix. 9, xv. 8; Jubilees v. 7. See also 2 Pet. 
ll. 5-6, where we have azgels, the flood, and Sodom. 


164 


III MACCABEES 2. 9=29 


measureless earth, didst choose this city and sanctify this place [for thy name] for thyself, who hast 
need of nothing, and didst glorify it by a splendid manifestation, establishing it to the glory of thy 
τὸ great and honourable name. And loving the house of Israel, thou didst promise that if there should 
be a falling away, and distress should overtake us, and we should come to this place and make our 
‘2 supplication, thou wouldst hear our prayer. And indeed thou art faithful and true. And seeing 
} that oftentimes when our fathers were afflicted thou didst succour them in their humiliation, and 
113 didst deliver them from great evils, behold now, Ὁ holy king, for our many great sins we are 
|κ4 grievously troubled and put into subjection to our foes, and faint in ow weakness. In our low 
᾿ς estate this insolent and profane man seeketh’ to do violence to the holy place which is consecrated 
δ upon earth to the name of thy glory. For man cannot reach thy dwelling place, the heaven of 
[τό heavens. But since thy good pleasure was in thy glory amongst thy people Israel, thou didst 
πῇ hallow this place. Punish us not by the uncleanness of these men, neither chastise us by their 
profane doings, lest the transgressors boast in their wrath or exult in the insolence of their tongue, 
_|t8 saying, We have trodden down the house of the sanctuary as the houses of the abominations are 
τὸ trodden down. Blot out our sins and scatter abroad our offences and manifest thy mercy at this 
20 hour. Let thy compassion speedily overtake us, and put praises in the mouth of the fallen and 
broken in heart, granting us peace. 
2t Then the God who beholds all, the Father of all holy among the holy ones, hearing the supplica- 
tion spoken according to the law, scourged him who was greatly uplifted in violence and inso- 
22 lence, shaking him to and fro as a reed by the wind, so that lying on the ground powerless and 
23 paralysed in body he could not so much as speak, being smitten by a righteous judgement. Where- 
upon his friends and body-guard, seeing that the chastisement which had overtaken him was swift, 
and fearing lest he should even die, speedily drew him out, being overwhelmed by an exceeding great 
24 fear. But having after some time recovered himself, he by no means came to repentance though he 
had been thus punished, but departed with bitter threats. 
25 900, arriving in Egypt, and going on further in his wickedness, through his boon companions and 
26 associates, who have been already mentioned, utter strangers to all justice, he was not content with 
his countless excesses, but even reached such a pitch of insolence that he raised evil reports in those 
parts, and many of his friends watching carefully the royal purpose, themselves also followed his 
27 will. He purposed publicly to inflict a disgrace upon the Jewish nation, and erected a pillar on the 
28 tower in the palace with the inscription, That none who did not sacrifice should be allowed to enter 
their temples ; and that all Jews should be degraded to the rank of natives and the condition of 
29 serfs, and that those who spoke against it should be taken by force and put to death; and that 
those who were registered should even be branded on their bodies with an ivy-leaf, the emblem of 


24. απειλας Se πικρὰς θεμενος] V Luc text; μετα απειλης de mxpas al; pera απειλης δὲ mikpas θεμενος A*(a clearly conflate 
reading) 


Io. I Kings viii. 33. 

18. abominations is of course a slip from the standpoint of the supposed heathen speaker. 

21. πάντων ἐπόπτης, cf. 2 Macc. vii. 35, ix. 5; Ad. Esth. xv. 2; Letter of Aristeas, 16; see Deissmann, Light from 
the Ancient East, p. 429. 

ἔνθεσμος expressing the law; cf. v. 10. 
For the incident cf. the repulse of Heliodorus in 2 Macc. iii. 22-30, where the resemblance in language is great, 
and the punishment of Antiochus ib. ix. 4 ff. 

25. already mentioned ; either a slip from a careless use of a source (see Intr. § 6), or a reference to the supposed 
lost beginning of the book. 

26. evil reports—whether against himself, or the Jews, is not clear. ἢ 

28. i.e. the Jews might only enjoy their own worship if they also conformed to the official cult ; cf. Josephus, «4.12. 
XIL iii. 2; cAZ.ii.6. No other example of the word λαογραφία was known till the discovery of the Papyri. Grenfell 
and Hunt (7eé¢. P. [1902] pp. 445-8) discuss this passage with reference to Wilcken’s view that the word implies the 
“poll-tax’ of the Roman period, and is therefore an anachronism in a decree ascribed to Philopator, and in fact proves 
that the book dates from the Roman period. They show that the word does occur in Ptolemaic papyri, but not in its 
fully developed technical sense; it means not a tax, but ‘a taxing list of persons, most, or all, of whom were native 
Egyptians’. ads is the technical term for Egyptians as contrasted with Greeks (ib. p. 552). This exactly fits the 
context here. 

διάθεσις is freq. in Polybius = condition ; cf. esp. xv. 31. 5 χωρήσαντες εἰς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς 6. For the idea cf. Philo, 
Leg. ad Cai. 17. ae. 

29. Ewald finds here an allusion to the vine as ‘the symbol and arms of Jerusalem’ ; i.e. it is maliciously suggested 
that the Jews have been worshippers of Dionysus all along. This, however, is rather far-fetched. There is good 
evidence that Bacchus was the family god of the Ptolemies (vide Satyrus af. Theophr. ad Autolyc. ii, p.94). Philo- 
pator apparently allowed himself to be branded (Γάλλος, ὁ Φιλοπάτωρ Πτολεμαῖος διὰ τὸ φύλλα κισσοῦ κατεστίχθαι ws οἱ 
Τάλλοι, Steph. Thes. 5. “.}; cf. also Biichler, Zvd. τι. On. pp. 197 ff., for traces of the cult in Egypt during this period. 
In 2 Macc. vi. 1 Antiochus introduces the worship of Bacchus into Jerusalem. Η 

For branded cf. Philo, De 727ο7ι. i. 8 (Jews who allowed themselves to be branded), and Isa. xliv. 5 (a probable 
reference to branding the name of J” on the hand). 


165 


III MACCABEES 2, 30—8. 11 


30 Dionysus, and be reduced to their former limited status. But that he might not appear an enemy — 
to all, he added: But if any of therh prefer to join those who are initiated into the mysteries, they 
shall have equal rights with the citizens of Alexandria. | oe ; er 

31 Some tobviously hating the price paid for the religion of their city} readily gave themselves up, 

32 expecting to gain great glory from their association with the king. But the greater part stood firm 
with a noble courage, and departed not from their religion ; and paying money as a ransom for 

33 their lives fearlessly attempted to save themselves from the registration. And they remained of — 
good hope that they should find help, and abhorred those who parted from them, accounting them © 
as enemies of their nation, and excluding them from social intercourse and the rendering of any 
service, 

31 The impious ing perceiving this was so greatly enraged that he was not only wroth with those 
’ who dwelt at Alexandria, but was even more bitterly hostile to those in the country, and ordered 

that they should all be speedily gathered together, and put an end to by the most cruel death. 

While this was being arranged a malicious report was noised abroad against the Yezw7shk nation on 

the part of men who agreed together to do them hurt, an occasion being afforded for representing 

3 that they hindered them from the observance of the laws. But the Jews continued to maintain 

4 their goodwill towards the kings and their unswerving fidelity. Yet worshipping God, and living 

according to his law, they held themselves apart in the matter of food; and for this reason they — 

5 were disliked by some; but adorning their conversation by the good practice of righteousness they 

6 were established in the good report of all. But of this good practice, which was the common talk ; 

7 of all men with regard to the nation, the foreigners took no account ; but they talked continually of 
the difference they made with regard to worship and food, alleging that they were friendly neither 
to the king nor his army, but ill-disposed, and bitterly hostile to his interests; thus they cast no 

8 small opprobrium upon them. But the Greeks in the city having been in no way injured by them, — 

9 seeing the unexpected disturbance about them, and the unlooked-for concourse, were not able to 

help them—for they lived under a tyranny—but tried to comfort them and were indignant, expect- 
ing that this affair would take a change for the better ; for so great a community could not be thus 

ro allowed to perish when it had committed no fault. And already some of their neighbours and 
friends and business associates, taking aside some of the Fews secretly, gave pledges of their protec- 
tion and earnest endeavours for their assistance. 

11 So ¢he king, puffed up by his present prosperity, and regarding not the power of the most high 
God, but supposing that he himself would always hold firmly to the same purpose, wrote this letter 


τὸ 


31. επιπολαιως] V* Arm; επιπολείως A; ἐπὶ πολεως V* αἴ τα (τας A!) της πολεως ευσεβειας ἐπιβαθρα A; τας . . . ἐπιβαθρας 
V a/, with numerous variations of εὐσεβους, ἐπιβαθροις, and alterations of order στυγουντες] -at A; στοιχουντες Arm 
Luc text (with variations of spelling) 


III. 4. emt τω κατα τας τροφας] V 62, 64: emt τω καταστροφας A; ent τινων καὶ καταστροφας al ενιοις}] τοι A 


29. καταχωρίζω is technical = ‘enrol’ or ‘enter’; cf. papyri, Letter of Aristeas, 36, Canopus and Rosetta inscriptions. 
The latter also speak of records set up on a stelé (v. 27). 

30. The question of Alexandrian citizenship and its different grades is complicated; cf. Mahaffy, Pfo/. Dyn., Ὁ. 58. 
According to the repeated statements of Josephus (Av¢. XII. i; XIX. v. 2, &c.) the Jews already possessed a full citizen- 
ship. But there is no doubt that whatever such privileges they had at this period they enjoyed as individuals and 
not as a nation, and very little is known of citizenship outside Alexandria. There was therefore room for such a grant 
as this; and there are in fact independent traces of it in Physcon’s reign (Intr. § 54). Abrahams suggests that 
Alexandrian citizenship was offered to the Fayiim Jews in order to simplify organization or taxation. Cf. 2 Macc. iv. 9 
for attempt to impose Antiochene citizenship on the Jerusalem Jews, and Josephus (Av, XII. iii. 2) for close con- 
nexion of citizenship with religion. 

31. The first part of the verse is very obscure. K., ‘who on account of the citizenship in a city hated the approaches 
to the city of piety’. Gr. takes ἐπὶ πόλεως, ‘some who were over a district, or community, in Alexandria,’ and the last 
part is translated by some ‘ hated the advances of the religion of the city’. I suggest with hesitation the translation 
given above, which keeps the best attested reading. ἐπιπόλαιος in Aristotle frequently means ‘evident’ or ‘obvious’. 
ἐπίβαθρον means ‘a fare’, or more generally ‘price paid’; cf. Plut. 2. 727 f, where the stork by its destruction of 
snakes pays ἐπίβαθρόν τι γῆς. 

The reference would be to the heavy demands made by the Jewish law, or more specifically to the Temple tax, 
and it is possible, as Biichler suggests, that the renegades may be Samaritans; at any rate they are the lax, Hellen- 
izing section of the Egyptian Jews (cf. Kennett, Schweich Lectures [1909], Lect. III). The Arm. gives a similar sense: 
* Many of them, shallow-witted people [taking ἐπιπολαίως as meaning “ superficially Ἢ who aforetime indeed were 
irresolute in the ancient law,’ 

If ‘ city of piety’ be the right translation, it confirms Prof. Burkitt’s emendation of 70M for DIN in Isa. xix. 18, 
though there the reference is not to Jerusalem. ¥ 


III. 4. On the unpopularity caused by Jewish peculiarities see an exhaustive study by Dobschiitz, Amer. 7. Theol. 
1904, pp. 728 ff. ; cf. the defence in Letter of Aristeas, 128 ff. For the hostility of the populace see Philo’s account of 
the violence of the Alexandrian mob in the outbreak under Caligula. 

8. The Greeks are the better-class Macedonian element. There is evidence that their position too was attacked 
by Physcon (Mahaffy, Zi. Ptol., p. 388). 

166 


III MACCABEES 3. 12—4. 3 


2 against them. King Ptolemy Philopator to his generals and soldiers in Egypt and every place 
1:4 greeting and prosperity. I myself and our affairs prosper. Our expedition into Asia, of which you 
yourselves are aware, having been brought to an expected conclusion by the help of the Gods 
| 5 granted us deliberately, we thought, not by force of arms, but by kindness and much benevolence 
| to foster the peoples of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, bestowing benefits upon them with all readiness. 
16 And having granted large revenues to the temples in the cities, we came to Jerusalem as well, going 
up thither to show honour to the temple of the accursed people who never cease from their folly. 
}:7 Seemingly they welcomed our presence, but their welcome was insincere; for when we were eager 
18 to enter their shrine and to honour it with magnificent and beautiful offerings, carried away by their 
| ancient pride they prevented us from going in, being left unhurt by our power on account of the 
τὸ benevolence we have to all. /But they show plainly their ill-will towards us, and standing alone 
| among nations in their stiff-necked resistance to kings and their own benefactors, they refuse to take 
20 anything in a proper spirit. We accommodated ourselves to their folly, and returning victoriously 
}21 to Egypt, and treating all nations with kindness, have acted as was right. And under these cir- 
cumstances, making known to all our ready forgiveness of their fellow-countrymen, on account of 
their alliance, and the numerous matters which have been freely entrusted to them from of old, we 
have ventured to make a change, and have made up our mind to hold them worthy even of Alex- 
[5 andrian citizenship, and to give them a share in our religious rites from time to time. But they 
taking this in the opposite spirit and rejecting the good offer with their inborn ill-feeling, and 
23 continually inclining to evil, not only refused the invaluable citizenship, but also show their con- 
tempt silently and by words for the few among them who behave properly towards us, in every case 
secretly expecting that through their infamous behaviour we should speedily alter our 
24 policy. Therefore having good proof for our persuasion that they are evilly disposed towards us 
in every way, and taking precautions lest when some sudden tumult is raised against us hereafter 
_ }25 we should have these impious people behind our backs as traitors and barbarous foes, we give order 
| that, as soon as this epistle reaches you, you shall at once send to us with harsh and violent treat- 
| ment those who dwell among you with women and children, binding them fast in every way with 
26 iron chains, to meet a terrible and ignominious death, as befits traitors. For we believe that when 
- they have been punished together, our estate will be established for the future in the surest and 
_ 27 best condition. And whoever shall harbour any Jew, old man or child or very suckling, shall with 
28 all his house be tortured to death with the most horrible torments. Information may be given by 
any one; ¢he informer to receive the estate of the guilty party, with two thousand drachmae from 
[29 the royal treasury, and to be honoured with freedom. And every place where a Jew shall be 
| detected at all in concealment shall be made a waste and burnt with fire, and shall become entirely 
_ }30 useless to any mortal creature for all time. Thus ran the letter. 
| ἴῃ every place where this decree reached, a feast at the public charges was made for the heathen 
with exultation and joy, the hatred which had long before become inveterate in their hearts being now 
2 freely displayed. But among the Jews there was unceasing grief and a lamentable crying with 
tears, their heart being all aflame with their groanings, as they bewailed the unlooked-for destruction 
3 which had been suddenly decreed against them. What district or city or what habitable place at 


14. +(after cuppayia) και ἡμετερα Se ρωμὴ inferior cursives 21. και peroyous ... kataotnoa|] > V 62, 64 
Arm 25. ἐννεμομενους] ενσημαινομενους Luc text, Syr; εἐμμαινομενους Arm (ut videtur) 28. της ελευθεριας 
στεφανωθησεται)]  Α V 55,74; + (after ed.) τευξεται και a/; ‘honoured with a crown of freedom’ Arm 

IV, 2. adnkrov] V 44, 55, 74 (cf. Letter of Artsteas, 269); adextov A; ἀνηκεστον al 3. otxnros| οἰκτιστοο A V3; 
unparalleled = ‘habitable’, in 2 Macc. ix. 28 = pitiable 


13. On the papyri evidence for the technical terms in this letter see Intr. ὃ 4c; on the parallels with similar official 
documents in the Letter of Aristeas see § 46. 

21. For the confidence reposed in Jews see vi. 25, vii. 7; Avisteas, 36, and the Josephus passages quoted on ii. 30, 
The Elephantine Papyri show that as early as the fifth century B.C. Jewish garrisons had been established by the 
Persians at Elephantine and Assuan to guard the southern frontier of Egypt. 

τῶν ἀεὶ ἱερέων, Edd. tr. ‘eternal religious rites’. Mahaffy emends to ἱερειῶν, which he translates by ‘ priesthood’ 
= ἱερωσυνῶν (Emp. Ptol., p. 268,n. 2). But with this reading, the translation of the text seems better, giving ἀεί its 
idiomatic classical meaning ; for the meaning of ἱερειῶν cf. 2 Kings x. 20. 

28. The shorter reading, omitting τεύξεται καί, is to be preferred. Deissmann (6. S., p. 341) emends further to 
ἐλευθερίᾳ (cf. the reading of the Arm.), the s being due to the following στεφανωθήσεται. He gives examples from Polyb. 
xii. 9. 5 and the papyri of the use of στεφανοῦν in the metaphorical sense of ‘reward’. Freedom is opposed to the 
practical slavery with which the Jews were threatened ; cf. ἐλεύθεροι in vii. 20. But it is not probable that the Jews 
themselves should be expected to be the only informers. Accepting his emendation, it would be better to see a 
reference to native-born Egyptians, who were practically serfs, and more likely to be specially hostile to the Jews 
(cf. Avdsteas, 36), in contrast to the Greeks who favoured them (iii. 8). But much is to be said for the emendation 
τοῖς ἐλευθερίοις (‘at the Eleutheria’); ἐλευθερεύς and ἐλεύθερος were names of Dionysus, and the Eleutheria sometimes 
meant a festival of Dionysus (v. Steph. Thes.s.v.). Though there is no evidence of the Eleutheria in Egypt under the 
Ptolemies, there is abundant evidence of the cult of Dionysus at this period. 


167 


III MACCABEES 4. 4-21 


4 all or what streets were not filled with wailing and lamentation for them? For in such manner with 
harshness and pitiless heart were they sent away with one accord by the generals in the cities, that 


at the sight of their unusual sufferings even some of their enemies, with common pity before their 


σι 


away a multitude of old men, covered with their wealth of grey hairs, forcing to a swift journey 

their feet bent and sluggish from old age under the violence of their rough driving which knew no 

6shame. And the young women who had but lately entered the marriage chamber for the society of 
wedded life, with lamentations instead of joy, and with their perfumed locks covered with dust, were 
carried away unveiled, and with one accord sang a dirge in place of the wedding hymn, scarred by 

7 the cruel treatment of the heathen; and as prisoners exposed to public gaze they were dragged 

g along with violence until they were embarked on board. And their consorts, with ropes on their 
necks instead of garlands, in the flower of their youthful age, spent the remainder of the days of their 
marriage feast in dirges instead of mirth and youthful ease, seeing the grave already yawning at their 

9 feet. And they were brought on board driven like wild beasts under the constraint of iron bonds ; 
some were fastened by the neck to the benches of the ships; others had their feet secured in the 

το strongest fetters ; and further they were shut off from the light by the thick planks above, that in 
entire darkness they might be treated as traitors throughout the whole voyage. 

11 When they had been brought to the place called Schedia, and the voyage was completed as 
determined by the king, he ordered them to be imprisoned in the hippodrome that was before the 
city, a place of immense circuit and very suitable for making them a gazing stock to all who entered 
the city, and to those of the inhabitants (?) who went into the country to sojourn, so that they might 

12 neither communicate with his army, or in any way claim protection of the walls. But after this had 
been done, hearing that their fellow-countrymen in the city often went out in secret and bewailed the 

13 shameful fate of their brethren, he was enraged and ordered that they should be treated in exactly 

14 the same way as the others, receiving in no respect a lesser punishment. And he commanded that 
the whole race should be registered by name, not for the wearisome service of labour which was briefly 
described before, but that they should be tortured with the torments to which he had sentenced 

15 them, and finally be made an end of in the space of a single day. The registration therefore was 
carried on with bitter haste and zealous diligence from sunrise to sunset, coming to an end after 
forty days but still uncompleted. 

16 But the king was greatly and continually filled with joy, ordering feasts in the temples of his 
idols, with a heart far astray from the truth and profane lips, praising dumb zdo/s which could not speak 

17 to them or help, and uttering words which were not fitting against the most high God. But after 
the aforesaid space of time the scribes reported to the king that they were no longer able to continue 

18 the registration of the Jews on account of their incalculable number ; although the greater number 
of them were still in the country, some still remaining in their homes and others on the journey, it 

19 was impossible for all the generals in Egypt. And after he had threatened them fiercely as having 

20 been bribed to contrive their escape, he was at length clearly convinced on this point, when they told 
him and proved that even the paper manufactory and the pens which they used for writing had 

21 already given out. But this was the working of the invincible providence of him who was aiding the 

Jews from heaven. 


5. γεραιων πληθος πολια πεπυκασμενων] V αἴ, with variations ; γερων mAnpys πολιας πεπυκασμενων A 10. τὸ φεγγος 
αποκλειομενοι] > A V Luc text, Arm; but the phrase is necessary to the grammar and sense, and is hardly a 
glossator’s 11. τοις ek tovrwy| This can hardly mean ‘ those of the inhabitants’. For rovrwy read ταύτης : ‘those 
who set out from it to the country’ (R. H.C.) περιβολων] V al; τω A; του Luc text 16. εἰς δε τὸν μεγιστον 
cov] > τὸν peyotov θεον A 55, 64, 93; > whole concluding clause V 18. κατα tov πορον] Luc text ; κατα τὸν 
τόπον A; kara τρόπον V ; kata τόπον al ; Kautzsch suggests a lacuna at the end of the verse, ‘to gather them all together’ 


uae es is obscure and probably corrupt, but the general sense is clear. 
2 Chor tei 
11. Schedia was three miles from Alexandria (Strabo xvii, p. 800) ; probably a landing-place nearer the city is 
here intended. The Hippodrome was before the east gate of the city (ib. p. 795). 
καταξιῶσαι περιβόλων. Edd. supply αὐτούς as object, ‘honour them with the protection of walls’. But this is very 


awkward grammatically, since it is the subject of the previous clause. For meaning of καταξιοῦν as given in the trans- 
lation adopted cf. 2 Macc. xiii. 12. 


14. See ii. 28 (condition of serfs). 

16. Cf. Dn. iv. 4. 

20. χαρτηρία is not found elsewhere; cf. Pliny, 1. 27. xviii. 10 Chartariae officinae. For γραφικοὶ κάλαμοι cf. Grenfell, 
P. ii. 38. Philo, c. /7. 6, gives the number of Jews in Egypt as a million, but it is impossible to defend the bombastic 
exaggerations of this chapter. There are also some inconsistencies; vv. 12 ff. seem to imply that the Jews in Alexandria 
had not yet been interfered with, and according to v. 18 many of the country Jews are still at large; contrast ii. 27 ff., 


iv. I ff. 
168 


eyes, remembering the uncertain issue of life, wept at their hapless departure. For there was carried — 4 


3 


“ἢ 


ἊΣ ΨΎΡΨΟΙ 


III MACCABEES 5. 1-29 


1 Then he called Hermon who was in charge of the elephants, and filled with bitter anger and 
2 wrath, and altogether inflexible, ordered him for the next day to drug all the elephants—in number 
five hundred—with copious handfuls of frankincense, and abundance of unmixed wine, and then when 
they were maddened by the plentiful supply of drink to bring them in to compass the fate of the Jews. 
3 And giving this order he turned to his feasting, having gathered together those of his friends and 
14 army who were most hostile to the Jews, while [Hermon] the ruler of the elephants attended to the 
} 5 injunction with all care. And the servants who were in charge of the Jews went out in the evening 
and bound the hands of the hapless wretches, taking all other precautions to keep them safe through the 
6 night, imagining that the nation would at one blow meet its final destruction. But the Jews who 
| seemed to the heathen to be destitute of all protection, on account of the constraint and bonds 
|7 which encompassed them on every side, with crying that would not be silenced, all called with tears 
“gon the almighty Lord and ruler of all power, their merciful God and father, beseeching him to 
frustrate the wicked design against them and to deliver them by a glorious manifestation from the 
| 9 fate yawning ready before them. So their prayer ascended fervently to heaven; but Hermon, 
“τὸ having given the pitiless elephants drink till they were filled with the plenteous supply of wine and 
| sated with frankincense, came early in the morning to the palace to report to the king about this. 
τα But the good creature, bestowed night and day from the beginning of time by him who gives the 
12 portion of sleep to all, evez to whomsoever he will, ¢4zs he sent upon the king ; and he was over- 
| borne by a sweet and heavy s/mber by the operation of the Lord, thus being greatly foiled in his 
|t3 lawless purpose, and utterly disappointed in his unchangeable design. But the Jews having escaped 
_| the appointed hour praised their holy God, and again besought him who is ready to forgive to 
14 manifest the might of his all-powerful hand before the proud eyes of the heathen. But when the 
| middle of the tenth hour had nearly come he who was in charge of the invitations, seeing the guests 
ΠΡ assembled, went to the king and shook him. And having woken him up with difficulty, he pointed out 
16 that the hour for the banquet was already passing, reminding him of the circumstances. And the 
| king considering these, betook himself to his cups and ordered those who had come for the banquet 
|17 to take their places over against him. And when this had been done he called on them to give them- 
selves up to revelry, and counting themselves highly honoured to reckon as a joy the feast, late as it 
18 was. And when the entertainment had gone on for some time, the king called Hermon and asked with 
19 fierce threats why the Jews had been allowed to survive that day. But when he pointed out that he 
20 had completely carried out the order overnight, and his friends confirmed him, the king with a rage 
more fierce than Phalaris, said that the Fews might thank his sleep for the respite of the day; but, 
he added, make ready the elephants in the same manner without further delay for the following day 
21 to destroy utterly the accursed Jews. When the king had’ spoken, all who were present readily 
22 assented with joy with one accord, and each one departed to his own house. But they did not 
spend the night season in sleep, so much as in devising all manner of cruel insults for those whom 
they thought to be in such wretched plight. 
23 So as soon as the cock had crowed in the morning, Hermon harnessed the beasts and began to 
24 put them in motion in the great colonnade. And the multitudes in the city assembled for the 
25 piteous spectacle, eagerly looking for the break of day. But the Jews drawing their last breath for 
‘| but a brief moment more, with tearful supplications and strains of woe, raising their hands to heaven, 
26 besought the most high God again to help them speedily. The rays of the sun were not yet scattered 
abroad, and the king was receiving his friends, when Hermon came to his side and invited him to go 
27 forth, explaining that the desire of the king was ready to be fulfilled. When the king understood 
him, he was astonished at the unusual szszmons to go forth, having been overwhelmed with complete 
28 ignorance, and asked +what was the matter on account of which this had been so zealously completedf. 
But this was the operation of God the ruler of all, who had put in his mind forgetfulness of his former 
29 devices. But Hermon and all his friends pointed to the beasts and the army ; It is prepared, O king, 


V. 4. Ἑρμων] τω Ἑρμωνι Luc text, Syr, reading ἀραρότως as a proper name, apopwr. But H. is the ἐλεφαντάρχης ; 
the position suggests the name is a gloss; Arm > 12. κατεσχεθη) A V al; κατασχεθεις ὑπνω aro εἐσπερας ews evvaTns 
Luc text, Syr 17. To παρῶρον τῆς συμποσιας .. . εἰς εὐφροσυνης (την V) καταθεσθαι pepos] V Luc text, Arm; ro 
mapoy .. . εἰς εὐφροσυνὴν A al 27. τι τὸ mpaypa εᾧ ov TovTO avTw μετα σπουδὴς τετελεσται] οτι TO διασαφουμενον ετι 
αὐτῶ εἰ μετα σπουδης τετελεσται A 19, 93 (A > εἰ); ort τὸ διμαφουν.. . . τετελεσθαι V ; apparently a primitive corruption, 
though the general sense is clear : 


V. 2. Philadelphus had 300 elephants; Philopator had 73 at Raphia. 
5. The mention of the binding has been supposed to be inconsistent with iil. 25, iv. 9; but it is to be presumed that 
once the Jews were safe in the hippodrome, their fetters were taken off. 
14. i.€. 3.30 p.m., the Babylonian reckoning being in use in Egypt. 
20. Phalaris—the tyrant of Agrigentum in the sixth century B. C., whose cruelty had become proverbial (Polyb. xii. 
25); cf. 2717. v. 42. 
169 


III MACCABEES 5. 30—6. 1 


30 according to thine eager purpose. But he was filled with fierce anger at the words, because by the ἡ 
providence of God he had entirely lost his wits on this matter, and looking on him said threaten- 
31 ingly, If thy parents or offspring were here, I would have furnished them as this rich banquet for the _ 


fierce beasts in place of the Jews against whom I have no charge and who have shown in a pre- 

32 eminent degree a full and unshaken loyalty to my ancestors. And indeed, if it were not for the 

33 affection kzndled by our life together and thy service, thou shouldst have died instead of these. So 

34 Hermon met with an unexpected and dangerous threat, and his eyes and countenance fell. And 

the king’s friends, slinking away sullenly one by one, sent away the assembled crowds, each to his 

35 own business. And the Jews hearing the words of the king, praised the Lord God who had 
manifested his glory, the king of kings, having obtained this help also from him. 

36 But the king, having arranged the banquet once more in the same way, ordered them to turn to 

37 their pleasures. And calling Hermon he said threateningly, How often, thou wretched creature, 

38 must I give thee orders about these very things? Even now make ready the elephants for the 

39 morrow to destroy the Jews. But his kinsmen who sat at table with him wondered at his shifting 

40 purpose, and remonstrated, How long, O King, dost thou make trial of us as though we were fools, 

now for the third time giving orders for their destruction, and once more when the matter is in 

41 hand changing and cancelling thy decree? Wherefore the city is in a tumult through its expecta- 

tion, and being crowded with throngs of people has now been several times in danger of being put 

42 to plunder. On this the king, a Phalaris in all things, was filled with madness, and, reckoning 

nothing of the changes of mind which had been wrought in him for the protection of the Jews, 

swore strongly a fruitless oath that he would without delay send to the grave the Jews mangled by 

43 the knees and feet of the beasts, and would march against Judaea and quickly level it to the ground 

with fire and sword, jand burning to the earth their temple which we might not enter would quickly 

44 make it empty for all time of those who sacrificed therein}. Then his friends and kinsmen went 

away joyfully with good confidence, and ordered the army to the most convenient places of the city 

45 to keep guard. And the ruler of the elephants, having driven the beasts into a state almost, one 

might say, of madness by fragrant draughts of wine mingled with frankincense, and having fitted 

46 them in a fearful guise with implements, at dawn, the city being now filled with countless multitudes 

thronging towards the hippodrome, entered the palace and urged on the king to the business that 

47 lay before him. And he, his impious heart filled with fierce anger, started forth with all his force 

with the beasts, determined with an unfeeling heart and his own eyes to gaze on the grievous and 

48 piteous destruction of the afore-mentioned ews. And when they saw the dust raised by the 

elephants going out at the gate, and the armed force accompanying them, and the movement of the 

49 crowd, and heard the far-sounding tumult, thinking that the last crisis of their life had come and the 

end of their miserable suspense, they betook themselves to lamentation and groans, and kissed one 

another, embracing their relatives and falling on their necks, parents and children, mothers and 

50 daughters ; and others with new-born babes at their breast drawing their last milk. But none the 

less, reflecting on their former deliverances sent from heaven, with one accord they threw them- 

51 selves on their faces, and took the babes from their breasts, and cried out with an exceeding loud 

voice, beseeching the ruler of all power by a manifestation to show pity upon them now that they 

were come to the gates of death. 
61 But a certain Eleazar, a man of note among the priests of the country, whose years had already 


29. At the end of this verse 64 has a long addition (14 lines in Holmes and Parsons), according to which the king is 
inclined to spare the Jews ; his friends, including Hermon (who is mentioned as though for the first time), remind him 


of his decree, and the dangerous character of the Jews 30. pera απειλης] + εἰς τον Ερμωνα και δυσμενεσι λογοις 
λοιδορησας Luc text 31. εσκευασα αν] 62; eoxevacay A V 40. ws adoyous] V al; > 19,93; >adoyous A; ‘in 
thy mind’ Arm 42. Padapis] σφαλερος Arm (a tempting variant, but cf. v.20) 43. πυρι πρήνεα εν τάχει και τῶν 


συντελουντων εκει θυσιας ερημὸν Tov ἀπᾶαντὰα χρονον καταστησειν] πυρι mpnv A V > » και AV al; > ερημον AV Arm al; 
+ εἰς (before τον) A V al; Arm paraphrases freely. The verse is in confusion, and we seem to have a conflate 
reading (n.b. repetition of πυρί, στήσεσθαι---καταστήσειν, διὰ τάχους --ἐν τάχει). Swete emends πρὴν to πρησαντα, but the 
verse remains unintelligible with the omission of καί and ἔρημον in the Uncials. Perhaps πυρι πρὴην conceals some adj. 
governing τῶν συντελούντων. Or a tempting emendation would be mupay, which a scribe might have altered to zupnv, 
hesitating as to the form, πυρὰν mupny giving rise to πυρὶ mpnv: ‘make [the temple] the funeral pyre of those who 
sacrifice there.’ The objection is that it becomes necessary to omit τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον. 


VI. τ. tepewr] Ιουδαίων A, evidently objecting to the presence of Jewish priests in Alexandria 


31. The first part of the verse is an iambic, apparently an unidentified quotation from a poet. 
39. kinsmen—the συγγενής was the regular term for the higher officials at the Ptolemaic court. 
43. we—from the king's point of view, as though the clause was in oraézo recta. 
45. 1. e. scythes, knives, &c. were attached to the elephants. 
VI. 1. Eleazar is the typical old man of piety and faith; cf. 2 Macc. vi. 18; 4 Mace. vi. 5, vii. 1, and Letter of 
Aristeas, 41, &c. 
priests: vil. 13 shows that this reading is right. They are the priests of the temple at Leontopolis and the fact 
170 


III MACCABEES 6. 1-25 


| reached old age, and who was adorned with every virtue of life, made the elders who were round 

__}2 him cease from calling on the holy God, and prayed thus: King of great power, most high, almighty 
ΕΒ God, who governest all creation with loving-kindness, look upon the seed of Abraham, the children 
| of Jacob thy sanctified one, the people of thy sanctified inheritance, who are unjustly perishing, 
\4 strangers in a strange land. O Father, thou didst destroy Pharaoh, the former ruler of this Egypt, 
τ with his multitude of chariots, when he was lifted high in his lawless insolence and a tongue 
speaking great things, drowning him together with his proud host, and didst cause the light of thy 
[5 mercy to shine upon the race of Israel. Thou, when Sennacherib, the cruel king of the Assyrians, 
was puffed up by his countless hosts, after he had taken the whole earth captive by his sword, and 
was lifted up against thy holy city speaking grievous words of boasting and insolence, thou, Lord, 
}6didst break him in pieces, making manifest thy power to many nations. Thou, when the three 
| friends in Babylonia freely gave their life to the flames that they should not serve vain things, didst 
make as dew the fiery furnace, and deliver them unharmed even to the hair of their head, turning the 
|7 flame upon all their adversaries. Thou, when Daniel was cast through the slanders of envy to the 
8 lions beneath the ground as food for wild beasts, didst bring him up to the light unhurt. And when 
; Jonah was languishing unpitied in the belly of the sea-born monster, thou didst restore him, 


of all, quickly manifest thyself to the saints of Israel’s line, in their insolent oppression by the 
}oabominable and lawless heathen. And if our life has been ensnared in impious deeds during our 
| sojourning, save us from the hand of the enemy, and destroy us, Ὁ Lord, by whatever fate thou 
I choosest. Let not the men whose thoughts are vanity bless their vain gods for the destruction of 
2thy beloved, saying, Neither has their God delivered them. Thou who hast all might and all 
| power, the Eternal, look now upon us; pity us who by the mad insolence of lawless men are 
13 being sent to death as traitors; and let the heathen to-day fear thy invincible might, thou glorious 
|} 4 one, who hast mighty works for the salvation of the race of Israel. The whole multitude of babes 
[δ with their parents beseecheth thee with tears. Let it be shown to all heathen that thou art with us, 
O Lord, and hast not turned thy face away from us; but as thou hast said, Not even when they 
| were in the land of their enemies have I forgotten them, even so bring it to pass, O Lord. 
[6 And when Eleazar was even now ending his prayer, the king with the beasts and the whole 
}7 insolent array of his army came to the hippodrome. And the Jews beholding it raised a great cry 
to heaven, so that now the surrounding valleys re-echoed it, and caused in all the hosts an incon- 
8 trollable trembling. Then the greatly glorious, almighty, and true God, making manifest his holy face, 
opened the gates of heaven, from which two glorious angels of terrible aspect descended, visible to 
gall but the Jews, and withstood them and filled the army of the adversaries with confusion and 
-foterror, and bound them with immovable fetters. And a great horror seized on the body of the 
-)1king as well, and his fierce insolence was forgotten. And the beasts turned round against the 
armed hosts that followed them and began to tread them under foot and destroy them. 
}:2 And the king’s wrath was turned to pity and tears on account of that which he had devised 
3 before. For hearing the outcry and seeing them all prostrate to meet their death, he wept and 
14. angrily threatened his friends, saying, Ye usurp the kingly power, surpassing even tyrants in your 
cruelty ; and me myself, who am your benefactor, ye plot to deprive of my dominion and my life, 
5 devising secretly things that are unprofitable to the kingdom. Who hath driven each one from his 
| home the men who have faithfully held the fortresses of our country, and gathered them here without 


8. apedas] -ων 55; αφιδων A; αφελων V; επιδων Luc text 9. σκεπαστα] δικαστα A αγιοις] avo V 17. πτοην] 
A, Τὰς text (ποίην 62); οἰμωγὴν al; > V 55 


that the writer recognizes them shows that the bias against the Onias temple, which Willrich and others have found 
in the book, is not very marked. 

6. Cf. Dn. iil. 50 (LXX) ἐποίησεν τὸ μέσον τῆς καμίνου ὡσεὶ πνεῦμα δρόσου διασυρίζον ; and iii. 94 (Heb. iii. 27) for ‘hair 
of the head’. 

8. The restoration of Jonah to his home is not mentioned in the O.T., but is easily inferred. 

15. Lev. xxvi. 44. 

18. greatly glorious. Cf. 1 Enoch xiv. 20; T. Lev. iii. 4, where God is called ‘the Great Glory’. For the relation 
to the narrative of Josephus see Intr. ὃ 5%. For the terror inspired by visions cf. 2 Macc. ili. 24 ff., x. 29; 
Wisd. xvii. 3, 15, xvili. 17, the repulse of Heliodorus in the first passage being the nearest parallel. Similar ideas 
meet us in Greek history, e.g. the apparitions at Marathon and Salamis. The peculiar feature here is that 
the vision is not seen by the Jews themselves. The suggestion that they were already sufficiently terrified is not 
«very convincing. Possibly the current Jewish version of the story ascribed the fright of the elephants to some other 
cause. But it is noticeable that there are no other references to angels in the book, even in the reference to Senna- 
cherib in vi. 5 ; the writer did not belong to the school which delighted in them, and he makes as little of their 
appearance as he can. 

25. For the services of the Jews cf. passages quoted on iii. 21. 


171 


III MACCABEES 6. 26—‘. 6 


26 reason? Who hath thus lawlessly overwhelmed with indignities those who from the beginning have 
been in all things conspicuous beyond all nations in their goodwill towards us, and have ofttimes — 
27 encountered the worst dangers man can wndergo? Loose, yea loose, their unjust bonds; send — 
28 them to their homes in peace, asking pardon for what has been already done. Set free the sons of — 
the almighty living God of Heaven, who from the days of our ancestors until now hath granted an ~ 
29 unimpaired stability and glory to our estate. Thus he spake; and they, having been set free in 
᾿ a moment, praised the holy God their saviour, having but now escaped death. 
— (30) Then the king returning to the city called the officer who was over the revenues, and ordered him ~ 
“Ao supply to the Jews for a space of seven days wines and all else necessary for a feast, decreeing 


that they should keep a festival of deliverance with all manner of rejoicing in the very place in ἫΝ 


31 which they had thought to meet their fate. Then those who before were reviled and nigh to the 
grave, or rather had already one foot therein, instead of a bitter and most lamentable death, held — 

a banquet to celebrate their deliverance, and full of joy they portioned between their companies the 
32 place which had been prepared for their destruction and grave. And ceasing the piteous strain of © 
dirges, they took up the song of their fathers, praising God the saviour of Israel and doer of wonders ; — 
and laying aside all wailing and lamentation they formed dances in token of joy for their safe — 
33 deliverance. And likewise the king too convening a great banquet in celebration of this, unceasingly — 
34 gave thanks in exalted terms to heaven for their unexpected deliverance. And those who before 
supposed that they (the Jews) were doomed to destruction and to be food for birds, and had joyfully 
carried out the registration, groaned at finding themselves covered with confusion and their fiery blast 

35 of insolence quenched ingloriously. And the Jews, as we have already said, formed the dance which 
- 36 we have before described, and spent their time in feasting with joyful thanksgiving and psalms. And 
establishing a public ordinance about this, to be observed for all their sojourning from generation to 


generation, they appointed the days mentioned to be kept as a festival, not for the sake of drinking ο 


37 or gluttony, but in memory of the salvation granted them by God. And they petitioned the king, 
\desiring to depart to their home. 
38/ Now they were registering them from the twenty-fifth day of Pachon to the fourth of Epiphi, 
for forty days; and they were appointing their destruction from the fifth of Epiphis to the seventh, 
39 three days. And on these did the ruler of all with great glory manifest his mercy and deliver them 
40 one and all unhurt. And they feasted, provided with all things by the king, till the fourteenth day 
on which they also made petition for their return. 
41 And the king granting their request wrote for them the following letter to the generals in the 
cities, generously declaring his purpose. 
1 King Ptolomaeus Philopator to the generals in Egypt and to all set over his affairs greeting and 
2 prosperity. We ourselves and our children prosper, the great God directing our estate as we will. 
3 Certain of our friends with evil heart by frequently urging the matter upon us persuaded us to gather — 
together in a body the Jews in the kingdom, and to inflict upon them extraordinary punishments as 
4 traitors, urging that our state would never be firmly established, on account of the enmity which 
5 they have to all nations, until this was done. And they, bringing them bound with harsh treatment 
as slaves, or rather traitors, without any inquiry or examination, attempted to put them to death. 
6 girding themselves with a cruelty fiercer than Scythian customs. But we severely threatened them 
for this, and of the clemency which we have to all men scarcely granted them their lives; and 
knowing that the God of heaven surely protects the Jews, fighting on their side continually as a 


26. entdederypevous] A V 55, 93; emOedeypevous al 31. δυσαιακτου] δυσατακτου A V (?a vox nihili); δυσαχθους Luc _ 
text; > Arm 33: αὐτων] A 55,93 Arm; αὐτω al; > V 


VII. 2. mpaypata] προσταγματα A 


31. companies (κλισίας) : cf. Luke ix. 14. 
36. Cf. Jos. c. AZ. ii. 6. The institution of festivals is a common feature at this period; cf. Esth. ix. 15; 1 Macc. 


iv. 56, vii. 59, xiii. 50; 2 Macc. x, 6, xv. 36; Judith xvi. 25 (Vulg.). The Canopus stone shows that they were equally 
popular outside Jewish circles. 


37: ἐντυγχάνω, technical of a petition to a king, &c. (οἴ, evruxia, v. 40) ; see Intr. ὃ 4c. 
Ε 38. Pachon, April 26-May 25; Epiphi (in Papyri, Epeiph), June 25—July 24. The names are Egyptian. The Mace- 
onian and Egyptian calendars were combined towards the end of the second century B.c. Accordingly the dropping 
of the older double dating by months of both systems does not prove that this book belongs to the Roman period. 
VII. 1. On the official language of the letter see ii. 12. 


* For ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων (cf. 2 Macc. iii. 7) see Deissmann, B.S., p. 306. In inscriptions it is technical, as here, 
first minister ', but in Polybius and Josephus it stands for the viceroy of an absent king. 
Zi Ea epator had no legitimate son till 208 B.c. 
‘or this and the following verses cf. Letter of Avisteas 71 
x i ! : Bus 7, and vi. 25-8 sup. 
5. Cf. 2 Macc. iv. 47 for Scythian cruelty. "30 f 


172 


III MACCABEES 7. 7-23 


| father for his children, and taking into account the goodwill as of a friend which they have shown 
| unswervingly to us and our ancestors, we have rightly absolved them from all blame on whatsoever 
};account. And we have ordered them each to return to his own home, and that no one in any place 
ἢ should injure them at all or reproach them for their unreasonable sufferings. For know well that 
| if we devise any evil against them, or harm them in any way, we shall have not man but the ruler 
of all power, the most high God as an adversary to avenge what is done, avd ¢haz in every way and 
at all time without being able to escape him. Fare ye well. 
|, The Fews receiving this epistle did not at once make haste to prepare for their departure, 
but desired further of the king that those of the Jewish race who had of their own will trans- 
gressed against the holy God [and the law of God] should receive at their hand fitting punishment, 
τ urging that those who for their belly’s sake had transgressed against the divine commands would 
2 never be well disposed to the king’s commands either. And he acknowledging the truth of what 
they said and praising them, gave them full indemnity to destroy in every place in his domin- 
ions those who had transgressed against the law of God, axd this with all freedom without any 
}3 further authority or inquiry from the king. Then having received his words with applause, as was 
|, fitting, their priests and the whole multitude with shouts of hallelujah departed in joy. So as they 
| went on their way they slew whomsoever they met of their countrymen who had been defiled, and 
|5 put them to death with ignominy. And on that day they slew over three hundred men, and they 
[6 kept it as a joyful festival, having destroyed the impious. But they themselves who had held fast 
| to God even unto death, and had entered into the full enjoyment of their safe delivery, departed 
from the city crowned with all manner of fragrant flowers and with cries of joy, in praises and 
melodious hymns giving thanks to the God of their fathers, the eternal saviour of Israel. 

And when they had reached Ptolemais, called on account of the peculiarity of the place, The 
8 rose-bearing, the fleet according to their general wish waited for them seven days, and they held 
| there a banquet to celebrate their deliverance, the king having generously provided for them all 
! things for their journey until each one had come to his own home. MHaving reached the end of 
| their voyage in peace with befitting thanksgivings, there too in like manner they determined to 
jo observe these days as well as a festival during the time of their sojourning; and having inscribed 
| them as holy on a pillar, and having dedicated a place of prayer on the spot where they had 

held their festival, they departed unharmed, free, and full of joy, being brought safely on their 
journey by land and sea and river according to the king’s command, each to his own country, 
τ Πανίηρ even greater authority than before in the eyes of their enemies with glory and respect, 
_}2and being despoiled by no one at all of their goods. And they all recovered the whole of their 
property according to the registration, so that those who held any of it returned it with great fear, 
the great God having perfectly wrought great things for their salvation. 
23 Blessed be the deliverer of Israel for ever and ever. Amen. 


-ι 


| 


10, καὶ tov θεου τὸν νομον] > και AV; και tov tov θεου νομὸν Luc text. The omission of καί and the variation in 
order shows that the words are a gloss 16. σωτηριας απολαυσιν] σωτηρίαν αἀπολυσιν αὶ awe] V al; ayw A 44, 74 
20. προσευχὴν] 19, 93; -7 62; -ns AV al (due to the attraction of τύπον) 20, 21. εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν και πλειστὴν ἡ ἐεμπροσθεν] 
>idav...7A; > V; V is clearly right, the homoioteleuton in εἰς τὴν and πλειστην explaining A’s omission 
Μακκαβαιων y’ A V 


17. Ptolemais—not the famous city in Upper Egypt, but ‘ Ptolemais at the harbour’, on the widening of the canal, 
12 miles SW. of Cairo. See Grenfell and Hunt, Hayum P., pp. 12 ff. The epithet ῥοδόφορος is not found elsewhere. 

20. sea has been criticized as a gross error, but Abrahams refers it to Lake Moeris, a view which Wilbrich questions 
(Hermes, xxxix, p. 244). We may compare the use of θάλασσα for the Lake of Galilee. But the choice of the word is 
probably due to the writer’s love of rhetoric. On any view of the book it comes from Alexandria, and shows consider- 
able local knowledge. It is therefore beside the point to attempt to convict the writer of a childish geographical error. 

In 767. P. 86 (second century B.C.) we find a Jewish προσευχή at Arsinoe. 

22. Nothing was said of any confiscation of property connected with the registration, unless the reference is to cases 
where informers had received a reward (iii. 28). More probably we have here a reminiscence of some occasion on 
which there was some general attempt at confiscation ; the feature of the book is its combination of a variety of attacks 
on the Jews (Intr. § 64). 


173 


THE BOOK ‘OF OBER 


INTRODUCTION 


δι. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK. 


Tus book, composed, possibly in Aramaic, in the last quarter of the third century B.C, 1) | 
probably emanated from orthodox circles in Egypt. It therefore throws considerable light upon _ 
the religious and ethical conditions of the Diaspora in that country some 150 years after the date of — | 
the recently discovered Aramaic papyri. ; on ' : Mt 

The evidences of its popularity, almost from the moment of its composition until the eighteenth | 
or nineteenth century of our era, in themselves constitute a long and interesting history. Its influence 
is apparent alike in Jewish writings, in the New Testament, in the early Church and in mediaeval art. 
Carefully revised by A.D. 150 in Jewish circles into the form most common to-day, but almost } 
immediately translated into Aramaic from the first Greek version and later, and more than once, into — 
Hebrew, and yet again revised in Greek in Christian circles, it remained on the one hand a favourite _ 
Jewish work, and on the other hand, translated into various languages, it followed the spread of the τ 
Christian religion to Edessa in the East, to Rome and Africa in the West, and Ethiopia in the | 
South. a ἢ 

Its religious and moral outlook, with a delightful mixture of real piety and Oriental superstition, 
is still refreshing to the modern reader. The author's chief merit, however, lies not so much in the — 
originality of his conceptions as in his artistic genius and inimitable art in combining, and working — 
up, strong priestly and prophetic tendencies, distinct pagan and Jewish sources, various written and 
oral information, definite religious and moral precepts, into a work of singular aesthetic beauty and 
remarkably liberal sympathies. ‘Is it history?’ wrote Luther. ‘Then is it a holy history. Is it 
fiction? Then is it a truly beautiful, wholesome, and profitable fiction, the performance of a gifted 
poet.’ 


SOR aban, 


The original Greek title was Βίβλος λόγων Τωβείθ which was only modified in RY in the spelling 
of the last word—Twfir Cod. Vat.—eir Cod. Al! The title is not extant in R°. For the other 
versions see critical synopsis. j 


§ 3. GREEK MSS. AND PAPYRUS. 


These fall into three groups, representative, along with the versions mentioned in § 4, of three 
distinct recensions. Their interrelation constitutes a problem of such extreme intricacy and length 
as to preclude little more than a bare statement of the main conclusion to which the present writer 
has come. A full statement of his reasons and further details, with a részmé of the modern treat- 
ment of the problem, he is therefore compelled to publish elsewhere.” 


* Muller supposes that father and son were originally the same individual, whom some editor, later than the 
author, artificially separated into two when he re-wrote the work in its present form, since in the later portion of the 
book Sarah appears as a parallel figure to Tobias, but in the earlier portion remnants still remain, e. g. iii. 16, 17, of 
her original connexion with Tobit. This hypothesis is connected with Miiller’s theory that the author of Tobit was 
not a Jew, and that 7617 was a foreign name of which 7od¢ah was a welcome variation. But no relics of undigested 
paganism remain in the work. The forms Τωβείθ (RS) and Τωβείτ (chiefly RY, R°) are Semitic names in Greek dress. 
Ρεννησαρέθ and Ναζαρέθ with their by-forms Γεννησαρέτ and Ναζαρέτ are quite analogous. 

* The evidence, however, derived from the literary and linguistic characteristics of the respective recensions, is 
overwhelming. That from the covfents of the book is equally strong, since it demonstrates that the redaction we shall 
call RY is a modification of R* inasmuch as it reflects (1) the general presuppositions and ideas, (2) the historical 


conditions, and (3) the religious characteristics and theological developments of an age long subsequent to that in 
which ΑΚ was written. 


174 


INTRODUCTION 


i. CODEX SINAITICUs (δ). This MS. presents the longest and clearest text, with only two 
lacunae of great importance’ and eight slight and practically unimportant ones,? a comparatively 
trustworthy orthography of proper names,’ only one or two additions to the original text,t and only 
a few—mostly natural—cases of internal textual corruption.? All the evidence, as will be seen, 
points to the comparative originality of the recension of Tobit contained in x, which stands 
in a few cases alone, but is supported especially by the Old Latin, very frequently by the Aramaic, 
often by the Miinster Hebrew, and—by no means rarely—by the recension of the Greek which we 
shall term R°. Some of those scholars, who regard δὲ as only secondary, have described it as ¢he 
B zext, or simply B, a nomenclature which, apart from prejudging the problem, at least introduces 
considerable confusion since B is universally recognized as the symbol for Codex Vaticanus, 
which, according to these scholars, along with Cod. Alex., represents the A ¢ext.6 In the 
following pages, therefore, we have avoided this begging of the question and much confusion by 
referring to the text of δὲ and its auxiliaries not as 216 A 2εχέ (as we believe it to be) but as RS, i.e. 
the Sinaitic recension, the nearest approach which can be made to the original text whether the latter 
jirst appeared in Greek or in a Semitic language. It is this text which has been translated and 
commented upon in the following pages.’ The corrector denoted by 8“ began to emend the first 
scribe’s text of x, but seems to have recognized that it was essentially divergent from the later one 
better known in his time and abandoned the task. 

il. CODEX VATICANUS (B) AND CODEX ALEXANDRINUS (A) give the second type of text. It 
is accepted in some quarters as more original than x. In the following pages it is referred to as RY, 
i.e. the recension best preserved in Cod. Vat. A number of minuscules* belong to this class, but 
their practical unimportance, except in one or two isolated cases,’ is admitted by all scholars. The 
differences between Codd. A and B are comparatively few,!° and the Syriac, when it follows RY, 
follows it practically unerringly and continuously, as do some other versions mentioned below." On 
the other hand, the differences between RY as a whole and R° in its original form are extraordi- 
narily numerous and important in spite of the number of points in which they agree. When RS 
faithfully records an incident in detail, RY summarizes; when RS retains the poetic and aesthetic 
beauty of the original, RY ruthlessly substitutes a brief prosaic narrative. That the text of RY 
was finally settled in the reign of Antoninus Pius, not in Christian but in Jewish circles of the Diaspora 
in touch with the official heads of the Jewish Church in Palestine, is more than sufficiently proved by 
its general presuppositions and ideas, historical background, and its religious and theological develop- 
ments in comparison with RS. RY, moreover, in spite of its own internal solidity, presents a much 
corrupted text with the proper names badly written, its grammar that of the vernacular and its style 


1 viz. iv. 6>-19%; xiii. 6Ὁ-- τοῦ, They are peculiar to this MS., not derived from its archetype, not destructive of its 
reputation for general reliability, and easily explicable; see notes ad doc. 

* viz. 1. 2, 4,5; li. 2,8; ix. 5; xi. 12,13; xiii. 11, chiefly single words, at times only the copula and a conjunction. 

$ See notes to i. I, 2, 15; v.6; vi. 13; xi. 18; xiv. Io, 15. 

4 xi. 15, due simply to dittography ; xii. 9 (merely a gloss). 

5 ii. I (case ending), 12; iv. 19% (owing to the omission in verses 62-19%); v. 6 (already mentioned in previous 
note) ; vi. 13 (12); viii. 3, 15; xi. I (?), 4; xiii. 16; exclusive of xiv. 4 where the textual corruption δὲ shares with all 
extant MSS. and versions is outweighed by its unique preservation of the original Vahum. 

* Miiller’s © for RS and 35 for RY avoid this difficulty, but lay too much stress on the comparative length of the 
two recensions to the exclusion of more important and characteristic differences. 

7 The text of δὲ is printed by Swete below that of B in vol. ii of Ze Old Testament in Greek with the variations 
of A noted at the bottom of each page, an arrangement which, in addition to the premium it allows B, has led, as 
Nestle, Septwagintastudien, iii, 1899, has shown, to some slight confusion in the critical apparatus. This text has, 
however, been used for the present translation. Swete’s verse-numbering of δὲ has also been adopted, that of the 
Revised English Version appearing in brackets wherever it differs from Swete’s. In Fritzsche’s Kurzgefasstes 
exegetisches Handbuch zu den Apokryphen, 1853, the readings of the Alexandrine and Sinaitic are at times inter- 
changed! In La Sainte Bible Polyglotte, Ancien Testament, vol. iii, 1902, edited by F. Vigouroux, B appears on the 
extreme left, next to it N, on the right-hand page the Vulgate and a French translation. This work is therefore more 
convenient to consult, but is not ideal, since its critical apparatus notices only a minimum of variants of δὲ, B, A, 
P* (= Holmes 243), P® (a hitherto uncollated MS. identical, it is claimed, with Holmes 106), and makes no com- 
parative collation of any of the other MSS. and versions. As long ago as 1870 Fr. H. Reusch published an emended 
text of δὲ with a carefully constructed synopsis of the various readings of the Old Latin MSS. in his Lzde//us Todit 
6 codice Sinattico editus et recensitus—a work, to which the present writer is much indebted, though it presents no 
Bopsis at all of the various recensions of RY and ἘΞ nor even of the more important translations other than the Old 

atin, 

* Their variations are noted by Fritzsche in most cases, but only a few instances, e.g. in ch. vi, appear in our 
critical synopsis. 

9 e.g. xiv. 15; cf. note ad loc. ξ 

10. Cod. A is not, however, quite unimportant since it frequently inclines to RS, thus showing the antiquity of this 
latter redaction and its refusal to be ousted entirely by RY. For the relation of these two MSS. to each other, see 
Schulte, Biblische Zeitschr., 1908, pp. 262-5. 

1 The solidity of RY is naturally no guarantee of its antiquity. 


175 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 


abrupt. A minute analysis of these and many other indications of its inferiority as compared with — 
RS can be seen in the critical apparatus (or, as it might be better described, synopsis) of the differ- 4 
ences in the case of each verse and often each word which is printed below the translation of RS in 
the following pages." 


iii. Between vi. 7 (8) and xiii. 8 THE MINUSCULES 44 (CITTAVIENSIS) 106 (FERRARIENSIS) a 


and 107 (FERRARIENSIS, written c. 1337, agreeing almost entirely with 106), furnish a fragment of 
a third type of text.2 Before vi. 7 (8) and after xiii. 8 these cursives follow RY, but it has now 
been demonstrated by the discovery of the OXYRHYNCHUS PAPYRUS No. 1076 * that R° commenced 
at any rate as early as ch. ii* R° presents a few characteristics avowedly late, and it is noteworthy 
that we have no contemporary evidence for the use of a single reading peculiar to it prior to 
2 Clem. ad Cor. xvi. τό, which presupposes the recension of R° in Tob. xii. 8. Dr. Rendel Harris ὃ 
has argued that, since this admittedly finer version—at least from the Christian standpoint—of R® 
in xii. 8 was known to the author of 2 Clem., it is consequently the original text, though differing 
from both RS and RY. But, if any argument as to the date or originality of the verse can be based 
on 2 Clem., it is surely that its use in 2 Clem. is evidence for its existence not at an early time but 
at a period later than RS, even if it was more or less contemporary with RY. Moreover, at 
Alexandria RY was still in use in the time of Clement of Alexandria, and it is not till the sixth 
century ὅ that the Oxyrhynchus papyrus witnesses definitely to the existence of R° in Egypt. On 
the other hand, individual readings in R°, not now extant in 8 or BA, may conceivably go back to 
a considerably earlier date, if not to the original writing, if they are supported by a version which 
is either itself admittedly ancient or known to contain a text which—on independent grounds— 
follows R$ in the great majority of cases. Accordingly in ii. 8 it has been possible to restore the 
original reading of RS from R© as preserved in the papyrus, owing to its agreement with the 
invaluable Old Latin MSS. a and f which so constantly, if not invariably, attest x’s general trust- 
worthiness. ΚΟ in fact is a mediating redaction, representing a compromise between R$ and RY. 
A sentence is preserved in part as it appears in the former, and in part recast in the mould of the 
latter. It would appear that RY was in general vogue at the time when R° arose, but, while the 
brevity and other characteristics of RY appealed to its readers, the extent and character of its 
deviations from RS precluded its complete popularity everywhere. RC° is therefore an attempt to 
combine the improvements of RY with the ancient and well-established R°. 


§ 4. NON-GREEK VERSIONS. 


These are indispensable for a critical investigation of the text (a) as showing the form in which 
the book was read in various quarters of the world in several different languages ; (4) as being 
by no means insignificant aids to the recovery of the true text of the various chief recensions 
(RS, RY, R°) to which they belong; (c) as conceivably containing among their unique readings 
a few potentially original ones. Consequently the older versions appear in the critical synopsis 
below the new translation of RS‘ in the following pages. The less ancient and less literal, with the 
exception of Fagius’ Hebrew, have not been taken into account there owing to the lack of space 
in the present volume and their comparative unimportance. A few of their more important 
readings are enumerated by Marshall, HDB, art. ‘ Tobit.’ 


A. Aramaic. 


The Aramaic version of our book demands our careful attention. This is the case not simply 
because, as a result of the pronouncements of Neubauer and Bickell,’ it has been popularly regarded 


" A less exact idea of the relations of RS and RY may be obtained by comparing this translation of RS with that 
of the Revised English Version, which, presenting RY, follows chiefly the readings of Cod. Alex. against Cod. Vat. 
when the former is supported by the majority of the minuscules. See also C. J. Ball, Variorum Apocrypha, 1892. 

‘ 4 Printed in full by Fritzsche with a collation of the majority of the variants of 44, 106, 107, to which the present 
writer is chiefly indebted. Vigouroux claims that his P* (‘supplément grec 609’), hitherto uncollated, is identical 
with 106. He prints it in full where its variants from ΚΞ and RY are very numerous. He holds that this revision was 
made at the commencement of the fourth century by Hesychius. 

* See A. 5. Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, viii, 1911. No. 1076 (9:5 x 13-9 cm.) is the lower part of a vellum leaf, 
the text being written in two columns, and one side of the leaf has shrivelled so that the letters were considerably 
larger originally. 

* See il. 2-4, 5, 8, note ad /oc. That this fragment belongs to ΚΞ has been proved beyond dispute by Dr. Hunt, 
op. cit., pp. 6-9 ; see further notes to ii. 2-8 on pp. 205 f. below. 

° A. J. Th., iii, 1899, pp. 547-9. 

* This is the date assigned to 1076 by Dr. Hunt in view of its carefully formed, large round uncials, the similarity 
to other papyri of the same date, and the brown colour ink commonly found in the Byzantine period. 

* Zeitschr. 7. kathol. Theol. ii, pp. 216 ff., 764 ff. 


176 


INTRODUCTION 


as one of the most genuine representatives of the original form of the book, and is still supposed 
by some scholars to be the ‘ Chaldee’ text used by Jerome,’ but also on account of the problem 
of the Aramaic dialect in which it appears, and finally on account of the subsidiary evidence it 
supplies in favour of the antiquity and originality of RS. It was first published by Neubauer in 
1875, being the fifth part of a MS. in the Bodleian Library, and is headed 9295 ΠΕ Ἢ Ὁ’ ὙἼΩ3 AND NIN. 
This Midrash Rabbah of Rabbah is identified by Neubauer with the B’reshith Rabbah major of 
Martini, which in turn is identified by Zunz,? but not by Neubauer, with the Bereshith Rabbah 
of R. Moses had- Darshan. 

The linguistic characteristics of this version were first subjected by Noldeke to a scientific 
criticism and treatment in the appendix to his epoch-making essay, to which we shall have reason 
constantly to refer. His investigations at once showed how optimistic was the supposition of 
Neubauer and Bickell * that it usually represents the oldest and most genuine form of the original 
work even when it differs from RS and RY. Noldeke, on the contrary, came to the conclusion 
that its dialect was Palestinian, and intermediate between the so-called Babylonian Targums and 
the more modern Palestinian dialect of the Palestinian Talmud, Midrashim, and Targums, and that 
consequently this extant form of the Aramaic goes back only to c. A. Ὁ. 300. 

Noldeke himself, in framing this hypothesis, recognized many of its difficulties, and endeavoured 
to explain them by the supposition that the text has suffered considerably from errors, mutilations, 
and grammatical and syntactical alterations of ‘ignorant and careless’ copyists who had no 
knowledge whatsoever of the influence of grammatical rules, dialectic variations, or the earlier and 
later forms of the language other than their own vernacular. 

May not many of these characteristics that Noldeke regards as secondary and scribal corruptions 
be as primary as those he regards as the most original? Are they not too numerous to allow 
of the supposition that they are less characteristic than those of the earlier dialects which also 
survive? Dalman, in fact, is probably correct in his supposition that the linguistic peculiarities in 
our MS. did not appear earlier than the seventh century in circles which were influenced by both 
Talmuds and by the more ancient Targums. 

THE SOURCE OF Ar. The extant Aramaic text goes back to an earlier Aramaic version,* 
but the question still remains as to whether—through that earlier Aramaic text—it is to be 
regarded as a translation and redaction from a Semitic or a Greek original. In Neubauer’s judge- 
ment ‘the pure Semitic idiom of the Chaldee text does not admit fora moment the possibility of 
its being a translation from a non-Semitic text. Dalman writes: ‘ Poss7bly a source in the style 
of the Targum of Onkelos might have been utilized and might have been the text known by Jerome, 
but it is also probable that the Aramaic text is a translation from the Latin.’7 Ndldeke, on the 
other hand, rightly argues that the language of Ar. certainly does not prevent the recognition, in 
parts of it, of even a fairly literal, though never a slavish, rendering of the Greek B (=RS).’ Thus, 
in spite of Bickell’s explanations,’ the forms ΘΝ Ἢ (WNIT, wNNIn, WI) WIT presuppose the translation 
from the Greek ‘Payots or ‘Payais, whereas a Semitic original would have resulted in the appearance 
of or δ. Similarly Dn is a transcription of ExBardvois,!” whereas a Semitic original would 
have known the Hebrew form xnonx. For δ see note to vi. 2 (1). %2 represents the dative 
Τωβεί. Ws i. 2 in Μ =’Aconp (=’Acodp?), whereas a Semitic original would have preserved the 
correct Wyn, just as xwy=’AoufA, which in LXX regularly represents bs*ym. Supposed misreadings 
in Ar, of a Semitic original and the absence of the dog in Av. and M'! are equally futile (see notes 
to vi. 3, 16) as evidence of the translation of Av. and M from a non-Greek original. The forms 
and partial omissions of Ahikar in Av. and M are also emphatically in favour of a Greek original. 

TyPE OF Ar.’s TEXT. In Neubauer’s judgement Ar. ‘agrees for the greater part with the 
Sinaitic text, and consequently with the Itala. However, the Chaldee text has sentences which 
are to be found sometimes in one, sometimes in another.’ Nd6ldeke, as mentioned above, believes 
that the original Aramaic was a translation from a Greek MS. of RS. Ar. is, therefore, a not 
unimportant witness to RS as the most original text extant, while to some small extent it 
illustrates among Aramaic-speaking peoples a gradual evolution of the text on lines somewhat 


* SEO jn 179. 

2 This MS., containing a collection of smaller and larger Midrashim, is written in Greek-Rabbinical characters 
and dates from the fifteenth century. 

* Die Gottesdienstlichen Vortriige der Juden, 1832, pp. 287 fe. 

* Zeitschr. f. kathol. Theol. ii, pp. 216 Εἴ, 764 ff. 

* See Minster Hebrew below. 
5 The same view is taken by Bickell, Zezéschr. f. kathol. Theol. ii, pp. 764 ff. 
” op. Cit., p. 37- 8 of. cit., p. 219. 9. See Nold., of. ci¢., p. 56, footnotes 1, 2. 
10 For g =k cf. DIPTIN = ἔκδικος. 
" See pp. 184, 195 below. 


1105 177 ἮΝ 


THE BOOK OFsTOBIG 


parallel to those which culminated in the publication of RY. On the other hand, the fact that it” 
was translated from a Greek MS. is far from supporting the theory that the book was originally — 
written in Hebrew or Aramaic (see § 6). The use of the third person throughout is paralleled in 
the Vulgate. 


B. Latin Versions. 
I. OLD LATIN VERSIONS! AND QUOTATIONS. 


The old Latin MSS. with which we are chiefly concerned? are: 1, Codex Regius, No. 3564, 
in Paris (= a); 2. Codex, No. 4, in the Library of ἃ. Germain (= β); 3. Codex Sangermaneasis, 
No. 15 (=y); 4. Codex Vaticanus, No. 7 (=6), which once belonged to Christina of Sweden. 
The four were collated and edited by P. Sabatier.* Joseph Blanchini* produced a more exact 
edition of 8 than Sabatier’s, while Neubauer included in his Book of Tobit a carefully corrected 
text of Sabatier’s edition of aPy. 

αβ are probably to be traced back to a common ancestor, from which Sabatier thought they 
were transcribed in the ninth century, while y, in most of its deviations from af, represents a later 
and slight redaction of one of their ancestors, and texts in which it agrees with a8 therefore go 
back to a still earlier period and one much closer to the time of translation from R*. ὃ, on the 
other hand, was transcribed about the tenth century,’ and up to vi. 12 (11) ὃ contains either an 
independent and somewhat free translation of RS, or, in view of its close approximation to R© in 
vi. 7(6)-11(10), a fair example of the existence of R© in the Western Church. 

Most of the Latin patristic quotations? agree more or less closely with aBy. While the 
fragments of Tobit which appear in the Mozarabic Breviary * also mostly follow aBy or ὃ, 
S. Augustine’s Speculum ® presupposes a third Latin text differing both from afy and 6. 

The Old Latin with its three types of text is thus one of the most important versions. One 
type, ay, is almost as constant a representative of R* as is x, and through Reusch’s careful 
handling and analysis the Old Latin versions and patristic quotations have become a primary 
authority for the original text. In the critical synopsis beneath the accompanying translation, 
therefore, the readings of the various MSS, are given where they are of moment instead of the 
less detailed Z denoting the Old Latin as a whole. In a few cases the original reading, lost in X, 
can thus be restored; see notes to i. 4, ii. 2, 12, iv. 6-192, v. 6, viii. 3, ix. 5, xiii, 6°-10%, 16. 


Ὁ ὙΠΠΘΑΠΕ Ὁ 


This is 5. Jerome’s translation. His own explanation of its origin he gives in his Preface ™ 
to the book. Neubauer has argued that his Ay. ‘in a more complete form was the original from 
which the translation of the Vulgate was made’, This supposition is not supported by the evidence 
derived from a comparison of the two texts. 

Noldeke’s strictures upon S. Jerome’s accuracy and possibly upon his truthfulness are therefore 
more or less justifiable. Somewhat but not essentially different is Schulte’s hypothesis ® that the 
saint (i) actually used ‘a Chaldee’, i.e. an Aramaic text, presumably the parent of Av., but (ii) with 
constant reference to 7}, and (iii) with considerable freedom in the insertion of his own sentiments. 


C. Hebrew Versions. 
I. THE MUNSTER HEBREW.) 
Neubauer’s Book of Tobit contains a collation of Miinster’s text with (1) No. 1251 of the 


1 — & in following pages. 
a =F : : β ἌΝ . 

Mate For further MSS. see Berger, Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale et autres 

Bibliothéques, xxxiv. 2, 1893, p. 142. 
5 Bibliorum sacrorum Latinae versiones antiguae, Paris, 1751. 
: Vindiciae Canonicarum Scripturarum, Rome, 1740. 
ὃ Bien, oP ee p. Cili. ° From this point it has the text of D. 
ai he more ἜΠΗ ny quotations are enumerated by Reusch, and are noticed frequently in our critical apparatus. 
See Migne, P. Z. Ixxxvi. 151. ® Spicilegium, ix, edited by Angelus Maius. 


15 = Pin the following pages. Cf. Berger, Histoire de la Vulgate pe 2S premiers siec a 

ν (alien fall by σὸς of fg ste de la Vulgate pendant les premiers siécles du moyen age, 1893. 
* Die aramidische Bearbettung iichleins Tobias verelt 7 - 

x sae ae aische Bearbeitung des Biichleins Tobias verglichen mit dem Vulgatatext (Theol. Quartalschr., 1908, 
1’ = M in the following pages. 


178 


INTRODUCTION 


Hebrew MSS. in the National Library in Paris’; (2) the Persian translation of M,? made in the 
Pehlewi idiom, written in Hebrew characters, No. 130 of the Hebrew MSS. in the National 
Library, dating from A.D. 1400°; (3) No. 194 of De Rossi’s Catalogue,t which agrees closely 
with (2).° 

Purpose of M. The circle in which M flourished was Jewish and orthodox, with its 
thoughts directed to the Torah and its hopes centred on the rise of still another generation of 
‘children busied with the Torah, for whose edification the translation of its Hebrew may have 
been made. Its reverence for the Deity is expressed by its use of the periphrasis ‘the Holy One 
blessed, be he’; its angelological development is exemplified by the application of the title 
mixann-by m7 ὝΦΠ to Raphael. For the omission of Noah and the dog and the stress on the 
later procedure in marriage contracts see p. 184, zzfra. Ginsburg surmises that M dates from 
the fifth century A.D. Ndéldeke points out that the language is not the owsn pw, but an imitation 
of the Biblical language, not, however, entirely uninfluenced by the former,® though considerably 
more ancient than F. 

M’s Source. Jt was at one time natural to regard M as a redaction based on a translation 
of RS, and usually of that form of RS extant in the Old Latin rather than that ins. The grounds 
for this supposition are best stated by H. Sengelmann, Das Buch Tobit, 1857, pp. 61-3. Its 
usefulness as a quite subsidiary, but not as an independent, witness to the comparative originality 
of RS was even then of some small moment. But the evidence thus collected for the closeness of 
M’s agreement with RS became of more vital importance for the solution of the interrelation 
of RS and RY after the discovery of Av. Ar. and M are closely and essentially connected (4) in 
phraseology and vocabulary,’ (4) in the sequence and displacements,* (c) in contents’ and point of 
view.1° They are a unity as distinct from RY and a clearly deliberate redaction of R*.™ But M, 
having been subjected to changes as a result of the special circumstances and point of view outlined 
above,!* is a less perfect representative of this redaction than Av. But while Av. is therefore not 
derived from M, the latter is evidently not derived from the extant form of the Aramaic. This is 
shown by a comparison of M and “417., e.g. in i. 16 (where Az. omits yt), 18 (where M retains part 
of the blasphemy charge omitted by 47.), iii. 3, 5 (where Av. but not M has small omissions), as 
well as by the abbreviations at the beginning of the book, the avoidance of Raphael’s ascension, 
and the use of the third person throughout the book. We must, therefore, conclude with Noldeke 
that Ar. and M go back to a common Aramaic ancestor, which was a translation from R$ (cf. p. 177, 
supra). Thus, in spite of its comparatively modern date and secondary character, M’s agreement 
in many important points with RS adds considerable weight to the great mass of evidence in favour 
of the antiquity and originality of R*. 


2, FAGIUS’ HEBREW. 15 


This is a translation based chiefly on RY, and is usually regarded as dating from the twelfth 
century. This late date naturally robs the version of much of the critical value it would otherwise 
possess, and it has not therefore been necessary to tabulate the minutiae of its readings in full detail. 
Still it is not without considerable importance. It is an excellent illustration of the type of text in 
use in Western Europe * amongst the Jews of that period. From the literary point of view F is of 


1 Neubauer uses the sign P, while additions peculiar to it are enclosed in square brackets [ ]. These signs have 
been retained in the following pages. 

2 — Pr. in Neub. and the following pages. 

* Some of the errors of this translation are due to the translators’ ignorance and literalness, see Neub. p. xiii, 
footnote 2; others form an interesting parallel to F’s treatment of proper names, e.g. 

0 = pray, 533 το ἽΝ 3, DIN = TODD, TWN = Sy. 

4 = II in Neub. and following pages. 

δ Neub.’s brackets ( ) are retained, signifying passages appearing in M and II but not in P. 

® Note the presence of a few Syan forms; ἸΠῚΝ once as a demonstrative ; wd and yo; w on and vw ΠΡ 
beside O40 and Ὁ". 

Teg, parmmaa ὙΥῚΣ = ΝΡ ΝΘ. na, iii. 8. 

8 e.g. iv. 13-16, &c. ° e.g. the two donds for the two dags in v. 3, &c. 

10 e.g. ‘king of the demons’ as a title of Asmodaeus, ἅς. 

1 Theories of mistranslation or mis-reading of a common original as explanations of the deviations of 47. and M 
from RS are as inadequate as they are in the case of the differences of RS and RY. See note to vi. 16 and pp. 181 f. 

12 Noldeke further emphasizes the paraphrase of xi. 2 end in M as compared with A7.’s literal translation of R*, 
the abridgement in i. 16 f. (see note ad Zoc.), x. 1-7, the expansion in i. 19, the reconstruction of the prayer in viii. 5. 

8 — F in following pages. 

4 This is probably the reason for his interpretation of the reference to Elymais which he understands as 
Germany, ii. 10. In vi. 2 (1) he is usually supposed to refer to Laodicea but the reference may be to some otherwise 


179 N 2 


THE BOOK OF FLOBID 


interest as showing a still further development than appears in ΝΥ, and even Ay, and M, to introduce 
biblical phraseology and texts, e.g. iii. 5f.; iv. 13, and passim. It belongs to a strict legal circle 
which sought for precision in matters of the cultus, e.g. i. 4, current commercial terms, e.g. ili. 17; 
vii. 10 (9): ν- 14 (13), and liturgical formulae, e.g. ill. 16 and passim. Special impel ane was 
attached to the hope for the rebuilding of the Temple, i. 8. Moreover, in contrast with RS, RY, and 
R¢ it insists on the importance of the Halachah as well as the Torah, vii. 12 (13), and consequently 
describes the marriage rite in the terms of contemporary usage, vil. 13. An element of speculative 
philosophy, if not of Kabbalistic lore, appears in its insistence upon the Divine foreknowledge of 
the marriage of Tobias and Sarah on the sixth day of creation, vi. 17 (16). Stress is laid upon the 
Fatherhood of the transcendent God, who himself hearkens to mortals’ prayers, iii. τό. It reflects 
the point of view of a period in which Noah’s reputation had recovered from the stigma which 
attached to it in the time of the common ancestor of Av. and M (see p. 184). : Unlike the original 
author, he believes in a judgement beyond the grave, a judgement of Gehenna, iv. 11, and speaks of 
‘the eternal home’, iii. 8. The fragmentary character of ch. xiv is probably due to accidents 
of transmission. 
3. THE LONDON HEBREW. 


This text was found by Gaster in the British Museum. It is ddd. 11639. It is of little critical 
value, but is interesting as showing the culmination of the tendency, observable in germ in RY and 
active in F, to approximate to biblical phraseology. The problem of the close interrelation of this 
version and the Vulgate is probably to be settled in favour of the priority of the latter and the 
indebtedness of the former to it in some way which is not at present clear.’ See further, Gaster, 
PSBA, vol. xviii, pp. 208 ff., 259 ff.; vol. xx, pp. 27 ff. 


4. THE GASTER HEBREW. 


This version was taken by Gaster from a Midrash on the Pentateuch. The tendency to 
abbreviate the original story reaches its culmination in this version. Its affinities are closest with 
Ar. See Gaster, PSBA, vol. xix, pp. 33f. 


D. Two Syriac Versions. 


1. The first, commencing at i. 1, and extending to vii. 11, is a close translation of RY. Nestle 
supposes that this text was once complete, and that all the extant MSS. are descended from one of 
early date which had been accidentally mutilated.2 This version, moreover, represents, as Noldeke 
thinks, the work of Paul of Tella, and therefore dates from the beginning of the seventh century. 

2. The second has ousted the first and taken its place from vii. 11° to the end of the book. It 
belongs almost entirely to R°, though at times it shows even greater reverence for RS than usually 
characterizes R°. 


E. Ethiopic Version. 


This is based on RY. Abbreviations and errors in translation are numerous. 


$5. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 


A. The only exéernal evidence is supplied by Origen* and Jerome,® and, on the whole, leaves 
the question quite open. 


B. A priori considerations. From the Yeb papyri it can be seen that while the proper 
names of their period were mostly Hebrew, the colony employed Aramaic for literary purposes. 
Thus c. 200 b.C, it is far more likely that a popular work such as Tobit would be written in Aramaic 


unknown locality near his own home. The change of Media to Midian, i. 14, is due on the other hand to his extreme 
subservience to Biblical Janguage and scenery. 

* Hence Gaster was too optimistic in his belief in its close relationship to Jerome’s ‘ Chaldee’. 

* For details see Néldeke, of. cit., p. 46, footnote 1. 

δ That the text after vii. 11 is a remnant of a version entirely distinct from that before this verse is apparent not 
only from the transference of allegiance from RY to Rat this point, but from differing orthography in ii. 10, xiv. 10 
(Ahikar), vii. 2, 13 (14) (Edna), iv. 1, 20, ix. 2 (Raga). One MS., moreover, in the British Museum, which extends 
only to v. 14 (13), contains the earlier text, while another in the same collection like the three MSS. at Paris and the 
one at Oxford (Payne-Smith, Ca/. Co/. 18) contains i. 1-vii. 11, and from that point gives the other Syrian text. It is 
noteworthy that the Syriac glosses mentioned by Masius in his Syrorum Peculium agree with this Syriac version 
and do not extend beyond ch. vii. ἢ 

* Origen remarks in 42. ad Afric. ch. xiii, with reference to Tobit: περὶ οὗ ἡμᾶς ἔχρην ἐγνωκέναι ὅτι Ἑβραῖοι τῷ 
Τωβίᾳ οὐ χρῶνται οὐδὲ τῇ ᾿Ιουδήθ. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔχουσιν αὐτὰ καὶ ἐν ἀποκρύφοις ἑβραϊστί, ὡς ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν μαθόντες ἐγνώκαμεν. 

* See p. 178, supra. 

180 


INTRODUCTION 


rather than Hebrew, especially if written in Egypt. In Palestine, it must be remembered, Hebrew 
remained the sacred language, as is shown by Daniel and many Maccabean Psalms, and also the 
official language of the nation, as can be seen on the coins. Greek, on the other hand, was making 
headway about this time, particularly in Egypt. Moreover, in the century in which our book was 
written, the Pentateuch was probably translated into Greek, and in the next century still more of 
the Scriptures, including Ben-Sirach, also appeared in Greek at Alexandria. 


C. The zzternal evidence should be dealt with in four departments: 

1, Evidence favouring a Greek original— 

(a) Greek sentences and verbal combinations such as cozld not result at least from literal 
translation appear in i. 6 ff.. iii, 8, iv. 6, vii. 7, xii. 7. Their importance for the problem is 
emphasized by Noldeke and André. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the Greek idiom is 
due either to a translator’s conscious attempt to render the original into good Greek or to later 
correction. 

(δ) It is at least evident that the forms of the proper names in i. 1f. are the proper and 
usual Greek equivalents of Hebrew names, not the unfortunate results of misreadings of a Semitic 
script. See notes ad loc. 

(c) Néldeke points out (of. cé¢., p. 60) that there is a considerable difference between the 
Greek style of our book and that of the translations of Judith and 1 Maccabees. Noldeke, however, 
bases his arguments on RY instead of the original RS‘, to which this objection does not apply to the 
-same extent. 

2. Evidence slightly in favour of a Semitic original, but not necessarily so if a Greek original 
is presupposed ; some few at least of these words and phrases belong as much to the κοινή as to the 
vocabulary of a Greek-speaking Jew. If on the other hand there is independent evidence pointing 
to a Semitic original, most of them, not being characteristic of the κοινή, will be explicable as literal 
translations of that Semitic original, and wi!l thus afford subsidiary proof of its existence. 

(a) The etymological value of names such as Raphael,! Azariah,? Ananiah,? though known 
sufficiently to be appreciated both by a Greek-writing Jewish author and by his Greek-reading 
Jewish public, would be the more appropriate if the book was written in a Semitic language. 

(ὁ) The list Miiller gives,t though not complete, is sufficiently illustrative of the vocabulary, 
style, and phraseology which should be included under this section. It is, however, especially in 
this sphere, that the minor changes of RY are important. RY tends to remove them, thus reflecting 
a consciousness of their non-Greek character. 

3. Evidence pointing more or less definitely to a Semitic original— 

(z) A few constructions remain which, unlike the preceding, seem to demand for their 
explanation not simply a Jew who wrote in Greek as their author, but one who thought and wrote 
in Hebrew or Aramaic.® 

(ὁ) The hypothesis of independent translation from a Hebrew or Aramaic original in the various 
recensions and translations is frequently resorted to, not only to explain the divergences of R°‘, 
RY, and R°,and even of each of the versions (e.g. 8, Av., M, ΕἼ, but also to prove the existence 
of a Hebrew or Aramaic original. Various scholars have thrown out suggestions,’ but Dr. Marshall ὃ 
presents it in its most attractive and logical form. Even if, however, no other solution of the 
divergences of RS and RY existed, it must be confessed that Dr. Marshall’s hypothesis would have 


1 “God heals.’ 2 *Jahveh helps.’ * *Jahveh has compassion.’ 

4 op. cit., pp. 28 ff. 

® e.g. (i) In iv. 18 the Greek presupposes Sy wa or Sy apa. (ii) v. 19 (18), see note ad /oc. (iii) Cases such 
as καὶ θάψω, ii. 43 Kai εὐφρᾶναι, xiii. 10; καὶ ἀπέθανεν (cf. Judges ii. 21), i. ὃ. (iv) v. 19 (18) and xiii. 3, see notes ad loc. 
and Miiller, of. czt., p. 32 f. (v) εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ ἔτι in xiii. 18 seems to presuppose immediate translation of TY) Ὁ yd, 
cf. LXX Exod. xv. 18, Theod. in Dan. xii. 3, Aq. Theod. Sym. Ps. xxi. 5. Similarly ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ, ili. 14, 16, might 
be a literal translation. (vi) ἡμέραι τοῦ γάμου ἃς ὥμοσεν ποιῆσαι τῇ θυγατρὶ αὐτοῦ, x. 7, might possibly point to a Hebrew 
or Aramaic original if ποιῆσαι should be taken in the sense of ‘spend’. But see Barton, Eccles. (Lnter. Crét. Comm.), 
Ῥ. xxiii and note to Eccles. vi. 12. (vii) προσηλύτοις τοῖς προσκειμένοις in i. 8 may be a doublet translation of ἢ or the 
participle of 2. πρόσκειμαι -- W in Lev. xvii. 8. On the LXX’s equivalents to this Hebrew root see W. C. Allen, 
Expositor, vol. xx, 1894, p. 264 ff. ἢ i 

® So precarious and unscientific has this method proved in the past in the exegetical (see notes to 11. 10, lv. 17, 
xlv. 4) and other spheres (see notes to v. 3, vi. 3, viil. 3, xii. 6), that it would be beside the point even to allude to it 
here were it not so intimately bound up with the problem of the original language of the book and consequently to 
some extent with those of the place and date of composition (see § 6, 7) and the sources of the various non-Greek 
versions (see above). 

7 Cf. Fuller, of. cit., Excursus I, pp. 164-8. : 

_ ὃ ADB, vol. iii, sub ‘ Tobit’, where he employs the results of his investigations as an argument for an Aramaic 
original. 
181 


THE BOOK OF ΘΕΙ͂Ν 


to be pronounced untenable for reasons of which the following are only the more important, and are 
only stated here in outline form:—(i) At the outset it is clear that, to use Dr. Plummer’s words 
with reference to Dr. Marshall’s attempt to explain certain divergences in the Synoptic Gospels bya — 
similar hypothesis of independent translation from the Aramaic,’ ‘these possibilities seem to be too — 
isolated and sporadic to be of great value in accounting for differences’.’ (ii) It is almost incon- — 
ceivable—both on the analogy of other books and from the evidence we possess of the derivation — 
of Ar. and M from RS, and of 9 and F, &c., in part from RY and in part from R°—that each and 
every secondary translator or redactor in turn had recourse—and that, too, independently of all the 
others—to this hypothetical Aramaic original, safely preserved and handed down apparently for 
the sole purpose that they might independently consult it! (iii) Before such a hypothesis could be 
accepted as a working basis for further research, the independent evidence for the composition of 
the book in Aramaic would have to be much stronger and certain than it is at present. (iv) Most 
of the instances Marshall adduces are far more easily and rightly explicable in other ways,® 


while in some cases the reasoning is purely subjective* and in others self-evidently weak τ 


and erroneous in its premises.° (v) If attempts such as Marshall’s and Resch’s more laborious 
studies ® are rightly passed over, along with the oral hypothesis of Gieseler and Dr. A. Wright, 
by New Testament scholars as being inadequate and useless contributions to the solution of the 
Synoptic Problem, hypotheses such as this of Marshall’s and Bickell’s* must also fail in the 
case of Tobit, and for the same fundamental reason. In the case of RS and RY especially, and also 
in that of non-Greek versions of Tobit, as in the Synoptic Gospels, the problem to be solved is not 
simply that of the causes for the existence of numerous and important divergences, bui along 
with, and in spite of, these divergences the reason for the far more numerous and unobtrusive 
sections, verses, and words, exactly alike iz themselves and in their order in the various 
recensions, and particularly in the Greek of RS and RY. Thus the hypothesis of independent 
translation is neither adequate nor needed for the solution of the problem of the interrelation of 
RS, RY,and R°. At the most the mere possibility can be admitted that in a few cases R$ (cf. p. 181, 
footnote 5) and B (see e.g. xi. 18, note) contain an instance or two of translations suggestive of their 
Semitic origin, if indeed the latter can first be shown to have existed, while other versions (see — 
e.g. vi. 16, note) may contain a few readings due ultimately, but not directly, to a recollection— 
i.e. in an oral, not written manner—of a different or corrupt form of the text in existence in Semitic 
circles. But this is not evidence that the or¢gzzal tongue was Semitic. (vi) Finally it will suffice 
here to observe that granted the Greek text preserved in RS was translated—as it must have been 
if it is indeed a translation—very soon after the original Semitic work was composed, corruptions 
in the Hebrew would at that time naturally be very few. And only a very few even of these 
select cases can bear the test of an unbiased examination.’ Even in some passages of real 
difficulty the true explanation often lies elsewhere,? and the possibility of intentional corruption 
must be taken into account.!° 

4. Evidence pointing to an Aramaic rather than a Hebrew original, e.g. the forms ᾿Αθήρ and 
᾿Αθουρειάς in xiv. 4,15. Even these Aramaisms, pronounced as they are, do not, however, settle the 
question."' The possibility will always remain that these two words are an early scribal error,” or 
are even due to the Aramaic environment in which the earlier Greek writers among the Jews 
found themselves. 

It must be admitted that the evidence in favour of a Semitic original is not strong enough to 
put the matter beyond controversy. 


* Expositor, April and Noy., 1891. His arguments were refuted by W. C. Allen in the £xfosior, vol. xvii, 1803, 
pp- 386-400, 454~70, the prefatory note on the linguistic issue by Professor Driver on pp. 386 f. being specially pertinent 
in connexion with Tobit as well as with the Synoptists. 

* Plummer, .S. Luke (Inter. Crit. Comm.), p. 154, footnote 1, cf. pp- 102, 186, 222. 

“6.5. see notes to i. 15, 18. 

i €.8- NNN in i. 13 night equally weil be said to be an internal cortuption of NNW, itself a translation of 
pop ἣν - 

i Caen ἵν. 9. see note ad Loc. 

᾿ Agrapha in Texte und Untersuch., v, Heft 4, 1889, and Awssercanon. Paralleltexte, x, Heft 1 and 3, 1893-5. 

_ .” According to this scholar R® was a revision made from the original translation with the assistance of the Hebrew 
original. Noldeke’s reply (οὔ. cit., p. 50) to Bickell applies with even more force to Marshall. 

ἢ Cf. notes to i. 2, 15, 18; il. 3, 10; ili. 7; iv. 3; v. 3, 19 (18); vi. 3 (2); xii. 6, ἄς. 

αι 5 8: ἵν. 17, Vie 16 (15), vili. 3, see notes ad oc. 10 See note to xiv. 4. 

a See Ed. Meyer, Der Papyrusfund von Elephantine, 1912, p. 108. 
i. eee Copyists’ variations of the Aramaic quotations in the Greek MSS. of the New Testament, δ. g- 


182 


INTRODUCTION: 


§ 6. DATE OF COMPOSITION. 


That 7odzt is not an autobiography ! written in the seventh century B.C., is evident from the 
writer's historical inaccuracies, 6. g. i. 15, chronological blunders, e. g. i. 4 as compared with i. 15-22 
and xiv. 1, and knowledge of events long subsequent to 722 B.C., e.g. xiv. 4f.,15. He differentiates 
between the return from the Babylonian exile, which has therefore taken place already, and the 
promise of a further return and the dawn of a still more*glorious era, xiv. 5. He betrays a religious 
as well as literary dependence on the latest portions of the Pentateuch.? Similarly a date at the 
very earliest a little subsequent to the rise and establishment of Judaism is necessitated by his 
religious and moral teaching (see § 10): The same ¢erminus a quo is favoured by the author’s 
general outlook, developed style, and artistic composition, the product of an age accustomed to the 
chronicling of singular experiences, xii. 20, as well as to the somewhat formal drawing up of 
marriage contracts, vii. 13 (14). Financial and commercial relations had superseded purely 
agricultural and pastoral pursuits, and the writer and his contemporaries had grown more or less 
accustomed to the foreign domination. 

The terminus ad quem is more debatable, but the book is certainly pre-Maccabean. While 
the author has some knowledge, derived from the historical books of O.T., of historical events 
prior to, and including, the Return, and reflects the general religious point of view of the period 
subsequent to Ezra, he reveals no’ knowledge of the stirring historical crises of the later Greek 
domination and the Hasmonean period, and lacks the intense hatred of the heathen they inspired. 
Not only does he not accept, but in most cases he shows no knowledge of those explicit dogmas of 
Judaism which first came into prominence at or after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, such as 
advanced apocalyptic expectations, formulated doctrines of a personified and hypostatized Wisdom, 
stereotyped descriptions of the Messianic age, explicit belief in a resurrection and immortality. He 
knows practically nothing of the problem Job was the first to raise, the Hellenizing apostasy, the 
Essenes’ self-abnegation, or the long fight of Pharisaic progressiveness against Sadducean con- 
servatism.? The comparatively early date of the book, as it appears in the earliest form known 
to us, R*, is perhaps most clearly demonstrated by comparison with RY, which dates from the 
second century of the Christian era (see § 3). 

There are, too, certain other features which also point more or less definitely to this pre- 
Maccabean period, though some are much less significant than is usually allowed. To this latter 
class belongs xiv. 4-6, once a mainstay alike of the more conservative critics * in their defence of the 
book’s pre-Herodian date, and also of extremists, like Hitzig,° to whom it presents equally circum- 
stantial evidence of composition after the destruction of Herod’s Temple in 70 A.D. But while the 
words καὶ οὐχ ὡς τὸν πρῶτον must certainly have been written before that event, they are quite as 
likely in the mouth of a pious contemporary of Christ, scandalized by the paganizing tendencies of 
Herod’s Temple architecture and the spiritual unreality of its services, as in the mouth of faint- 
hearted worshippers in Zerubbabel’s Temple (cf. Hag, ii. 3)! It is equally unfortunate that Tobit’s 
scrupulous care for the burial of the dead has been exalted to a position of primary importance for 
the settlement of the date, e.g. by Graetz, who consequently assigns the book to the reign of Hadrian; 
by Kohut, who dates it c. A.D. 226; and by W. R. Smith and Riggs, who, comparing 2 Macc. v. 10, 
refer it to the Maccabean revolt. This trait is ultimately due, so far as the author, not later redac- 
tors, is concerned, not to contemporary political troubles, but, in the case of Tobit’s own action in 
chs. i, 11, chiefly to his literary dependence on The Grateful Dead,’ and, in the case of advice to 
the same effect, to the influence of Ahikar7 and especially to the book of Genesis and its traditional 
exegesis ὃ, Again the stress which, it is usually alleced, is laid by the author on the agnatic or con- 
sanguineous marriages led Graetz® to suppose that he endeavoured to inculcate the /azzy’s observances 
of the (late) Talmudic regulation !° which was originally intended to regulate only Prdes¢s’ marriages. 


' The historicity of the book is still defended by F. Vigouroux (Les Livres Saints et ia critique rationaliste, 
fifth edition, 1901, p. 551 ff.). On the other hand, as Cosquin (Revue Bibligue, vol. viii, 1899, p. 82) points out, several 
Roman Catholics—Jahn, Dereser, Movers, and Antoine Scholtz—have held that the book is not a history but either 
an allegory or homiletic treatise. Moreover, the Council of Trent in affirming its canonicity made no pronouncement 
as to its historicity. 

* See p. 192, footnote 6. ; 

* The hypothesis that the book was written by a Sadducee might account for such silence, but is inadmissible in 
view of the nascent angelology and the childlike belief in Providence it inculcates—both, in their full growth, leading 
dogmas of the Pharisees’ creed and the butt of the Sadducees’ cold logic. 

* e.g. Fuller, W. R. Smith, Riggs, André. 


° ZWT, 1860, pp. 250 ff. ° 6 § 8. ii. 7 § 8. iii. 
: See § 8. iv, and I. Abrahams, /QR, 1893, vol. i, p. 348. f ᾿ 
Monatsschrift f. Gesch. a. Judentums, 1879, pp. 509-13. 0 Kiddushin, 76°. 


183 


ν 


THE, BOOK OF ΘΙ͂Ν 


The author himself appeals to the Pentateuch (vi. 13; vii. 12)! Kohut’s explanation ὦ that it 
is due to Zoroastrian influence, is open to the same objection, as well as being contradicted, as 
Gutberlet 2 first pointed out, by Kohut’s own theory, that the book is a protest against Zoroastrianism. 
To Rosenmann® belongs the distinction of having first partially unravelled this problem of the 
agnatic marriages, while Miiller has advanced a stage nearer the true solution. The former 
scholar has demonstrated that the Talmud nowhere insists on its actual observance by any genera- 
tion except that of the wilderness wanderings, that even before the destruction of the Temple, 
A. D. 70, an annual festival on the 15th of Ab had been instituted in celebration of the abolition of 
the custom, that it had never been recognized by the Pharisaic party, and that ‘therefore in practice 
agnatic marriage was no longer known to the first pre-Christian century’, Thus also Rosenthal’s 
theory that Zodit emanated from the School of Rabbi Akiba is bereft of the support it claims from 
this quarter. In Rosenmann’s judgement the author wrote in order ‘to break a lance on behalf of 
agnatic marriage which was already in a moribund condition’. If, however, the author's main interest, 
as seems to be the case ὅ, was in Jewish as opposed to international marriage, and his references to 
agnatic unions were only subsidiary to that and primarily the result of his close dependence on his 
chief sources, he must have lived in an earlier period, the pre-Maccabean, when agnatic marriages 
were still to some extent in vogue even in the Diaspora, where the most pressing danger of the day 
was that of international marriage. 

With equal clearness Rosenmann® has disproved the inferences which have been drawn frém 
vii. 11-13 (14) in favour of a late date.’ The ceremony described in these verses differs only from 
those of the O.T. in its mention of ‘an instrument of cohabitation’. Graetz, followed by Rosenthal, 
understands this συγγραφή as the Greek equivalent to the technical 72:n3 which appears in Ar. and 
M, and which, he supposes, was first coined in the reign of Queen Salome by Simon ben Shetah 
But the 73)n> was in existence before that time, for Simon did not invent it; he only modified the 
details of its working. To identify, however, this 73:n2 with the συγγραφή of the present passage is 
to remove from the narrative all mention of betrothal or marriage-rite. Moreover, the usual Greek 
equivalent of myn} was φερνή or ἀντιφέρνη which also represent 77 in LXX of Ex. 22. 15 f., the 
passage from which the Talmudic rite of the 42:n} and its amount are derived. The term συγγραφή, 
on the contrary, is the usual equivalent of pore Sv sow or prea by sow. Tob. vii. 11-13 (14) 
therefore casts an interesting side-light on the early forms of the procedure before it had assumed 
the stereotyped character of the Talmudic age. Here the father prepares and signs the συγγραφή ; 
in the fully developed Talmudic ceremony it should be done by the bridegroom.’ Here the 
marriage is consummated the same night; in Talmudic times a virgin could not be married until 
twelve months, and a widow till one month, after this solemn betrothal.!° 

Finally the references to the dog (vi. 2 (1), xi. 5),1! the number (seven) of Sarah’s husbands, 
vi. 14 (13), vii. 1, and the statement that Noah, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was a prophet and 
a ‘father’ of the nation who contracted an agnatic marriage, contribute additional evidence of the 
comparatively early origin of the book. In the Talmudic period it was prescribed that no one 
should keep a dog unless it was led by a chain ;!2 no woman might marry again whom death had 
already bereft of ¢ree husbands in succession;1° and admiration for Noah, displayed e.g. in 
Jub., ch. xxv (where the very features of his life appear to which Zodz¢ alludes) * gave way to the 
view that Noah was saved not by his own good works—which did not exist—but by. the grace of — 
God. So well known and widely accepted, in later times, were these specifically Rabbinical points 
of view, that in Av. and M, the common Aramaic ancestor of which dates from this period, the dog 
was not mentioned ; in the Addition to the Midrash Tanhuma,! asin the oy wyw 12D,!" Sarah’s seven 
husbands were reduced to three; and in M no reference at all was made to Noah.'* 

Is it possible to define the date more closely? Ewald favoured 350 B.C., but a number of 


3 Geiger's Zeitschrift, vol. x, p. 61 f. * Das Buch Tobias, Minster, 1877, p. 47. 
Studien zum Buche Tobit, Berlin, 1894, pp. 1-7. 

* Rosenmann, of. ciz., p. 7. 5.866 Ρ. 196. 5. op. cit.. pp. 15-19. 

” Even if RY 


were the more original text, its καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς (vii. 12) is based on Gen. xxiv. 60, and does not 
therefore necessarily presuppose the Talmudic formula of the Ὁ ΠΠ ΓΘ (Kethubhoth 8*), as Rosenthal, of. cit., 
p. 132, note 1, urges in his attempt to prove the late origin of the book. 

® Kethubhoth το. 

* See Qiddushim οὗ, 10 Kethubhoth 57. 1 See § 9. 

ia Baba Kama 83", cf. 69”. 15. Vebhamoth 64, Niddah 64%. 

* Cf. also Sir. xliv. 17 for an appreciation of Noah’s righteousness. 
Sanhedrin 108, Midrash Rabba to Genesis, § 29. © Neub., of. cét., p. 36. 

7 In 2a ὅν, Paris, 1866, p. 18. 

"δ The author's explanation of the term Pentecost (ii. 1, see note ad oc.) and other details all point to a com- 
paratively early date, but are quite subsidiary to the more important points already mentioned. 

History of Israel, vol. v, p. 209 ff. 


184 


INTRODUCTION 


considerations, more or less cogent, point to a date much closer to 170 B.C. The period subsequent 
to Alexander the Great seems to be demanded by the use of the Greek drachma, v. 15 (14), the 
Greek name of the month, ii. 12, the wide extent of the Diaspora which the author presupposes, and 
by the fact that Rages, iv. 1, &c., probably the Ragha of the Avesta,' was comparatively unknown 
before it was rebuilt by Seleucus Nicator, 321-281 B.C.2 The second tithe, i. 7 (still less the third 
of RY,i. 8), was still unknown to the Chronicler (c. 300 B.C.), though it appears in Jubilees and in 
the LXX of Deut. If the author wrote in Egypt, his enthusiastic description of Tobit’s marriage to 
the beautiful Jewess, his relative Sarah, is probably an attempt to substitute a more edifying story 
for the scandal, still fresh in his own and his readers’ minds, of that apostate descendant of another 
Tobias, Joseph the notorious tax-collector.* This did not take place before 230 B.c.+ Further, the 
author’s affinities—in thought and point of view—with Sirach certainly lead one to suppose that they 
belonged to the same tendency and type of thought within the pre-Maccabean period. Unfortunately 
they are far from being sufficiently close, immediate or numerous as to warrant the assumption that 
either writer was dependent on the other.° 

To sum up, Zodz¢ was written at the very earliest, c. 350 B.C.; at the latest,c. 170 B.C., probably 
much nearer the latter than the former date.® 


§ 7. PLACE OF COMPOSITION AND PURPOSE. 


The nameless author of 7odz¢ was not a Palestinian Jew.’ The characters of his book, as well 
as the geographical setting, belong to the Diaspora; his readers are in exile (xiii. 3), and he counts 
himself among them (xiii. 6), while distance lends enchantment to Jerusalem, the goal of all his hopes 
(i. 4—9, xii. 7-18). Moreover, his staunch adhesion to Judaism is accompanied by a belief in demons 
and magic, side by side with a breadth of culture and a liberal outlook on life unequalled by any 
Palestinian writer whose work has survived. The widespread use of the Greek Verss., the scarcity 
and comparative lateness of the oriental Verss., and the almost complete ignorance of the book in the 
Syrian Church, do not favour theories such as Ewald’s of the Far East, Kohut’s of Persia, or Vetter’s 
of Assyria or Babylonia, or Professor J. H. Moulton’s of Media. The internal evidence is in fact 
antagonistic to any such hypothesis. Such surmises are, at the outset, negatived by the author’s 
ignorance of Eastern geography and his acceptance of the ordinary standards of Greek and Roman 
geographies. That the Tigris flowed. between Nineveh and Media was an idea common among the 
Greeks ; that Ecbatana was situated in a plain was a constant Western fallacy, and is repeated 
in Diod. ii. 13. 6 ina passage dependent on Ctesias.* 

The hypothesis that Egypt was the place of composition alone serves to explain all the phenomena, 
and, at the same time, raises no additional difficulties, and encounters no legitimate objections on 
the part of the upholders of the Palestinian or Eastern origin of the work. This happy solution 
of the problem was first stated by Noldeke, and has been accepted by Lohr, W. R. Smith, André, 
and others. It has lately received additional support from the discovery of the actual sources 
upon which the author depended for the plot, outline, literary allusions, and the non-Jewish 
stratum of his religious and speculative materials. Only Egyptian Jews could need an antidote 
to the Zractate of Khons. No trace can be found in Palestinian literature of any acquaintance 
with the Hable of the Grateful Dead. Only in Egypt, sg far as is known, did either Jews or 
pagans read Ahikar’s fortunes at.the Assyrian court 27 exactly the chronological order in which they 


1 Vendidad, i. 16; Yasna, xix. 18 ; cf. Marquardt, Evarahr, pp. 122 ff. 

* Strabo, 524 C. 

* Josephus, 4vzzg. xii. 4.6. Joseph had sought a /éa/son with a dancing-girl of the Egyptian Court and had only 
been saved from it by the crafty action of his brother Solymius, who substituted his own daughter. Possibly a covert 
reference to him is to be found in v. 14, ‘Semelias the great.’ 

‘ The date cannot be fixed definitely and many of the details are fictitious and self-contradictory, see Bevan, 7e 
House of Seleucus, vol. ii, Ὁ. 168, note 1; Schiirer, G/V, fourth edition, i. 183, 195 f.; ii. 99 f. To his credit, Joseph, 
too drunk at first to notice the deception, afterwards became attached to his niece, and a son, Hyrcanus, was born 
of the agnatic marriage. : 

5 $8, iv. 

δ Since the foregoing was written, Professor J. H. Moulton has very kindly pointed out to me that the com- 
paratively early date for which I have argued is supported by the fact that, while the book reflects many of the most 
significant points of ancient Magianism, 22 betrays no knowledge of the newer Zoroastrianism, much less of the still 
later fusion of those two mighty currents of Persian thought. The importance of this significant argument, for which 
I am entirely indebted to him, is self-evident in the light of the new and fuller information about Zoroastrianism 
contained in his Hibdert Lectures (see § 8, v, below). 

1 Miller, in spite of his theory that between the present Jewish work of Tobit and the ultimate sources stands 
a pagan Tobit, holds the view that the Jewish author or redactor lived in Palestine. How the Jewish writer living in 
Palestine could obtain the pagan original or, if it was well known in Palestine, dared to adapt it, retain the Jagax title, 
and yet publish it as a genuine autobiography of a seventh-century sazz¢, Miller does not explain. 

ὃ Even RY still insists that Rages was near Ecbatana. 


185 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 


appear in Zodit.! The author’s environment in Egypt fostered Magian presuppositions * and 
allusions which would be incredible in an author writing in an eastern land such as Persia or Media, 
where Semitic and Iranian elements first met in deadly antagonism,” and highly improbable in 
Palestine. It was in Egypt, too, that the Jews especially indulged in demonological speculations 
and practices. Moreover, while the fish, vi. 2 (1)-9 (8), primarily mythological and probably 
inspired by the details of 716 Grateful Dead, symbolizes’ the pagan empire endeavouring to seize 
what portions it could of the pious Diaspora, the fact, on the other hand, that its inner organs are 
subsequently employed for medicinal and magical purposes suggests that the author, perhaps 
unconsciously, identified it with the crocodile of the Nile, on the banks of which he lived. This 
conjecture is raised almost to certainty when we read in Kazwini i. 132 that the smell of the smoke 
of a crocodile’s liver cures epilepsy, and that its dung and gall cure leucoma, which was the cause 
of Tobit’s blindness.° Very similar statements as to the medicinal virtues of the crocodile occur in 
Greek and Latin writers.’ Again, the binding of Asmodeus in Upper Egypt, though mythological 
in its origin (viii. 3, cf. zo¢e ad doc.), expresses the author's conviction that Egypt, where he was 
compelled to live in exile, was the veritable dumping-ground of wickedness and sin, exactly as 
Zechariah regarded Babylon, the land of exile he knew best, whence some of his hearers had just 
returned and where exiles still lived, as the goal of the flying Ephah, wherein Wickedness was 
imprisoned, Zech. v. 5-11. Consequently our author excludes all unnecessary references to the 
specifically Egyptian life around him.’ His heroes are made to live out their lives in that distant 
part of the Diaspora, where Ahikar, like Nehemiah, had held important positions at court. The 
rustic simplicity and idyllic life of the patriarchs® fill in the details of the pictures. This, too, is 
the motive for the author’s careful substitution of Elymais in ii. 10 for Egypt, which appears in 
Ahikar as the country whither the sage journeyed to demonstrate his wisdom; he felt that Ahikar 
was too good and noble a Jew ever to have been domiciled in Egypt or compelled to participate in 
the deliberations of the Egyptian court.’ 

The writer does not, however, forget the practical needs of his readers. The present book, as 
already pointed out, was a reply to the tractate of the priests of Khons, and was designed to 
dissuade his co-religionists from apostasy, and convert if possible any pagan who might read it. 
It is still more pointed in its warning against marriages with non-Jews, and incidentally condemns 
imitation of the immorality and apostasy of Joseph, the son of another Tobias, an allusion not 
without point in Egypt, where the scandal had occurred. While the major portion of the Jews 
in Egypt were probably never deeply influenced by Greek Philosophy, and many of them remained 
unaffected by the rising tide of Hellenism,'® the writer, aware of these nascent dangers, makes the 
pertinent and emphatic statement of iv. 19. 

Lastly, our hypothesis illustrates and gives point to the author’s position with regard to 
sacrificial and legalistic religion. The fortunes and religious life of the Jewish exiles in Egypt were 


1 Gf. p: 191. 5. Chypaogits 

* The hypothesis of Media as the writer's home is, however, mest unlikely on other and independent grounds. 
It involves the following highly improbable suppositions: (i) that our author was a descendant of such of the 
ten tribes as were deported to Media in 722 B.c. (see 2 Kings xvii. 6); (ii) that the tribe or family to which 
our author belonged not only preserved the purer religion of Jahveh, but also by some inexplicable means advanced 
from that comparatively undeveloped faith to the fuller and richer Judaism of the early post-exilic period (see ὃ 10), 
along the lines laid down by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Deutero-Isaiah, and even knew almost immediately and accepted 
unreservedly the zewly-introduced Law Code of Ezra as well as the presupposition of Jerusalem’s unique sanctity, of 
which his forefathers had naturally known nothing: (iii) that the book, when written, by some equally inexplicable 
means not only found its way to Jerusalem in the pre-Christian period, but was received with applause by the — 
confessedly narrow-minded religious leaders of the post-exilic community ! 

* See Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, second edition, 1911, pp. 306 ff. 

° This symbolism need not have been based on that of the whale (= the Babylonian Empire) in Jonah, but may, 
like Jonah, have originated through an allegorical treatment of Jer. li. 34-6. 

° W. R. Smith, art. ‘Tobit’, in Excy. Brit. ? 

7 Maspero and Spiegelberg (see Budde, Das Hohelied, p. xvi f.) have shown the application of the term s7sfer to — 
a wife (Tobit v. 21 (20); vil. 15 (16); viii. 4, 7) was common in the old Egyptian songs. Our author, however, had 
no need to avoid the term on account of its Egyptian associations as it was also genuinely Hebrew: see Gen. xx. 12; 
Song of Songs iv. 9, 10, 12. 

8 See p. 192, footnote 7. 

* Or possibly in the version of Ahikar in use among his co-religionists in Egypt this motive had already eliminated 
the reference to Egypt. It is, therefore, probably more than a mere coincidence that, as Sachau (of. ci¢., p. xxii) points 
out, in the Aramaic papyri, which retail the history of Ahikar, ‘there is no trace of the Egyptian episode’. But see 
Ed. Meyer, Der Papyrus/und von Elephantine, 1912, pp. 11of. 

* Miller (of. cé¢., pp. 23 f.), however, seems to deny even the possibility of a single Jew resident in Egypt being 
unaffected by Hellenism in the pre-Maccabean period, the sole but ‘decisive’ argument, in his judgement, against 
Tobit’s composition in Egypt! And yet he himself (p. 20) sees in iy. 19 so clear and definite a refutation ‘of the 
well-known pre-Maccabean efforts in the direction of Hellenism and culture’ as to be able to use, and quite rightly, 
this as an argument in favour of a pre-Maccabean date for the book! 


186 


INTRODUCTION 


till lately almost unknown to us. But from the papyri we now know, for instance, that, even 
before the Exile, Jews had migrated to Egypt, become mercenaries in the Egyptian army, and 
formed a colony as a permanent garrison at Yeb, where they built a temple to Jahveh; that this 
temple survived the destruction of the Egyptian ones by Cambyses, but towards the close of 
the fifth century B.C. was destroyed at the instigation of the priests of Chnum, the ram-headed god 
of the island ; and that an appeal was made to Bagoas, the governor of Judaea. It is not clear, 
however, whether the temple was rebuilt or not. But two important inferences in connexion with 
the religious evolution of the Jews in Egypt at the time of this catastrophe seem to Sachau to be 
justified". On the one hand, neither Monotheism nor the Law had there undergone the full 
development which had resulted from Ezra’s establishment of Judaism and the Law some few years 
before at Jerusalem. On the other hand, even before the catastrophe, reforms in the interests of 
Judaism, as established at Jerusalem by the priestly school, may have been initiated at Yeb by a 
party powerful enough at any rate to enforce the principle, if not the details, of the High-priesthood 
and the imposition of a tax of two shekels of silver in imitation of Ezra and Nehemiah’s innovation2 
If it had been possible for his book to have been written so early, and if he had modelled his 
work on some tractate of Chnum instead of Khons, our author might well have been one of these 
pioneers of progressive, and therefore living, though legal, religion in Egypt. But teaching such 
as our author’s with regard to the duty of Egyptian Jews to the Law and the temple must have 
been needed still more in later days in that part of the Diaspora. A need of that kind must 
necessarily have produced efforts like the present one to inculcate such principles. This explains 
the purity of his moral outlook, the true spirituality of his religion, and the depth and reality 
of his adhesion, to the Law. His struggle in Egypt for religious expansion and broad-minded 
progressiveness, hand in hand with its practical application for the actual lives of his co-religionists, 
antedated a somewhat different fight in Palestine by only a few years. Because our author’s was 
less sharp than the latter, it left him without much of the rich theology the Hasidim’s plight 
evoked. But, because its objective was primarily the establishment of a progressive Judaism and 
only secondarily the preservation of religion against pagan encroachments and was still less in 
opposition to a Hellenizing liberalism, it left him fortunately without the Hasidim’s narrow 
bigotry. 
' ς ἶ $8. SOURCES. 

Popular religious and magical speculations, current mythology and demonology, ethical and 
moral maxims of his day, traditional folklore and romantic legend, all contributed their quota to 
the education of the author. They widened his outlook on life without vitiating the spirituality 
of his religion or the reality of his adhesion to Judaism. They endowed him with the culture 
necessary to a writer whose appeal was probably directed to the educated pagan as well as the 
enlightened Jew of the Diaspora in its early days. They did this without loosening his grip on his 
own countrymen’s practical difficulties of everyday life, and without stultifying the real usefulness 
of his literary work with the veneer of a superficial philosophy.’ But to the following four sources— 
partly literary, partly oral—he was especially indebted in writing the present work. 


i. Lhe Tractate of Khons. 


A copy of this tractate, designed for the propagation® of the cult of the Egyptian God 
Khons of Thebes, has been preserved on the Bentres Stele, which dates from about 500 B.c. In 
a town called chin (= Ecbatana?) there lived a princess possessed by a demon. ‘Khons, the 
beautifully resting one’, the God of Thebes, despatched ‘ Khons, the executor of plans’, to her 
assistance ; the demon was expelled and the princess was healed. It is probable that, conscious of 
the baneful tendency of this and similar propaganda of Egyptian paganism to encourage apostasy 


τ The line of argument pursued above is, of course, quite independent of Sayce’s deductions (‘The Jews and their 

Temple in Elephantine’) in the Eafositor, Nov., 1911. 

A long tax list containing more than a hundred names survives, while the personal names in the papyri belong 
on the whole to the type in vogue at Jerusalem in the later period. 
5. His high ideals for reunion with Jerusalem were in turn destined to receive a set-back, when in the time of 

_ Antiochus V Eupator (164-162 B.C.), Onias 1V went to Egypt and established the temple at Leontopolis ‘in the province 
of Heliopolis’ (Josephus, Azz. xii. 9. 7; xiii. 3. 2, and 10. 4; xx. 10; Bell. Jud. i. 1. 1; vii. το. 3). 

; 4 This would naturally commend the book to the notice of the authorities at Jerusalem. Moreover, the fact that 
the book is also an abridgement of the main features of Ahikar's history and maxims would win for it an enthusiastic, 
unanimous, and early reception in Palestine. Thus its wide acceptance there and elsewhere cannot be adduced as an 
objection to the hypothesis of its composition in Egypt. 

See jab 186: 
® Naville, Ze Old Egyptian Faith, 1909, p. 257, terms it ‘a puff advertisement for the God Khons’. On Khons, 
or Chunsu, see further, Wiedemann, art. ‘ Religion of Egypt’, in HDZ, Extra vol., p. 185. 
187 


THE BOOK OF JOB 


among his fellow exiles in Egypt, our author conceived the idea of writing a rival tractate to 
illustrate Jahveh’s sole sovereignty over supernatural as well as human beings, and His ability to 
protect and assist in dangers, sickness, and exile all who fulfilled his moral and ceremonial require- 
ments. H. Schneider! has endeavoured to prove that Yodz¢ is a direct ‘remodelling οἵ this 
tractate. The author seems at least dependent upon it for one place-name and for the ideas of 
demon-possession, supernatural assistance sent from afar to relieve the maiden of high position, the 
father’s unwillingness to allow the instruments of his daughter's deliverance to depart from his roof, 
his loading them with riches, if not also for the mention of Egypt in connexion with the expulsion 
of the demon. Such borrowing from a pagan source, with a view to disprove a pagan god’s 
pretensions by ascribing his attributes and work to Jahveh, is more than paralleled among the Jews 
in Babylon, e.g. by P’s use of the Babylonian Tablets of Creation in praise of Marduk in order to 
work up their contents into a dogmatic statement of Monotheism, of Jahveh s creation of the world, 
and of the duty of Sabbath observance in Gen. i-i. 4". But our author’s work is more complex 
than the Zractate of Khons in the weaving and working out of its plot, and richer in details, while 
he abandoned many of the detailed characteristics ? of the Egyptian story in favour of other sources 
equally well known to pagan and Jew, but less subversive of the Jewish Faith. 


ii. The fable of the Grateful Dead. 


It was more probably this cycle of stories—either written or oral—which provided the author 
with the major portion of the general outline of his story, infused the romantic interest, and furnished 
several of the most exciting crises in the plot—a fact denied by only a very few scholars.? The 
corpse of a debtor, the outline of the fable runs, was rescued from his murderers and buried at great 
personal self-sacrifice by a traveller or itinerant merchant, whom the dead man’s spirit, appearing 
in human form, afterwards delivered from mortal peril, bestowing on him a bride and rescuing him 
from death by drowning; the supernatural being only revealed his own identity at the end of the 
series of adventures to the surprise alike of the merchant and of the reader. Such legends might 
well be as widespread in antiquity as at the present day and would be speedily assimilated and 
conformed by the Jews to their own peculiar religious and aesthetic tendencies: finally only an 
artistic mind such as our author’s would be required to transform one or more of these fables into 
the Apocryphal story of Tobit. Simrock in his collection of seventeen variants of the fable,* was 
the first to point out their importance in relation to Zodz¢. Mostly indigenous in their present 
form to Germany, they have parallels in Holland, France, and Italy. Andersen’s Retsercamarad 
witnesses to the existence in Denmark of a recension closely akin to No. 10 in Simrock, while 
Cicero, De Divinatione, i. 27, proves that the kernel of the fable was already in existence in his day. 
Further parallels are given by Benfey in Pantschatantra and Pfeiffer’s Germania xii. Considerably 
closer parallels to 7odzt appear in the Armenian ὃ and Ry¥ssian ὅ forms of the fable. 

Though the parallels are numerous, there are a nugaber of significant differences both in 
outline and detail. The pertinent question is therefore raised by Schurer’ as to whether, quite 
apart from the uncertainty as to the antiquity of the fable, these differences are so vital as to make 
the hypothesis of our author’s dependence on the fable improbable. 

In the first place, however, it is likely that the primitive story from which all the modern 
forms of it are ex hypothesi derived, underwent considerable changes in outline as well as in detail 
between the date of our author’s use of it and the moment when these modern variants branched 
off from the main stock. Fortunately Simrock’s seventeen versions, though they all assumed their 
present literary form in one country and at the same time, themselves provide an excellent example 
of this peculiar adaptability of the fable to transformations and modifications.* 

Secondly, not a few of the important traits peculiar to 7odc¢ and contradictory of all the extant 
forms of the fable, are explicable as deliberate modifications by the author of Zoéct in conscious 
deference to his own aesthetic tendencies, his Jewish prejudices, his readers’ edification, or his 
desire at the moment to utilize some other source or copy some other pattern.® 


* Kultur und Denken der Babylonier und Juden, Leipzig, 1910, pp- 638 ἢ. 

2. See Naville’s description, of. cit., pp. 249-58. 

* e.g. Preiss, ZWT, 1885, pp. 24-51 (in reply to Linschmann) ; Geiger, Katholik, 1904, vol. i, pp. 367-77 (in reply 
to Plath), but accepted e.g. by Sepp., Kirchliche Reformentwiirfe, 1870, pp. 27-45, and Altbayerischer Sagenschatz, 
1876, pp. 678-89 ; Linschmann, ZA J, 1882, pp. 359-62; Cosquin, Revue Libligue, 1899, pp. 513-20; Plath, 7%. Stud. 
und Krit., 1901, pp. 402-14 (especially valuable) ; Joh. Miiller, Leihefte zur ZA TW, xiii, 1908, pp. 2-10. \Y 

* Published under the title Der gute Gerhard und die dankbaren Toten, Bonn, 1856. 
ce in Haxthausen’s 7vanskawkasia, 1856, i, pp. 333 f., reprinted in Pfeiffer’s Germania. iii, 1858, pp. 202 [ΠῚ \ 

y Konter. i ; 
ὁ Schiefner, Orient und Occident, ii, 186. 174 Ff. "Gis ili, p. : 
* See Plath, of. cz¢., pp. 404-6. eee See ee 
* The various differences are minutely traced to these causes by Plath, of. cét., pp. 4¢8-14. 


188 


a eae 


INTRODUCTION 


ili. Zhe story and wisdom of Ahikar. 


A. Antiquity of Ahikar.—G. Hoffmann” was the first scholar to point out the striking resem- 
blances between this work and our book. To-day its value as a primary source of a portion at 
least of Tobit, as well as the multiplicity of problems it raises on its own account and in relation to 
the Jewish colony at Yeb, is generally recognized. Still read in the Arabian Nights and Aesop's 
Fables, it was widespread in the ancient world. Quite apart from the numerous versions which 
survive, it has left an indelible impression on the literature and thought of the past. It was well 
known to the Greeks and Romans, and it has been argued that this is proved apart from its appear- 
ance in Aesop's Fables, by numerous parallels in the fragments of Menander,® 5. Clement of 
Alexandria’s reference + to its alleged use by Democritus,’ as well as by the statement of Diogenes 
Laertius (v. 30) that Theophrastes (371-264 B.C.) composed a work entitled ’Axiyapos, and the 
allusion of Strabo ° to ᾿Αχαΐκαρος. The use of Ahikar is unmistakable in the Qoran.?. The Talmud 8 
is not entirely free from its influence, and some Christian writers knew it at second hand.2 At the 
beginning of the Christian era Ahikar was still somewhat popular in Palestine: this much is clear 
from the New Testament.!° It is consequently by no means surprising that certain of the latter 
parts of the Old Testament itself are to some extent dependent upon Ahikar. Dr. Rendel Harris 
points out the parallels in thought and language between Ahikar, e.g. in Ps. exli. 4, 5, 10 (in both 
the Massoretic text and the LXX), in Dan. ii. 2, 11; iv. 10; v. 7, 16. Inthe case of Sirach, 
with which Tobit is intimately connected in sentiments and date (see iv. below), the dependence on 
Ahikar is beyond dispute.!! Thus before the beginning of the second century B.c.—how much 
earlier we cannot tell—Ahikar must have been reverenced in Palestine, and even regarded there 
as sacred if not actually inspired, and its vogue had declined considerably before New Testament 
times on account of its partial incorporation in Tobit. In Egypt, however, we have contemporary 
evidence from the Elephantine papyri'* that between the fifth and sixth centuries B.C. the Jewish 
community there read, in Aramaic, some portions at least both of the history (see p. 186, foot-note g) 
and of the parables and fables. Consequently Hoffmann’s supposition that an author later than 
Tobit wrote the legend to explain the references to Ahikar in Tobit, and Mr. E. H. Dillon’s that 


1 For the Greek, Armenian, Syriac, and Arabic texts, and an English translation of these, and of Jagié’s German 
rendering of the Slavonic, with an Introduction (including an examination of the relation of Zod¢¢ to AAzkar), see (in 
addition to vol. ii of this work) Zhe Story of Ahikar, Cambridge, 1898, by F. C. Conybeare, J. Rendel Harris, and 
Agnes Smith Lewis. More recent works are: Alter und Herkunft des Achikar-Romans und sein Verhaltnis zu Aesop, 
by Rudolph Smend, being the second part of Bethefte zur Ζ. ΤΊ, xiii, 1908 ; and Histotre et Sagesse a’ Ahikar 
? Assyrien, 1909, by F. Nau, containing a full history of the criticism of Ahikar, an up-to-date bibliography (especially 
with regard to works on the Syriac, Ethiopic, Slavonic, Roumanian, and Greek versions), with indispensable concor- 
dances of the relative order of the sayings and proverbs in the various versions ; Benfey, in Avs/and, 1859, pp. 457 ff., 
511 ff., demonstrated the existence of the legend among the Hindus. For further articles and works see below. 

2 Abhandlungen fiir Kunde des Morgenlands, vol. viii, 1880, p. 182 f. 3 Nau, of. cit., pp. 41-6. 

* Stromata, 1. 15, in Mzgne, p. 772; see H. Diels, /ragmente der Vorsokrattker, p. 439. 

® Rendel Harris, in vol. ii Story of Ahikar, Introd. ὃ 3a; Nau, of. cit., pp. 35-41. Sachau, however, confesses 
himself unable to find any connexion between the proverbs of Ahikar and those of Democritus, whether Democritus 
or a pseudo-Democritus, and attaches but little importance to the evidence quoted above. 

® XVI. ii. 39. The pertinence of this allusion remains unaffected whether παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Βυσπορηνοῖς is understood 
with Reinach (Revue des Etudes juives, xxxvili, 1899, pp. 1-13) as pointing to Borsippa in Babylonia, or with Halévy 
(Revue Sémitigue, 1900, p. 44) to Bostra in Syria. 

7 Especially in the 31st Sura entitled Lofmaz, Rendel Harris, of. cz/., Ixxiif. Nau, of. cit., pp. 68-70. 

8 Nau, of. cé¢., pp. (6 f.; cf. L. Ginzburg, art. ‘ Ahikar’, in Jew7sh -ncy., vol. 1, p. 289. 

ϑ e.g. S. Clement of Alexandria (referred to above). For Origen see Rendel Harris in 7he Story of Ahikar, 
Cambridge, 1898, p. xliv. 

10 While Vetter, Ginzburg, and Nau, in opposition to Dr. Harris and Halévy, may possibly seek unduly to minimize 
Ahikar’s influence upon the New Testament, the extent of the latter's immediate dependence upon the former is 
certainly exaggerated if passages such as Matt. iii. 10 (Luke iii. 9); Luke vil. 39; 1 Cor. 1. 27, v. 11; 2 Tim. iv. 17 be 
included. It may be presumptuous to inquire whether it was the History of Ahikar or Tobit’s reference to Ahikar 
which was present to the mind of our Lord when he uttered the parable of the Wicked Servant recorded in Q 
(especially Matt. xxiv. 48-51; Luke xii. 14, 15), and whether the Wisdom of Ahikar is the background of the parable 
of the Barren Fig-tree (Luke xiii. 6-9). The details, or at least the literary presentation, of the death of Judas may 
have been influenced quite as much by the book of Tobit as by the Story of Ahikar. The latter certainly moulded the 
thought of 2 Pet. ii. 22. But, in view of the extent of the evidence—afforded especially by the papyri and Sirach—of 
the popularity of Ahikar in early post-exilic days as compared with the paucity of definite evidence for its use the 
nearer the Christian era is approached, it may not be too bold to assume that Ahikar’s vogue had at least taken second 
place to Tobit before New Testament times (see p. 198 f.). This is not without importance in connexion with the 
questions of the date of the book, the integrity of the text, and the priority of R°. 

7.2. 32.534: ἡ Τῆι: Ὑἱ 7. TA. 24: νἱ1 25} 111, 1, 8. ΙΣ: 8 ἢ) 141; ΧΙΧ. 29; xxi. 20f.; xxvil. 17, 285 
Χχχ, 17; xli. 16, 27; xlii. 1, all demand careful examination in this connexion. 

15 See Eduard Sachau, Aramédische Papyrus und Ostraka aus Elephantine, 1911, Tafel, 40-50, and Arthur 
Ungnad, Avamaische Papyrus aus Elephantine, 1911, pp. 62-82. 

189 


THE BOOK OF sfORIE 


Ahikar, though earlier than Tobit, was only composed in the third century B.C., are Jinally dis- 
proved. The interpolatory hypotheses (see § 9) are seen to be almost as unjustified as Ginzburg’s 
scepticism as to the identity of the Ahikar of Tobit with the Ahikar of this legend or Plath’s 
doubts (of. ciz., p. 391) as to whether our author had written or only oral acquaintance with Ahikar. 

The further problems of Ahikar’s exact date and place of composition concern us in so far 
as it is of interest to discover whether or not this source of Tobit was written in some non-Semitic 
language and by an author of non-Jewish nationality and religion.?, The fact that the Assyrian 
kings are alluded to by name but in a somewhat impersonal and general manner, as well as the 
absence of all indications that the Assyrian empire was still in existence, points to a date of 
composition subsequent to 608 B.C. The proper names, on the other hand—even to some extent 
those in the latest forms of Ahikar—preserve their genuine Assyrian form to a greater extent than 
the same and similar words have done within the Old Testament Canon. The author is acquainted 
with official titles (e.g. 8°39, 83), which might have been no longer understood if the Assyrian 
empire had long since passed away, while the Persian names, even in the later strata, are very few. 
Still it is probable that even if the name Ahikar is a very ancient Babylonian one,® an author writ-— 
ing under Cyrus would borrow the name of a person famous for wisdom in the ancient days of 
Babylon. These considerations lead Sachau to suppose that it cannot have been composed earlier 
than the last decades of the Babylonian empire, and finally he decides that ‘in its present form 
the book of Ahikar may have been composed somewhere between 550-450 B.C.’.4 Its 
author would therefore be a contemporary of Deutero-Isaiah and Jonah. Though Halévy and 
Dr. Rendel Harris have endeavoured to show that on internal grounds the hypothesis of a 
Babylonian and pagan original cannot be maintained, in Bousset’s judgement ‘there can scarcely 
be any doubt as to the legend being heathen in origin’. Sachau finds nothing specifically Hebrew 
in the book of Ahilar and surmises ‘ that such a work, possibly resting on a more ancient Babylonian 
pattern, might perhaps have arisen in the circle of the priests of Nebo’, a cult which ‘was one of 
the most extensive in those days’ (of. c7¢., p. xxiii). Reinach, too, urged that the original author 
was a pagan, and the work, which was polytheistic ὃ with a mythological mo/¢z/,’ was translated and 
expurgated theologically and ethically by the Jews before our author’s use of it. Nor is it quite 
improbable that a polytheistic work of this kind composed in Babylon would so quickly find its 
way to Egypt and having so quickly lost its polytheistic tendency, become a sacred book of the 
Jews at Yeb. Thus the papyri may fail both to favour and to disprove the hypothesis of a Jewish 
not a pagan author. The fact that they are written in Aramaic equally fails to solve the problem 
of the rival claims of Hebrew and Aramaic to be the language of the original work. 

B. Alleged divergence in detail—The Aramaic papyri of Ahikar, in addition to the un- 
deniably complete proof they afford of the use of Ahikar among the Jews prior to the composi- 
tion of Tobit, are equally useful in removing at least one of the alleged differences between the 
references to Ahikar in Tobit and the history of Ahikar as it was formerly known to us only from 


1 The weakness of Hoffmann’s position was pointed out by G. Bickell in the Athenaeum, ii, 1890, p. 170. The 
priority of the composition of Ahikar to that of Tobit has also been maintained by Bruno Meissner (so far only as the 
end of the history is concerned) in Zeztschr. d. Morgeni. Gesellschaft, x\viii, 1894, pp. 171-97; by M. Lidzbarski (in 
reply to certain statements by Meissner) in the same magazine, pp. 671-5; by E. J. Dillon in the Contemporary 
Review, March, 1898, pp. 362-86; by E. Cosquin, Revue Bibligue, viii, 1899, p. 30 ff.; Th. Reinach, Revue des 
Etudes juives, xxxvili, 1899, pp. 1-13; J. Halévy, Revue Sémitigue, 1900, p. 23; by M. Plath in the 7heologische 
Studien und Kritiken, Gotha, 1901, pp. 377-414, as well as by Rendel Harris, of. ci¢., and in ‘The Double Text of 
Tobit’ in the American Journal of Theology, ii, pp. 541-54. 

* Nau (of. ci¢., p. 35) stands practically alone in his belief in the genuineness and authenticity of AZé£ar, though 
he admits that the story has undergone several redactions. 

* Ungnad and Ed. Meyer (Der Papyrusfund von Elephantine, 1912, p. 109) regard it as an Assyrio-Babylonian 
name Az jakar, ‘the brother is dear’, probably to be vocalized "PMS in ancient Aramaic. In Sachau’s estimation, 
too, the name Ahikar is Babylonian and belongs to a much more ancient period of Babylonian history than that of the 
later Babylonian or Persian empire (of. ci¢., p. xxiii). If it was pronounced Ahikar, it would be interpreted in 


. Ld 5 
Syriac ΤῊΝ EN ‘brother of honour’ (of. cz#., p. 148). It ‘belongs to the numerous western Semitic names which 
the Amorites of the First Dynasty of Babylon brought to Babylonia, and at this time is quite frequent’, Ed. Meyer, 
Der Papyrusfund von Elephantine, 1912, p. 119. 

* op. cit., p. xxii; cf. Ed. Meyer, of. cit, p. 107. 

_ ἢ Die Religion des Judentums, second edition, 1906, p. 565. Cf. the same writer in Beitrige sur Achikarlegende 
in ZATW, 1905, pp. 180-93. 

* €.g. in the Armenian version Ahikar’s prayer is addressed to the gods BelXim, Simil, and Samin. The various 
adaptations, versions, and MSS. naturally differ very considerably in details, and even in more important features of 
the legend. For example, the MS. B of the Syriac gives two invocations, one to the idols and one to the true God, 
whereas L and C record only the latter, and the Armenian version, with its usual retention of the earlier form of the 
legend, only the former. i 

7 Ahikar in the Armenian employs magic and astrology and has sixty wives and sixty palaces, corresponding to 
the sixty solar houses and the sixty degrees of the primitive division of the celestial phenomena. 

: 190 


INTRODUCTION 


the MSS. of the various versions. In the latter Ahikar lives in the reign of Sennaherib, who is 
represented as the son and successor of Esarhaddon, whereas in Tobit the inverse and correct 
order appears and the accuracy of RS is incidentally vindicated. Schiirer! has already pointed 
out that in the papyri? we read ‘the history of Ahikar under Sennaherib and Esarhaddon in this 
correct sequence, not the reverse as in our MSS,’ of Ahikar. The papyri, moreover, present in 
~ general an earlier form of the text than even those versions and redactions of Ahikar in which the 
hero is an idolater and only worships the true God when the idols fail to hear him. Still the 
presentation of Ahikar in our book as a Jew and a nephew of Tobit, may be due to our author’s 
desire to enhance the fame of Tobit by making so famous a man his relative (Smend, p. 63). The 
same motive probably dictated the description of Ahikar as a friend and benefactor of Tobit, 
though in his own legend Ahikar appears simply as a shrewd man. In Ahikar the hero is delivered 
- from prison because he is righteous ; in Tobit because he has done alms (Tobit xiv. 10). Doubtless, 
even if Dr. Rendel Harris’s arguments* with regard to the Syriac in this connexion do not 
entirely commend themselves to all scholars, the transition from the idea of righteousness to that 
of almsgiving was easy if not unconscious in view of the widespread expression of the two ideas by 
one Hebrew word (ap ys) at the time when Tobit was written. For the true explanation of the 
transformation of Ahikar’s journey to Egypt into one to Elymais (Tobit ii. 10) see p. 186 and note 
ad loc. 

C. Lxtent of dependence—(1) He borrowed directly from the history of Ahikar in i. 21 f.; ii. 10; 
xi. 18; xiv. 10. 15.6 The principal textual divergences and corruptions in the tradition of the 
proper names are referred to elsewhere (see notes ad loc). Nau (of. cét. p. 11) gives the following 
table of consanguinity as that presupposed by these references. 


TOBIEL 

| 
Anaél Tobit = Anne 
| | 
Tobias 
Ahikar = Esfagni Ahikar’s sister 
| 

Nadan Nabouzardan. 


In iv. to ‘suffereth not to come into darkness’ is a pertinent reference to Ahilkar’s unhappy 
plight in prison and Nadan’s ultimate fate mentioned more clearly in xiv. 10; it is still more 
generalized in Sir. xxix. 12. Especially noteworthy is the juxtaposition of the terms Assyria and 
Nineveh in the earliest recension of Tobit in xiv. 4 as well as in xiv. 15, proving conclusively the 
immediate dependence of Tobit upon the legend of Ahikar where this curious double description of 
the empire is used.6 It would appear that the legend lay before him in a written form. 

(2) The legend of Ahikar seems to have supplied our author with several literary and structural 
models. With the title i. 1. cf. the Syriac C ‘I write the proverbs, to wit, the story of Ahikar’ 
and the Armenian ‘the maxims and wisdom of Khikar’. As far as iii. 67 our author followed the 
example set him by Ahikar of representing the hero as recounting his own history. Tobit, too, 
like Ahikar, gives a brief summary of his previous fortunes (i. 3 ff.). Moreover, in addressing two 
series of exhortations to his son (iv. 3 ff., xiv. 3 ff.) and two prayers to God (iii. 2 ff., xiii) he is surely 
imitating the legend of Ahikar, which, though the details are different, is constructed according to 
this plan. 

(3) Our author has assimilated a not inconsiderable amount of Ahilkar’s parenetic sections. 
The prologue (Tobit iv. 5) and the epilogue (iv. 19) to the ‘teaching’ of Tobit find their prototype 
in the prologue in the Syriac to Ahikar’s teaching: ‘ My son, listen to my speech, follow my opinion, 
and keep my words in remembrance’, and in the Arabic, ‘O my son, hear my speech and follow 
my advice and remember what I say’, and in the epilogue to the same in the Armenian, ‘Son, 
receive into thy mind my precepts, and forget them not’. As iv. 12 finds a place within ¢h7s 


1 G/V, fourth edition, 1909, vol. iii, p. 253. 

? e.g. Papyrus 49, Tafel 40, lines 3-5, 15 ; Papyrus 50, line 11, in Sachau, of. cé¢. 

3. Camb. ed., pp. xlviii-l, Ixxxii-Ixxxvi. Cf. Nau, of. cit., p. 59, footnote 2. 

4 See Rendel Harris, of. cit., xlixf.; A.J.7h., p. 548; cf. the various readings in Matt. vi. 1, and the modern 
charity as opposed to the original meaning of εαγίζας. 

ὃ e.g. in Syriac text on pp. 58, 67 (47s), 69 (ds), &c., of the Camb. ed. 

® e.g. in Syriac text on pp. 58, 67 (67s), 69 (d7s), &c., of the Camb. ed. 

7 Where he was compelled to abandon the direct narration, see p. 195. 


1g 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 


‘teaching’, so the same thought appears in the same discourse of Ahikar.1 With iv. 15 cf 
App. ii. τοῦ; with iv. 18 cf. Camb. ed., p. 61, No. 12 (iii. 16 in Nau). In the case of several! other 
verses in ch. iv a less verbal dependence on Ahikar can be established as the latter appears, for — 
instance, on pp. 60-6 of the Cambridge Ahikar. With 14b, 16, 18 cf. Nos. 9, 11, 12, 43, 733; with 
5 cf. Nos. 20, 39, 60. Moreover, azless immediate dependence on Alukar is presupposed, a few 
obscure passages cannot be elucidated. Of this iv. 17 (see note ad loc.) is an excellent example. , 
Its meaning and phrasing are clear when read in conjunction with Ahikar's, My son, pour out thy — 
wine on the graves of the righteous, and drink it not with evil men 2 Again, in iv. 14b the precept 
to be πεπαιδευμένος ὃ finds its original context in Sachau’s Aramaic Papyrus 53 (Tafel 44) line 2. Ὁ 
Papbsna xmas owny ‘apn tym t x12 = ‘the son who is trained and disciplined and at whose 
feet... is laid’. The importance Tobit attaches to the burial of the dead (e.g. i. 20, 11. 3-9, 
iv. 3, 5. xiv. 12) also finds a prototype in Ahikar.° Finally, as Ahikar orders his last discourses 
to Nadan to be written down, so Raphael bids Tobit write the record of his acts and maxims 
(xii. 20). 
iv. The Old Testament and Apocrypha. 


The author, as a devout Jew, was naturally well versed in the sacred writings of his own people 
and religion. They served as a source of the truest inspiration—historical, literary, and religious— 
and as a standard of orthodoxy by which he might test and repudiate all that was essendzally alien 
to Judaism as he wrote this tractate, which, as shown above, was parallel but in opposition to that — 
propagated by the priests of the god Khons, not uninfluenced by echoes of Zoroastrianism and 
dependent upon the pagan fable of Te Grateful Dead and upon Afzkar, which at the best was not 
specifically Jewish or deeply religious. 

His style, phraseology, religious conceptions, and moral advice are fundamentally influenced 
by the Pentateuchal narratives and legislation in all their various strata.° The literary affinities 
with Genesis are of more than passing interest, for they illustrate the peculiar indebtedness of the 
author to that book. It was the source from which he derived not only his idea of writing a new 
patriarchal history, but also the materials with which he paints with consummate art the more 
important scenes.’ Above all, the author was most deeply influenced by the fact that in Genesis 
‘there are more references to the duty of burial of the dead than in any other Scriptural book’8 
Gen. xlvii. 49 is decisive, where Rashi, following the Midrash Rabda, annotates ‘the kindness that 
a man shows the dead is Aéndness of truth for the doer has no hope of (receiving) a reward (from 
the corpse)’. Accordingly, the somewhat frequent references to the burial of the dead are properly 
and fully explained not only by the influence exerted upon the author by Ze Grateful Dead and 
the parallels in Ahikar, but also by his close dependence upon Genesis, resulting in his belief that 
he could thus best inculcate disinterested charity such as Providence only can reward. 

For his knowledge of the periods and scenery which he chose as the background of his story 
and his vaticiniam post eventum he was dependent upon the historical books of the O.T. 


' Camb. ed., p.60, No.6; in Nau’s translation, iii. 9. 

2 Cf. Camb. ed., p. 61, No. 10; in Nau, iii. 13. The Arabic texts agree with the Syriac’s retention of ‘on the 
graves of the righteous’, which is omitted by the Armenian. 

’ By Lévi wrongly supposed to prove dependence on Sirach; see p. 193, footnote 3, zfra. ; 

* Possibly to be punctuated IDA} (Sachau) or BA}, instead of the more regular 15%}, for which it may be 
a scribal error or a passive with assimilated ἢ. Ungnad compares the Arabic z¢¢asada for wéasa/a, and the Assyrian 
ittasab for zwtasab. Put in any case it is 1D° in Hebrew. 

° e.g. Camb. ed., pp. 69, 71 ; chs. ix. 6, xiv, in Nau. : 

_ ὃ viz. (a) JE in i. 22 (Gen. xli. 4o, 42); 111. 6 (Num. xi. 15) ; iii. 10 (Gen. xlii. 38 ; xliv. 31); v. 17 (16) (Gen. xxiv. 7) ; 
vi. 2 (1) (Z7g7zs, Gen. 11. 14); vii. 4 (Gen. xiii. 27f.); vii. 11, 12 (11, 12, 13) (Gen. xxiv. 33, 59; and v. 60 is more 
closely imitated in RY in which a point of contact with Gen. xxix. 27 is also introduced in xii. I (xi. 19) ; viii. 6 (Gen. 
ii. 7, 18, 22); xi. 9 (Gen. xlvi, 29 f.); (Gen. xxix. 27) ; xiii. 12 (Gen. xii. 3, xxvii. 29) ; xili. 12 (Num. xxiv. 9). (6) The 
Code of the Covenant in i. 6 (Exod. xxii. 29); and J.’s counterpart in ii. 1 (Exod. xxxiv. 22); while an approximation 
to the code itself (1 χοά. xx. 12) was introduced by RY in iv. 3. (c) D.’s legislative kernel in i. 6-8 (Deut. xii. 6, xvill. 4, 
Xvi. 16, xiv. 25-9) ; il, 13 (Deut. xxii. 1); iv. 7 (Deut. xv. 7, 8) ; the parenetic prefixes in iv. 5 (Deut. viii. 11); xiv. 8 (9) 
(Deut. iv. 40); the hortatory additions in iii. 4 (Deut. xxvili. 37); xiii. 5 (Deut. xxx. 3); and the song of Moses in 
xill. 2 (Deut. xxxil. 39). (@) H. in i. 3 (Lev. xxv. 35); iv. 14 (Lev. xix. 13). (e) P. in i. 7 (Num. xviii. 21); 1. 9 (Num: 
xxxvi. 6, 7) ; 1. 21 (Gen. vill. 4): ii. 9 (Num. xix. 11); v. 18 (17) (Num. xxvii. 17); vi. 13 (12) (Num. xxvii. 8, xxxvi. 8, 
xv. 30f.); vil. 12 (13) (Num. xxxvi. 6) ; vill. 21 (Num. xxvii. 8); xii. 10 (Num. xvi. 38). 

7 e.g. Tobit calls Tobias to hear, as it seemed to him, his last injunctions in ch. iv, and his grandchildren in 
ch. xiv, Just as Jacob had done (Gen. xlix); Raphael performs the part angels played in the lives of the Patriarchs, 
and like them returns to heaven when his work is accomplished. Again, the story of Joseph and his Egyptian wife 
encouraged a romantic treatment, lending colour and interest to the inculcation of purely Jewish marriage, and even, 
by way of antithesis, suggesting agnatic ones, such as non-canonical writings attributed to the earlier patriarchs; the 
journey culminating in the discovery of a wife for Tobias has its counterpart in the journey of Eliezer to find in Rebecca 


a wife for Isaac, as RY recognized and therefore made the author’s reference more explicit in vii. 1. 
8 J, Abrahams, /QA, 1898, vol. i, p. 348. 


192 


EE δὲ ee eee 


INTRODUCTION 


It would be, however, an injustice to our author if we were to suppose that, while he knew the 
historical books well in the uncritical manner of his age and knew the minutiae of the legal system, 
he did not study the non-legalistic and prophetic writings in existence in his time.! 

With some of the latest books of the O.T. not yet in existence, e.g. Daniel, many Maccabean 
Psalms, late portions of Proverbs, and other books or sections only composed after his time, he was 
necessarily unacquainted. 

The question of Tobit’s dependence upon Sirach cannot be dismissed so summarily. If literary 
dependence upon the Greek of Sirach were properly and thoroughly substantiated, it might seriously 
complicate or facilitate the solution of the problem of the date of Tobit’s composition. In Fuller’s 
judgement ‘the general impression will probably be that Tobit is more precise and definite than 
Ecclesiasticus ; and this would indicate that of the two Ecclesiasticus is the older book’, but he 
does not deduce from this that Tobit exhibits any literary dependence upon any form of the text 
of Sirach. Israél Lévi,? however, has endeavoured to produce evidence from the text not only 
of our author’s similarity of expression, but also of his use and misunderstanding of the text of 
Sirach. Granted Lévi were correct—and well-authenticated misreadings of the text would be 
a strong confirmation—it would be possible to fix exactly the date of Tobit. The evidence in 
favour of the pre-Maccabean date would not be weakened, for his arguments are based on supposed 
misreadings, not of the Greek translation of Sirach (c. 132 B.C.), but of the Hebrew original 
(c. 190-180 B.C.) ; Tobit must, then, have been written between 190-170 B.C. Lévi, however, brings 
forward only two passages in confirmation of this theory of textual dependence and misunderstanding, 
and in neither case can his reasoning be pronounced sound or his conclusions be accepted.’ More- 
over, if the parallels appear ‘more precise and definite’ (Fuller) in Tobit than in Sirach, it is just 
because in the former they present themselves in more of the original freshness of their ultimate 
sources. 

ve Magan Influences. 


It cannot any longer be alleged either that the author was influenced by the Zoroastrian 
religious system, or that he necessarily borrowed, as has been argued by W. R. Smith* and 
Prof. J. H. Moulton, from z7z¢¢ex Iranian sources, and lived in Media to do so, as Prof. J. H. Moulton 
formerly ὃ suggested.® 

For a complete refutation of the supposition of his indebtedness to Zoroaster we are indebted 
to Professor J. H. Moulton’s recent researches.’ /¢ was non-Zoroastrian Magianism which influenced 
the author of Tobit. There are numerous parallels between Tobit and ‘ the most important factors in 
Magianism as distinguished from the other strata in complete Avestan Parsaism’. Professor Moulten, 
for instance, points out the parallels in the use made of the fish’s heart, the stress laid on burial, the 
consanguineous marriages, the unnecessary appearance of the dog, and the demon Asmodeus, whose 
name finds its exact counterpart in the later Avestan AZSma dacva. On the other hand, the absence 
of any eschatology in Tobit would be inexplicable if the author had been acquainted with the 
system of Zarathushtra, who ‘enlarged and enhanced’ the eschatology of ‘the earliest Iranian 
stratum ’, writes Professor Moulton, ‘till it becamethe very centre of the Religion’. Again, the seven 
angels of Tobit xii. 15 need not point back to the Amesha Spenta, since the latter in Zoroaster’s 
own system were six. The later substitution of seve was probably under Semitic influence ; and of 
the two alternative additions, that of the Deity is expressly excluded by the text of Tobit /c., while 
that of Sraosha has’no claim to antiquity. 


1 He quotes Amos viii. 10 ἴῃ ii. 5. His text may be reminiscent of Amos v. 15 and Jonah iii. 9 in xiii. 6; of Mic. iv. 2, 
Zech. viii. 22 in xiii. 112; of Mic. ii. 3 in xiv. 4 (see note ad Joc.) ; of Isa. ii. 18 (cf. Mic. v. 13) in xiv. 6; of the Trito- 
Isaiah in i. 16 (cf. Isa. Iviii. 7), in xiii. ,11 (cf. Isa. Ix. 6-10), 14 (Isa. Ixvi. 10), 16 (Isa. liv. 11). He appeals to Nahum 
for the verification of his vaticinium post eventum in xiv. 4 (cf. Nahum iii. 7 for its fulfilment in xiv. 15). He utilizes 
pce. ii. 3 in xiv. 5. He bases his description of the glorious future on prophetic passages such as Jer. xxxi. I-14; 
+4, 5. : ; 

* Revue des Etudes juives, vol. xliv, No. 88, April-June, 1902. 

5 In the case of Tobit iv. 3 and Sir. ili. 12, it is noteworthy that (1) ΖΝ) twice, but AYY never, in LXX is thus 
translated ; (2) ὑπερίδης would not naturally represent either in this connexion; (3) RY, which Lévi follows, is certainly 
inferior to RS here. In the case of Sir. xxxi. 19, (1) according to Strack [22 not j)33 is correct, (2) πεπαιδευμένος in 
Tobit iv. 14 is a reminiscence of Ahikar (cf. p. 192 supra). 

* Encyc. Brit2, art. ‘Tobit’. 

5. ‘The Iranian Background of Tobit’, published in the Lxfos. Times, vol. xi, pp. 257-60. 

δ᾽ Cf. supra, p. 186, footnote 3. : é 

τ Hibbert Lectures (New Series), 1912, delivered in Manchester College, Oxford, and in the University of London. 
His Excursus, Magianism and the Book of Tobit, attached to Lecture II, containing an interesting conjectural restora- 
tion of a supposed Magian archetype of our book, entirely supersedes his earlier essay in the Lxfos. Times. | am 
indebted to Professor Moulton for allowing me to read and make several quotations from this Excursus before its 
publication. 

1105 193 μ 


THE BOOK OF. TOBIT 


It was in Egypt, and practically in Egypt alone,’ that an author such as ours could have made 
the use he has of those ‘ most important factors in Magianism’. The recent discoveries of papyri 
in Egypt 2 have thrown new light upon the conditions of the Jews there. The Jews in Egypt would 
look with the less suspicion upon Persian ideas and customs inasmuch as the Persian empire, under 
Cambyses, had spared their temple on the island of Elephantine. Many of the worshippers at that 


shrine had once been mercenaries in the employ of the Egyptian military authorities. Inthecourse 


of time Persian officers had been appointed over them, Persian soldiers quartered in Syene, and, towards 
the end of the fifth century B.C., a Persian, by name Vidarna, had been in command of the entire 
garrison of the southern border. The descendants of these Jewish soldiers became military colonists, 
farmers, and ordinary burghers. But their environment for long remained partly Persian, for 
business was transacted with Persian weights and measures, and dates were reckoned according to 
the reigns of the various Persian kings. Thus we have a glimpse into the life of the Jew in Egypt, 
for the general conditions were probably much the same throughout the country, In some such 
environment the author of Tobit lived.* \ Possibly he knew but little of Magianism as a system of 
thought—in this book he is certainly not waging a polemic against it* or against Zoroastrianism— 
but was fairly well acquainted with the popular stories and legends Persians—soldiers and others— 
had introduced into the circles in which he moved. In our story, for instance, prefaced as it is by 
ἃ reference to the careful burial of the dead, which is further inculcated in the body of the narrative, 
the surprising references® to the dog as the companion of the wayfarers (vi. 2 (1), xi. 5) may well 
be due to a confused recollection of fables originally of Magian tendency,® which emphasized, like the 
Vendidad, the importance of properly building ‘the tower of silence’ for the dead, and recorded 
Parsi funerals in which ‘a dog (with certain spots) is brought in to look at the corpse and so exorcise 
the Vas’. But the dog is no longer a companion of Tobit and a participant in the funeral rites ; 
he simply accompanies the travellers. Similarly, the consanguineous marriages only form a sub- 
sidiary part of his argument and the particular form and motive of their introduction, as already 
shown, are determined by other considerations. So too the name Asmodeus comes ultimately from 
Media but the meaning of the name cannot be pressed 


δ. INTEGRITY. 


The integrity, unity and originality of the book as a whole have not remained unchallenged. 
As early as A. Ὁ. 1800 Ilgen endeavoured to prove that while i. 1-iii. 6 was written by Tobit himself 
(c. 689 B.C.) in Assyria, iii. 7—-xii. 22 were not composed till c. 280 B.C. in Palestine, and xiii was only 
inserted c. 10 B.C. But the book is characterized throughout by a unity of purpose well conceived _ 
in its plan and natural and simple in its development, the work in short of a single author of more 
than average taste and ability. In spite, however, of Plath’s unanswerable demonstration—with one 
possible exception—of the integrity of the book, the allusions to Ahikar as well as the didactic 
sections (especially iv, xii), the superficial contradictions, the use of the first person in i. 1-iii.6 and the 
supposed irrelevancy of portions of xiv have been utilized, in the most radical manner by Erbt, to 
prove that 7odt in its present form is the result of a lengthy process of accretion, elaboration and 
chance conglomeration, and that a number of interpolations must first be removed and certain further 
redactional features (inserted, according to Erbt, as late as the second century A.D.) must be discarded 
before it is possible to make a conjectural reconstruction of the original story such as he himself 
attempts. Others, less radical than Erbt, find difficulties in only one or two of the following problems. 

Allusions to Ahikar's history. Are these original? The discovery at Elephantine of A/zkar 
papyri earlier than 400 B.c. has removed the a priori objection that A/zkar is later than Tobit. 
On the contrary, if our author wrote in Egypt where Ahkikar was so popular, even supposing it was 
not elsewhere quite so well known a legend as R. Harris, Cosquin and others suppose, he might even 


? See above, p. 186, footnote 3. * See especially Eduard Sachau, of. εἶδ, pp. xili-xxvil. 

* With Professor J. H. Moulton’s permission I quote the following extract from one of his letters to me on the 
subject: ‘My earlier suggestion that the Jewish adaptation of a Median folk-story was actually made in Media by 
a Jew living there is not in the least necessary to my theory. Provided that a Jew in Egypt or elsewhere was able to 
get hold of this story, in oral or written form, all that I postulate is fully met. Indeed, your theory that Persian 
soldiers of Cambyses may have brought the story into Egypt suits admirably my argument that Zoroaster’s Reform 
oe not ee into the religion of the Achaemenian Kings before Darius, and it was a good deal later that it reached 

e people. 

* As Kohut, dating the work in the third century A.D., has argued. 

5 See p. 195 for their genuineness. 

5 Erbt (Z4, col. 5128), however, traces the dog not to Zoroastrian influence, but to ‘one of the variations of the 
tales of the spirit’ of Ze Grateful Dead which occasionally appears in animal form. Rosenmann refers it to the 


influence of Greek customs and literature, e.g. the Homeric poems (Odys. xvii. 29 ff., where the dog plays a similar 
role), which he thinks were not unknown to the Jews. 


194 


INTRODUCTION 


be expected to introduce some references to the fortunes of that hero and sage, especially in view of 
the non-Jewish background and models of his work and of the great use he has made of Ahikar’s 
wisdom. But i.21f.; ii. 10; xi. 18; xiv. 10, are all rejected by Erbt, Riggs, Miiller, Smend, Toy. 
xiv. Io, however, is certainly essential to the climax of the author’s argument since it serves as 
a celebrated example of his dictum that divine justice always triumphs. That much is admitted by 
Reinach, who, unlike Ilgen, regards all the other allusions as spurious and supposes that the story of 
Ahikar was originally a Babylonian solar myth of essentially polytheistic colouring. Moreover, Miiller 
and Smend, who like Ilgen, and in opposition to Reinach, find most difficulty in xiv. 10, admit that all 
the passages, though interpolations, were very early accretions to the text, in fact pre-Christian. It 
is only the earliest versions and recensions which preserve the tradition, the later ones tending more 
and more to misunderstand, confuse or omit the names. Thus R° is clearest (as Erbt acknowledges 
more than once); RY has partly lost the point of the references, conjectured Haman and preserved 
a somewhat corrupt text; dv M. omitted it altogether; S has suffered textual corruption; F has 
conjectured Aaron. BD, avowedly useless for textual criticism, so far supports the interpolatory theory 
(except in xi. 20 1) that Erbt yields to the temptation to gain support for his hypothesis by entering 
a special plea on behalf of Jerome’s superiority to the uncials in this particular! 

The Didactic Sections. Erbt and Riggs, consistently with their rejection of the allusions to the 
history of Ahilsar, endeavour to set aside also the allusions to the z7zsdom of Ahikar, particularly 
iv.6b-19a. Toy holds that both iv and xii are the insertions of the late editor. But δ΄ 5 omission 
of iv. 6b-19a, to which Erbt appeals, does not support the interpolatory hypothesis (see note 
ad loc.). Moreover, the parenetic contents of these verses, to which Erbt demurs as unsuitable to 
and disturbing the context, are justified by the situation—Tobit believes himself to be dying and 
desires to communicate to his son the wisdom he himself has acquired that it may help Tobias on his 
journey to Media and throughout his life. Verses 12 and 13 have special reference to the immediate 
problems of that journey, and are therefore carefully marked off from the rest by a freer rhythm. 

The Dog. That the references to this animal as the companion of the wayfarers were made 
by the author, not by an interpolator, is attested not simply by their presence in RS, but also from 
their vicissitudes in the various recensions and versions. vi. 2 (1) is possibly the allusion to which 
suspicion might most easily attach itself, for RY omitted it. He did so, however, simply because the 
sentence seemed tautologous. He introduces it without prejudice in v.17 (16) and xi. 4. In the 
latter case an original ky (= κύων) preserved in 3.8 version of R* has accidentally become 
ks (= Κύριος) in δ, whereas Semitic prejudice and Jewish legalism reasserted itself in Av. followed 
by M, though in F the ancient tradition returned. That RY copied from RS and not R$ from RY is 
shown conclusively in xi. 4, where the former retained the συνῆλθεν, though he omitted its comple- 
ment αὐτοῖς. Β΄“ removed the clause back to 11* (?), made the dog run defore the party (cf e¢ guasi 
nuntius adveniens ἘΠ), and reintroduced him, v. 9, where blandimento suae caudae gaudebat was added 
inv. Were Lohr? right in regarding τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτῆς of δὰ as a corrupt anticipatory dittography from 
v. 5 and in reading αὐτῶν for αὐτοῦ καί, RS would still be prior to RY. But even if RY were the 
earlier, the dog could only be the work of the author, not an interpolator. 

Internal Contradictions and Signs of Non-unity. (1) In the Introduction (i. 3-iii. 17) and 
Conclusion certain difficulties of this nature have led to the denial of the originality or genuineness 
of these sections either as a whole or in part. The change, however, from the narration in the first 
person in i. I-iii. 6 to that in the third in the subsequent chapters is not inexplicable. It was 
necessitated by the summary of Sarah’s previous history (iii. 7-15) and the author’s desire to paint 
in his own inimitable manner the contrast between the reader on the one hand, who has been 
initiated into the intentions of the merciful Providence (iii. 16 f.), and the heroes of the story on the 
other hand, who can only ‘walk by faith’. The author has lessened the harshness of the transition 
by the insertion of Tobit’s preparatory prayer (iii. 1-6). Moreover, Plath quite pertinently* points 
to similar alternations of third and first persons in the Aramaic Azar and the Acts of the Apostles. 
Again, if i. 6 seems to contradict i. 14 it is only because ‘the individual interest is stronger than the 
interest in the harmony of the parts’ (Plath), while the contradictions between i. 20 and ii. I f. are 
merely superficial. Nor is there any internal contradiction in either R$ or RY as to the duration of 
Tobit’s blindness. Finally, the style of xiv is in no way different from that of the preceding 
chapters, and its thought and contents (including v. 10) are sufficiently akin to the rest of the book 
to allow of its originality, unless indeed @ priori presuppositions of the way in which the book should 
end are allowed undue weight. From the fact that two proper names of an Aramaic form (xtv. 10) 


. 1 Dr. Marshall regards this as an interpolation. 
2 ZATW, xx, p. 258. 
* In spite of Erbt’s strictures, £2, col. 5117. 
4 The two years of ii. 1o appearing in καὶ" not in RY, and the eight years of xiv. 2 in RY not R*. 
195 O02 


THE, BOOK Or, fOnin 


point to an Aramaic original, it cannot be logically argued, as is done in the Lucy. Brit.™, that the 
chapter is /a¢er than the rest of the book! True, Av. and M betray no knowledge of it, but that is due 
to intentional and conscious omission in their common ancestor, the purpose of which is as clear as_ 
their dogmatic modifications of ch. xiii. ἢ ᾿ ; ἱ 
(2) In the central portion of the book. The inconsistency of vi. 17 (16) and v. 13 (12) is due to 

Raphael’s increasing anxiety for the consummation of the marriage in reaction from Tobit’s dis- — 
inclination to espouse Sarah. Miiller, who supposes that the exorcism of the demon by prayer 
(viii, 4-8) is a later feature of the story than that by magic, has examined the alleged contradictions — 
involved in the various references to the fatal results of Sarah’s previous espousals. If Raguel had 

acted illegally in giving his daughter successively to seven men on whom he had no right to bestow 
her, Raguel himself should have paid the penalty, vi. 13 (12), whereas Raguel himself survived, but 
the seven were slain in satisfaction not of Jahveh’s just wrath but of a demon’s lust. Raguel anticipated 
that the same fate awaited Tobias, though he was confessedly the preordained husband for Sarah. 


Raphael, like Tobias, foresaw danger only to Tobias, not to Raguel, since if the latter alone had a 


been expected to suffer, Sarah and Tobias would have escaped and inherited Raguel’s fortune at 


once. These inconsistencies after all are only superficial and result from the author’s attempt—on 


the whole admirably carried out—to utilize demon-possession, like other ideas he had derived from his 


sources, in order to inculcate the importance of obeying the law and preserving the purity of Jewish 


marriages. It is in this connexion, however, that Miiller? discusses another problem which has 
a more serious bearing upon the purpose and date of the book (see pp. 183 f.) as well as upon its 
integrity. In iii. 17 Sarah states that her father has no near relative whose offspring she is bound 
to marry, but in vii. 2-9 her parents have not forgotten Tobit’s existence. Tobit has no pre- 
monition of the happy duty of marrying his relative Sarah in store for Tobias, contenting himself 
with the general statement of iv. 12, whereas in vi. 10 (g)-18 (17) Raphael is aware not only of the 
relationship but of Sarah’s legal obligations to marry Tobias, and the latter shows no surprise, if he 
is not in fact already as well aware of it as Raphael, and only shrinks from the dangers it involves 
to his own person. There is the further difficulty that, in spite of vi. 13 (12), vii. 12 (13), Holy Writ 
nowhere commands ‘agnatic’ marriages, i.e. marriages within the particular family or tribe of the 
contracting parties as opposed to inter-tribal unions. The case is not covered by Num. xxvii. I-11, 
xxxvi, which at the best was only theoretical and dealt only with the case of heiresses owning 
landed property in Palestine. Even Tobit’s reference to the patriarch’s action (iv. 12) rests not upon 
Genesis but on traditions in vogue in the earlier post-exilic period such as Fubilees has preserved. 
Miiller therefore supposes—and it is an exceedingly happy supposition—that the author sought 
to inculcate not tribal as opposed to inter-tribal, but Fewish as opposed to Fewish-pagan 
marriages. Sarah’s seven former husbands were slain because they were pagans, but Tobias 
had a right superior to that of any other possible suitor at the moment, because he was the 
only Jew in the neighbourhood. Thus ἀδελφός in this book properly means a brother Jew, ἀδελφή 
=a term of endearment for the only legal wife a Jew may have, i.e. a Jewess,” vii. 15 (16), viii. 4, 
γένος = kindred, not in the narrower sense of tribal relationship but with the wider connotation of 
the Jewish nation, e.g. in i. 17, twa τῶν ἐκ τοῦ ἔθνους μου can only be intended as a synonym for, 
not as an antithesis to, rots ἐκ τοῦ γένους μου in v.16. The example of the patriarchs is quoted iniv.12 — 
not to inculcate their marriage with near relatives as such, but to exemplify by the fact that their 
wives were near relatives how careful to avoid marriage with non-Jewesses were these patriarchs, the 
‘fathers of old time’ (iv. 12) of the whole Hebrew race. Attractive as Miiller’s theory is, and though 
successfully explaining the apparent contradictions of the story, it is not entirely supported by any 
version or recension. Miiller falls back on an eclectic text, the result of the rejection of all readings 
of R*, RY, and R° which militate against his theory. This procedure presupposes that each and all 
of these revisions embodies an attempt (only partially successful in each case) to transform a story, 
originally inculcating only Jewish marriages, into one advocating agnatic marriages. But could all 
these revisions possibly have shared this purpose in common? Certainly they could have done if— 
an impossible condition—they could αὐ be proved to have been made éefore the irksome duty of 
agnatic marriage was annulled in the first century B.C. Whereas those revisions which were made 
after that date—i. e. at least two of them (irrespective of the rival merits of RS and RY)—if they made 
any alterations at all, would tend to obscure and remove the agnatic motif; Miiller (p. 7, note 4). 
admits that R° actually did so in vi. 16 in deference to RS. Hence the agnatic interest must have — 
figured to some extent in the original story, probably, however, only in the half-hearted way in 
which it appears in R®. The author’s advice might be summed up: At all costs marry Jewesses of 
the purest possible descent, like the patriarchs; marry your own sisters or cousins, if no other 
Jewesses are available. hs 

* Of. Cit., pp. 3-9. > Cf, p. 186, footnote 7. 

196 


INTRODUCTION 


ᾧ το. RELIGIOUS AND MORAL TEACHING. 


The theological, religious, and moral outlook of our author is far from unimportant. Un- 
fortunately the comparatively lengthy treatment which the other problems of the book have claimed 
allows only of a very brief résame. 

A. The author’s—as opposed to the later redactors—religious presuppositions are those of 
the popular mind tinged with the point of view of the newest developments of the official and 
orthodox leaders of the post-exilic period, in its earlier rather than its later phases. This is amply 
justified by the following considerations :— 

(1) Doctrine of God. The full Monotheism of the post- -exilic period is presupposed.1. The 
descriptions of Jahveh’s qualities are manifold.* Since He is a transcendental Deity, He hears men’s 
prayers through angelic mediation. The tendency to distinguish between Jahveh, the invisible and 
ineffable, and His personified self-manifestation and revelation also appears, but only in the two 
expressions, ‘the Glory’, iii. τό, xii. 12, 15, and ‘the Name’, iii. 11, viii. 5, xi. 14, xii. 6, xiii. 18. 

(2) Angelology.2—The angelology of the author as compared with that of Jubilees, 1 Enoch 
and RY, is at a somewhat embryonic stage of its evolution. As compared, on the other hand, 
with that of the Old Testament as a whole, it seems to stand well within the threshold of the 
subsequent period. It is especially noticeable that Raphael here represents in germ the ideas 
which afterwards crystallized in the fully developed doctrine of Michael, with whose functions 
Raphael’s should therefore be carefully compared.* 

Chapter xii is without parallel in the extant literature of Judaism. The whole story illustrates 
‘the free, untutored, and vigorous type of speculation existent a little before the rise of Pharisaic 
regulations of the dogma. This belief in the angel’s intervention, moreover, always remained 
essentially characteristic of the people’s religion as opposed to that of the learned and cultured.® 
With iii. 16 f., xii. 12, 15 (14), cf. Jub. xxx. 20, Testaments of Dan vi, of Asher vi, of Levi v. 

(3) Eschatology. The author shows no advance upon the pre-exilic period in his conceptions 

of death and its consequences. The grave is external in its annihilating effects, iii. 6, 10, cf. iv. 10, 
xii. 9. In relation to the nation, however, he stands possibly almost on a threshold of the Apoca- 
lyptic tendency. He has worked out for himself a crude and simple, but yet unmistakable, philo- 
sophy of the future. Jerusalem at the end of a given period will be rebuilt and the Temple 
sumptuously restored, the scattered tribes reunited, and—to his credit—the heathen will worship 
the God of Israel, xiii. 7-18 a, xiv. 4-6. See further, Charles, Eschatology, 1899, pp. 165 f. 

Beets τη the practical Sphere that our author's religious and moral outlook find their 
fullest expression. His hero is a rare instance of an almost perfect combination and realization, in 
actual life, of the priestly and prophetic ideals. 

(1) The cultus,° as practised at Jerusalem, the precepts of the /aw (tithes, marriage,’ purity, 
&c.) and Ferusalem itself, are primary factors in the author’s life, i. 3-13; ii. 1-9, and their future 
perfection is painted in glowing colours, xiii. 7-18 a, xiv. 4-7. 

(2) The ‘ Three Pillars of Judaism’, prayer, almsgiving, and fasting are inculcated. Fasting 
(ii. 4) has not reached the culmination of its oe ear 8 Almsgiving, however, as in Sirach,° 
ranks high among the non-sacrificial duties of Judaism, ΤΟΣ 1 ΠΑ ivan ἢ. tte, τό, ἘΠῚ: gf., XIV. 
9, is the szve gua non of a long and prosperous life, a Ἢ ΝΣ to be practised by the richest, i. 16 f,, 
ii. 10, and the poorest, ii. 14, and occupies a prominent position in the ‘teaching’ both of Tobit, 
iv. 3-19, and of Raphael, xii. 8. ‘Righteousness’ is thus already tending to take the lower level 
and become synonymous to some extent with almsgiving, 1 but devotion to the cultus and legalism 
do not result in this book in hypocrisy or externalism, since the whole is pervaded with a mysticism 
oe finds its highest expression in heart-felt prayer as the immediate means of communion with 

πὰ 
_ This is evident not simply from the number and length of the prayers which are quoted, but 
from the care which has been devoted to their position, structural arrangement, and contents.” 


e BeSee ive [Als xii. 1, 2, 5, 6, 11: xiv. 6. 2 See vil. 17 (18) 5) vill. 55 ἘΠῚ 4,7, 1. 15. 
* The demonology and magical elements are relics of the author’s sources and Jewish- Egyptian environment and 
not belong to the circle of his own constructive ideas, and are therefore not dealt with here. 
i 2 * See Wilhelm Lueken, Michael, 1898. 
Ὁ Cf. W. Bousset, Dae Religion des Judentums, eecoud edition, p. 379. 


® See Bousset, op. cit., p. 123. 7 Cf. pp. 183 f., 196, supra. 
® Note the addition in x. ΠΏ RY: 
® Cf. Sirach iv. 10 (Heb.); vii. 10, 323 xvi. 14 (Heb.); xvii. 22, ὅς. 10 Cf. p. 191, supra. 


“For the seth place of prayer and its function in this connexion in Judaism, see Communion with God, 
n, PP 106-13, by Dr. Darwell Stone and the present writer. 
2 Cf. Plath, of. cit., pp. 382, 390, 401. 


197, 


THE BOOK OR ἼΓΟΥ ΠΕ 


Tobit’s (iii. 16 f.) and Sarah’s (iii. 10-15) prayers, uttered with face turned to Jerusalem, and the 
immediate answer to them in iii. 16, 17, are the climax to the Introduction (i. 3-iii. 17). Both are 
probably typical of the form in which prayers were cast in the writer’s day. | Each contains an invo- 
cation, followed by an act of adoration (iii. 2, 11),and the specific supplication with a lengthy retro- 
spective explanation. Both are of almost equal length, in spite of Sarah's preliminary history — 
(iii. 7-15) being otherwise much briefer than Tobit’s (i. 3-iii. 6). Sarah’s is the more concrete and — 
individualistic, Tobit’s the wider in its outlook and the more intercessory. The same structural 
arrangement characterizes viii. 5-7, 16f. and the frequent thanksgivings. The liturgical Amen 
appears in viii. 8.2 Finally, Raphael sets prayer in its rightful position in xii. 8 and asserts its 
efficacy in xii. 12, which is followed by the exile’s prayer of exhortation and consolation, xiii. 1-6. 
In none of them, however, is there a single petition for the conversion of the non-Jewish world. 

(3) Morality and ethics are inculcated in all departments of life, e. g. piety towards parents, 
the duty of Jewish marriage, the purity of wedlock, and in matters of everyday life,* from a stand- 
point as high as, if not higher than, Ahikar’s. It was such moralizing precepts as these, rather than 
theological dogmas, which did most to regulate and direct contemporary life—both Jewish and 

agan. 
(4) A special plea scems to be entered in relation to contemporary conduct towards the dead. 
Though from a literary point of view our author is dependent upon Ahikar directly for iv. 17, 
yet it is quite clear that he is inculcating an actual religious practice. In fact, at the time our 
author lived, it would appear to have been a subject of considerable dispute as to whether such 
offerings were right and proper and a matter of duty (cf. Sir. vii. 33 ; Job iv. 17) or whether they — 
were definitely to be excluded by Judaism® and its adherents (Sir. xxx. 18, 19; Ep. Jer. 31, 32; 
Wisdom xiv. 15, xix. 3; Sibyl. Or. viii. 382-4). At the time when Jubilees xxii. 17 was written 
they were apparently regarded as characteristic of the Gentiles. See, further, Charles, of. cit, 
pp. 23-31. . 

§ 11. INFLUENCE OF THE ΒΟΟΚ ON LATER LITERATURE. : 


A. Fewish. There is considerable evidence to show that Tobit was held in high repute alike 
by early and by later Judaism. (a) There are possibly traces of its use in Daniel, in the later 
Psalms, in the book of Jubilees (v. note iv. 16, 18, 21f.; x. 4-6), the Test. of Job, &c. (6) While 
the references to it in New Testament (v. zzfra) exemplify its use by the Jews of our Lord’s 
day, RY is the best evidence of its extraordinary popularity between c. 200 B.C. and ς. A.D. 150. 
(c) In M an example survives of its use among pious orthodox Jews. (d) The fact that the 
latter found a place in the Midrash Rabba de Rabbah together with the passage contained 
in the addition to the Midrash Tanchuma; illustrates best of all how thoroughly our story permeated 
the thought of later Judaism. (2) Finally in F as also in Gaster’s Hebrew, if not also in the London 
Hebrew, we have an unmistakable example of Jewish interest in the book in the Middle Ages. 

B. Christian’ Interest in the question of the presence in the New Testament of allusions to 
Tobit and of passages tinged whether directly or indirectly with a recollection of Tobit’s history or 
maxims, has been damped in the past by the credence which the theories of Graetz, Kohut and 
others once unfortunately gained. More lately the field has been occupied by the attempts of 
students of Ahikar to find traces of the use of that legend in the New Testament, instead of 
admitting that the probabilities may point to the latter’s comparative supersession by Tobit, into 
which, as already stated, its most permanent features had by now ὃ been merged. . 

Christianity appealed, at least at the outset, to the very classes to whom Tobit would be 
especially dear with its simple but sympathetic narrative of the fortunes of Jews of previous days 
who had lived under the yoke of a foreign domination—classes, too, who would give an equally 
enthusiastic welcome to the most crudely painted Apocalyptic. The fact that our book, though 
never in the Jewish Canon, survived the shock of this religious revolution and found a still more 
honourable position in the Bible of the new community than it had ever done under the old Covenant, 


* *Lord’ in Tobit’s own, ‘Lord my God? in Sarah’s. 

~ Cf. Judith xiii. 20. 5 See p. 196, supra. 

Cf. Budde, op. cit., p. 406 ; André, of. cit., p. 178; Bousset, op. Cit, Pp. 490. 
See Deut. xxvi. 14; Jer. xvi. 7; Isa. viii, 19, XIX. 3. 

* See ‘Tobit’ in HD4#, vol. iv, p. 789. 

᾿ Printed and translated by Neub., of. cit. See Noldeke, of. ci¢., p. 63. 

* Ct. J. Moffat, Introd. to the Lit. of N.T., 1911, pp- 34 f. : 

: It Should be remembered that this holds good even if the parallels to Ahikar be regarded as interpolations, 

sinpes τ ae Miller and Smend frankly admit Ahikar’s presence in the text of Tobit prior to the Christian era. 

See pp. 194 f. 


198 


INTRODUCTION 


speaks volumes for its intrinsic charm and adaptability for the spiritual requirements of the new 
religion. 

τ In the New Testament. It has already been hinted (p. 189, footnote 10) that, instead of 
Ahikar directly, it might be right to see a reference to Ahikar only as mediated through Tobit in the 
Parables of the Wicked Servant and the Barren Fig-tree. Thus Tobit would stand in the same 
relation to these parables as Isa. v. 1-7 to the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. Again, to insist 
that Ahikar itself, not Ahikar as abridged in Tobit, influenced the diction of the Biblical as well as 
the non-Biblical stories of Judas’ death is to come very near denying even the general historicity of 
the kernel of the story in order to find its kernel in Ahikar. In the case of our Lord's words, which 
were uttered in Aramaic, verbal, as distinct from literary, coincidence with the Greek must be 
expected generally only in so far as the evangelists have modelled their Greek on that of the LXX. 
The following parallels, however, even if only accidental, are noteworthy: xi. οἱ and Luke xv. 20; 
xii. 8 and Matt. vi. 1-18; a materialistic interpretation of iv. 9 condemned in Matt. vi. 20f.; iv. 15 
and Matt. vii. 12, Luke vi. 31 ;? iv. 7 and Luke xi. 41 ;? iv. 16 and Matt. xxv. 251. But do the 
remarkable parallels to the commission and Ascension of Raphael which are collected in the note to 
xii. 16-22 fall into the same category? Do their completeness and detail suggest that our book 
exercised a direct and important formative, if not creative, influence upon the expression of the 
truths of the Transfiguration, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord? Or are we to suppose 
both only represent the popular vocabulary in which such events were wont to be related? True, 
angels ascended in the Old Testament; the Ascension of Isaiah and Assumption of Moses must once 
have related something similar, but nowhere is there so exact a coincidence of religious presup- 
position, literary expression and dramatic climax as in Tobit xii. 16-22. 

S. Paul is possibly conscious of his indebtedness to Tobit, ‘which must certainly have been 
a part of his library’. With iv. 12 acf.1 Thess. iv. 3; xii. 10 cf. Rom. vi. 23; iv. 8 cf. 1 Cor. xvi 2 
and 2 Cor. viii. 12; iv. 7,16 cf. 2 Cor.ix7a%, R. Harris ® has already pointed out the use 5. Paul 
made of Tobit iv. 10 in Gal. vi. 10. 

In the third group of Pauline Epistles, Eph. v. 18, though expressed in the language of 
Prov. xxiii. 31 in LXX, recalls the advice of Tobit iv. 15 b. 

Still more important are the alleged parallels between Tobit and the Pastoral Epistles. The 
uncommon phrase βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων occurs in Tobit xiii. 6 and 1 Tim. i. 17, in both cases in an 
ascription of praise. Withiv. ἡ οἴ, τ Tim. vi. 19; Tobit iv.21 cf.1 Tim. vi. 6. The form of address 
‘my child Timothy ᾿ reminds us of Tobit’s recurring formula. Is it possible to go further? What 
abuses or heresies was the writer of the Pastorals combating? Are we quite sure that there is no 
alternative to the rival claims of Rabbinism and Gnosticism ? Granted undue reverence for tractates 
of mythological, demonologicai and useless—non-religious, though moral—proverbial tendencies, 
such as we meet with in Tobit; granted, too, possibly the presence to some small extent of the 
numerous speculations and vicious by-products of a debased Apocalyptic—is it not probable that 
the writer of the Pastorals had ample justification for the remarks upon which the theories of Gnostic 
or Rabbinic polemics are based ? 

It only remains to mention two other points of contact between Tobit and the New Testament. 
The ethical and moral point of view and forms of literary self-expression in vogue among the circles 
which produced the early chapters of Acts were similar in some respects to Tobit’s—on the positive 
and gocd side of the latter. With Tobit 1. 3 cf. Acts ix. 36b; Tobit ii. 1 cf. Acts ii. 1 (Pentecost) ; 
Tobit iii. 16 with Acts ix. 18 ; xi. 12,13 (13); and Tobit xii. 12 with Acts x. 4. Lastly—apart from 
the parallelism of demonological technicality in Tobit viii. 3 and Rev. xx. 2 independently borrowed 
from current formulae— Rev. xxi. 10-21 is as much dependent on Tobit xiii. τό and Rev. xix. I-7 on 
Tobit xiii. 18 as upon other Old Testament and Apocryphal literary models of this type. 

(ii) Zn post-Apostolic Christian Writers Tobit is quite unmistakably placed on as high 
a pedestal as the other books of the Apocrypha not known at the time to have been written in 
Hebrew, and most often it was even venerated as highly as any other Scriptures—a fact well 
illustrated by Clem, Alex’s. quotation? of iv. 16 as ἡ γραφή. For numerous other Patristic quotations, 
decisions of Church Councils, and use and influence in the Anglican Church, see Fuller of. cvt. 
Marshall, of. c7¢., and cf. p. 178, supra, footnote 7. 


? A closer parallel at any rate, in thought and language, than Gen. xlvi. 29. Tee 

3 The scriptural antiquity of which is vouched for by οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νόμος καὶ of προφῆται. Hillel, like Tobit, 
expressed himself only negatively, see Taylor, Pirge Adoth, 37. ΤΕ 

3. τὰ ἐνόντω hus been rendered more or less in conformity with Tobit by guae sunt (Ὁ ἃ g), ex his guae habetis ([), 
guod superest (Vulg.), ea quae penes vos sunt (Beza), guantum potestis (Grotius); cf. Luther’s voz dem, das da ist. 
See Plummer, S. Luke, Int. Crit. Comment., ad loc. 

Ὁ 1:7. Die, Ὁ. 540: Ks 

® Just as 7b is a quotation from Prov. xxii. 8, LXX. 5 op. cit., p. 545. 7 Strom. ii. 23, ὃ 139 


199 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 


§ 12. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


(a) CHIEF EDITIONS OF THE ANCIENT VERSIONS. 
Greek MSS. and Papyrus. } , 
Reusch, Libellus Tobit e codice Sinattico editus et recensttus, 1870. τι ae 
Fritzsche, Die Biicher Tobia und Judith erklart (Exeget. Hanabuch zu den Apokryphen, 11), Leipzig, 1853. 
Tischendorf, Vetus Testamentum Gracce iuxta LXX interpretes, 2 vols., 1850. 
Swete, Zhe Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint, vol. ti, 1891. 
Vigouroux, La Sainte Bible Polyglotte, Ancien Testament, vol. 111, 1902. 
Hunt, Oryrhynchus Papyrt, viii, 1911, No. 1076. 
Aramaic Version. 
Neubauer, Ze Book of Tobit, a Chaldee Text, &c., Oxford, 1878. 


Old Latin Versions. ν ᾿ . 
Sabatier, Bibliorum sacrorum Latinae versiones antiquae, Paris, 1751. 
Blanchini, Viniiciae Canonicarum Scripturarum, Rome, 1749. 
Neubauer, Zhe Book of Tobit, a Chaldee Text, &c., Oxford, 1878. 


Hebrew Versions. . 
1. The Miinster Hebrew (first printed in Constantinople, 1516). 
Sebastian Minster, 1542. 
Neubauer, of. c¢7., supra. 
. Fagius’ Hebrew. 
Fagius, 1542. 
Walton’s Polyglot. 
3. The London Hebrew. 
Gaster, PSBA, vol. xviii, pp. 208 ff., 259 ff., vol. xx, pp. 27 ff. 
4. The Gaster Hebrew. 
Gaster, P.SBA, vol. xix, pp. 33 f. 
Syriac Versions. 
Walton’s Polyglot. 
Lagarde, Libri apocryph. Syriace. x 
Ceriani, Le edizioni e i manoscritti delle versioni siriache del Vecchio Testamento, 1870, p. 22; and Rahlfs in 
Lagarde, Bibliotheca Syriaca, 1892, pp. 32 b-321. 
Ethiopic Version. 
Dillmann, Biblia Veteris Testamenti aethiopica, ν, 1894. 


τὸ 


(0) CHIEF CRITICAL INQUIRIES. 


Ilgen, Die Geschichte Tobi’s nach drey verschiedenen Originalen, &c., Jena, 1800. 

Steinschneider, Catalogus librorum Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodletana, 1852-60. 

Fritzsche, Die Biicher Tobit unt Judith erklart (Exeget. Handbuch zu den Apokryphen, ii), Leipzig, 1853. 

Reusch, Das Buch Tobias iibersetzt und erklart, Freiburg, 1857. 

Sengelmann, Das Buch Tobit erklart, Hamburg, 1857. Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Kecord, iv, 1857. 

Hitzig, Zettschr. fiir wissenschaftl. Theol., 1860. 

Hilgenfeld, Zettschr. fiir wissenschaftl. Theol., 1862. 

Reusch, Libellus Tobit e codice Sinattico editus et recensitus, Bonnae, 1870. 

Kohut, E¢qwas iiber die Moral und die Abfassungszeit d. δ. Tobias in Geiger’s Jiidische Zettschr. f. Wissenschaft — 
u. Leben, x, 1872; also separate. 

Gutberlet, Das Buch Tobias tibersetzt und erklart, Minster, 1877. 

Neubauer, of. cit., supra. 

Bickell, Zettschr. f. kathol. Theol., 1878. 

E. Schurer, 7heol. Literaturzeit., 1878. 

Noldeke, Monatsberichte der Berliner Akadentie, 1879. 

Gritz, Monatsschr. f. Gesch. und Wissensch. des Judenth., 1879. 

Grimm, Zeitschr. fiir wissenschaftl. Theol., 1881. 

Linschmann, Zez/schr. f. wissenschaftl. Theol., 1882. 

Preiss, Zeitschr. fiir wissenschaftl. Theol., 1885. 

Rosenthal, Vier apokryphische Biicher aus der Zeit und Schule R. Akiba’s, 1885. 

Hilgenfeld, Zectschr. fiir wissenschaftl. Theol., 1886. 

Fuller, in Wace’s Afacrypha, London, 1888. 

W. R. Smith, art. ‘ Tobit’ in πιο, Brit., ninth edition, 1888. 

Scholz, Commentar sum Buche Tobias, 1889. 

Nestle, Marginalien und Materialien, 1893. 

Dalman, Grammatik des jiidisch-palistinischen Aramdisch, 1894. 

Rosenmann, Studien zum Buche Tobit, 1894. 

Dillmann, Siblia Veteris Testamenté aethiopica, v, 1894. 

Gaster, Two unknown Hebrew versions of the Tobit Legend (Proceedings of the Society of Bibl. Archaeol., 
vol. xvill, 18963; xix, 1897). { 

I. Abrahams, Jewish Quarterly Review, 1898, p. 348. 
Kohler, K/leznere Schriften zur Marchenforschung, 18098. 

Nestle, Septwagintastudien, iii, Maulbronn, Progr., 1899; iv, 1903. 

Rendel Harris, American Journal of Theology, iii, 1899, pp- 541-54: also The Story of Ahikar, Cambridge, mite} 
(by F. C. Conybeare, J. Rendel Harris, and Agnes Smith Lewis). tn Ἂ 


200 


INTRODUCTION 


Cosquin, Revue bibligue, 1899, pp. 513-20. 

Lohr, Zettschr. fiir die alttest. Wissensch., xx, 1900. 

Simonsen, Zodit-Aphorismen (Gedenkbuch sur Erinnerung an David Kaufmann herausg. von Brann und 
Rosenthal, 1900). 

Plath, Theol. Stud. und Krtt., 1901. 

Marshall, art. ‘Tobit’, Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, vol. iv, 1902, pp. 788 ff. 

Lévi, Revue des Etudes Juzves, xliv, 1902, pp. 288-91. 

Erbt, art. ‘ Tobit’ in & ncyclopaedia Biblica, iv, 1903. 

André, Les Apocryphes de lA. T., 1903. 

Sieger, Das Buch Tobias und das "Marchen vom dankbaren Toten (Katholik, 1904). 

Vetter, Theol. Quartalschrift, 1904. 

Nestle, Zettschr. fiir die alttest. Wissensch., xxv, 1905. 

Miller, Beitrdge zur Erklairung und Kritik des Buches Tobit, Gottingen, Diss., 1907; also in Beihefte zur 
Zeitschr. f. ad. alttest. Wissensch., xiii, 1908. 

Schulte, Zheol. Quartalschr., 1908, and Biblische Zeitschr., 1908. 

Miller and Smend, Bezhefte zur Zeitschr. f. die alttest. Wissensch., xiii, 1908. 

Schiirer, G/V’*, vol. iii, 1909. 

Ed. Sachau, Aramiiische Papyrus und Ostraka aus Elephantine, 1911 (small edition by A. Ungnad, 1911). 

Ed. Meyer, Der Papyrusfund von Elephantine, 1912. 

1. H. Moulton, Zoroastrianism, Hibbert Lectures, 1912 (in the press), especially Lecture II and the excursus on 
Magianism and the Book of Tobit. 


(c) CHIEF EDITIONS OF THE BOOK. 


Fuller in Wace’s Afocrypha, vol. i, 1898. 
C. J. Ball, Variorum Apocrypha, 1892,. 
Lohr, Das Buch Tovit in Kautzsch’s UVbersetzung der Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen, 1900. 


§ 13. CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS. 


R* = Sinaitic and most original form of text 

RY = Recension best preserved in Cod. Vat. See § 3. 
R° = Third recension 

Ox = Oxyrhynchus Papyrus, No. 1076 
Ar. = Extant Aramaic text 

M = Minster Hebrew 


[ΜΠ | varieties of Miinster Hebrew (see p. 179, 


pe τ] footnotes I, 2, 4, 5) δ See § 4. 
# = Old Latin, of which aByé are MSS. 
S = Syriac Versions 
F = Fagius’ Hebrew 
D = Vulgate 


καὶ OCs — kat, ἅς, 
ἀδελ., ἄς, = ἀδελφός, &c. 
19, «2°, x.8°, &c. = first, second, third occurrence of καί, &c., in a verse. 


LOBIs 


PREFACE, i. 1, 2. 


1: The book of the words of Tobit, the son of Tobiel, the son of Hananiel, the son of Aduel, the 

son of Gabael, the son of Raphael, the son of Raguel, of the seed of Asicl, of the tribe of Naphtali ; 

2 who in the days of Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians was carried away captive out of Thisbe, 

which is on the right hand of Kedesh Naphtali in upper Galilee above Asser, behind the < road > 
leading west, on the left of Phogor. 


INTRODUCTION, i. 3-iii. 17. 
A. Topit’s EARLIER HISTORY, i. 3-iii. 6. 


i. Tobit’s Previous Fortunes, i. 3-22. 


3 I Tobit walked in the ways of truth and in acts of righteousness all the days of my life, and 
I did many almsdeeds to my brethren and my nation, who went with me in the captive band into 
4 the land of the Assyrians, to Nineveh. And when I was in mine own country, in the land of Israel, 
and when I was young, all the tribe of Naphtali my father fell away from the house of David my 
father and from Jerusalem, the city which < was chosen> out of all the tribes of Israel for all the 
tribes of Israel to sacrifice there, and wherein the temple of the habitation of God was hallowed and 


I. τ. B. λογ.] MA NII Ar ἼΒΟ Π MF Τωβειθ] -«r B wA  Thobisa8  Tobis γὸ pesol Ξ 
Ὁ Ar ΠῚ Ε 27. Ow NWoN INI Ar Τωβηλ] Nea S >F Ανανιηλ) > Ar Αδουηλ | Navn A 
Nulor? S > LAr (ss) Ms TaBayA] Tap. A > Ar Ona F τ᾿ Ραφαηλ] > BAS # Ar MF 
ae Ραγουηλ] > BAS # Ay MF ex τ. σπ. Ασιηλ] filii Asihel (+f. Gadalel, f. Arabei) > Ar Sypy 12 
Cynaa 13 ΝΜ φυλ.] 27. τ. BA 2. os] pr. (ΠΌΝ 13 perm 2 andan awe abun py prow nbn ws) M ταις] 
> BA post Θισβης F Evepecoapov | ον SU Ar MF τ. ἈΑσσυριων] Ασσ. ΒΑ Lsohts S Wnt 
Ar WN MF εκ θισβης] εκ OBnsA woos S Bihel civitate* Nn ap avnaan Am Ar tawny a NM 
vy M ‘awino F ἢ €. ἐκ δεξ.] > ArMF Κυδιως] -ovA wa oS Edisse civitaisi > dArMF 
et... Φογωρ] > ArF av TadeX.] Ταλιλ. ΒΑ ἴῃ superioribus Ga8% in superiore G y _ super 
G...am8 ΝΟΌΣ 4rM Shan aun 55 ὃν F ureparw | ὑπερίανω Β΄ υπερα]νω ΒΡ ὑπερ (sed vide annot.) δ ἢ 
conta »Μ Ασσηρ] Ασηρ BA wal? S Νδδββου 3 > M on. δυσ. ηλι.] > BAS post viam quae 
ducit in occidentem aB y quae est ad occidentem solem ὃ 73 yaa by M εξ apior. boy.| > BASM 
Φογ.] Raphain © 3. Eyo Τι} Ὁ Sy mad mds Ὁ anor “Ὃ ae Meer. pers. ubique Ar αληθ.] DOM M_ επορ.] 
+ spd M ev δικαιοσυναις) -vy Β -νη ASaBy > 84r maa npyM Fo Go. | > Ar erot. | Τῶν M 
μου} > B πορευθ.] mporop. B συνπορευομ. A nn Ar >M per’ ew. | > M εν τ. alyp. 
>BAS την] > BA των] > BA 4. vt. x. pou] > Ar M yn| pr. t BA K2°.. . veosie 
vewtepov μου ovros BA S inter omnes iunior 3» wn ArF “y) ‘nya Ar η] »ΒΑ Ne®. | pr. του BA 
τ. mar. pov] > Ar M aneotycay| -τεστη BA IND Ar M > F απὸ τ. otk. | xmabna Ar Δ. τ. πατ. pl. 
κ᾿ aro | > BA D.et ab aByS ἽΝ] Ar MF Ἱερουσαλημ] Ἱεροσολυμων ΒΑ aa pond {D721 W319) ArM 


πολι = = = aovos | ΣΣ NG πολεως της] τ. ἐεκλεγεισης BAS + civitate quae est electa + "N32 IWS MF 
pr. wipn F ex] avo BA φυλων] pr. tov BA εἰς τ᾿ Ovo... Ke NY «+e Ke OK. os. εἰς πασ. τ. γεν. T. αἰωνος] 


ubi altare constitutum est... quod sanctificatum est in saecula. Tunc, cum... aedificatum esset .. . ut sacri- 
ficaret in ipso omnis progenies in aeternum et 3» mbynd nana a » Sony Δ᾽ paw 535 wnpan» nan avn 


I. 1. Ραγουήλ = Seay as Φογώρ (v. 2) = WYD (cf. Τέμορρα -- ΠΝ), and other transliterations of hard )). 

2. Ἔνεμεσ. Ball conjectures that ‘yi was misread 3), but even if this was the ultimate cause of the form, Ἔνεμεσ. 
was well known as a recognized Greek equivalent of ‘Le since all the Vss, translating from the Greek, were able to 
substitute Shal. for it; therefore the mistake of “39 for "oy, if that be the correct explanation, had probably taken place 
before Tobit was Written. Κυδιώς probably = Kadesh. Cod. 248 and the Complut. have κυριῶς, hence A.V. ‘which is 
properly called N.’ In the crit. appar. Swete has been followed. Nestle (Sef/wag. ili, p. 23), however, urges that 
Swete is wrong in his reference to the last three letters of ὑπεράνω ; it was the avw before Tad. which a secondary 
hand cancelled by placing dots above it. ᾿Ασσήρ = Hazor. After ὀπίσω insert ὁδοῦ in δὲ with af y (conjectured by 
Reusch, accepted by Miiller), cf. wav NBD FAT ANN, Deut. xi. 30. 

_ 4. Restore in δὲ τ. ἐκλεγ. (omitted through haplography of ex) after πόλεως (which RY in turn omitted) and in v. 5 
insert καί before ἐπί. 


202 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 1. 4-10 


5 built for all ages. All my brethren and the house of Nephtalim my father, they sacrificed to the 
| 6 calf, which Jeroboam the king of Israel made, in Dan <and> on all the mountains of Galilee. And 
Τ alone used often to journey to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it hath been ordained in all Israel by an 
everlasting decree. I used to go to Jerusalem with the firstfruits and the firstlings and the tenths of 
7 the cattle and the first shearings of the sheep, and give them to the priests, the sons of Aaron, for 
(7) the altar, and the tenth of the corn and the wine and oil and pomegranates and the rest of the fruits 
to the sons of Levi, who ministered at Jerusalem. And the second tenth I tithed in money for 
g the six years, and went and spent it each year at Jerusalem: and gave it unto the orphans 
and the widows and the proselytes who attached themselves to the children of Israel; I brought it 
and gave it unto them in the third year, and we did eat it according to the decree which was decreed 
concerning it in the book of Moses and according to the commands which Deborah, the mother of 
| 9 Hananiel our father commanded, because my father left me an orphan when he died. And when 
I became a man, I took a wife of the seed of our own family, and of her I begat a son and called his 
}10 name Tobias. After the carrying away captive to Assyria when I was carried away captive, I came 
to Nineveh, and all my brethren and those that were of my kindred did eat of the bread of the 


ἜΞ a 7 ὧν. 


— Γ΄ Bas |. 4 


mwa “opp “ow Ὁ onder mby M (f- F) πασ. φυλαις] mac. τ. -λας ΒᾺ omn. nationibus y (0. tribubus a δ) 
Iop.8°| > BAS κ. ny: | > S (corrupt.) Tou 6. | τ. ὑψιστου BA 53 φκ.] ox, A avry | > BA Hieru- 
salem 30 5. παν. οἱ aded. μου (ov N* p superscr. NX] x. (> S) πασ. ae φυλ. (+ Lage 3) συναποστασ. 
BAS (GB) > Ar k.l°... mar. μ.] post δαμαλ. δα ὁ ἃ 110 BAS (fF) > Ar na) ΠῸ Μ᾽ omnisque 
(et y) domus gc. a B yd Ned. | pr. tov A εθυσιαζ.] εθυον NOAM BA 4 midyyn ona M ojywapy F ἐκεῖνοι 
τ᾿ μοσχῳ] τη Baad τη δαμαλει δὲ ὁ ἃ 0 ΒΑ 5. vitulo aureo® shays Ar ann ΡΜ δον) ΠΝῚ odyan ΠΝ F 
ov emo... - Ταλειλ.)} > BASF Iepo8.] +033 13 M. ev Δαν] post εθυσιαζον © pr. Ss maa 4γΜ Tl. 
Γαλ.} > Ay M_ et omnibus altissimis montibus G.a8 cum omnibus superioribus partibus G.y εἴ in excelso 


omnium gentium. G. ὃ 6. Kayo | kK. ἐγω A sm (ef ubique) Ar poverar. | pos BAS >M +A Any F 
πολλακις}) πλεονακ. ΒᾺ aliquotiesaBy aliquotiens6 > ArMF εἰς IepogoAvpal® δὰ Bab A] ev -οἱς Bee 
evi? § Bab A] > Be vid ev2° | > BA εν π. 1σρ.] >ArM ‘wy by M παντι] +r. BA προστ. at. | 
mvot ΝΙΝ waa 4,7, nana M (+) F τ. πρωτογεν. κι] > BAaBy Spec. 59 MF anmwnaas Ar 
tT. bex.| > 8 κτηνων] γενηματ. BAS  armentorum (-ti y argenti Spec.) et pecorum (-odum y) aBy Spec. 
pecorums’ > 47γ͵)ἉΆΜΕ πρωτοκουρας] τ. προκουριας B (post τας seg ras in B: w Β ὃ mg δἰ ιδῖγ) το πρωτοκυριας A 
>é6dAr ΧΙ Μ τ. mpoBarov| > BA 6 dr MF exor | bay sim Ar amerpex. εἰς Iep.] > BAL M 
wond 4,7, altler F 7. κι 65.| > M aura] αὐτὰς Β ἀπε ἐχω Lh > M τὸ uu. A... . Iepovo.t?| 
mS int own ἽΠῚ ἽΠ 555 sxnd5y 47 Ααρων] Ap. A mp. τ. θυσ.] + marr. των yeyne. NC®M™I BAA των 
γεν. ΒΞ adaramédé >aBy Spec. MF x.2° 7, Sexatny| τ. δεκατὴν εδιδουν BA Set quod moris erat de 
tritico aBy εἰ decimam frumenti 6 et secundum morem legis de trit. Spe. > M+ punn F TOW τς - 
axpod.| > BASF τ. ow. κι τ. σιτ.] τ. σιτ. κι τ. ow. ἃ ἃ de tritico vino aBy ἐλαιων N* | του NC®aB y Spec. 
x. ροων] +x. τ. συκων NCA™MITI M et (de) ficu malorum granatorum af yé Spec. axpodp. δὰ ὁ ἃ] κροδρ. X* 
τ. θεραπουσιν]) τ. -evov. ΒΑ qnamatso9 S οἷ servientibus Domino, qui praesto erant 35 (cf M) ρώη. F ev? | 


εἰς Β >A δεκ. τ΄ devr.usgue ad vop. Moc. (v. 8)] δ ἼΒΟΞ INDI no 553 JAY Say ΠῚΠ Ny ΝΘ Ψ)ΟῚ NIN Nw 
mvs Ar » myn (155 abs 55 py noe maw daa snadm) ΠΟΟΟΝΟῚ mined ud wendy ‘or vw “01 Maer. τ. eal 
᾿ Oeur. dex. BA amebex. apyupiw | ἀπεπρατιζομὴν BAS commutans in pecunia (vide Reusch) α β τ. εξ eT@v 

> BASF Tepovoadnp2” | Ἱεροσολύμοις BA (+a) in loco sancto aBy Spec. > ὃ 8. «Od. aura... 
εἰσεῴερ. k. εδιδ. autos εν τ. τριτ. ετ.] τ. τριτην εδιδ. BA S (CK M supra) F tertii ad decimationem ferebam ... et 
dabam illis in tertio annoaf8 decimationem dabam ... in Israel y tertia autem decima dab... . et dabam dc. ὃ 
ita ut Tertii anni decemationem darem ... in Isr. Spec. τ᾿ opav. . . . vious Iop. | os (Bb M4 τοις B*) καθηκει BAS 
proselytis et orph. et viduis (et v. > 6) aBy8 Sgec. mean pub F τοις προσκ. τ. ut. 1σρ.] faciens omnia quae 
pracepta sunt (+a Domino Sfec.) in Isr. a8y Spec. adpositis in Isr. ὃ τ. wots] pr. εδιδουν καὶ ὁ ἃ υἱά x. ησθ. 
π΄  Νωση κι] > BASF ησθ.] manducabam 3, κατα τ. εντολ. ας] καθως BAS > ArF GSEKETA as « 
anelay.| NWP NINA MNITIN NM MAW NNN pI Ar Δεββ.] AewB. A Av. τ᾿ war. ημ.] τ. war. 
μου BAS ΜῈ pawis mei Thobihel matri meae et patrimeoaf8 Daniheld > y ort] διοτι BA opavov 


«ἀπεθ.} -vos κατελειῴθην ὑπὸ τ. matpos μου (+ ΝΣ MF) BAS M 9. ἐγεθην N*] εἐγενηθ. δὰ ὁ ἃ — eyevouny BA 
γυν.}] pr. Ανναν ΒΑ 3. δ  uxorem nomine Annam af (A. > γ) ext. om. ... ἡμων] amy Αγ Μ -Ἐ ΠῚ 
mn Ar M eyyer. εξ avr. | m navy ArMF viov, . . Ὄνομα avr. | SA TOs, evar. i. ῃχμαλωτισθην | 


k. ore nx... σθην (-ημεν BF -- ἜΣ ΚΝ Μὴ BASy Ar MF εἴ postquam in captivitatem deveni ad Assyrios af 


5. τῇ Baad (RY) is an imitation of LXX, e.g. 4 Kings xxiii. 5 (cf. the papyrus fragment of the Ascension of Isaiah, ii. 12), 
not an andrygonous deity (Baudissen, Herzcg’s RE. sub Baal, Astarte) or a corruption of Bethel (Graetz, Neub.) ; 
ΖΝ ΓΞ in Av, however, is a mistake, reproduced in M, for Syoa. 

6. The non-classical word γένημα, common in LXX, is found in papyri, Mayser, Gramm. d. griech. Pap. aus a. 
Ptol.-zeit, p.214. Deissm. B.S., pp. 109 ff. ἐν Ἵερ. (Cod. Vat.) after a verb of motion belongs to the distinctly vernacular 
style of the RY text, cf. v. 5, vi. 6, 1x. 2, while the form ‘lepoodAvpa (RY ἱερὸς Σόλυμοι ?) is Hellenistic. 

7-9. See Miller, of. cit., pp. 37-48, for minute textual criticism of 2%. 

203 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT AS 16-13 


11, 12 Gentiles. But I kept myself from eating of the bread of the Gentiles; and, when I remembered my 
13 God with all my soul, the Most High gave me grace and favour in the sight of Shalmaneser and 
141 used to buy for him all things for his use, and go into Media and buy for him thence, until he 

died. And I left purses in trust with Gabael the brother of Gabri in the land of Media, ten talents 

of silver. 
15 And when Shalmaneser was dead and Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead, the roads of 
16 Media were unsafe, and I could no more go into Media. In the days of Shalmaneser I did 
17 many almsdeeds to my brethren who were of my kindred: I used to give my bread to the hungry, 
(17) and garments to the naked: and if I saw any of my nation dead, and cast forth behind the wall of 
18 Nineveh, I buried him. And whomsoever Sennacherib slew, when he had come fleeing from Judaea 
in the days of the judgement which the King of heaven wrought upon him for the blasphemies 
wherewith he had blasphemed, I buried. For in his wrath he slew many of the children of Israel, 
and I stole away their bodies and buried them. And Sennacherib sought them and found them not. 


(cum 8 cf. 8) αιχμαλ. Ν᾽] +pe NEO N.] +8na7 snp 47 M exop.| > BA S$a8F morarer ὃ Ar M 


κι] > BAS pov] >B ησθ.] pr. pawar Pann nn Ar rr. ΝΠῸΝ 7 Smt ΠῚΠῚ Sas xb ΝἸΠῚ Ar 
© ANT ya On| ἘΌΝ) Nd sant M (cf F) ex τ᾿ apt. τ. εθν.] > BAS de escis (v. 10 panibus) illorum 35) 


ἘΝ aad b35 mm on Ar (of. I) kK. ore | καθοτι BA et quoniam 3, povl? } >BASHL τ ἘΠ b53 MF 
13. «1°.] > (v. supra x. ore) & μοι] > BA o ὑψιστ.] xnby 47M ‘5x a F xap. x. pop. | NIDA} NIN 
ArM (of. F) Ev.| (wéde v. 2) +regem Assyriorum af ὃ dr M +regem y Ps.-Aug. F 
nyop.... xpnow | nunv αὐτου ayopaotys BAS md mat Π2 bs by mn 31. Ar M Ta προς τ. xpnow | quae- 
cumque volebat in usu suo 3" ΤῊ. k. emop.... exe.| > Ar M κ᾿ ἐπορ.] ἐπορ. Β iens & Μηδιαν] 
τδειαν Bab 2... τ. BA pr. regionem 30 pr. DN ymady 55a F k. nyop. aut. εκειθ.] > BASLE ews αὖτ. 
azobay.] > BASF παρεθ.] pr. SIO NAN Ar Ταβηλῳ δὲ] -anrto NC®BA Gabelo 3" Sxa3 Ar 
Sear M Sway F βαλλαντια] > BA SaBy Ar ΜῈ τ. ad.| fratri meo a8M fratrié > y 7@2° | 
> BAM filioaByF et ὃ Ta8pe| -pa BA Gabahel a8 Gabeli y Gabin ὃ “3p Ar +3) Ar 
>M ὈΝ) 122 Ε ™ χωρᾳ] Payots BAL μων» “2 Μηδιας] τ-δειας Bab regionis Medorum af  civitate M Ύ 
in terra Μ. ὃ +yan spa Ar wean na) M 15. Evepnaccap | -neccap αὶ -peocapos A on dtxaSa 3 
ArM +7)nN7 ΝΟ ArM sbon Ih K.2°] > BASH Sewvaynperp | Aynped Β Aynpeca Bbvid φρο S 
aynnip Ar M «.3°] -ENMMTIN IID NOY P>TI Ar odo... ἀπεστ.) NNO Soo xm ay ἸΡΟΒῚ Ar 
p>phipr YOO) AYP) yA WM F τῆς M.] αὐτοῦ BA terrae Medorum 3» ἀπεστησαν] ἡκαταστατ. B  xareot. A 
emasco }$  constantes eranta8  incon.er.y recesseranté (- (οί Ar) 1 Ws nyonbdan aD 1D 
71823) M Κ, OUKETL... M7). | “337 NW MDDD ID) 35) Ar (of. M post Μηδ.) K. OUKETL 70. | et nemo 


poterat...postea% pr. nan F mopev.| aw) F εἰς τ, M.] illuc post pot. 3» τὸ: εν 27: Κὶ = 
ΒΑὥΞΨ GP Stee Ἐν] (3 πὸ} M Ἐνιμεσσαρου] -cap BA zm dtxadSa ᾧ F amp 4r εποιησα] -oLlouv 


(ουν sup ras 4 litt Δ.) BA τ. ad. μου τ. εκ τ. γεν. μου] τ. ad. μου BAS omnibus de natione mea % send Ar 
(f- (plen.) Μὴ ‘ns ὑπὸ Ε τὸ Gite occ yore. | > M mew. | + pron) Ar τῆ: ἐματ.] 2γτὸ A τ μοῦ A 
>M x.2"| ἘΔ ston 53 an Ar τ. ek τ. εθν. p.| > Ar εθν.] γεν. BAS τεθν.] οὔτ ante εκ τ. εθ. 
M (f- F) K.3°] > ArM epptp. | pepe. Β εριμ. A οπισὼ τ. TELX. Νιν.]} NWT NAN. Ar one | 


ἐπι A wind M Nw. | pr. es A εθαπ.} pr. ἼΩΝ TY ὙΠ) νοὶ nop xb M 18. mulia verba apud M 


addita e Script. et alits locts. simil. F εἰ τ. amext.| > Ar Σενναχηρειμι" } AynpeA Β Sa peatco S +0 Ba- 
σιλεὺς δὲ ὁ (υἱα) BASH an 4r-M ἘΌΝ ΝΣ M απηλθ.}] ηλθ. BAS φευγων] PDX ΓῚΠ23 Ar M 
ἜΝ TD M ενημι.. - εβλασφ.] > BAS bopy ans ΝΡ ΝΘ ΝΟΣ avy by ma arpa “20 ΟἿΝ 
“ap ΠῚ An wa an panda mim pm Ar (+4 szml. M) cv mu. . . . κρισ.] propter defensionem % 
εξ avr.| de illo 3» o Bac.| Dominus & εθαψ. . . . Iop.| mby weap ID Iw Non ID Ar ebay. | 
cbavrous κλεπτων BASZM Ge τὸ We a bo i εθαπτ.] > BAS κι 25) ego © pr. wdda op, Ar en. | 
involvebam 3", ἘΠ Ho 0 Cue avr. | -10n ὑπο τ. Bac. τα cop. κ. οὐχ evpebn BAS 73) AMID yan NIN NIT 


14. ἠγόραζον (without the πάντα... χρῆσιν of v.13) may refer to journeys to Media for the purchase of s/aves, 
the sense in which ἀγοράζειν is used in the will of Attalus 111, Dittenberger, Orient. Graeci Inscript. Select. No. 338, 
cf. I Cor. vi. 20, vii. 23. 

15. ᾿Αχηρείλ (Vat.) is the result of haplography eBaci\eycen[cen]ayupeim. The phonetic interchange of 8 and p is 
frequent ; consequently Marshall’s hypothesis, that 3 was misread ) in a supposed Aramaic original, 15 needless : 
see Introd., p. 182. ἠκαταστάτησαν (Ν᾽ αἴ.) exemplifies the tendency of new verbs to take an external augment. 

16. In Avy Levi reads NYDN but NDWN is correct as Ὁ appears elsewhere, e.g. vii. 16; xvi. 5, 9, 13; YOYT has 
dropped out after it, and a similar omission occurs in v. 18, where M shows that the common parent of Avy and M 
originally followed the tradition of RS fairly closely. 


17. ἵπ ῥεριμ. (Vat.) initial p is reduplicated contrary to the Attic rule. 
18. Hs involvebam is due to the influence of xii. 13, or the presence of περιστέλλειν in his MS. of RS, not to inde- 
pendent translation of N32) misread Ny, a corruption ingeniously but quite unnecessarily invented by Marshall. 
204 


iia 


Pie BOOK OF LTOBIT 1. 19-2. 1 


το And a certain one of those of Nineveh went and informed the king concerning me, that it was I who 
buried them, and that I was hid. And when I perceived that the king knew concerning me and 
20 that I was sought for to be put to death, I was afraid and ran away. And all that I possessed was 
seized, and there was nothing left unto me which was not taken to the royai treasury save my wife 
21 Anna and my son Tobias. And there passed not forty days before two of his sons slew him. And 
they fled into the mountains of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son reigned after him. And he 
appointed over all the accounts of his kingdom Ahikar, my brother Anael’s son, and he had authority 
22 over all his affairs. Then Ahikar made reques™for me, and I came down to Nineveh. For Ahikar 
was chief cupbearer, and keeper of the signet, and steward, and overseer of the accounts in the days 
of Sennacherib king of Assyria, and Esarhaddon appointed him a second time. And he was my 
brother’s son and of my kindred. 


ii. The starting-point of the present story, ii. 1-14. 


4x1 And when Esarhaddon was king I came home again, and my wife Anna was restored unto me, 
and my son Tobias. And at our feast of the Pentecost, which is the holy Feast of the Weeks, there 


mam navy dy ΟΡ Ar 32°] rex & αὐτὰ] > HF PID PIO Jay M1 Ar 19. «. επορευθη] 
bes δὲ BAS yy Ar emop. . . . ἐμοῦ] renuntiatum est illi % εἰς Tis] WIN Ar ms| > BA εκ τῆς 
N.] εν N. ΒΒ Νινευιτων AS ᾿ υπεδειξεν} -fe B mMyNpP box Ar +multa verba M eyo| > BA 
barre | eOanrov A kK. exp. | >aByd Luc. ArF kK. OTE emreyva | extyvous δὲ BAS One 6 τὴν αποθ.] 


quaerebat me occidere 3) 21» yow 73 mMd>upad Nobo wpa Ar (fA Ε) eyo... ors] > BAS τοῦ] 
> BA εφοβηθὴην x. arredpaca | φοβηθεις avexopnoa BA 9 ego autem fugi # pry op Ar wo ΠΣ M 


(of. F) 20. mma nv S5eend ΝΞΟ wpE Ar (ΟΣ +multa verba Μὴ stmil. F nprayn| δι- BA direpta 
est L ova umnpxev μοι] τ. ὑπαρχοντα pou BAS substantia mea 3» 0 OUK... βασιλικ.] > BASH Τωβια] 
-Ber ΒΒ -βιου A 21. ov διηλθ. nu. -+ ews οὐ] contigit dum laterem post diesa8 — contigit (+ ut y) post 
dies y Zuc. latui diebus 8 ἫΝ poy? " " ΠΡΟ Too Ny Ar F plen. ef aliter M τεσσερακοντα] ν΄ xcamg 
πεντηκ. BAS quadraginta quinque αβγὃ dr >M “wy πυϑῇ F amexr. | +sa0n2 Ar ou δυο 
vt. pr. WW sbow1N ArMF εφυγον Neal -yev δ᾿ τὸ ορη] montem 3» yand ArMF Apapar | 


-ad BH yap Ar Σαχερδονος] -dav A 90 pO pas noo S Archedonossar aByé Luc. jn DN Ar MF wos | 
pr.o BA μετ᾽ αυτον] av’ αὐτοῦ BAH Ar MF » 9 eraé. | + jIN7DN ΝΞΟ Ar Axetxapor | -€vayapov 
88 -tayapov BA Gann? $ Achicarum α β γὸ apps Ar M jan F Avan) | Syon Ar Sean MF τ. 
του αδελ. μ. υἱον] vt. (pr. τ. A) τ. ad. μι BAM ons F εκλογιστιαν] τειαν ΒΒ curam αβγὸ mba 55 4γ ΜΝ (FF) 


autos εἰχ. τ. εξουσ.] » BAS aliter F T. dior. | ΣΝ ΝΟ Ν Ar M 22. © vide apud Reusch Tore | κ. 
BAS Ar n&wo. | pr. xatind aw oy pay nop APPS ΝΣ (of. M) Ayevxaposl° 2°| Axtaxapos BA 
Janu’ S AchirarusaByd “ΠΝ F ἐμοῦ] --erat enim consobrinus meus aB 3D Ar κατηλθ.] ηλθ. 


BAS mxansi Ar (of. M) F την] > BA Αχειχξ. . . deur. | >aBArM yap | δὲ BAS apxtowoxoos | 
ow. B SF οινοδοχος A διοικητης] ὉΠ by F ἐπι Sev. βασιλεως (N* -εα δὰ ὁ ἃ) pad > BASF Sayep- 
δονος] Pr.oNC® BA -dovocos A 90, 0eu030 S Acedonassard > F ex Sevtepas| pr. vos BA bw e~ 
οὖ» S iterumé6 >F nv | πῶ ΞΕ δε] enim 3 Ar εξαδ.] mona 4rM »Ὲ Κ, εκ τ, 
συγ. μ.} >BASHFE 

11. τ. 1°] ore de (8. > A)BAS >UM em3.Bac.] >BAS ἘΝ wanna dr yon an 
TENSE karn\6.] » 3 Ar ME εἰς τι... μουϑ5} post Nu. 122% > Ar κ. απεδ.}] TTS Ar Mn Ε΄ ἡ γυν. 


19. ἀπέδρασα, a form occurring elsewhere in LXX only in δ Judith xi. 3. : 

20. βασιλικόν, cf. Dan. ii. 5 (LXX ἀναλημφθήσεται ὑμῶν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα εἰς τὸ Bac.), 1 Esdras i. 7. 

21. RY has ‘graecized’ the name of Esarhaddon; for δὲ by its ἐπὶ Sapyeddvos Bac. ii. 1, shows that R* had Σαχερδών 
(cf. Cod. Al. SayepSav). For Ahikar cf. note to xi. 18. ; 

22. a second time (cf. Mark xiv. 72): so Ball, Rendel Harris, the fem. being employed on the analogy of mv. RY, 
however, preferred ‘son by a second wife’, unless it is right to accent and punctuate ὁ Sayepdovds vids, ἐκ deur. = Sacher- 
donus’ son appointed him a second time. Dr. Charles conjectures that vids is a dittograph of the last three letters of Σαχερ. 


Il. 1. In N the gen. was written for τῇ ἑορτῇ under the influence of the following genitive unless τῇ ἡμέρᾳ is to be 
understood. evr. (sc. ἡμέρα cf. 2 Macc. xii. 32; 1 Cor. xvi. 8; Jos. Avs. 11]. 10. 6; cf. Philo, De Septenar. 21) = 
Ov Own 3n, a somewhat new and unusual name for the ‘ feast of weeks’ at the time when our author wrote ; hence 
he defined it as ἣ . . . ἐβδ. which is an integral part of RS (not lacking in δὲ as Hatch and Red. Concord, p. 361, sub. 
ἑβδομάς, incorrectly state), and RY undoubtedly witnesses to subsequent misunderstanding of his purpose. 

With vv. 2-4, 5 (first letter) and 8 cf. Ox. Japyr. No. 1076. Presenting the recension of R°, it shows the usual 
deference of that recension for the ancient tradition of RS against the less antique RY in several respects, 6.8. Ὁ. 2 
βάδιζε (-Cov RY) πτωχ. (against ἐνδ, of RY though the latter’s order is followed) ; v. 3 x. ἐπορ. T., ἀναστρέψ,. (= ἐπιστρέψ. 
ΚΘ) against ἐλθών of RY, ἰδού" (> RY), ἔθνους (γεν. RY); in Ψ. 4 ἦρα (ἀναιροῦμαι R*) against ἀνειλόμην (R”), ἐκ τ. πλατ. 
(>RY), ἐν τῶν against τι of RY, μέχρι and infin. against ἕως οὗ and indic. in RY, retention of the clause ‘in order to 
bury him’; see above for Ox.’s coincidence with RY, and Introd., p. 176, for the emendation in v. ὃ, 

205 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 2. 1-8 


2 was a good dinner prepared me; and I laid me down to dine. And the table was set for me, and 
abundant victuals were set for me, and I said unto Tobias my son, Go, my boy, and what poor man 
soever thou shalt find of our brethren of the Ninevite captives, who is mindful <of God> with his 
whole heart, bring him and he shall eat together with me; and lo, I tarry for thee, my boy, until 

3thou come. And Tobias went to seek some poor man of our brethren and returned and said, 
Father. And I said to him, Here am I, my child. And he answered and said, Father, behold, one 
of our nation hath been murdered and cast out in the marketplace, and he hath but now been 

4 strangled. And I sprang up and left my dinner before I had tasted it, and took him up from the 

5 street and put him in one of the chambers until the sun was set, to bury him. Therefore I returned 

6 and washed myself, and ate food with mourning, and remembered the word of the prophet which 
Amos spake against Bethel, saying, 

Your feasts shall be turned into mourning, 
And all your ways into lamentation. 
7,8 AndI wept. And when the sun was set, I went and digged a grave and buried him. And my 


pe AJ Δ. ἢ yo. μι BA ue. μου] +/2) WYN soon πν ἘΜ κι» BAD τ᾿ πευτ.] > Ar F wan wa M 
τ. eoptns | -ptn (pr. τ. A) BA npov| > BAS dr 7... εβδ.} ΠῚ Ar MF εβδομ.] pr. ἐπτα BAS 
a septem annis af ex (a y de Aug.) septimanis y Luc. Aug. septimanarum ὃ (vzde Reusch) eyev. | 
ΤΠ MF μοι ap. kan. | ap. kad, μοι BA x.5°] S18} τῷ. Ὁ ἀνεπεσα] ἀνεπαυσαμὴν A αριστησαι] φαγειν 
(a sup ras A*) BAS 2, ἃ [πλείονα usque ad [emor.] ow v. 5 ο΄ Ox «1°. ο΄. τραπεζα > BAS Ar ME 
παρ. μοι 39] εθεασαμην BASaBy Luc. > dAr MF οψαρια mevova | ova πολλα BAS >sb5ArMF πλειονα]} 
[zo Jka Ox 7. T.| > BAS Ox maud.l°| > BA Ox & Ar M βαδιζε] -cov BA ov| pr. ayaye BA Ox 
SL αν] eav BA Ox evpns| υρῃς Ox πτωχ. τ. ad. ημ.] τ. ad. np. evden BS (σ΄. Ar Μὴ +. ad. nu. AF 
ek τ. a0. ημ. πτωχων OX ἐκ N. . . « μέχρι tov non exst. Ox ex N. αἰχμ.) > BA Ar MF os μεμν.] > AF 


+7. κυριυ BAS Deum aByCypr. Luc. dom. suum ὃ ἈΠΟΝῚ wont Ar > M ev od. καρδ. αὖτ. 
> BAS 4ArM ayaye... «nou κι] > (v. supra) BA (ff. Ox) & x. pay.| ut manducet 30 κοιν. μετ᾽ ie 
panem nobiscum et prandium hoc y pariter nobiscum prandium hoc a8 spy dr MF ie N*] wou NCA 
BAS >ArM “nn by F poo peve | peo BA 27. ὯΝ DIAwIT b>) M mad.2°, . . ελθειν] > BASF 
one > ArMF σε ελθ.] [παραγενεΐσθαι σε Ox 3. emopev. - - - Κα] > BAS Sy Ar ἀγα τι o - 
1] - Οἱ πτωχ.} +captivum 3» τ. αδελ.] > M ἐπιστρεψας} ἐλθων BAS αναστρεψας Ox > Ar 


+wp) 12M Ney. . . . εθνους ημων] ΠΕΦΝῚ Ar Aey. . . - αποκριθ) > BA Ox 3M eyer | dixit mihi % 
αὐτῳ] > 3» αποκρ. eurev| ait L marep| μοι Ox 3; wov2?| > BASM εκ] τῶν aro Ox <Ovous | γεν. 
BAS ex fratribus nostris a8 8 (y Luc. =) M Sxnw van F mep. usque ad yevo. p. avt. (v. 4) non 
exst, Ox med. kK. Epp. εν τ. ay. κ᾿ auT. ν. ἐστρ.] εστραγγαλωμενος (-λημενος BabA > Μὴ epp. ev τ᾿ ay. BAS aByd 
+9maxd ym ΝΠΝΞ xo Sup ἽΠ ΝΣ Ar ΠῚΦΞ 05) F 4. 1°] kayo BAS  ynv 10 Ar MF 
avannd.| post pe BA > ArF sw aynenbna M αφηκα τ. apo. +x] > BAS None jd op ja Ar 
mp. ἡ yevo. με] ante ἀαναπηδ. BA (cf. F) box xdi dr > M 1 >A αὐτοῦ > BA avatpoupat| ανειλομὴν 
ΒᾺ npa Ox fr. boy ArM εκ τ. mar. | >BAS +nxnp7 Ar x.3°] > BA Ox S2X εν τ. " 
τι οἰκημα BA εν τ᾿ οἰκηματων Ox ᾿ς S indomum apud me (AF) ΝΠΔ ἽΠ3 4γ ΔῚΣ Μ εθηκα 
> BA Ox Sk μεχρι τ. τ. ἡλιον δυειν] ews ov εδυ οηλ. ΒΑ μεχρι Svew τ. ἡλιον Ox k. Galo aut. | > BASF 


x. θαπτω avr. Ox ut illum sepelirem 3» 5. επιστρ. ovy | x. ἐπιστρ. BASHZM κ. (reliqua non exst.) Ox 
+amab 4rM >F ἐλουσ.] > ArM ἘΠΕ aprov| +pou BASH pera πενθ.] ev humm BAS 
prowbowa Ar pro nyouraM -ἘΠΠΟΝῚ F 6. εμνησ. ... λεγων] NI2 OPN Ar τ. ρηματος τ. προφητου] 
τ. προφητειας (-ιας A) BASF sermonum prophetae 3, 12977 M Gee 5 0 6 eyor | καθως εἰπε BAS δὴν 


naan F οσα] quod 3: A.] post προφ. ΒΑ SL emt Βαιθηλ} in Bethleem % στραφησ.} 357) ArM 
>F υμ. at eopr.| αἱ copr. vp. BA omnes dies festi vestri 3 > F κ. nao... θρην.] > Ar F ἊΜ 
odo] εὐῴροσυναι BAS cantica aB Luc. (viae y semitae δ) Opnvos | -ov BA 7. «xd. | +xi1n> ΝΑῚ m53 
Ar M κε Ὅτε 0 6 Ὁ ΠΛ sigh! 1D opvé.| > Ar M 8. semil F οἱ] pr. omnes 3» mAno.| M29? 
Ar snnayni np) Mo p.] > ΒΑ karey.|] emey. ΒᾺ deridebant me © = cum ov φοβ. ... ἰδου of. Ox ov 


2. RS had τοῦ 6. which af y have preserved; δὲ omitted (or they have fallen out after αὐτοῦ) and RY varied to κυρίου. 

3. On the surface the ἀναστρέψας of Ox. and the ἀποκριθείς of δὲ might seem to suggest independent translation of 
a Heb. or an Aramaic word. This, however, apart from the general difficulties (see Introd., p. 182) of the independent 
translation hypothesis, is precluded by the fact that ἀναστρέψ. of Ox. corresponds to ἐλθών of RY (= ἐπιστρεψ. not 
ἀποκριθ. of RS), λέγει . . . ἀποκριθ. being omitted in conformity with RY and only x. ἐπορ. T. retained in R“s usual 
compromising tendency in the first clause of the verse. 

4. κι θάψω (-ro Ox. = R°) > RY, an instance of the resolution of an infin. into a finite verb in Hebraistic style 
and of its rejection or modification in a subsequent recension. 

6. ἈΞ (cf. γδ in addition to N’s ai ὁδοί read by Swete but διοδοί by Reusch) had ‘ways’ (used metaphorically like 
Mm and well paraphrased by RY). The emendation ὠδαΐ which was made as long ago as a8 (and accepted even by 
Reusch) is preferred by the partisans of RY (e.g. Néldeke, Lohr) as giving colour to the fiction that R® is merely 
a secondary revision undertaken in the interests of Biblical style and Semitic idiom. 


206 


9 
το 


13 


ir 4 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 2. 8-14 


neighbours mocked, saying, Is he no longer afraid ?—for already I had been sought after to be put 
to death for this matter—And yet he fled away <and lost all his possessions> and lo, again, he 
burieth the dead! And the same night I washed myself and came into my courtyard and lay down 
to sleep by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered because of the heat. And I knew 
not that there were sparrows in the wall above me; and their dung settled warm into mine eyes and 
brought up white films; and I used to go to the physicians to be healed; and the more they 
anointed me with their medicaments, the more mine eyes were blinded by the films, until they were 
totally blinded. And I was impotent in mine eyes four years. And all my brethren did grieve for 
me, and Ahikar nourished me two years until he went to Elymais. 

And at that time my wife Anna used to work for hire in the tasks of women, and would send 
the tasks back to their owners: and they would pay her the wages. And on the seventh of Dystrus, 
she cut off the web, and sent it home to the owners and they gave her all her wages, and gave her 
in addition to the wages a kid of the goats. And when she came into my house, the kid began to 
cry, and I called her and said, Whence is this kid? is it stolen? Render it to its owners; for we 
have no right to eat anything that is stolen. And she said unto me, It hath indeed been given me 


φυβ. ovxere| ovxere φοβ. BA εκινδυνευσεν Ox quomodo non ἅς. 3" φοβ.] +hic homo 3: +Awp2 jp Ar M 
non yap ἐπεζητηθην] -In NUDE > BA Ox S ArM os, ΤΟΥ τς aed. | > ArM tou! | >BA Ox 
gov. | ἀποθανειν Ox περι τ. πραγ. Tour, | Oz: απεδ.] αποδ. Α Ἐκ. ἀπωλεσεν Tavta τα ὑπάρχοντα αὐτου Ox 
+et perdidit substantiam suam a8 kx. παλιν tov] κι ov BA Ox iterum 3» mar, 8.| > Ar M θαπτ.] 
sepelire coepit 3» vekp.| +-ego autem intentus in mandatis Dei non timebam quid loqueretur homo Spec. 30 
9. aur. τ. νυκτὶ ehovo.| ev aut. τ. νυκτὶ ἀνελυσα (ανελυσ. sup ras B®») θαψας BAS iterum lavi ea hora postquam 
sepelivia8 illum sepeliviy sepelivié nom ΠΝ 3p “nx M edove.| ΝΙΝ }1D Sap xb Ar πρὸ ΤῸΝ M 
ἘΠ ον τὸς αυλ. μ.] > BASAr len. et aliter M ava. | domum 3» εκοιμ.] + μεμιαμμενυος BAS τ. τοιχ. της 
avn. | parietem 3» xdomia DD ΠῚ" by Ar “pn ὄν M avAns| + μου BA avakekah upper. | ακαλυπτ. BA 
δια τ. καυμα] > BAS ArM Io. στρουθια] ag Π᾿ ἐπάνω μ.]} »ΒΑ εἰσιν] eor. ΒΑ residebant ©] 
(f. Ar) κι 25] +7, οφθαλμων μ. avewyor. BAS (ff ΕἾ εκαθ.) > & εκαθ. τι aod. avr.| αφωδευσαν τ. 
στρουθια BAF εκαθ.} insiderunt y residerunt 6 > BA θερμ.Ἴ ante as BA > ArM c.3°] > A 
exnyay. | ἐγενηθη B Ar M (cf. F) Neve. | ets τ. οφθαλμους (-οις Bet) u BS ArM (of. SF) emopevopny | -θην 
BA +caecus#% 27. cotidieS pr. “DY DY δ Ar pr. p31 Μ τοὺς] > BA θεραπευθ. . . . etn τεσσερα] 
κ᾿ οὐκ ὠφελησαν pe BAS (ἡ F) ἢ wan tion NON ὌΠΙΝ ΜΟῚ ὝΠΝΟΝ 4, oD ΝΟῚ MN ΠΝΒῚΡ M 
Κὶ mavr. . . περι ἐμ.) > BASF οἱ adeAp.] + et amici mei % Ay M περι ep. | ΝΣ" NITY by M K.8° 
Ayetayapos] Ἀχίαχαρος Se BA Sanu? S Achicarus autem 3» apps 4dr M 40°27 MAN ANF ery δυο] 
> BAS ArM προ τ. avrov βαδισαι] ews ov επορευθην BASF priusquam iret > Ar M τ. Ἐλυμ.] τ. 
Ἑλλυμ. ΒΑ Limaidam i > Ar M x»ndsa F ΠῚ x. | >i evr. χρον. exety. | > BAS pup word Ar 
mn F A, ἢ γυνὴ μ.] wm BA npevero] Nas S  deserviebat a8 mercede serviebat y operabatur ὃ 
epyos t.| > BAS ΝΙΝ Ar γυναικιοις] -ecors Bo las Ka S = mulierum ay _ muliebribus (= mulieribus) 
6+lanam faciens et telam ex mercedibus suis pascebat me af l. f. et conducens telas texendas et ex 
&. 8 9 xnvryn nvend dr ownd MF 12. aneot.... mavrax.] > Ar (of F)  ovansd my nme M 
mittebant et adducebant (duc. y) illam ad texendum et dabant ei mercedem suam a8 y quae accipiebat 
et texebat et cum detexuisset (detexisset?) remittebat domino rerum et ille mercedem dabat ei 6 αὑτῶν 

Ε kuptois2° | > BAS εἕξετεμε τ. ἰστον] consummavit texturam 3, εδωκ. avt.] ameSox. aut. kK. αὑτοι 
BAS παντα] »ΒΑΦ k.6° εδωκαν αυτῃ] προσδοντες κι BA et insuper dederunt ei αβγδ 27. or 10 M 
ef’ ἐστιᾳ] > BAS pro detexto a8 telaticum y -+ad manducandum a86 73x 3 Ar MF εξ avyov | 
> BASArM WEE aa Ο ΝΣ κραζ.} ΝΞ P'yr NT pow ΠῚ ΠῚ Ar (+F of. M) Ke ore | ore δε BA 
εἰσηλθ.] ηλθ. BA $nxvan) F ο εριφ.] > BASE kpatew | κραυαζ. A εκαλ. αὖτ. κ. ειπα] εἰπα {-πον A) αὐτὴ 
BASMF_ vocavi ad me uxorem et dixi 111 3. mm ὈΝΦῚ Ar rovro] > BAS + qui balat © pnmore... 
κλεψιμ.} 3999 779 xby Jw ρῦπ M μηποτε] μὴ BA κυριοις] mand Ar αὐτου) > BA εξουσ. 
ἔχομεν ἡμεις] θεμιτὸν ἐστιν BASH οὐδεν] > BASF khewru.2°| supra mercedem & 14. kK. dey. μ. 
autn | nde ειπεν BAS et respondit mihi et dixit # (of. Ar) F Sova... pia bq | JAY WI O72 NN) jd md 


10. Miiller finds in θερμόν of R8, which he regards as the original Greek, an improbable epithet for ἀφόδευμα and 
Conjectures that ‘)N (= dirt) has been mistranslated. dvewydrwy RY perf. act. in /ate passive sense. Dillon’s con- 
jecture (Contemp. Rez’. 1898, p. 367) that Ἔλλυμ. (Cod. Vat., but elsewhere Ἔλυμ.) is a misunderstood transliteration 


of a Hebrew word = " hiding-place’ derived from ody is favoured by Dr. Harris, Story of Ahikar, p. 111, n. 1, but see 
Introd., p. 186. 

12. ἐφ᾽ ἑστίᾳ (Swete). Reusch conjectures ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐσθίειν (cf. δ) or ἐπὶ τῷ μισθῷ (telaticum y = mercedem pro tela 
Ξε ἵστιον ὃ v.11). af presuppose the existence of both these conjectures. Dr. Charles suggests that of an original 
ectiatopial (=for a meaz) the last five letters were lost before ἔριφον and the remaining six became ectial. For ἱστός see 
Deissm. B.S., p. 135. 

14. The presence of ποῦ εἰσίν in RS shows that δικαιοσύναι here keeps its old sense. At times however (as here in 
RY) it appears in RS, e.g. xii. 9, beside ἐλεημ. as an early gloss or doub.et translation and should be omitted. 


207 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 2142-373 


over and above the wages. And I did not believe her, and I bade her render it to the owners ; and — 
I was abashed at her because of this. Then she answered and said unto me, And where are thine 
alms-deeds? Where is thy righteous course of life? Behold, this thy case is known. 


iii. Tobit’s Prefatory Prayer, iii. 1-6. 


Lord, thou art righteous, and all thy works are righteous, and all thy ways are mercy and truth: thou 
3 judgest the world. And now, O Lord, remember thou me, and look upon me; and take not vengeance 
4 on me for my sins, both for mine ignorances and my fathers’. They sinned against thee and disobeyed 
thy commandments, and thou gavest us for spoil and captivity, and death, and for a proverb and 
5 a by-word and a reproach among all the nations among whom thou didst disperse us. And now 
thy many judgments are true in exacting from me the penalty of my sins, because we did not keep 
6 thy commandments and walked not truly before thee. And now deal with me according to thy 
pleasure, and command my spirit to be taken from me, that I may be released from off the earth 


2 And I was much grieved in my soul and groaned and wept. And I began to pray with groanings: O ; 


and become earth: for it is more profitable for me to die than to live, because I have heard false 


reproaches, and there is much sorrow in me. Lord, command that I be released from this distress, 
let me go to the everlasting place, and turn not thy face, O Lord, away from me. For it is more 
profitable for me to die, than to see much distress in my life, and not to hear reproaches. 


B. SARAW’S PREVIOUS HISTORY, vv. 7-15. 
7 On this day it happened unto Sarah the daughter of Raguel who was in Ecbatana of Media, 


mndsap Nay Ag »Ὲ doce: | δωρον BAS pr. 13 13597 13 xb M avy | xndid Ar >F k. ἐλεγ. 
. . ἀποδουν.} sed magis dicebam illi Furtivis est redde illum %# > Ar “ἢ my ΡΩΝ M αποδουναι] -διδοναι 
ΒΑ +avro ΒΑ mpoonpvd.| -ηρυθ. BA whos S  contendebam et erubescebam % Ay Nyn Ar 
am pampne um M >F χάριν τουτ.] > BASF Nx by Ar M era|y δὲ BAS ΠΊΠΤΩΝ ADM Noy Ar 
>F λεγειειπεν κ΄ ΒΑ λωϑ S >F >BAe κι που. . . δικ. σου] ubi sunt iustitiae tuae a8 Cypr. 
Aug. (δ᾽) ubi sunt eleemosynae tuae 6 ubi sunt el. tuae quas faciebas y —aliter F που eowv2| x, BA 
ibe (Ν 5) ταῦτ. μετα σ. γνωστ. εστ.] ιδου (δ ὁ 8) yr. παντα μ. co. BAS ecce quae pateris omnibus nota sunt & (σ΄. ἘΣ 
xdiod sans ἼΡῚ Ar Μ 2». nny nya 7b yy xbw M 
ΠῚ: «1° | + you 73 Ar (of. F) περιλ. yev. | λυπηθεις BA ΕΘΗ 90 S$ contristatus 3, 97 ἢ F 
τ ψυχ ] > BAS ArM ‘oy F κ᾿ orev. ekd.| εκλ. BAS Ar F ingemui lacrymans % »3yv by onbmay Ar 
np&. προσευχεσθαι] προσευξαμην BA SM fr. introivi (intravi γ δ) in atrium meum (aulam meam δ) etaByd >F 
per. orev. | per odvvns BAS -+animae meae Ar Ὁ yn M wp) 702 F De bux. | pr. λεγων BAS (of. Ara 
M F) Kupte | N29 ΝΠῸΝ Ar ἊΜ + TOawd Aw MF παν. τ. εργ.] ἘΣ ΠῚ δικαια] > BASF magna 
3. (of. Ar Νὴ eX. k. ad.] misericordiae et verit. plenae 3» -ovrn | -ναι BAS συ] σοι A pr. κ΄ κρισιν 
αληθινην x. δικαιαν BASF pr. et iudicium verum af y (6 =) τον] pr.es BASH pr. wa ὑπ F aova | 
sys 53 Αγ pasa Mo +onyenn oer py ane M 3. sumil. sed plen. MF K1°, . +. ἐπιβὰ. Καὶ 
> Ar kK. νυν σ. Κυρ.] > BAS επιβλ.] ten ene BAS respice in me 3» x.3° | > BAL με] >B 
exdixna. | εκδικ. Ρ Safin) 1a ταις ap. | de pecc. & kK. ἐν τ. ayy. p. | > Ar Ὁ M εν] > BAS 47 
de & ἡμαρτ.] pr.a. Bo pro οδ  ὅαβ pr.si quidy quia d s3an ‘NnAIN) NIN) Ar (cf OF) evar. 
eor. BAX Ar F 4. simil. sed plen. (verba e Script.) M x, map.| map. yao BA SL παρήκουσα N* 
τσαν N°2°BASaBy_ contempsimus ὃ (cf Ar) eel] SBE apray.| Siapray. B post axp. Ar > M 
ary. | >M Gav. | > ArMF ews? | = BA k. Nad. x. | > BAS Ar ovedur por | -wou BAS ante 
mapa BAr >F εν} »ΒΑ εθν.] +y ann F ne. διεσκορπισας] εσκορπισμεθα BAS son ambiny Ar 
5. samil. M  plen. F νυν] +Domine % ΝΠῸΝ Ar σου at xp.| a xp. o BA pr. Jon Ar ὑπαρχ.] 
eow BA αληθ.}] - αἰ 0800 cou NS® +i S pr. εἰ 3 ποιησ. . . ενωπ. o.| INDINI WY Swan xb Ar 
ποι. εξ εμ.] εξ eu. ποι. BA quae de me exigas 3» μου] -Ἐκ. τ. πατερων (πρων κὲ ὃ ἃ) pou NC® BA SaBy (> δὴ 
x. οὐκ] ov yap BAS non & αληθινως | ev -θειᾳ BA 9 6. aliter et plen. F kK. VU... ἐμου] ἽΤΟΠΞ O43 
Ὧν TAY NID Ar σου] pr. ἐνωπιον ἃ ἘΠ M κι 3] > BAS ἐπιταξ. «.. yn] (NT JD WHI Syapy 
Ar (f- MF) εξ ἐμ) » ΒΑ ΘΞ: am... . ys} > BAS ArM Ἢ 555 ἼΨΥ ma ΠΝ by pny F 
kK. γενωμαι yn | >i διο] διοτι BA ἀπουθαν.] Jion F μαλλον] >B x4] >B ore overd. usqUue adv. 
fin.| ny sop yous ΝΟῚ poss ΝΠ ΠΟῚ ΝΠΞῚ mona 4r ny naan youn ΜΟῚ M λυπ.] +eorw BA 
per ep. | een. BAS Kvp.1° | >BAS «πολυθω] -Onvar pe BA aro?” | > BA ravr. | >BAS amon. 
με] nd) BAS et da mihi refrigerium 3», tom. τ. aov.| a. tor. BA K5°] > BAS Kup.2°| > BASL 
102°. . . ονειδ.} > BAS Bderew | vivere et pati 3» 4. brev. F ny. ταὺυτ.] aut. nu. BASL συνεβ.} 
> Ar Σ.} post Pay. BA τ] >A του] > BA Ex8.] > F τ. Μ.] pr. SYANI Nn. Ar 


III. 7. Israél Lévi (Revue des Etudes juives, vol. xliv, April-June, 1902, pp. 289 ff.) points out the disproportion 
208 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 3. 7-15 


8 that she also heard reproaches by one of her father’s maidservants ; because that she had been given 
to seven husbands, and Asmodaeus the evil demon had slain them, before they had been with her as it 
is appointed for women. And the maidservant said unto her, It is thou that slayest thy husbands ; 
behold thou hast already been given to seven husbands, and thou hast not been named of one of 
9 them. Wherefore dost thou scourge us on account of thy husbands because they have died? Go thy 
-o ways with them and let us see neither son nor daughter of chine for ever. In that day she was grieved 
in her soul and wept ; and she went up into her father’s upper room, and desired to hang herself; and 
again she considered and said, Vay, lest they reproach my father ; and shall say unto him, Thou 
hadst one beloved daughter, and she hath hanged herself because of her calamities! and I shall bring 
down my father's old age with sorrow to Hades. It is fitter for me not to hang myself, but to 
‘I supplicate the Lord that I may die and no longer hear reproaches during my life. At the self-same 
time she stretched forth her hands towards the window and prayed, and said, Blessed art thou, 
200 merciful God, and blessed is thy name for ever: and let all thy works bless thee for ever. And 
3 now unto thee my face and mine eyes I lift up: command that I be released from the earth, and 
4 that I no more hear reproaches. Thou knowest, Master, that Iam pure from all uncleanness with 
5 man, and that I never polluted my name, nor the name of my father either, in the land of my 


(of. M) pr. yaxi F aur.| raur BA ipsa 3» ακουσ. ονειδισμ.] τ-δισθηναι BA S ΝΣ NWO N nyow Ar 
m2 oydoy ams pean Moqyan F (sed v. Fv. 8) uno... εαὐτης] > Ar aN mymaen M amnay F 
amy ΝΌΝ ΠῚ 75 sap ven Ὅν xd nb ono M ὑπὸ] avo At pas τ.) > BAS ro] > B 
εαυτ.] avr. BA 8. plen. F exded. | bed. BA exra| + NYION 55 ΓΝ WIN mby by by Ar (f. M) 
Agpodeos | -davs Β -δαιος A wwoolyarnco/ S osmws ArF “pws M δαιμ. τ. πον. | πον. & ΒΑ “YT sabp 
ArM ἀπέκτεννεν] -κτεινεν BA mw... avt.| ea hora qua ad illam introiebant ad concumbendum af 
qua hora introibant ad illam yM = antequam fierent cum illa in coniugio ὃ ka. . . . ταις] ὡς εν BAS 
sicut solitum est mulier a8 sicut traduntur mulieres ὃ > y ΠΡῚΝ 52 ms2 4r ywn b> Jama M >F 
euney | ταν BS ἢ mad, | >BAS -+sua it Σὺ εἰ η] Ov συνιεὶς BAS MN and M αποκτεννουσα] -πνιγουσα 
BASF suffocasafy_ suffocasti ὃ τ. avop. o. | σ. τ. avdp. BA ιδου ηδὴ]} ηδὴ ΒΑ Ἢ Son Ar >M 
anexded, eta avdp.| extra ecxes BAS > M K.3°,. . ὠνομασθὴς NB8*P] «3°... ὠνασθης BAS et nullo 
eorum fruita es aBy frunitaesd3 ΜῈ qyany abo mast by Sey xb pane om Ar Q. Te nas... 
ανδρ. σ.] TIT yan 7340 by ὩΓῸΝ pom M (of. F) περι τ. avdp. o. | > BA fr. aut 3 ote aneO. - -- autor | 
pnnn (cf. F) ΤῊΣ pmaxd am ΣΟῚ M on] ἐἰ BASF qui L aneOavov | -vav ΒᾺ -ve Ba? ὙΠ F 
x. | > BAS Sorper | wy M υιὸν N*] pr.cov BAS Ἔσου N8¢* pr. ex te anfe videamus & μηδε] » BAS 
IO. εν τ. ἡμερ. Exel. | ταῦτα ακουσασα BAS (cf Ar (ff. M) F) eadem hora ap in illa hora Ύ in illa die ὃ 
eur. | 7n ΜΙ ev τ᾿ ox. ] σφοδρα BA 5 Ar M nid sy F x. ἐκλαυσ.] > BAS nd sym F x.?° avaBac. 
me's 76eX. | wore BAS work MOONS doy. | iA) bya ay snd ΡΝ M nOeX. ..« κακῳν] mult. aliter 
ef plen. M. hab. supplicationem mand. edoy. κ. dey. | enev BAS cogitavit £ Μη . - - κακων] Mia μεν εἰμι τ. 
πατρι μου eav ποιήσω τοῦτο ονειδὸος αὐτῳ εσται (εστιν A) ΒᾺ 5. supplicationem et dissim. verba habet M ΠΟ ON 
ma 4347 F aura | »3 απὸ τ. kak, | > καταξω] post αὐτου BAS xnnwdy Ar τ. TaTpos p. | αὐτου 
BAS + 9s F ums | οδυν. ΒᾺ +animi 3» adov N©2® BA | adous N* xpno. .. . Con p.|] > BAS 
MF -+neque ego neque pater meusaBy -+patermeusd χρησ. μοι] pr. md 15 Ar ἀλλα] ay pia Ar 
Kup. | ands Ar oT as aro. | > Ar ie, 55 NL εν QUT. τ. Karp. | ck BAS WF διαπ. τ. χειρ.} 
ΣΒΑΘ ban msdn τ. θυριδα] ty -δι BAS xmby pap Ar εδεηθῃ | ante προς BAS yby2 Ar 
+n pt) Ar θεε eX. | Kupte ο θεος μου BAS Domine Deus misericordiarum %@ ΝΣ) ΠῚ NIDM ons Ὁ Ar 
wads ma F cout] +7. ἀγιον x. ἐντιμον BASH ΝΟΌΣ 593 wenant ἼΦῚΡ Ar sam ain Syn ww F 
n.3°| > BASH Ar εὐλογησατωσαν | -γησαισαν BA σου] 1 Ar εἰς T. at. | maby vadydy dys Ar post 
Sawn F +73 ὃς pDnawp 51 F 12. >M νυν] Ἔκυριε BA  4γ +ypnby mn F ἐπι σε] εἰς 
σε post μου BAS προσ.] > F τ. προσωπ. p. τ. oO. p.| ~~ BA povl?| +levo aBAr +verto y 
ἀνεβλεψα]) δεδωκα BAS dirigo aBy_ respiciunt ὃ won Ar alter F 13. plen. et aliter MF eurrov | 
Lixo? S$ απολυθηναι] τλυσαι BA uteraly S ΠΝ 47° oo7axn) F απο τ. ys | θυ Ar abdiyn {9 F 
ακουειν | -σαι BA ονειδισμους | -pov BAS 14. plen. F δεσποτα] Kup. BA Ar > F axabapouas | 
ἀμαρτ. BA avdpos | pr. και B (sed non Bb A) 9 15. ουχι] οὐκ BA μου τ. ov.| τ. ov. μου BA corpus 


—_— « 
ahi rm meet 


; 
Ἷ 
Σ 
* 
' 


between the cause—servamd’s gibes—and the result—desire for death ; the strangeness of 9" in the mouth of servants 
(but rightly used by parents, x. 11, RS, 12, RY), Sarah’s anxiety for her father’s sake; the figurative use elsewhere in 
Tobit of μαστιγόω (e.g. xi. 15, xiii. 2, 5,9). He ingeniously conjectures that her mother (A'S) not a maid (71S) taunted 
her, that πατρὸς αὐτῆς was a gloss inserted afterwards, and ἡμᾶς (v. 9) =the parents. Even if Levi were right, RS 
(a single maid) would be nearer to the intention of the author than RY’. 

8. ἀπόκτενν. (+vi. 14f. 8, xiv. 11. N), Th. Gram., p. 225. ὠνάσθ. (RY), Th. Gram., p. 200. 

1105 209 P 


“Ὃν. Sere 


16, 17 


co 


τὸ 


THE BOOKIOF HORI τ 5 


captivity. Iam the only daughter of my father, and he hath no other child to be his heir, nor has 


he kinsman near him, nor has he relation, that I should keep myself for a wife unto him. Seven 


husbands of mine are dead already ; and why should it be mine to live on? And if it pleaseth thee © 


not to slay me—O Lord, now hear my reproach. 


C. THE UNION OF SARAH’S AND ToBIT’s DESTINIES, vv. 16, 17. 
At the self-same time the prayer of both was heard before the glory of God. And Raphael 


was sent to heal them both: 7 the case of Tobit to remove the white films from his eyes, that he 


might see the light of God with his eyes ; and iz the case of Sarah the daughter of Raguel, to give 
her for a wife to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to unbind Asmodaeus the evil demon from her ; 
because it belonged to Tobias that he should inherit her rather than all those which wished to take 
her, At that time did Tobit return from the courtyard into his house, and Sarah the daughter of 
Raguel herself also came down from the upper chamber. 


THE JOURNEY OF TOBIAS, iv-xiii. 
A. ITS CAUSE AND THE PREPARATIONS, iv. I-v. 17%. 


i. The Cause, vv. I, 2. 


In that day Tobit remembered the money which he had left in trust with Gabael in Rages of 
Media, and he said in his heart, Behold, I have asked for death. Why do I not call my son Tobias 
and shew unto him concerning this money before I die ? 


meumafB >y K.2° | > BA ovde | +dehonestavi a8 πατρος μ.] max F αιχμ. p. | yma F 
της] >A erepor | > BAS ArMF Tekvov | παιδιον BA  filium vel filiam # 73 ArM wwF wa | ο 
BAS qua κληρονομησῃ] -σει BA αυτον | mnions Ar M adeXp. | > ArM αὐτῳϑ"] > BASLZArM 


eyy. ovre ovyy.| vel proximus aut propinquus 3» oure | ovd. BA συγγ. aut. ὑπαρχει] -xov avr. υἱος (ι sup 
ras A®) BAS ap ArM ynnd fe) le auras? urapxet | post adedos Ψ, altter F συντηρ. en. | custodiat 
me 3 Ar  Μ πη Ν F ἐμαυτὴν τὰ δ ῬΑ] αὐτὴν N* > M αὐτῳ γυναικα ] avr. yu. Sup ras δῖ αὐτῷ 
γυναι sup ras A® (seg ras 2 litt.) > Μ adliter F yu. | > Ar ndy | "πὶ Ar M exta| pr. viri 3» 


(plen. F) x.4°] > BA εστιν ert | > BAS adhuc % pon nD INE SS 1 ὧν} “Π Ar nvnd M 
+ pdyya WE 1a σοι Sox. | —~ BA Kup.| > BA Ar ante ἀποκτ. © νυν] ἐπιταξον BAH > LAr 
εἰσακουσ. ovetd. p. | επιβλεψαι (pr. impera et 5) ew ἐμε (ε. ε. > y Ar) k. ἐλεησαι με K. μηκετι ἀκουσαι με ονειδ. BA Sa B 
yi8ArM  fplen. F 16. Ἐν avr. τ. καιρ.] x BAS win ΝΟΣ 4r ayy ΠΝ F εισηκουσθη | -σεν κι A 
exauditae sunt 3; nby Ar F n|>B ms A προσευχὴ δὶ Ba] -χης B* A preces & τ. δοξ. τ. θεου ] τ. ὃ. 
τ᾿ μεγάλου Ραφαηλ BA [59 Jodty ὦ pr. summi® ΝΞ ΝΠΟΝῚ soapy oma 4γ7. 1337 NDD (NBD yond) AYA 
δ) 29 + verba pauca M εἰ ΠῚ Μ ΩΣ IN F τῇ. ameor. | τοὺ Ar Masi (pr. verba pauc.) F 
P.| ante x. BA (v. 16) 27. soxdp 4r M + meena by mn awn M ToBerOl? aod. τ. Δ. ἀπὸ τ. οφθ. αὐτου] 
του T. λεπισαι (λιπεισαι A* vas λι Αἴ @Saxa\ 93) κι το A. BAS id est T. curare ἃ maculis oculorum α βὶ sanare 
a mac. oc. y desquama maris (= desquamare) 5 3p ssp inxend M (cf. F) wa... θεου] > BAS Ar 
MF εἰ reddere ei (ei > y) aspectum luminis a By lumen coeli ὃ Sappa N* | -pavN1 BASH Ty N* | την 
xcaBASHL Pay. | pr. του αὶ 8 BA aurny | > BAL Τωβειθ] 27. tov A Avot | dno. BAS colligare 
aBy alligare ὃ meaynd Ar M_oanpnandy ayy Fo Ασμοδεον] -δαυν Β τδαιον ΑΞ» «οἰγαλολιοαν, ᾧ (cf. 38) 
ΝΌΟΝ Ar F sows M dam. τ. mov.| 7. ὃ. ΒᾺ WT soon 4r M > F doors. . . αὐτὴν} > Ar M 
ndysan paw "Ὁ 3 F ar avr. | > BAS emu. κλ. autny?? | destinata erat haereditas eius # mapa .. 
αὐτην8} > BAS ev εκ. τ. καιρ. | mnoiby mv “Ὁ Ὁ 451.47 M (Gal) exew@ | avr. BA S exeotp. T. απὸ 
τ. avdys | emorpepas T. εἰσηλθεν BAS an Ar M δ8)3))} F x, aut.]| > BAS “post kareBn Κ ur. | + autns 
BAS +axbyd mewe 33 Ar (of MF) 


IV. 1. του] pr. περι BAS apyuptou] inter p2° ef parva ras in BME o| ov BA Ταβαηλῳ] -ηλ BAL 
Nuliag § ὍΝ) Ar denM Sway ΕΒ εν Ραγοις] alco S we pa dr wen nena M oF 
Μηδιας]} -eras Bab 2. 7. xapd. avt.| εαυτῳ Bara A od  ἹἸΠΝῚ2 F wou | > BAS ουχι] οὐχ BA 
pr. won S > ArM ΣΝ aod F ae) SN x.2°| wa αὐτῳ BAS υποδειξω] 33188) F αὐτῷ . . + 


12. ἀναβλ. causative as in Is. xl. 26 (= NW9). 


17. λῦσαι (R*) and δῆσαι (RY) were both technical terms in contemporary magic, Deissm, Z.A.Z. 306-10. It is note- 
worthy that in Dan. iv. 12 these two words both correspond to the Aramaic 4; cf. 1 Enoch viii. 3. 


79 * . τ Ρ εν . . . . . τὸ . ~] - 
fics: 3: F’s immediately may be due to his intimate acquaintance with some recension based on an Aramaic text in 
which 9992 had been corrupted into ΠῚ ἼΠ3, but this particle is very characteristic of F’s style (e.g. iv. 3 e¢ assim) 


and but little weight therefore can be attached to its appearance here. 
210 


see es ΟΝ 


THE BOOK OF “TOBIT 4. 3-10 


ii, The ‘Teaching’ of Tobit, vv. 3-21. 


38 And he called Tobias his son and he came unto him and he said unto him, Bury me well, and 

honour thy mother ; and forsake her not all the days of her life, and do that which is pleasing before 
4 her, and grieve not her spirit in any matter. Remember her, child, that she hath experienced many 
5 dangers for thee in her womb ; and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave. My child, be 

mindful of the Lord all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin and to transgress his command- 
ments: do acts of righteousness all the days of thy life, and Walk not in the ways of unrighteousness. 
| 6 <For if thou doest the truth, success shall be in thy works, and so zt shall be unto all that do 
ἡ righteousness. Give alms of thy substance: turn not away thy face from any poor man, and the 
᾿ 8 face of God shall not be turned away from thee, Ass thy substance is, give alms of it according to 
thine abundance: if thou have much, according to the abundance thereof, give alms ; if thou have 
9 little bestow it, and be not afraid to give alms according to that little: for thou layest up a good 
| 10 treasure for thyself against the day of necessity : because alms delivereth from death, and suffereth 


Touro» | >BAS +quam commendavi % N5D25 ΝΡῸΝ mS Ar (of. M F) ay. K.1°] 1) F exadecer | 
καλεσας BAS T. r. viov avr. | avrov BAS | filium suum LE κ᾿ AO. mp. aur. | > BALLS ArMF kK. | 
> BAS arg] > BAS +Fili: et (et > y) ille respondit: Quid est pater et Thobis dixit (et dixi y) a8 
ayy. | pr. Πιαιδιον eav ἀποθανω BAaBy8SArMF kaos | > SANS diligenter % 3p F Tima | μὴ ὑπεριδης 
ΒΑ ὦ (cf. F) x. μὴ εγκ.] τιμα BAS αὐτης] cov ΒΑ SF kK. πὸὶ - . . mpayp.] > S ever. avt.| avty 
BA illi. . . in conspectu eius # λυπησ.] AWDN Ar AION M τ. mvev. avt.| αὐτὴν ΒᾺ NAD WD by 
dar mp ΝΜ +7" nN TDN ba M >F ev π. πραγ.) > BA Ar MF 4. αὐτης1" 55] > BAaBy 
ὃ Spec. wd. πολ.} + BA quanta pericula # > Ar may ana M pr. poy ΠΠῚ2) ΠΊΠ ΟΠ naan F 
ewpax.| cop. Β passa sit 3 ΠΡῚΝ dr my nay M ev τ. κοιλ. aut.] > Ar pr. nya MF x. | > BAS 
ev en ταφ.] pr. 1333 M 5. paene simil. M kia > ΒᾺ π. τ. ἡμερ.] cum praeced. coniung. At 
cov | > BA του Kup. | +7. θεου μων BAS Ar Deum 3 ἽΝ ΔΙ ὙΠῸΝ mn F ΠΟΤΕ ἢ αδικιας | plen. Ε 
«2° | >B ἀμαρτειν x. | >B -ravew x, Babmg A δικαιοσυνας | την ΒΑ αβ ὃ Cypr. Lue. pr. κα AS 
»γ ποιει] -wAS >y ταις οδ.] in viam αβγὃ (in vias Spec. 24) son 22) ay Ar 6. > M 
οι ποιουντες] ποιουντὸς cov ΠΑ αβ γὸ Luc. Cypr. =) adn evar | -av Be NA pr. τὴν BA ex (in B) veritate a B y 
Luc. Cypr. veritatem ὃ ευοδωθησ.] εὐοδιαι ἐσονται BAS erit respectus aBy Cypr. -tio Luc. bene tibi 
erit ὃ msn Ε εν τ. εργοις αὐτων] εν τι ε« σὺ BAaByS -+omnibus (- in (ex Cypr.) substantia e versu seq. 
8 Cypr.) δ᾽ operibus tuis Zwc. operum tuorum Cyr. bo baa Ar Soyn ἸΝῚ pods ΠΝ F kK. π. τ. ποιουσιν 
dx. ] cum v. 19 contung. ἃ (Swete) -Ἐ ΠΣ 4, »Ὲ δικαιοσ.}] pr. Tv» BA >F 7-19". > 
[7 usque ad τοῦ B:—] 7. simil. Μ σοι] cov Ak. μὴ Φθ.... ἐλεημοσυνην] > 71 τοῦ SaByd Spec. 24 
ArM col >A κι: Δ ουμη..- θεου] MnIDY ADD ND ΝΠῸΝ Ar OR JOD Ddy NO F — προσ- 
oor | Op TY MF πτωχ.] of Seay δ} ΜΙ +7¥IN) F του θεου | >S§ 8. stmt. M AYA zy 
ΝΠΡῚΝ Day TAMy JD pan on Way xnpty tayod Joa ΝΟΣ nwt 4, υὑπαρχ.] Jha Kf yg? yl S 
+ fili LH εξ αὐτων edenp. | + av πολυ σοι ὑπαρχὴ kata To TOV εξ avTwY ποιησον ελεημοσυνὴν 540 aBy (> ὃ ef reli- 
qua verba huius versus > 8) Cypr. Aug. (cf. F ?) κατα To ολιγ.] + communica et a 8B y Cypr. Spec. 24 Aug. 
ποιειν} cum (quia B) facies (facis γ Cypr.) aBy Cypr. (of. Spec. 24) φοβου mote | ov ποι sup ras Bab 
9. simul. et plen. M NON DVI APN AY PN|II NNPIY ὙΠ ON) PDD) APN Ar yap| > aByd Cypr. 
Caes. Io. ἐλεημυσυνη] την (v ras A’) A* non Ar ΠΡῚΣ M καὶ οὐκ. τς axoros | mm ‘ya poynnan b>) 


5. Cf. Test. Job xlv, ‘ Behold I die; only forget not the Lord.’ 

6%-19, full of reminiscences of Ahikar (see Introd. pp. 191 f.), certainly stood in R*. Apart from the fact that their 
presence in &% cannot be attributed to later insertion from RY or R°,a comparison of τ΄. 5 with τ΄. 19° shows that 
some ethical instruction of the type found in %# and RY intervened in ᾿Ξ between these two verses. The omission 
therefore is simply confined to δὲ and is explicable on the supposition either of the loss of a page ina MS. or that 
the eye and mind ofa scribe passed from the objective fact expressed in ποιοῦσιν dix. v. 6 to the cause and subjective 
motive for such action stated in δώσει... Bovd, dyad. The gap has been filled in above from RY except in a few 
cases (v. 27:77) in which that recension has evidently and seriously departed from the more ancient R®. 

7. The words and when ... grudging seem to be an interpolation in RY from v.16. The combination of 71, 106, 
a8, Spec. 24, 3, Ar, M is emphatically against their originality in R°. 

8. The parallelism demands the text of RS preserved in %& and the Patristic quots. :—os σοὶ ὑπ. παιδίον οὕτως ποίει ἐὰν 
πλῆθός σοι ὑπάρχῃ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος ποίησον ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐλεημ." ἐὰν ὀλίγ. σοι ὑπάρχῃ, κατὰ TO ὀλίγ. μεταδός (Communico = μετα- 
δίδωμι in Wisd. vii. 13, cf. Test. Issachar vii. 5 ; Test. of Zeb. vi. 4. 7). 

9. Possibly γάρ should be omitted and the verse construed closely (cf. 2. Cyfr. Caes.) with the preceding :—py 
φοβοῦ" ὅτι ἐν τῷ ποιεῖν σε ἐλεημ. θέμα ἀγαθ. Ono. A7’s PND should be read ecther PNDW = ὑποθήκη (Neaub.) or 
PNDN = ἀποθήκη (Nold.). 

Io. Cf. ΤΥ xi. 4 (generalized in Sir. xxix. 12) with its counterpart in Syriac Ahikar (R. Harris, Story of Ahikar, 
pp. xlvii f.). 


211 P 2 


It 


12 


> 
13 


14 


[ὃ 


~ 
~r 


THE: BOOK-OF TOBID fms, 


not to come into darkness. Alms is a good offering in the sight of the Most High for all that give 
it. Beware, my child, of all whoredom, and take first a wife of the seed of thy fathers, take not 
a strange wife, which is not of thy father’s tribe ; for we are the sons of the prophets. Noah, 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, our fathers of old time, remember, my child, that they all took wives of 
their kinsmen, and were blessed in their children, and their seed shall inherit the land. And now, | 
my child, love thy brethren, and scorn not in thy heart thy brethren and the sons and the daughters 
of thy people so as not to take one of them ; for in scornfulness is destruction and much trouble, ὦ 
and in idleness is decay and great want, for idleness is the mother of famine. Let not the wages of 
any man, which shall work for thee, tarry with thee, but render it unto him out of hand : and if thou 
serve God, recompense shall be made unto thee. Take heed to thyself, my child, in all thy works, 
and be discreet in all thy behaviour. And what thou thyself hatest, do to no man. Drink not wine 
unto drunkenness, and let not drunkenness go with thee on thy way. Give of thy bread to the 
hungry, and of thy garments to them that are naked : of all thine abundance give alms; and let not 
thine eye be grudging when thou givest alms. Pour out thy bread and thy wine on the tomb of the 


4 nso obs Ὁ Mom Sv am ΠΟΥΟῚ menya nam F εασει] -εἰς A 11. Corrupt. et e Script. 
multa addita Ar (+07 M) pen wy OPO Μ᾿ eryd sym qa ΦΥῚΡΠ ad omden nam ΠΟῚΣ anor 
apts F yap] > A dopor| Jassao 9 πασι Β] -ow A 12. mpogex.| - NON Nyy San Ar 55p 
ΠΝ M γυν. πρῶτον λαβε] accipe primum uxorem 6 ux. primo acc. y ux. proximam acc. a8 ux. acc. 
Cypr. myn) NnNnN 35 ap) Ar (of M) "3 many cnmawnd AWN ΠΡῚ F μη] 27. κα ADE ἐσμεν] - qui. 
in veritate prophetaverunt priores a8 et secundum veritatem ambulamus 6 > F Noe | + prophetavit prior 
a8  +propheta fuit prior y quia prophetavit primus 6 > M 27. ἸΝ)ῚΡ 3) Sion Ar (cf. F) ABp.| pr. 
ca Ar F ισ.] pr. καὶ AD Ιακ.] pr. καὶ AH Αγ ΜῈ αὑτοι] ovr. ALD τῶν αδελῴ.} genere patrum af 
semine fratrtum y sem. patrum ὃ omnavnd M evdoynO.| ηυλογισθ. Α pr. 133 55 innnnd yaw ΝΟ M 
σπερμ. αὖτ. ] semen filiorum % wy dr > M κληρονομ.} ΠΝ Ar > M 13-16. sémiliter (9) sed 
ord. confus. ArM νυν] tuaBy (nunc 4) Arm propter quod et tu Spec. 13 ef 34 Tous αδελῴ. σου] 793 qd 
Ε ἀπὸ τ. αδελῴ. x. τ. vey x. θυγατ. ] filiabus filiorum ἃ β.γὺ ΠΠ1Π5. et filiabus ὃ 9. Ar filiabus filiarum Spec. 13 
ef 34 «Oy 13) Pos F του λα. σου] > Ar haBew ceavtr@ εξ αὐτων yu. | ut non accipias unam ex illis aB y 
accipe unam ex illis ὃ (cf. Spec. 13 ef 34) > Ar ev τ. umepnp. . . . Tod. | ΓΝ Ν᾽ NII Ar y905 95 
3) js aw F SQ ΤΠ ὁ ὁ ὁ μεγαλη | > dAr ™ axpeor. | Jlanoe JS wan F n yap... λιμου] >aBy 
iugalitas est mater inopiae 6  Juxuria mater est famis Amdér. multo plura sed confusa et corrupta exhibel Spec. 
> Ar ἀπωλια Β] -ea Bab A 14. ‘Jn nonnullis diversus fuisse videtur textus Sin. ab’ Vat. (vide aB y8 
Ambr Spec.) apud Reusch sim. M a\\a ... παραυτικα] > Ar yoy DINDN AWN orn jo M {2:3 Εὴ εαν 

- σοι] oun 35 ade» snd: ΜῈ aliter F ear?” | prox. A πρόσεχε. . . σου} > M ἐν Tao, avaotp. 
σ.] in omnibus sermonibus tuis a8 (> y) in univers. serm. tuis Spec. gt in omn. cogitationibus tuis δ᾽ 
533 F 15. και ὁ μισ. μηδενι ποι.] ὁ μισεις ἀλλῳ ov ποιησεις Clem. Strom. o μισ. ado μη ποι. Chrys. 
ὁ σὺ μισ. αλλῳ μὴ ποι. Did. de Trin. εἰ quod oderis alio (alii y) ne feceris aBy cf. Const. Apost. 3. 15. 7. 2 
Aug. Serm. Bened, Reg. Ether. c. Elep. Fastid. de v. Chr. Greg. Mor. Paulin. Ep. Valer. Cemel. hom. (apud 
Reusch) ayn NX? N27 NID (fos! 2.13) 4,7, oanNS myyn ΝῸ qward ‘wn wer (post τ. 13) M 
on NOY DPN δ ΕΟ οἶνον. . . odp a.] > Ar ὮΝ 53 95 ΠΩΝῚ ΝΟῚ paswy qoxy ΠΝ ym Mes μεθ.] in 
ebrietate 3. μεθὴ | owos 44. 106 nequitia (pr. ullaaB)aBy Wow F τη οὗ. ] omni vita y (8 λαός fantum 
habet: ab ebrietate abstine) omni via a β 16. διδου] διαδιδ. A πεινωντι) -wor 58, 74, 76, 249 a BO (-ντε 
y Spec. 24) Ambr. de Tob. τοις γυμν. ] τοις sup ras B® nudos lege a8 nudum veste y da nudis ὃ lege 
nudis Spec. 24 παν... eden. | > ArM περισσευσῃ] -eun Α (PY $33 ID Poo opéan. | ἽΝ Ap ΝΟΥ 
ArM yaad yt xb F σ] >A 17. «xxeov| funde a8 frange (+funde) y Aug. Serm. distribue ὃ 
effunde Azct. imperf. in Mth. hom. 26 ws Ar ἼΞΦ M constitue B πὸν F τ. apr.| pr. vinum tuum et 


11. δῶρον = offering (cf. 5), Lev. i. 2, Mark vii. 11. F’s paraphrase is good. 

12. See Test. Job xlv, Jub. iv. 33. See Introd., pp. 183 f., 186, and espec. 196. 

13. Restore R* from 35 :- τοῦ μὴ λαβεῖν μίαν ἐξ αὐτῶν. On dypedrns (RY) see Th. Gram, p. 82. 

16. Restore in R® τοὺς γυμνούς and 27. περίβαλε (Is. lviii. 7) on basis of H. 

17. The impossibility of //eva//y ‘pouring out bread’ (RY) and the alleged paganism of the funeral rite here 
inculcated have led to numerous emendations and suggestions as to how a hypothetical Hebrew or Aramaic original 
could have been misread. Graetz (cf. δ) suggested ΡΠ Apa sand πον: Hilgenfeld conjectured ΡΣ Π “Ὁ 
misread as ‘Sn nap) ; Hitzig 72N misread jon. others YD misread DY. The difficulty, even if RY were the 
true text, is not sufficiently great to warrant these hypotheses. But the zeugma in RS (recovered from % 47M) is 
quite defensible and its claim to be the original text is now beyond controversy through the discovery of the Syriac 
and Arabic texts of Ahikar (see Introd. p. 192, footnote 2, and Cambr. Ahikar, pp. xlvii f.). It is, however, quite 
conceivable that ¥)’s comstitwe may be a mistranslation of an Aramaic imper. 7D. For the custom of offering such 
sacrifices see Introd. p. 198. 


212 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 4. 18—5. 3 


18 just, and give not to sinners. Ask counsel of every man that is wise, and despise not any counsel 
το that is profitable. And bless the Lord thy God at all times, and ask of him that thy ways may be 
made straight, and that all thy paths and counsels may prosper: for every nation hath not >good 
counsel; <but> the Lord will give to them <all good things> ; and whom he will the Lord 
humbleth unto the nethermost Hades. And now, child, remember these commandments, and let them 
20 not be blotted out of thy heart. And now, child, I shew thee that I left ten talents of silver fn 
21 trust with Gabael the brother of Gabri at Rages of Media. And fear not, my child, because we 
have become poor: thou hast much wealth, if thou fear God and avoid every kind of sin and do 
the things which are good in the sight of the Lord thy God. 


11. The Preparations, v. 1-17. 


1 Then answered Tobias and said unto Tobit his father, All things, whatsoever thou hast com- 
2manded me, I will do, father. But how shall I be able to fetch it from him, seeing he knoweth 

me not nor do I know him? What token shall I give him that he may recognize me and trust me 
3 and give me the money? And the roads to Media I know not to journey there. Then answered 
Tobit and said unto Tobias his son, His note of hand he gave me and a note of hand I gave him and 
I parted it in two and we took to each of us ὦ fart, and I put it with the money, and now lo, it is 
twenty years since I left this money intrust. And now, child, seek thee a trusty man which shall 


aB -+funde vin. t.y Aug. Serm. +vin. t.d vin. t. ἄπο. 27. 3 +700M) Ar +79" M ex. τ. tap. | 
super sepulcra aByS cum iustis ὃ dex. | +pdys F καὶ μὴ... ἀμαρτ.) > ArM  nmywpy ΠΡ jnn bs 
yb F dos] +illud#® 18. pry bsa wav ΝΞΟ youn Ar (σε plen. M) — &qyrno.| man Sy F καταφρονησῃς | 
μεταῴφρον. A emt . . . χρησ.] quoniam omne consilium utile est Ὁ 19%. plen. ef multa e Script. 
addit. F kal? . . Kar2°?] > Ar M cal] > © Kup. τ. θ.] Deo 3» ἼΝ 30 F παρ᾽ ave. | τὸν Ar 
omos ... evodaboow] ἽΠΊ ΠΝ WI NIM Ar (cf Μὴ —-Buore’... ἀγαθὰ] ΝΠῸΝ ὕΠῸΝ ap Td weed md os Ar 
(125) Wan ὋΣ Nos ayy ow oon T2 ΝΜ παν εθν.] caeterae nationes a8y omnes gentesd βουλην] 
+bonam (-um δ) α β.γ ὃ αλλ᾽ αὐτὸς... αγαθα] >aBy Dominus dat nobis omnibus ὃ 19> usque ad 13: 
6° 8:— δώσει Κυριος] adda αὐτὸς ὁ Kup. διδωσιν BAS (Ar M v. supra) βουλ. ay.] παντα τ. ayaba BA 3 (υ. Ar 
M supra) ov av|ocav Boy eav ἃ quemergoaBy quemcunque ὃ Kup.] > BAS ipseaB Deus y 
(Dom. ὃ) > 47M trarewvor} pr. allevat et quem voluerit ipse aBy pr. exaltat et queme. vult ὃ pr. Say oo 
rast Ar (Cf MF) εως gd. κατ. καθως Bovdovra (-eraa AS) BAS  usque ad inferos y (deorsum a β sub terram 
d)aByS >ArM και wy... cov] >S ἽΝ nod) xd) spar mip MN ID a Ar (cf M) τ. ἐντολας 
ταυτ.] τ. τλων μου BAL + W533 $335 sees DIM M 20. mato. | > BAS urobekvue | επιδεικ. B ort | Ta 
BAS > ArM apyup. | pr.tov BA pr. poy Ar (of. M) raped. | pr.a BAS ArM Ῥαβαηλῳ] Tau. A 
Gabelo ἢ δας 9 ΝΣ dr) ΝΣ M Ssay F Γαβρει] -peea ΒΒ -1a ἃ Gabahel a8 Gabrin δ Gabeli 
y >S8Ar carp nn M Sena F Apyos| Payos BAD labs S ὉΔῚ ΡΞ Ar yeaa noosa M 


+n OY mys xooms 47M >F 21. καὶ py... entax.| > dr M ca] > 9 matd.| -διον 
absciss. est in A ayad.1° | > BA decor } kv. A φυγῃς] αποστ. BA recesseris 3» O17 wn Ar Tone. 
ΒΡ ὃ. σου] Moy Jan nyoya 7, »Μ τ. αγαθ.] τ. ἀρεστὸν BAS bene 3 WN Ε ὥΟΣΟ ὦ ἘΝ Ὁ σου] 
> dw K. τ. θεου σου] avrov BASF ΠΕΣ sonn xh F 

Woe τῷ tore | κ ΒΑ ΜῈ mI) SS 7 ARE τὶ ΠΟΤῚ aur. | αὐτῷ BAS smand ArM >F ποι. πατ.] 
mat. ποι. ante παντα BAS ΣΌΝ Ar 2. mas δε] adam. BAS Ar Quomodo autem % pr. Ὁ iM Ν Any) 
ayy M αὐτο] τὸ ἀργυριον BAS Ar ΜῈ hance pecuniam aBy_ pec. ὃ παρ᾽ avt.| > BA byaa ΤῸ 47 M 


wen jo F autos... eyo| > BAS τὸ on... . exe] > BASF opr. vel & éo| ΙΝ M kK. ἐπιγνῷ 
pe | > ArM κ. πιστευ. μ.] >M το] hanc © T. εἰς M. | regionis illius # τι πορ.] > wars (ante 
εἰς M.) Ar pny bw M exe | > 2ZArM Je τότε =) os eurev | S10 TOTE . . . TOUTO eyo | κ. εδωκ. 
αὐτῷ τὸ χειρογρ. BAS τ᾿ ww αὐτ.] NID PH ΟἽ 512 7 41 TKN WNM Ὁ ΕΟ χειρογρ. edwxa αὐτῳ 

. wera τ. apyvp.| et meum similiter accepit et divisit in duas partes unum accepi ego et alium posui cum ipsa 
pecuniaa®By et cyrographum meum accepit in quo posui pecuniam apud illum et alterum habeo 6 3m MY 


mp3 (ΒΞ) > Μὴ ΠΣ ΊΡΒῚ xaos ΤΙ ΦῚ ANS (MPD Sap Μὴ md mam ΡΝ Ὁ dy Mo ΠῚ ΥἹ and Ny WD 
Apan Ἵ inn ans ΠῚ ΠΝ ἽΠ teen Fok. νυν. ο΄. τοῦτο eyo] ‘YY PT NOY TY ΝῚΠΠ NDY [Ὁ] 4dr oon 
πὸ ΜῈ >F νυν παιδ.] εἰπεν BAS 2 “ΠῚ F morov| > BASF πορευσ. μ. σου] συμπ. σοι 


19. Trans. presupposes Reusch’s restoration of RS. κατωτάτω (R*), Th. Gram, p. 183. 


V. 3. RY, in abridging, has altered the story considerably, and Av and M substitute dag for bond, possibly through 
a confused recollection of a debased form of the Heb. original, e.g. Perles proposed either O10 (= @ writing Isa. vil. 1, 
and a bag, 2 Ki. v. 23), or the Talmudic NPD". 
213 


THE ‘BOOK OF “TOBIT 514.16 


go with thee, and we will give him wages, until thou return: and fetch thou this money from him. 
4 And Tobias went out to seek a man who would go with him into Media and knew the way well ; 
(5) and he went out and found Raphael, the angel, standing before him. And he knew not that he was 
5 an angel of God, and said unto him, Whence art thou, young man? And he said unto him, Of the 
children of Israel thy brethren; and I am come hither to work. And he said unto him, Knowest 
6 thou the way to go to Media? And he said unto him, Yea, I have often been there, and I know it 
well and I know all the ways ; many times did I go unto Media and lodged with Gabael our kinsman, 
who dwelleth in Rages of Media; and it is two regular days’ journey from Ecbatana to Rages ; 
for it lieth in the hill country, but Ecbatana in the middle of the plain. And he said unto him, Wait 
for me, young man, until I go in and shew my father; for I need that thou go with me and I will 
9 give thee thy hire. And he said unto him, Behold, I will wait, only tarry not. And Tobias went 
in and shewed Tobit his father and said unto him, Behold, I have found a man of our brethren 
the children of Israel. And he said unto him, Call me the man, that I may know what is his family 

and of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trusty man to go with thee, child. 
10(9) And Tobias went forth, and called him and said unto him, Young man, my father calleth thee. 
And he came in to him, and Tobit saluted him first. And he said unto him, Much cheer to thee! 
And Tobit answered and said unto him, What cheer have I any more, who am a man impotent in 


-τ 


ive 
Φ 


ΒΑ eat tecum & δωσομεν] -σω ΒΑ ews oT. ελθ, κ. λαβε] eas ζω kx. XA. BAS Ar M (MON ΠΩΣ Μὴ et 
dum adhuc vivo recipe aBy vade fili dum vivo accipe ὃ DYSDS 173 προ ΠΣ ΝΣ wn ds F map 
avr. | πορευθεις BA S δ᾽ (ante ews) AYM >F rouro] > BAHSArMF +7 Ὁ" πον 7M 4. εξηλθ. 
6. | x. επορευθη BA εἰ exiit £ +p F Τωβιος] > BAS os Top... . εξηλθ.] > BAS oy ΠΝ 
mop. μετ. avt.| eum duceret & Μηδ.] pr. regionem L > F os] pr. et 3 οδ.] +regionis illus # > F 
x. e&p\0.| > LF κι eupev,. . ἐστιν] “O ἸΠῚΝ ANT pws ΝῊ DIN ΠΥ 2 ΠΡ) “4 ἼΝΘΟῚ ἘΞ Pl pr τὸν Alea ΠῚ 
243, 248 τ. ayyedov| os ἣν los BAS +’ M ἐστηκ.] > BAS απεν. αυτ.} > BAL S Ar eyvo | ηδει 
BA +75 M OTL ἐστιν] > ΒΑ ὃ + (nNay) M 5. Kk. εἰπ. avr. | mow Ar ἢ bs qudon sox M 
Tlofev . . . εἰπεν avT.3° | > BASF relig. v. 5 οἱ 68 aliter F νεαν. | > Ar K. εἰπ. aut@?” | mons Ar 
Tes MID jy M τ. αδελφ.] pr. 1M Ar [9338 bene 1p] Μ κ. εληλ.] veni L > Ar M ὧδε epyar. | 
> ArM ec, aut.3°| + Thobias 1 Ar M ἐπιστ. τ. οὗ. mop. | εἰ Suvapa op. pera cov BAS  nosti viam quae 
ducit % ny nad$ yonn 5s M ets Μηδ.] ev Payos τ. Μηδ. BAS in regionem Mediam H +x. et ἐμπειρος 
εἰ τ. τόπων BAS 0. αὐτῳ] Ἔο ayy. BA 3 ArM INGE Gc 0 exet | πορευσομαι μετὰ σ. BAS multa ego 
(cog- y) noviaBy multa sunt quae scio 6 > Ar eum. κ΄ ἐπιστ. Tas 0d. πασ.] της 0d. eur. BA  teneo vias 
omn.aBy vias omnes novi ὃ MNS Nyt Ar M (+ b> M) πλεονακ. ... Μηδ.) > BAS Ar M__ aliquoties 
ivi in illam reg. # ηυλιζ.] ηυλισθὴην post ἡμων BA NPaLIN NINA IDI Ar M Γαβ. τῷ αδ.] Γαβαὴλ τον ad. 
BAS Sway F τ. OLKOUYTL . . - πεδιῳ] > BASF ev Εκβ. τ. Μ.] in Rages civitate Medorum αβγ δὃ 
DNINI Ar ὙΠ ΠΡ wna M k. amexet... τ. πεδίῳ] et est iter bidui ex Bathanis usque Rages civitatem 
Phagur quae posita est in monte et est Bathanu in medio campo af et est b. iter a Batanis usq. ad R., quae 
pos. est in m. et haec in m.c. y et continet Ecbathnis dierum duo stadiorum R. pos. est in montem Ecbathana 
In'm. c. ὃ Nw DININ NWI WwW Nn wna ay Ar σύ. M (v. Med.) εἰς Tappas . . . ExBa- 
tava | > Ν᾿ vid (hab. δὶ mg) ; ΠΕ κι] > Ar avr. | +ToBias BAL S Ar M μενον με] uropewov pe BA 
sustine # 977 M veav.| > BALS nay Ar Jpn yyy Μ pyy onan F pexp. or. εἰσελθ.] x. BAS 
Ar υποδειξω] epw BAS hoc ipsum... nunciem®% +7277 ns M pov] > Badr xpecav . . . μισθ. 
σ] > BASF Faw ἫΝ δ 05 47M 8. em.| + Raph. ang. % ov . . . προσκ.] mopevov BA 9 
+te Z 27. 5 170 ap) M snmxn Ly F Sov | > Ar μον. pn xp. | mnt ἫΝ Ar povor | xc. BAM 
= 1p pr. YS DwNnY TY M Ὁ. TaBeas ... K.2°] > BAS Ar avT@ | τῳ πατρι BAS ArF ov | 
> ArM I ανθρ.] » ΒΑγῷ ἜΖΟΜ cans ana Ε evpor | τα BAS > Ύ τ. ad. ne. | > BASF 
ex (de 6) frat. nostr. aBé > y τ. Ul. Top. | os συνπορεύυσεται (-pr. Bb A) μοι ΒΑαβὲὃ (> 7) SArM ΠΡῸΣ 
N17 opal Ε κι} οδέ ΒΑ >F αὐτ.)] >BALS +4708. d4rM yaxnF cater, | φώνησον 
BA rogai 27. ot Ar μοι] προς pe BA > ArF τ. ανθρ.] atov BA 5 Ar M F oras| wa BAS 
τᾶν ον τὸς x. | > BAX SArM ex | > BAS purrs | ὌΡΟΜΕ ἐστιν 3"]} >BS (had. A 23, 64, 243, 248, 
249) wa Top. μ. σου] του πορευθηναι μι. σ. BAS ArMF cui tu committaris & nats. | > BALS ArF 


εξηλθ. Τωβ. κι) > BASE kK. em... . σε] > BAS Ar MF Neav.] +intra & πατηρ] +meus Ὁ ] 
10. προς avr.| 195 ΝΒ Ar M exatp. . . . mpot.| nomacavto adAnious BASF > ArM k. eum. aut. Χαιρ. 

εν ywooko| > BASF εἰπ.} pr. ille 3 aur.| > L Ar Xap... . yevorro] gaudium tibi semper sit 
(frater a8) a8y pax superted +onbysn wy M mT. . . xatpew| ut quid mihi gaudium aBy quis dixit 


6. The tradition of R® seems to have been handed down in slight confusion, but the mistakes are easily rectified. 
In δὲ Ῥάγοις should be read with 1 for ExBardvos. Reusch emends καὶ Ῥάγαι for εἰς Tdppas but εἰς “Payas is simpler, 
and it is possibly an explanatory gloss. In ὃ Ecbatana has been dittographed, s¢adiorum written for statutorum ; in 
a8 quae before osita is possibly a remnant of Rages quae. 


214 


THE BOOK OR TOBIT 5; to-15 


the eyes, and I behold not the light of heaven, but lie in darkness like the dead which no more see 
the light ; while I live Iam among the dead ; the voice of men I hear, and themselves I behold not. 
And he said unto him, Be of good cheer! it is nigh with God to heal thee; be of good cheer! And 
Tobit said unto him, My son Tobias wisheth to go unto Media; canst thou go with him and direct 
him? And I will give thee thy hire, brother. And he said unto him, I shall be able to go with 
him, and I know all the ways, and often have I gone to Media and passed through all its plains 


τ 9) and mountains, and all its ways I know. And he said unto him, Brother, of what family art thou, 
32) 1) and out of what tribe? Shew me, brother. And he said, What need hast thou of a tribe? And he 
13 2) Said unto him, I would know truly of what 2716. thou art, brother, and what thy name. And he said 
14| 3) unto him, Iam Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, of thy kinsmen. And he said unto him,Welcome 


and safety, brother ; and be not bitter towards me, brother, because I wished to know the truth and 
thy family. And thou chancest to be a kinsman, and thou art of a noble and good lineage: I knew 
Ananias and Nathan, the two sons of Semelias the great, and they used to go with me to Jerusalem 
and worship with me there and they went not astray. Thy brethren are good men; thou art of 


15 4)a good stock, and I bid thee welcome. And he said unto him, I give thee a drachma a day as 


mihi pax ὃ N47 b> % YUS md by oby ms 47 M (> GIS 6 oO 6 οφθαλ, | > Ar PG ooo oup. | >M 
κειμαι] ay aw M ou νεκρ. οἱ pink. Oe, τ. φ.] > LArM (ov eyo ev vexp. | mortuus inter vivos aBy > ὃ 
ArM φωνην..... βλεπ.]} »Μ ἀνθρωπων] no Ar auTous ΝῊ] autos N©*® ipsos H wa Ar avt@ 3° | 
+Raph. ang. & ΘΒ Ar wt M — Θαρσ.1] > 8dr Μ᾽ eqs... cao. σε] DIN TY mNDND ΓΝ bed 
MN ΝΠ Ἴ2 Ar (TEN) 13. TON DI YY ANN py 5. INST ΝῚΠ ΤΥ Mey JMS yy DM bapo.2”] 
>aByArM ε. Μηδ.] in regionem Mediam 3» kK. ayay. avt.] > Ar M x. doc.| dabo & jn Ar 
aden. | > Ar er 5° | + Raph. ang. Lx sydon M aut@®° | >iM Avuno. « « « pet avr. | N73 Ν2555» 
sox ΝΠ Ὁ dr Sow > M emot.| > Ar M «| quoniam & Μηδ.] pr. regionem & k. πολλακ. . 

dun. mavra | > ArM παντα, mac. | > Ar τ. ορη] NyoINN Ar odin 55 M πασ. τ. οδους] »Μ 


11. εἰπ.} + Tobis 3 dr M αὐτῳ] > 1 Ar M Aédek.| > Ar M ποι. πατριας ek .ex π. φ.;] εκ π. Φ. κι EK π. 
πατριδος συ ee BASF 73 1% ANT NAT) OW) NN ΝῸΣΦ PIND Av AT ND) ΠΝ ΣΦ APN) ANN DPD ΠῚ Ὁ 
ΝΜ αδελ.] > BAL 5 Ar F 12. am.| +avr» BAS + Thobis% ‘4 Ar ‘Son M Te xp. εχ. 
φυλ.;] φυλὴν x. πατριαν συ ζητεις ἡ μισθιον cs συμπορευσεται peta tou (τ sup ras Bab) wov σ. BA 6 Salv. Ep. 9 5 
(of. F) 772 py FT Nn ΝΣ wedar St ἼΣΨΞ awa sew md on Ar qasra pa py Tow ow 7b wm wpan ny 
ex. φυλ.} scire genus meum vel tribum meam mercenarium desideras genus et tribum meam cur quaeris 
(desid. aut tribum et patriam meam y) sed si valde exigis αβγ κ᾿ etm. aur. Boul, . . . σου] > aBy (Aad. δ) 
Salv. Lp. 9 avr. | +Tos. BAS M yor. | emyv. BA pr. Ἵ ον Don NP Ar τα κατ᾽ an. | > BAS 
MF twos εἰ] τυ yevor cov BASF ἘΝΗ Ar > M aden, | post Bovdropat BA τι] > BASF 
Yond) M Be > BAF + Ans ΠΠΞΦῸ M ie > a8 a Cilaol| Σ αβγ κ.] os δὲ Bo de 64, 71, 74, 
76, 243, 248, 249 aur. | > BA Ss +/oen M Eyo | » +sum £ Avarvay | pr. ὙΠΕΦΩΟ F τ. με- 
γαλου] pr. de domo Sellemmiae ὃ fr. modes aman 4r pr. ΓΟ mao M pr. moty [3 F τ. adedp. σ.] 
ἘΣ ΒΕ 14. avr. | + Thobis x Ὁ ArM κ. cat. | > BAS muxpay, | opyto. BASArF irascaris 3» 
aden. | > BALSF τ. adn. εβουλ. γνωναι κ. τ. πατριαν] e(ntnoa τ. φυλ. σ. κι τ. πατριαν σ. (σ. > BabA 23, 55, 
58, 64, 71, 74, 76, 106, 108) ἐπιγν. BAS vere (-um y) scire de genere tuo aBy οῖτθ veritatem generis tui ὃ 
snmavmnm mas 737 nyt wpa M τ. αληθ.}] > ArF x. a. τυγχ.] NT) dr M ony? any F wv | pov 
BAS ex fratr. meis @ > Ar M κ᾿ εκ γεν. καλ. k. ay. | ek T. KaN. kK. a. Y. BAS NID Ny) Ar ει συ] 
»ΒΑ3 5 εγινωσκον] ἐπεγιν. yap eyo Β εγιγν. γι «ἃ Nosti aBy ὕπο vero foderas ὃ nyt) ans M 
Ναθαν] Iaé. BA Athanian y Nathanian 6(Nathana8) WX 3S  onvF dvo] > BAyF wous| > 7 
Σεμελιου] Σεμεου Β -ewov A Semeiae af Sellemmiel ὃ (Ss y) οι 9 mabws Ar node M mb In τ. 
peyan. | novi magni virl ὃ (magni viriaB) >y kK. a. συνεπ. p. | ws ἐπορευομεθα κοινως BAS pr. et dixit ille 
angelus y kK. προσεκυν. | -κυνεν BAS pr. Synu NPOIND NIM TW Ar M >F μετ᾽ ep. exer] avaepovtes 
τ. πρωτότοκα κ. τ. δεκατας τ. γενηματων BA SF ἐπλαν.} +ev ty πλανῃ BS τ. πλανῃ 64, 248, 249 την πλανὴν A 
23, 58, 71, 74, 76, 236 ΕἸΜῚ ΝΌΟΝ Ar ΕἾ ἼΦΝΘ pant Ἴ) ΟΝ InN Moons ayo ΜΟΥ ὅλ ΛΔ ΣῚΡ NP 
WO AWS bana F ot ad, cov | τ. αδελφων nu. BAS Πὶ omn. fratr. nostriaB Ὁ» γὸ ons MF avOpeor. 
ayad.| > BAydS$ optimi suntag > 4rM Seqey oo F ayaé.| cad. ΒΒ peyad. A 55, 58, 64, 71, 74) 76, 
236, 243, 248,249 >M or. owyp yn F συ] adage BAS > MF x. χαιρ. 0.) > BASM ἢ 
salvus eas et salvus venias a8 salvus sis y cum pace venias ὃ 15° post 15> M κι eum. aut.| αλλ 
(λα A) εἰπὸν po. ΒΑ AyTn ON F Eyo .. . μισθ.] τινα σοι ἐσομαι μισθ. διδοναι BA διδωμι} dabo 3» τ. 
ἥμεραν Spax.] dp. της ἡμέρας (ἴι της parvam ras prae sefert Β) BA Jaoass Jjoy S didragmam diurnam 3» 
sor b> spyany dr ay Soa mM ΡΟ ypa ow 52a F τ. δεοντα] Im ArM >F ὁμοιως ὡς K. 


15. The periphrastic future ἔσομαι διδόναι is characteristic of RY’s strong vernacular style. 
9 I " 
ars) 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 5. 16—6. 1 


16 (15) wages, and those things that be necessary for thee, as unto my son ; and go thou with my son, and 
I will add something to thy wages. And he said unto him, I will go with him, and fear thou not; 

17 (16) We shall go safe and return safe unto thee, because the way is secure. And he said unto him, 
Blessing befall thee, brother! And he called his son, and said unto him, Child, prepare what is 
needful for the journey and go forth with thy kinsman. And God which is in heaven preserve you 
there and restore you to me in safety and his angel accompany you with deliverance, child. 


B. THE DEPARTURE, v. 17°=Vi.. 1. 


And he went forth to go upon his journey ; and he kissed his father and mother, and Tobit 

18 (17) said unto him, Farewell. And his mother wept, and said unto Tobit, Why is it that thou hast sent 
19 (18) away my child? Is he not the staff of our hand, and doth he not go in and out before us? Let 
20 (19) not money be added to money: but let it be a ransom for our child. A\s the Lord hath given 
21 (20) us to live, so doth it suffice us. And he said unto her, Trouble not ; our child shall go in peace, and 
in peace come unto us and thine eyes shall see / in the day when he shall come unto thee in peace. 

22 (21) Trouble not : fear not for them, sister; for a good angel shall go with him, and his journey shall be 

6 1 (22) prospered, and he shall return in peace. And she was silent from her weeping. 


BAS >F «x mop.... pov] >BASAr +5xn noya wan own M ton swe oy F 16. K.1°] 
+ Ty ndwa no’pn paw ony M (cf F) ἐπιπροσθ.} ere προσθ. BA  adiiciam & τ. μισθῳ] emt τ. μισθον 
BAS ad mere. tuam 3) + av ὑγιαίνοντες (re sup. ras. A%*) ἐπιστρεψητε BA -ΕἸἸΝῚ F Keim. . . . ἀσφαλ.] 
> BAS ΒΟῸΣ am ΤῚΣ oy Jax sot Sinn xd “ΒῚ τὸν Ar ( ΜῈ aepe po a Pes Faure] 
+ Raph. ang. % ‘bon M x. μη] ne & προς ce] > M 17. e.1°]| > BA fr. ThobisiS > ArF 
aur.1°| > BAH ArF Evdoya σοι yer. | εὐυδοκησαν (pr. κ᾿ A) ovres BAS bene iter age frater et contingat tibi 2B 
bene iter agere contingat tibi y > 6ArMF_ bene ambulatis Dd κ᾿ exa.| > BAS +’D ArM το Ube 
avr.| > BAS pr. Thobiam 1 Ar F aut | προς Τωβιαν BA Nad.| > BAL S 47M ετοιμ. τα] Ετοιμος 
ywou BAS praepara te 3".4, πρ. τ. οδ.] +. εὐοδωθειητε BA > LS Ar snbxb F 4°] -Ἐητοιμασεν o υι. 
avr. ta προς τ. obov BA et praeparavit (-erunt ea quae in itinere haberent δ) se ad viam Thobias (ost σωτηριαςὴ 
aByd(f. ΕἾ εξελθε] Πορευου pr. x. em. αὐτῷ ὁ mar. αὐτου BA ya7d ΝΥ ΝΞ) ΕΠ αδελφου σου] ἀνθρωπ. BAS 
J2 1393 YIN Smnnm F κι 0 θ. 0 εν τ. oup.| ο δὲ εν τ. ovp. okay (κατοικ- A 58, 243, 248, 249) 6 BAS Deus 
autem q. in caelo est @ snes ΝΠῸΝ dr sw bx Moon wa poem pen dN ἡ F Siac. up. εκ.] 
εὐοδωσει τ. οδον πυμων BASF perducat vos ibi cum pace 53. ArM κ. amok. UL. πρ. ἐμ. vy. | > BAS «xo ayy. ++ 
μετα cor. | Pans mds papy mand πῦρ ArMF συνοὃ.] συνπορευθητω (συμ- B bA) BA comitetur# μ. car. | 
> BAS παιδ.] > BALS Ar M εξηλθεν πορ. τ. odov αὐτου] -θαν (-ov A 44, 58, 64, 71) αμῴοτεροι ἀπελθειν BASF 
exiit ut ireta®y egressi sunt ut proficiscerentur ὃ 4r M_«.9°] -Ἐ  κυωὼν τ. παιδαριου per αὐτων BASE  edud. τ. 
πατ. aut. κ. τ. μητ.] >BASF  «. em. avr. 5] > BASF +pat. suus # m> ynon1 Ar M Hop. | >BASF 
+fliZF υγ.]» BASF +veniasi 18. κι εκλ.] kA. de BA + Avva B mad ἸῸΝ Sam M To. | patri eius 35 
nbya Ss MF on απεστειλ.] εξαπ. BASF novus ΝΠ ΠῚ xb 47 M μου] ἡμῶν BALS > Ar MF  ovxt 
autos] ἡ ουὐχιη BA aS S DMN Ar ραβδὲ. τ. χειρ. mov] IO ΝῚΠ ΝΠ AA Ar (20) NIT DIpr 13. Mx. avros 


. exmropeverat | ev τ. εἰστ-τεσθαι αὐτὸν κ. εκ---εσθαι BAS ενωπ. np. | >F 19. Nunquam esset pecunia illa 
sed purgamento sit (filio meo y) aBy Joos uXsy Jed9 lags Gado! ἢν Jase I Joomas loos $ 10, 20. 
ambs sopme napa ba Ar abs yen’ 5 NIN nba M_— plen. et aliter F 2c. > M ws N*| 
+yap Ne? BAS ix. nu.| +-umapyee ΒᾺ 35. sufficiebat nobis 1 21. αὐτῃ +T. BAL S Ar M exe | 
+adAgdn BAS im τς OG vytau.2° | >BAS +421 ef 22% Ar plen. et aliter F προς np. | > BAZAR 
ovorr. | + avrov BAL 9 Ar ev τ, nu. ἢ αὐ AO.] > BASF ann Ar >M mp. σε vy. μὴ Aoy. «x: ] > BA 
LSMF ndwa Ar μὴ φοβ.] > BASF π. avroy | >BASSF _ deilloaByAr M aber. | supr. 
BA post exe > F 22. ayy... . 08. αὐτου] 197 MON wy rand mde» Μ (2. suprav. 21 Ar) συνε- 
λευσεται] συνπορευσεται B συμπ. Bb συνπορευεται A 23, 249 SU evod.| bene disponet 3Ὁ 


WAG ἃ. eoty. | ἐπαύσατο BAS cessavit 3, won Ar F ΘΠ M κλαιουσα] ssandp ArF my m2 M 


16°. Cf. guoniam in via recta est, Jub. xxvii. 17. 

18. ἔκλαυσεν. Cf. flevit, Jub. xxvil. 13. 

19. φθάσαι. lit. come, φθάνω having almost entirely lost its anticipatory force in the LXX (Th. Gram, p. 289); 
Miller can only understand the phrase as a translation from a Semitic original. 

A ransom for: this translation can be justified by a comparison with Ignatius, Zp. to Ephes. viii. 1, while xviii. 1 
of the same epistle suggests the alternative ‘ offscouring for our child’. 

21 f. RS more closely than RY resembles the words ‘et dixit Isaac ad Rebeccam, Soror, noli flere Iacob filium meum, 
quoniam in pace ibit et in pace rediet . . . dirigentur omnes viae eius . . . quousque revertatur ad nos in pace et 
videbimus eum cum pace. Noli ergo timere de illo, soror mea’ in Jub. xxvii. 14-17. 

216 


Hie BOOK OF: TOBIT 6. 2-8 


C. THE EVENTS OF THE JOURNEY, vi. 2-ix. 6. 


i. Tobias’ Adventure with the Fish, vi. 2-9. 


_1) And the young man went forth, and the angel with him, and the dog went forth with him and 
journeyed with them; and they journeyed both of them together. And once night came upon 
(2) them, and they lodged by the river Tigris, and the young man went down to wash his feet in the river 
᾿ Tigris. And a great fish leaped up out of the water, ἀπ would have swallowed the foot of the young 
~|(3)man. And he cried out. And the angel said unto the young man, Grasp and take hold of the fish. 
(4) And the young man caught hold of the fish, and hauled it up on to the land. And the angel said 
unto him, Open the fish, and take out its gall and the heart and liver and put them by thee, and cast 
| (5) away the inwards ; for its gall and heart and liver are for an useful medicament. And the young 
man opened the fish and collected the gall and the heart and the liver, and he roasted part of the 
| (6) fish and did eat, and left part thereof salted. And they journeyed both of them together until they 

: drew nigh to Media. And then the young man asked the angel and said unto him, Brother Azarias, 
(7) what is the medicament in the heart and the liver of the fish and in the gall? And he said unto him, 
As regards the heart and the liver of the fish, make thou a smoke before a man or a woman who hath 


2. κ᾿ €£.... αυτων] > BASF apy (pr. qndon M) ΝΒ (412975 M) who dre Ar M rad] + illorum 
3 εξ. μετ᾽ αὐτου κι] > 3» ἐπορ. μετ᾽ avtwy | secutus est eos 3» κ᾿ erop. app. | οἱ de mopevopevor τ. οδον BA 
SF >ArM δ νὴ ἽΝ (cum hac sententia) F κ᾿ et. aut. νυξ μια] ηλθον ἐσπερας BA ὅ Ar M et com- 


prehendit illos proxima nox 1 x. ηυλισθ. ἐπ. του Tryp. mor. | em. Tov Τιγριν ποταμὸν (προ τὸ ya ΕἾ «. ηυλιζοντο 
ee BAS Ar MF 3. κι κατεβὴ τ. παιδιον] τ. de παιδαριον κατ. BAS et. descendit Thobias # M 
‘9 ΠῚ Ar 0993) 430 sb E περινιψ,.] περικλυσ. BA YAN spd F τ᾿ ποδ.] > BAS ε. τ. Τιγριν 
ποτ. | > BAS ἰη flumine # snd (ante mepur.) Ar MF ἀναπηδησας | -επηδησεν (seg. ras. 2 circ. litt. in B) 
BA pa) 4, MF 427. way ArM peyas | > BAS ArM εκ τ. vd. | απὸ τ. ποταμου κι BA 5 Ar F 
εβουλ. . . . παιδ.] circumplexus est pedes eius pene puerum devoraverat (-ravit y)a8y ut puerum devoraret 6 
Bovrero| τηθη ΒᾺ > ArM καταπειν] -πιειν Bab A τ. mod. του παιδ.] τ. παιδαριον BA SF ΝΟ ΝΌΠΟ 
ArM k. exp. N*| κι amo τ. φοβου exp. δὰ > BAS — et exclamavit puera3y5 + Domine, piscis 
invadit me (ff B) ὃ +N50 Ar sty wn bx ayo ΠῊΝ om γ»Ὺ ἼΝΡΟΠ an ΕΠ 4. κ' ον ον am] ΣῈ 
; kK. o| od BAS ἘΠ Ar τ. παιδ. eur. | εἰπ. αὐτῷ BAS ArM kK. ἐγκρατ. yer. | > BAS MPpIwn 05) ArM 


ἔπ wows F τ. παιδ. του ιχθ.] toy ιχθ. τ. mad. BAS +79 F avnveyk. | ανεβαλ. BAS eduxitz > M 
aur... . yy] > M an yD F 5. oayy.| ΕἼ Ar +’p. F Avacy.] Ανατεμε ΒᾺ ΨΩ N30) yr 
ArM εξελε] AaBov BAS tolle # oo oo Ma Gee nm. | capo. ... nm. ... xo. BASF mad Ary 
nn ms) abn M αὐτου] > BAF κ᾿ ἀποθες αὐτὰ μετὰ σαυτου] Ges ασφαλως BASF >Ar K. τ. €YK. 
es.| > BASArMF 2061 utilia 3» €. Papp. χρησ. . . . avt.] > BAS Ar F _ necessaria haec ad medica- 
menta utilia 3» mspod on ony 5 M 6. post v. 9 Ar avacx. τ. mad... . nmap. | ἐποιησεν τ. παιδ. 
ὡς εἰπ. αὐτῶ O ayy. BASF ΝΟ) xn770) xv apn 5 j2 Ty Ar “yin j2 wy M κ᾿ ὠπτ. Tou ty, x. | mT 
de ἰχθυν ontnoavtes BA Set partem piscis assaverunt et a8 εἰ partem pis. adsumptos y piscem vero assavit ὃ 
assavit carnes eius ἘΞ ΡΠ 397 nN F epayev| -ov BA S$ tulerunt in viaa@@_ sustulerunt in victu y man- 
ducaverunt 6 secum tulerunt D κ᾿ αφηκεν εξ avt. ἡλισμ.)] > BAS  caetera autem (> y) salierunt af 


reliquum autem eius in via reliquit 6 caetera salierunt quae sufficerunt eis quosque etc. B pay sani 


anwa 4r manana M > F erop.| ὠδευον BAS 519 Ἣν iwi Ar pr. OM F ἀμφ.) > © Ar MF 
cov.] > BAX S Ar M eas... nyyo.] > Ar M εἰς Μ.7 ev ExSaravos BAS in regionem Mediorum % 


> Ar pinaprw F 7. A versu 7 in codictbus 44,106, 107 tncipit graec. lextus R° > Ar tore | 
>BALS npr. τ. maid. τὸν ayy. kK. etm. αὐτῳ] em. τ. ward. (0 M) τῳ ayy. BAS M τι τ᾿ app. ev] τι ἐστιν 
BASF quod remedium est 3 Avyn ANDI aD M τὶ KapO... . . T. 9%. TOU tyO. - - » Ts χολ.} τὸ nap K. ἢ 
καρδ. k. ἡ χολ. του ιχθ. BASF hoc fel cor et iecur piscis % mom sn adn M vv. 8, 9 pr. v. 6 Ar 
8 aliter F er. | pr. ang. & > Ar αυτ.)] > & Ar ἢ καρὸ.] τ. τιαν δι 5 NIN Ar kK. τ. qT | 
> ArM τ. ιχθ.] αὐτου 1x8. δ΄ > BALS dr M καπν.} -σαι κὰ δ᾽ ravta δε -σαι (τ. εδει -σαι A) post πονηρ. 


VI. 2. Even Ay and M employ the Greek word 7777s to denote the river known in O.T. as psn and in most 


North Semitic lands as ΓΟΡῚ (so Syriac) or nbs (Jewish Aramaic and Mandaic). 

3. Ar would directly support the originality of R° if his ‘ate the bread of the young man’ was written with a know~- 
ledge or indistinct recollection—Bickell believed 47 was a direct translation—of a Hebrew text in which ondd any 
had been changed into ond bax after the loss of 519. Néld.’s objections (p. 59) to the use of N38 would apply only 
to classical Hebrew (but even so, see Job xxxix. 9, Is. 1. 9). ἔκραξεν (Th. Gram., p. 234) of R® is supported by F 
(which attributes the cry to Raphael) as well as 47 M. a 

8. ἀπάντημα = yb only in 3 (1) Kings v. 4 (18), Ow PN YI YID jN1, and in Eccles. ix. 11, and appears in Sym. Ec. il. 14, 
and Hos. xiii.14. It is not a medical term. RV has evidently rewritten this verse with due regard to the technicalities 

217 


THE, BOOK? OF TOBE 673 16 


an attack of a demon or an evil spirit; and every attack will flee from him, and they shall nevermore 
9 (8) find an abode with him. And as for the gall—anoint a man’s eyes, upon which white films have _ 
come up, <or> blow into them on the white films, and they become well. 


ii. Tobias at Raguel’s Home and his Marriage with Sarah, vi. 10-viil. 20. 
Raphael's plans for Tobias’ marriage, vi. 10-18. 


το (9) 11 (10) And when he had entered into Media and was already drawing nigh to Ecbatana, Raphael 
saith unto the young man, Brother Tobias. And he said unto him, Here am I. And he said unto him, 

In the house of Raguel we must lodge this night, the man being thy kinsman ; and he hath a daughter 

12 (11) Whose name is Sarah. And he hath no son nor daughter but Sarah alone, and thou art nearer kin 
to her than any man to inherit her, and what things are her father’s it is right for thee to inherit ; 

(12) and the maid is wise and steadfast and exceeding honourable, and her father is an honourable man. 
13 And he said, It is right for thee to take her ; and hear me, brother, and I will speak this night unto 
her father concerning the maid, that we may take her to be thy bride. And when we return from 
Rages we will celebrate her marriage. And I know that Raguel can in no wise keep her back 

from thee or marry her to another —to incur liability to death according to the decree of the book 

of Moses—and because he knoweth that the inheritance appertaineth to thee to take his daughter 
before any man. And now, hear me, brother, and let us speak concerning the maid this night and 

we will betroth her to thee ; and, when we return from Rages, we will take her and let us lead her 


BAS fumigatur@ mn ΝΡ xd dr asm repad Syy M ἡ γυν.] > Ar M n| et & | > BAS 
aravr. | > BAS ArM (ff. orpnd iB) δαι. ἡ πν. πον.] εαν τινα oxAn ὅττιον ἡ πν-τὰ T—pov BA (of. 2) ΠΡ ΠΗ͂ 
pow ΠῚ Ὁ M gevé. . . atova | OU μηκετι (ουκετι ov μὴ ΑἹ οχληθῃ BA S$ ταῦτα θυμιασεις ἐμπροσθεν αὐτου κ. 
φευξεται am’ αὐτου 44, τοῦ MID ΠΡ) dr M μειν. μετ᾽ avr.| apparebit 3» (cf 6, 18) 9: κ' η] » δὲ BA 
evxp.| eyyp. B®*b 44, 106 facit ad unguendos % 3" rend Ar mend Syn M nen on F ανθρ. 
οφθ. ov Δ. av. ἐπ. aur.| -ov os exer λ. (λ-μα A) ev ros οφθ. BAS οφθαλμους ev ois αν λευκωμα (-ατα 106) 44, 106 
ΝΠ pA. MST pry Ar M 5 Oba sya 5 sya F Gils & 6 ὁ deux. | > BASArM ἡ εμφ. ets avrovs 
44,106 pr. vel & κι vy.| x. taOnoeraa BAS ΔΙ -ovow 44,106 Ar F αἰ ad sanitatem perveniat a8 y 
ΤΟΣ κ᾿ οτε] Ὡς δὲ BAF «x. 44, 106, 107 > Ar ΝΜ εἰσηλθ.... ηδὴ] > BA 44,106,107 SMF eo Oey | 
τον αβγ Ar Μηδ.] pr. regionem 30 x. ndn| > LAr M nyyi¢.| προσηγγισαν BA SaByF παραγινονται 
44, 106,107 \nx) Ar M εἰς Ἐκβατανων] t. Ῥαγῃ BA εἰς ExBatava 44, τού, 107 civitati Bathanis α 5 οἷν. 
Exbathanis y πε ξ S monaaxs M Ἰ τὴ Ε ΤΙ. Neyer] eer. BAF x. eer. 44, 106, 107 3» S Ar M 
Ρ.] oayyeA. BAS 44, 106, 107 Ε Raph. ang. α β τ. mad.| > 44, 106, 107 aBy Ar M τ» ΒΆΝ 
44, 106, 107 αβ 9b Ar M αδελ.} > 44, 106, 107 αβ κ᾿ em? . . avtg?°| > BA 44, τού, 107 
aBSArMF αὐτῳ Idouv eyo | quid est y Ep τοις ΒΝ παρα Ῥαγουηλῳ (-ηλ A) post αυλισθησ. BA 9 τ. νυκ. 
taut. | Σημερον (post adeApe) BA 44, 106, 107 > Ar MF δειημ.) > BAS Ar M ante onpepov 44, 106, 107 
myn on F avon. | πσομεθα ( post onpepov) BAS MF ὙΠ Ar ο ἀανθρωπ.] avros BAS Ar MF συγγεν. 
σ.] 30723 47,Μ -ΕἼΣΞΝ m3 ΠΠΕΦΟΡ Ε εστ. αὐτ.] > 44, 106, 107 "πη - μονογενης AS +4speciosam 
x + μια ὑπάρχει αὐτῷ k. aut. Kad. τ. EEL 44, 106, 107 MF sand ΝΒ Ar ἢ ον. =a > 44, 106, 197 
ἢ ovopa| -ατι BA 12. καὶ Se ΒΑ ΞΕ, vu... . pov.| λαλησω περι αὐτῆς του δοθηναι (NIN Ar M) σοι 
αὐτὴν εἰς γυναικα BA 4γΜ (CLF) » 9 ΠΡ στὸ BAS συ] σοι α 9 ΕΥΥ- --- Stk. κληρ.] επιβαλλει ἡ 
κληρονομία αὑτῆς κ. σὺ μονος εἰ εκ Tov yevous αὐτῆς BA Sto δικαίωμα αὑτῆς εστι κληρονομῆσαι πάτερα αὐτῆς κ. σοι δικαιωμα 
λαβειν αὐτὴν σοι εγγιζει παρα παντας 44, τού, 107 > Ar M κληρον. αὐτὴν... κορασιον) ut possideas (+ eam 
et a) haereditatem illius et omnem substantiam patris eius; accipe illam uxorem; etenim (est autem γ) puella 
haecaBy(ci F) > ArM τι Kop. | αὐτὴ 44, τού, 107 Ar M pov. k. avdp. k. Kad. dav | ka. k. φρον. eat 
BAS ανδρεια x. φρονιμὴ (+e. kad. 106, 107) 44, 1¢6, 107 sapiens, fortis et bona valde et constabilita 3» 
smand ΠῚ ΤΡ xm (fost νυμφην v. 13) Ar Soy naw Moan ΠΝῚ an ans) F kK. ὁ 7. aut. kad.| > BASF 
καλ.] ayara αὑτὴν 44, τού, 107 ΝΜ diligit illam % New nent) xnap NNN ym Naw Ad ONT NIM azle κ. 
oray επιστρεψ. v. 13 Ar MF 13. «1°. . . Γαυτην] > BA 44, 106, 107 3A, ME (et a) quaecunque 
possedit (-sidet y) illi tradet (dabit ei y); tibi ergo destinata est haereditas patris eius et te oportet accipere 
jllam aB y ακουσ.}] 27. νυν BA 44,106,107 LS MF > Ar αδελ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 ὅ Ar M 
Sl F λαλησω] loquere αβγ 1279 F τ. mat.| +avrn; BASF > 44, τού, 107 aByM τ Ar 
mT. T. kop... . vupp.| > BASE ynowd 9 ΠΟΤῚ Ar Ansys M π. τ. kop. | π. αὐτῆς 44, 106, 107 aBy 
of the magico-medical profession (cf. Nestle, Sef/wag. iii, p. 27), an interesting parallel to St. Luke’s treatment of 
St. Mark (cf. Hobart, 716 Medical Language of St. Luke). Moreover, ὀχλεῖν (RY) and its compounds are character- 
istically medical and Lucan (see Luke vi. 18; Acts v. 16, xv. 19). For a less speedy ophthalmic cure in papyri see 
Deissm. L.A.£., p. 132. 

13. RS had Rages in 13%, as in 13, not Raguel, and ὀφειλήσειν not -σιν (Ν) or -ce (RY), leaving it indeterminate 
whether the subject is Raguel (a8) or the suitors (y) ; see Introd., p. 196. 


218 


3) 
q 4) 


5) 
17|6) 


iE BOOK OF, TOBIM ΟΣ τὰ τὴ 


back with us to thy home. Then Tobias answered and said unto Raphael, Brother Azarias, 
I have heard that already the maid hath been given to seven men, and they have died in their 
bridal-chambers ; even in the night when they went in unto her they died. And I have heard them 
say that a demon slayeth them. And now for my part I fear—for her he harmeth not, but the 
man who would come in unto her, him he slayeth, avd I am my father’s only child—lest I should 
die and bring my father’s and my mother’s life to the grave with sorrow because of me: and they 
have no other son to bury them. And he saith unto him, Dost thou not remember the commands 
of thy father, that he commanded thee to take a wife of thy father's house? And now hear me, 


brother ; and make thou no reckoning of this demon, but take her. For I know that this night she 
τ. VUK. τ᾿] σήμερον (post autnv) 44, 106, 107 wa | k. 44, 106, 107 etaBy λημψ. σ. aur. νυμφ.] αρμωσω- 
μεθα (-ομεθα 106) σ. aut. 44, 106, 107 enor. | υποστ. BA επαναστ. 44, 106, 107 Ραγουηλ] Ραγων BA 44, 


106, 107 αβγῷ Av MF ποιησ.] τωμεν B 44, 106, 107 avr) | > BASArM ἽΠπεν F «.5°] διοτι 
BAS. > 44, 106, 107 ArMF ἐπιστ.] oda 44,106,107 >F ot. Pay.| Pay. or. BAS ΝΠ > M 


ov μη] ov 44, τού, 107 δυνηθῃ P. kwd. . . . eyy-| δῳ αὐτην BAS δύναται ἀντειπεῖν σοι ore σὺ apyets αὑτῆς παρα 
παν. τ. €Ovn οτι γινωσκεις εαν (OTL -κει OTL 106) δωσῃ αὐτὴν 44, 106, 107  negabit illam tibi novit enim quia (certus 
sum autem quoniam y) si dederit illam af y 35 any im Jo 212) Ar nn jn xy TS ΓΝ ΠΡ M yas 


4) many bw F erep.| pr. ανδρι BA 44, 106, 107 aBy Jato? πο SMF > Ar οφειλησιν] -λεσει 
Β τλησει 44, 107 -τλεὶ σοι τού perietaB perienty ole of ὦ >ArMF κι τ. Kp. τ. βιβλ. Μω.] κ. 
τ΄ νομὸν Μωυση ἡ (ante cher.) BASM > Ar pr, ΤΟΝ Τὴ (P) M x. δια τ. γινωσκειν) > BA 44, 106, 107 $ 
ArMF ote σοι κληρονομία καθ, AaB. τὴν θυγ. αὐτ. Tapa παντα ανθρ.] ore τὴν κληρ. σοι κ. Δ. ἡ π. ανθρ. BAS > 44, 
τού, 107 dr Μ ἰδὶ maxime (m. t. y) aptam esse haereditatem (+ accepta filia γ) illius a B y (ater F) την 
θυγ. Nica] αὐτὴν θυγ. N* κι νυν. «. OlKOV σου] > BASF Ryne Ale Payor | > 44, 106, 107 Ar M 
τ. νυκ. ταῦτ.) > & λημψ. avt.| κ΄ λαβοντες απ. 44, τού, τ] »ΈἘῈΑΥΜ ἡμων] εαὐτ. 44, 106, 107 εἰς 
τ. οικ. σου] προς τ. πατερα σ. 44, 106, 107 Ar M 14. τοτε] κι 44, 106, τὸ >F αποκριθ.] » ΒΑ 44, 
106,107 $3 Ar M AN eur. | em, τ. παιδαριον BASF eam. T. 44, τού, 107 P. | ayyeko BA 44, 106, 107 3M 
Raph. ang. # Αζαρια] > 44, 106, 107 Ar M αδελ.] > Ar nxoveal®| axnxoa eyo BA ante ad. 44, 106, 
107 +7730 by F or. ἐπ. dn €0. av. | τ. κορασιον δεδοσθαι ex. av. BAS or. 5. (+ iam 30. ΜῈ αν. ex. 44, 106, 
107 3 Ar MF 600. NC®] «dA. N* kK. απ. εν τ. νυμῴφωσι αυτ.}] κι mavras εν τ. τωνι ἀαπολωλοτας BA > 9 
ArMF τ. VUKTG . . . ἀποκτ. avr. | > BA τ. vuxta omote| νυκτὸς 44,106, 107 nocte ea hora quu ,o § 
nd sy Ar M pws moda F εἰσεπ. προς aut.| 30% JlasaSe o-arn S >F x. απεθν.] > 44, 106, 
107 aBy κ᾿ nk.| Κ΄ eyo nk. 106 > SF Aeyort. avt.| > 44, 106,107 5 Ar MF quosdam dicentes 
aBy dau. | wT ΝΟ  wiowet 4γΜϑ > SF amoxrevyet | τείνει 44,106,107 >SF 15. φοβου- 
par... πατρι μου] eyo μονος εἰμι τ. πατρι x. pos. BASF φοβ. ἐγω απὸ του πνευμ. τ. ἀκαθαρτου (hoc daemonium 
α β y) ore φιλει αὐτὴν x. ταυτὴν (αυτ. 106) οὐκ αδικ. ad. os eav (αν 106) θελ. ey. ἀποκτενεῖ αὐτὸν (+ Unicus sum patri 
meo af y) 44, 106, 107 aBy NT Ὁ Smt sow dr INO UN ΝῸ Μ arobava| pr. εἰσελθων BAS pr. ποτε 
(re 44) ουν x. eyo 44, 106, 107 pr. forteaBy sa dupr Ar “pve om 5 Μ κ. καταξω] pr. καθως Kk. οἱ προτ. 
ore (Store A) δαιμ. φιλεῖ αὐτὴν ο οὐκ αδικει ovdeva πλὴν των προσαγ. αὐτὴν K. νυν eyw φοβουμαι BDA S (of. F) τι ζωην] 
τ. ynpas 44, 106, 107 Ar MF en’ ἐμε] > 44, 106, 107 aBy Ar MF κι vios| Pr. οτι μονογενὴς εἰμι 44, τού, 
107 erepos | +7 Ovyarnp 44,106,107 Ar Μ wa θαψῃ αυτ.] os-ecavr. BAS pr. orav αποθανωσι 44, 106, 107 Ar M 
qui sepeliat illos et possideat haereditatem illorum af qui sit eis haeres y 16. x. λεγ.] εἰπεν de BAS 
(cf. F)- x. em. 44,106,107 HM “rx Ar avt@| +0 ayy. BASF ὁ ayy. 44,106, τοῦ] Raph. ang. & 
‘= Ar ov μ.} memor esto“ M 27. nw ἽΞ)) ἡ nN SM τ. εντ.] τ᾿ λογων BAS (cf. F) pr. mac. 44, 
106, 107 τ. πατ. ... €VET. σοι] ὧν EVET, σοι O TAT. σου (ο πῆρ σου Sup. ras. et 271 mg. A®) BASF τ. π. cov 44, 
106, 107 AaB. yr. | ὑπερ Tov λαβειν σε γυναικα BAS  vmep του λογου tovrov το AaBet σε γυναι sup. ras. εἰ mg. A®? 
> 44, 106, 107 ek τ. ox. τ. mat. o.| ε. τ. γένους σι BAS > 44,106,107 de domo patris tui aBy de 
genere patris tui Auct. de voc. gent. “ΝῚ ΝΙΝ Ar (σ. Μ F) akovoov .. . γυνὴ] μὴ φοβηθης ote eyw oa 
ort δοθησεται σοι kK. μὴ λογον EXE περι τοῦ εν aUTN πνευμ. 44, 106, 107 ΝΠ (+°3 Μὴ avy jd basn xy 1D Sap 
yn Pw wo5 ayaont Ar Mk. μὴ Noy. . . . yw. eyo| Store σοι εσται εἰς yur, κ΄ Tov Saip. pydeva Roy. exe BAS 
kK, λαβε] postula illam aBy (cf. Auct. de Voc. Gent.) γυνὴ] αὐτὴ (> A) εἰς -atka BS 17: Κ᾿ orar | κ. 
eav BAS οταν δε AaBys αὐτην 44, 106, 107 εἰς τ. νυμ.] tov ν. sup. ras. B® pr, πρὸς αὐτὴν 44,.106, 107 
ἘΠ M AaBe.. . . θυμιαμ.] λημψῃ τεῴραν θυμ. κ. επιθησεις απο της καρδ. kK. του ηπ. του ιχθ. BAS επιθησ. την 


καρδ. του ιχθ. κι τ. nm. ἐπι τ. θερμην τ. θυμ. 44, 106, 107 NIT xv ap Ar M ἘΠῚ T. T. T. dup. | super carbones 


16. 3.) 5 postula may possibly have arisen through the translator’s (or a reviser’s) knowledge of a Heb. MS. in which 
ὃ had been dittographed (nd Sew for nb NW) just as Ar (which M follows) in v. 17, though actually translated 


from the Greek, might have been influenced by a Hebrew text in which mad nnn had been corrupted into nenad ’n, 
but drect translation from such a text is precluded by the phrasing of viii. 2 in 47 as well as by the fact that he 
chiefly used RS (N6ld. of. céz., p. 50, n. 1). More probably A's ‘under her garments’ is an independent version of 
a baser process of exorcism (cf. a similar story in Zhe Arabian Nights). ¥’s affinities with dry and M, especially in 
vill. 2, are noteworthy. 

219 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT δ ᾿ 


shall be given to thee to wife. And when thou comest into the bride-chamber, take of the liver of 

18 (17) the fish with the heart and place them upon the ashes of the incense and the smell shall go forth, 
and the devil shall smell it, and flee away, and never appear any more to her. And when thou art 
about to be with her, rise up both of you first and pray and supplicate the Lord of heaven that 
mercy and deliverance may be extended to you. And fear not, for she was set apart for thee 
before the world was; and thou shalt save her, and she shall go with thee. And I suppose that 
thou shalt have children of her and they shall be as brothers unto thee. Take no reckoning. And 
when Tobias heard the words of Raphael, and that she was his sister of the seed of his father’s house, 
he loved her exceedingly, and his heart clave unto her. 


Arrival and welcome at Raguel's, vii. 1-9*. 


71 Rs And when he came into Ecbatana, he saith |. And they came to Ecbatana, and arrived at Ry | 
unto him, Brother Azarias, lead me straight to | the house of Raguel. But Sarah met them; and 
Raguel our brother. And he led him to the | she saluted them, and they her; and she brought 
house of Raguel, and they found him sitting by | them into the house. 
the door of the court; and they saluted him first, 
and he said unto them, Much cheer to you, 
brethren, and ye are well come in safety. And 
he brought them into his house. 


2,3 And he said unto Edna his wife, How like is this young man to Tobias my kinsman! And Edna 
asked them and said unto them, Whence are ye, brethren? And they said unto her, We are of the 
4sons of Naphtali, which are captives in Nineveh. And she said unto them, Know ye Tobit our 


af Auct.de Voc. Gent. super carbonesi gnis ardentis y WN πον Ar κι ἢ οσμη πορευ.] k. καπνισεις BAS > 44, 


106, 107 ΠΌΣΟ minn m0 Sops) Ar M jwpy oy F 18. κ' oop. . . - per αὐτὶ) > 44, 106, 107 
OUKeTL . . - αὐτὴν 1° οὐκ επανελευσεται ( post exave ras. αἰ. Bia? b) BAS ArMF τ. παν. avova | (εις A) τὶ al. 
του a. BA kK. oray | or. δὲ BA pedAns . . . μετ᾽ aut. | προσπορευὴη (-σῃ A) avr BAS and dyad ‘ANN TW) 
ArM πὸν πὴ aysnwo1 F e£eyepOnre | ey. BA ποιεις αὑτὴν eyepOnvar 44, 106, 107 ἜΝΘ 9 Ar M 
mpar. | > BAS ArMF app. κ. προσ. κ. δεηθ. τ. Kup. τ. ουρ.] a. k. βοησατε mpos τ. ἐλεημονα θ. BA (οὐ Ar MF) 
προσ. εκατεροι κ. δεηθ. τ. κυρ. 44, 106, 107 ambo et deprecamini dominum caeli 3) pr. 13 ὙΠ Ν ) F αμφ.] > 


ArM ow. ελ. γεν. κ΄ oor. ef? υμ.] «. σώσει up. (ημ. Δ) κι ἐλεησει BAS x. δοθησεται αὑτῃ ἰασις x. ἐλεον 44, 106, 107 
(cf Ar M) αἱ detur vobis misericordia et sanitas κ᾿ μὴ φοβ. . .. σωσεις κι] > 44,106,107 27. 2 ""᾿ Syon 133) 
ArM x.8°] > BAL ζῶο S σ. γαρ] ote σοι BA εστ. μεμ.] αὐτὴ ἡτοιμασμενὴ nv BA S (XL cf. 6, 12) 


προ tov N'| πρὸ ov N* amo του BA 44, τού, 107 9 yy son Ar (ff. Μὴ) mwyta Ὁ) πῶ F σωσεις] 


ἜΝ 9. Ar M >sF μετ. σ. Trop. | mop. pet. o. BA εἰσελευσῃ προς αὐτην (pr. F) 44, 106, 107 > Ar M 
υπολαμβ. οτι] > 44, 106, 107 Ar MF εσονται cowl? | σ΄ ἐσται BA γεννησεις 44, τού, 107 > Ar 
παιδια] texvov 44, 100, 107 > Ar M kK. egovrar2®, . . λ. exe | > BAArM οτι σοι εστι τ. δικαίωμα aBew 
αὐτὴν απο τ. αἰωνοὸς (Ὁ. Supra) 44,106, 107 AnoOwa F kK. OTE NK... - εκολλ. εἰς aut.] > 44, 106, 107 Μ ore | 
ὡς ΒΑ τ΄ Aoy. P.| ταῦτα BAS Ar F +angeli® x. om... πατ. avtr.] >BASArF κι] ante εκ τ. omepp. Ξ" 
Away nyar. | εφιλ. BAS >HBF mada ‘ys “ΠῚ nby Ar αυτην] m ras. αἰ. B > k. ἢ Kapo. 


aut. εκολλ. εἰς aut.| κι ἡ Ψυχ. aut. εκολλ. αὐτῃ (κεκολλητο A) σφοδρα BAS (cf Ε)  haesit cordi eius 3 > dr 
+Nsry op F 

VIL. τ. κ᾿ ore... P.2°] Donan ‘yy maaibyy Ar Mo pyar 3 F οτε] > BA econ bev] ηλθ. B 
nOov A 44,106,107 SaBy Ex. | civitatem Ec. dey... ἡμων] > BA 44,106,1073 avr@ | Th. angelo% 
aden. np. | > anny. avroy | mapeyevero αὶ  ap-ovro A 44, 106, 107 3» Ts otov | τ᾿ τιν BA > 44, 106, 107 & 
P.| > κκ. evp. aur. καθ. mapa τ. θυρ. τ. avd. | 3. δε ὑπηντησεν αὐτῳ (-οις AF) BASF ev. avr. καθ. 7. τ. αὐλειαν θυραν 
44,106,107 εἴ inven. ill. sed. in atrio (> y) circa ostium domus suae (d.s. > y)aBy yn WD AYN) ἸΠΞΦΝῚ 
mma 4rM εχαιρετισαν] τεν BA ησπασατο 44, 106, 107. Dr. φως S avror | -rous A 44,106,107 > ie 
mpwror | κι autos αὐτοὺς Bx. -τοι ττὴν A ad ooo eeu Od Lisolo δ.» 44,106,107 Ar niby ond aun M sm ΠΕ 
Keyeli ore οἷς vytawy. | >BAS «ene εἰρην. aded. εἰσελθ. εἰς τ. οἱκ. τ. αδελ. VOY 44, 106, 107 ndwa bay © ’S 
amid 4,7, ΠΡ) Π net qroon 1S sox F avros| > & kad. dO. vy.| intrate salvi et sani % nyayev 
auToUS εἰς τ. OLKOV avr. | e.ony. ε. τ. -tav BA S  eyevero ore εἰσηλθοσαν 44, τού, 107 smad sbyy Ar 35 15352) 7S 
max “yn F 2. κι) + Pay. 44, 106, 107 3 Ar MF E6.] Annae (ef udigue) & με 9 ουτος] > BA 
TwBea| -εἰτ Β 44, 106, 107 τῳ -7 A aded.| ave BAS consobriniaB  -no γ E6.] Pay. BA S ΕΝ 
Anna # κι er, avt.| > BA 44,106,107 SAr MF dicens 3» Ποθ. eo. αδελ. ; κι] > 44, 106, 107 aden. | 
> ArF emav| -v A > 44, 106, 107 αὐτῇ} τῳ BAF > 44, τού, 107 ex το ue... ev N.| 44, 106, 
107 ex f. N. sumus ex captivis ΝΞ. ‘am ΝΟΣ 937 NOW [Ὁ Ar Μ “53 Wwe ἜΣ) md F ημ.} 
> BA εν] εκ B pr. των A “- κὐ tite Ss Ale γινώσκετε) -erar A np. | μου 100 & kK. 


220 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 7. 4211 


kinsman? And they said unto her, We know him. And she said unto them, Is he in good health? 
6 And they said unto her, He is in good health and alive. And Tobias said, He is my father. And 
7 Raguel sprang up, and kissed him, and wept ; and he spake and said unto him, Blessing be unto thee 

lad, who art the son of a noble and good father. Oh, dire calamity, that a man, righteous and 

almsdoing, should have become blind! And he fell on the neck of Tobias his kinsman and wept, 
g and Edna his wife bewept him, and Sarah their daughter also wept. And he killed a ram of the 
flock and received them gladly. 


The negotiations and the marriage, vv. 9-14. 


And when they had bathed, and washed their hands and laid them down to dine, Tobias said unto 
9) Raphael, Brother Azarias, speak unto Raguel that he give me Sarah my sister. And Raguel heard 
jo) the word and said unto the young man, Eat and drink, and make merry this night: for there is no 
man unto whom it appertaineth to take Sarah my daughter except thee, brother ; and likewise, further, 
I have not power to give her to another man than thee, because thou art my nearest kin. Yea, 
11 verily, I will shew thee the truth, lad. 1 have given her to seven men of our brethren and all died 


ii 

7 emav avty| > Β ot δὲ ema ASM xk. εἰπὸν aut. 44 7. εκ τ. ot. N. κι εἰπε vat κ. amekpwavto 44, 106, 107 
εᾧ γινωσκ.] > Β γιγν. A ne. αὐτ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 SUF m> abe Ar x em.| > BA Ar -av τοῦ 
|} avros] > B 44, 106, 107 3» Ar oF vyaw.| > B Ar fortis est & δ: 1°... kG] > 44, 106, 107 
| SAr ΤΩΙ o δε BAX aut» | > BALMF vy. Κ- ¢] x. ( κι vy. BA ody MF (ii τὶ δ cor. | 
Seren 2D “Ὁ mm F 9] > BA 44,106,107 pr. ΠΝ 3 M eor.| +de quo quaeris a8 d. q. 
at interrogas y 6. aver. | em). 44, τού, 107 mn oan Ar M pr. 5 F κατεφ.] 2’. 5) Ar MF 
"ἢ Ke ἐκλαυσεν] κι -e BA >S lacrymans % 133) Ar (cf. M) edad. x. | evdoy. (nu- A) avr. κι BASF > 44, 
Ἧ: 106, 107 aBy 39x Ar M avr | > 44, τού, 107 aBy Ar MF εὐλογία σοι γενοιτο] >BAS evo. 


-ηται 44 "Ὁ PII Ar mad.| > BA 44,106, 107 Ar +05 MF ὁ του] we avdpos 44, 106, 107 pr. Ὁ M 
map. | avépor. BA > 44,106,107 S Οὐ ταὶ 6.0 0 eden. | TAY AIA ΠΝ by ΝΠ sey NS’ STO SVD 
jeu “01 “at dr > M @ ran. | >BASF μεγαλ. 44, 106, 107 O infelicitas 3» κακων] κ᾿ ἀκουσας BA S 
(cf. F) ετυφλ.] T. ἀπώλεσεν τ. οφθαλμ. εαυτ. (ε. > A) BAS (fF) επηρ. 44, 106, 107 avnp dex. | > BASF 
x.] > BA 44, 106, 107 SF ποι. ἐλεημ.)] > BASF π. δικαιοσ. 44, 106, 107 ἐπιπεσ. . . . aded. avr. | ελυπηθη 
x. BAS περιελαβ. αὐτὸν (T. τ. viov τ. aded. avr. 106 L) x. 44,106,107 LAr > MF Σᾷἅακλαυσ.] fem τ. τραχ. avr. 
44,106,107 Ar >MF 8. «.] -Ἐεφιλησεν αὑτὸν 44, 106, 107 15: M nna F αὐτου] P. 44, 
106, 107 ἐκλαυσ. avr. | > BA 44, 106, 107 aBy M γῶν ΞΞ “7. 5. mio MF autor | -ryns BA 44, 
τού, 107 (cf F) exdavoev| -av BA (-ev Bab) H > 44, τοῦ, 107 3 Ar MF κ᾿ αὐτὴ > BA 
44, 106, 107 & Ar M F 9. x1] pr. κι umedeEavto (-ato 106 S ed-avto 44, 107) «ur. προθ. BA 
44, 106, 107 F εθυσεν] ταν BA 44, 106, 107 & or. ’yn Ar €k προβ.] προβ. BA 106 ὥ > 44, 
107 3 Ar M F+bya F umedeEaTo aur. προθ.] παρεθηκαν (pao 3S) ova πλειονα BAS yy nnd PN 
ArM KeLOTE sai. δειπν.] »ΒΑῷ bax x ἽΝ nw bow Ar (ff. M) plen. Ε kK. ore | k. 44, 107 κ. evry. | 
> 44, 106, 107 aBy Ken] > i averrecay | -σον 44 δειπνησαι] εἰς τ. δειπνον 44, 100, 107 eur. | + de 
BA&?3 x. em. 44,106,107 3, +T.ad ang. & P.| sxdnn MF Ag aden. | > Ar εἰπὸν . . . aded, μου] 
λαλῃσον ὑπερ wy ελεγες εν τ. πορεια (-ια A) Kk. τελεσθητω (-στητω A) τ. πραγμα BA 3 (σ΄. F) had. (+6) 106) προς P. 
περι τῆς θυγ. aut. x. δωσει μοι avr. εἰς yur. 44, τού, 107 Ay M IO. nk. P.| μετεδωκεν BAS (cf Ar F) > 44,106, 
107 τ. Aoy.| τῳ Ρ. BAS ArF > 44, 106, 107 x.2°] > 44, 106, 107 Ar τὶ παιδι] P. πρὸς T. (-ἰαν 
Bb A) BAS Ar illi x, (pay. πος ταυτ.] >Ar M K.3°] > B τ. VUKTa@ ταυτ.] > BA 3 Ε τ. νυκτι TAUT. 44, 
106, 107 ov yap... ῳ] σοι yap BAS επισταμαι γ. ort αλλῳ ov 106, 107 κ.΄ ελαλ. ταῦτα AC προς Ρ. 41 > Ar 
ΜΕ καθηκει... πλην σου] καθ. παιδιον μ. λαβ. BA S καθ. λαβ. τ. θ. μ. εἰ μὴ σοι τοῦ, 107 > 44 ArMF 
aden. | > BA 44,106, 107 3H Ar MF @oauT, ... Εγγ. pov | > BA 44, 106, 107 yn Ay {NNT 35 An JNNT 3D 
ArM πϑινὰπ pawn 2a maw ἽΡ 5 Κ᾽ εγγισ. μου] +et tibi Sarra a8 y k. pada τ. ad. σοι υποδ, mats. | πλὴν 
υποδ. (+ σοι A 4) τ. αχλ. BAS ArF xk. ἐρω τ. ad. προς σε τεκνον 106, 107 3 ΝΠ ὦ ἘΠῚ 53 411: eda. | 
pr.ndy 106,107 Ar 427. 35 5 y3 M αυτην] τ. παιδιον μ. (παιδαριον A* παιδειον (¢ sup. ras.) A®*) BASF 
C4] enta BA τού, 107 τ. aden. ny. | > BA 106, 107 3ArM mavtes . .. πρὸς αὐτ.] ὁπότε εαν (av A) ewer. 
mp. avr. ἀπεθνησκον (-κοσαν BA) ὑπὸ (+ τὴν A) νυκτα BAS απεθ. 106, 107 amd yy xb sy im nnd ArM (7. F) 
τ. νυκτ.}] > 3" κι vu... πιε] adda 70 νυν ἐχων (-ον B2XbA) ndews BA x. Kup... usw] > BA 106, 107 aBy Ar 
μο bss abs vooo $ 7275 am M Ay Pra 209 ἽΡ33) F x. e.| luxe ὦ ov py... πιω] ov 
γευομαι (-σομαι A) οὐδὲν wde BA ov μὴ d. ουδ᾽ ov μὴ π. 106, 107 Sox xb Ar F cas αν] €. ov 100, 107 ews διαστ. 


ee ee 


en Se 


VII. 11. The precise and legalistic emendation of RY seems to mean ‘until ye make covenant with me and have 
your covenant ratified by me’, Th. Gram, p. 254, n.1, θνησκοσαν (ΒΑ), Th. Gram., p.214. With this verse commences 
the second & recension, with affinities to RS and ΚΞ instead of RY. 

221 


THE BOOK. OF TOBRIT Gams, 


in the night when they came in unto her. And now, child, eat and drink, and the Lord will deal 
mercifully with you. And Tobias said, I will taste nothing here nor will I drink until thou settle 
(12) mine affairs. And Raguel said to him, I do so ; she is given to thee according to the decree of the - 
book of Moses, and from heaven it hath been decreed that she is given to thee ; take thy sister. 

From henceforth thou art her brother, and she is thy sister ; she hath been given to thee, from to-day — 
even for ever. And the Lord of heaven give success to you, child, this night, even to do mercy and ἡ 
12 (13) peace towards you. And Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him and he took 
her by the hand, and gave her to him, and said, Take her according to the law and according to 
the decree which is written in the book of Moses to give her unto thee to wife. Have her and 
13 (14) lead her away to thy father in peace ; and the God of heaven prosper you with peace. And he 
called her mother, and told her to bring a book, and he wrote an instrument of co-habitation, even 
14 (15) that he gave her to him to wife according to the decree of the law of Moses. Then they began to 


eat and to drink. 
Sarah's recovery and the consummation of the marriage, Vii. 15—-viii. 9°. 
15 (16) And Raguel called Edna, his wife, and said unto her, Sister, prepare the other chamber, and 


16 (17) bring her in thither. And she went and spread the bed in the chamber as he bade her and 
17 (18) brought her thither; and she wept for her and wiped away her tears, and said unto her, Be 


προς ewe] στησητε x. σταθητε πρὸς pe BA usar Jewly S mecum rem confirmes 3» (cf 18} Ὁ ΠΡ 4M 
τὸ εἰπε] απεκριθη 44 αὐτῳ] > BA 44, 106, 107 ArM ott Ποιω.. - σοι] κομιζου αὐτὴν απὸ τ. νυν. ΒΑ (ΟΣ Ar M) 
τι δυναμαι ποιῆσαι K. αὐτὴ εστι δεδομ. ὑπὸ τ. vopov κατα αγχιστειαν Wov αὐτὴ σοι δεδοται 106,107 ιδου διδωμι ταυτ. γυναικα 
44 lors cor yd fares go oo? ad? μὲ wamso fuso S$ facio: tibi S. destinata est ef. y ne dubites 
fili facio quod vis et his dictis adiecit dicens Thobi tibi ef. a8 nvxd> aban poab anya Fk. τ: κρισιν τ. 
B. M. | ποῦ and F τ. βιβλ. M. | > BA τ. vopov εἰς yur. 44, 106, 107 (of yf fats o> os hi? oo 


oS loasasy 8) 5 snes 47 M +500 M iS GBs 9 ὁ BST avova | > 44, 106, 107 SM κι εκ ς eae 
νυν] > BA ArM συ] + δὲ Β (Aane sent. ante 117) jyd) hab. Ar M) αδελφη] > BA σου] +eorw BA kK. 0 


κυρ. τ. ουρ.] o de ἐλεημ. 6. BA τ. ουρ. κυρ. 44 Lssls S nowt wns » ArM swby E ευοδ.] >F 
vpas| -y ΒΑ ἃ 44. ημιν A* 106,107 παιδ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 3 AY ΜΕ T. νυκτα ταυτ.] τ. καλλιστα ΒΑ 7, 
yueret. 44 ΣῈ x. mot... . etpyv.] > BA 44 JsaNas (ean pers 3 (f-ArMF)  vpas 2°] nH. 106, το 
12. > 44,106,107 3 exan. | 927) Ar P.| > BA k. λθεν προς αυτον] > BA ArMF AaBopevos | -Bov 
BA > ArM raped. | >F aur@ | ΝΣ (pr. τῳ ΑἹ γυναικα BA ArM >F κὶ εἰπε eee εἰρην.] ὍΣ 2} M 
Κομισαι] ov BA ἽΡ ΠΡΟ nxt 32 ANT Ε κ᾿ xara... . βιβλῳ] > BA "ΩῚ ΝΠΣῊΝ nabdna Ar 
Sse aia ma F Oovvac.. . γυναικα] > BA Ar F exe | κομιζου αὐτὴν BA > Ar F amayaye | 
aTraye BA 7) F υγιαινων. .. εἰρηνην} k. εὐλογησεν (ηυλ. A) avtovs BA pr. fli > ArF 13. > δ 
M73 yay 31393 ὙῚ ANIM. ἼΘΙ wn) 33ND) ODA AMIN wap) oY Nap m1 Ε (οὐ Ar M 277α) exan. | 
sox) M τ. μητερα aurns | E. (Geass 2) τ. γυναικα αὐτου BA ArM matrem et puellam 5. ext. | > BA 
ArM eveyxew | λαβων BA -γκαι 1ο7 k. ἤνεγκε 44 βιβλιον] chartam aBy δὲ} Ar ws M k.3° 
. συνοικ) > M κι > ΒΑ ut aBy Ar συνγραφην] συγγ. B®> 44, 106, 107 conscriptionem aBy 
snaind Ar βιβλιου συνοικησεως] > ΒΑ συνοικιουσαν 44, 106, 107 coniugiiaBy mniad Ar κι ὡς Od. 


. von.) YTD ANY wn SnanNd 1nd) 19 ΠΣ Ar YA AS ON ABN ΠΝ yoy ana M (f. F supra) 
x. ὡς διδωσιν] x. exppaycavto BA as διδοται κ. edwkay (εδοσαν 44) 44, 106, 107 quemadmodum tradidit aB y 


αὐτὴν. . . κρισιν του] > BA α. a. y. Ke τ, συγκρισιν 106 M. vopov | > BA βιβλιου ΜῈ k. ἡνεγκαν ἢ μὴτ. GUT. κ. 
ἔγραψε k. εσφραγισαντο (κ. eo. > 44) 44, 106, 107 aBy 14. am’ εκεινου] x, BA Ar MF κ. tore 44, τού, 107 
S ex illa hora aBy HYB oo ὁ πειν] εφαγον κ. ἐπιον 44,106,107 347M + ino M npEavro | -aro Bab 
gayew| ἐσθιειν BA κι πειν] > BA 15. ekad. . . . yu. αὖτ. x. | > 44, 106, 107 3 ArM Ρ.] > AM 


auty | P.E. (E. > 44) tn yu. aut. 44, τού, 1073 Ar M Abed. | >i ArM τ. TOpl. τ. et. | τ. €. ταμι. {-ει. Ba) 
BA +. ταμίειον 44,106, 107 NIDWD ΓΔ pam Ar nA M ὉΠ Ὑππ F ewrayaye | eaye B avrny | 
puelam ZF > Ar ons M exec] > BA 44 wohsaS 5 Ar 16. Badioaga . . . auty | ἐποιῆσεν ws 
ez. BAS en. ovres E. 106, 107 Ar abiit in cubiculum (secretum y) et stravit sicut ef. aBy >44MF 
nyayev| εἰσ- B 44, τού, 107 SU εἰσηγαγον A > Ar M αὐτην] filiam suam #F > Ar M exer| εἰς τ. 
κοιτωνα 44, τού, 107 + badwos ES SS ule ex\av. | pr. περιελαβεν avr. (35) ἢ μητ. aut. kK. (- 8) 44, τού, 107 


S$ (f ArM) maid mys abnnm F περι αὐτ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 Ar οδο, SS S ADy M non3 
nwa: F κ᾿ ἀπεμ. τ. 8.] > 44, 106,107 $ArM_ anyos win pa wrpn bap F x. απεμαξ.] x. απεδεξ. BA 


τ᾿ δακρυα] +s θυγ. αὐτης BA αυτῃ] > 44, 106, 107 Ar 17: Gap. | > ArM opr. verba e Script. F 


οὐδ Cf. the Isis Inscription from Ios. ἐγὼ συνγραφὰς γαμικὰ-] εὗρα (i. 33 in reproduction in Deissm. Z.A.Z., 
p- 136). 

16. Some of the changes made by the later redactors and versions are pleasing, e.g. RY’s alterations (incorporated 
as usual in F) to make the daughter weep and the mother catch her tears, and F’s ‘the Holy One, Blessed be He, 
received her tears’, but R° lacks the poetic imagination. 


222 


EBOOK OE TOBIT 7. 178. 6 


of good comfort, daughter: the Lord of heaven give thee joy for thy sorrow: be of good 
rcomfort, daughter. And she went forth. And when they had finished eating and drinking, 

they desired to sleep, and they led the young man away and brought him into the chamber. 
| 2 And Tobias remembered the words of Raphael, and took the liver of the fish and the heart 
- 3 out of the bag which he had, and put them on the ashes of the incense. And the smell of the 
fish baffled the demon, and he ran away into the upper parts of Egypt; and Raphael went and 
4fettered him there and bound him straightway. And they went forth and shut the door of the 
chamber. And Tobias rose up from the bed, and said unto her, Sister, arise ; let us pray and make 
5 supplication to our Lord that he may work mercy and deliverance for us. And she arose, and they 
_ began to pray and make supplication that deliverance might be wrought for them, and he began to 
say, Blessed art thou, God of our fathers, and blessed is thy name for ever and ever; let the 
| 6 heavens bless thee, and all thy creation to all the ages. Thou madest Adam, and madest Eve his 


θυγ.] τεκν. BA κυρ.] 6. 44, 106, 107 Ar ovp. | +x. τ᾿ γης BAS opr. sds F + ey τ. νυκτι taut. 44, τού, 
ΤΟ] 3 ArM Sen o.| δῳ o. A pr. edeos επιδῳ (-ὡσῃ 106) exe σε (+ δωσει σοι 106) 44, 106, 107 SAr MF 
χαραν] χαριν BA Ar M annwy pew F ms] > 44 σου] -Ἐταυτ. BA (ch ΕἾ +7. ἐμπροσθεν 44, τού, 107 
S$ Ar (ff. M) θαρ. bvy.| > 3 Ar x. εξηλθ.}] > BA 44, 106,107 SArM_ +inde X 

WAQUE τ κα: οτε] ote δὲ BA κ. εγενετὸ οταν (-e 44) 44, 106,107 13 mm ArM συνετ.) > S WOY F 
τὸ hay. κι π. 8*| rou φ. δα ἃ δειπνουντες ΒᾺ ευφρανθηναι (+x. 106) 44,106,107 ampoamms S coenam 30 


NDT) NTN NpNNd Ar M inden jo F ἤθελ. . . . veav. κι] > BA 44, 106, 107 3 Ar F εισηγ. . . - 
Tap. | mons /vy Ὁ wond vy Ar (cf. M) aur. | iB 24, τοῦ, 107 5 Ὁ es | προς ΒΑΕ ταμειον] αὐτὴν 
ΒΑ (οἱ Ε) 1. κοιτωνα 44,106,107 οἷον, 9 2. «.1°] ο δὲ πορευομ. BA DID*Y ὉΠ ΡῚ F ἐμνησθὴ. .. 
P.] oSnn ὯΝ ANND 1S ἸΝΣΠῚ my F ἐμνησθὴ} -npovevoe 44, 106, 107 T.| > BA 44, 107 p.| tang. 3» 
«- ελαβ.] ἘΞ Ἢ T. πὶ T. XO. Ko T. καρὃ.] τ. καρδ. τ. ιχθ. kK. τ. ηπ. (+007 B) post ἐπεθηκ. BA (of. F) τ. καρδ. τ. 
tx. 44, 106, 107 dr M ex τ. Bad. ov εἰχ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 Sdr MF x. ἐπεθ.} > 44, 106, 107 
ἐπι τ. Tepp. του θυμι.] τ. τεῴρ. των θυμι. post a8. BA > 44; 106, τοῦ woads eran? Jacsy lrrarcy SX 
fsacs $ super carbones vivos (ignis y) @By (cf F) anny ὃν Ar M (of. F) 3. κι ἡ οσμὴ τ. txOvos εκωλ.] 


κ᾿ (> A) ἐκαπνισεν ore δε ὠσφρανθη τ. δαιμ. τ. oopns BA > 44, 106, 107 Sap wine my mods minn wp) 
am 4r M “ἢ ὮΝ maaway man 53 on oxy nN TI ΠΝ PeyM O92 F ἐκωλ.] ομαθὺ S prohibuit aBy «. απε- 
Spaz. | εφυγ. ΒᾺ κ.εξεβαλε 44,106,107 pr. [2019 Nyy] M τ. δαιμ.] > (v. supra) BAX Ar MF τ. ακαθαρτον 
πνευμα (+x. ἀαπεστὴ 106) 44, 106, 107 ante x.2° H avo εἰς τα μερη] εἰς (pr. ews A) ta avoratra BA εἰς τὰ avo μερὴ 
44,106,107 LNs JLoshil $ in superiores partes aBy ΠΡῚΝ 52 Ar (cf MF) Bad... . παραχ.] > F Bad. ] 
> BA 44,106,107 S$ Ar abiit...et# ἘΠ oayyedos post avr. ΒᾺ +ang. ΞΜ συνεποδ.] εδησ. BA 44, 106, 
107 9 avroy | ττο BA 44, 106, 107 exe] > BA post exod. Ar x. ἐποδησ. mapayp.| > BA 44, 106, 107 
SM _ et reversus est continuoaBy ΠΥ ΘΝῚ Ar 4. «. c&q\@, . . . Aw. κι] > 44, 106, 107 8 Rene ese 
Tap. | ws δὲ συνεκλεισθησαν ἀμῴοτεροι BA X30 Δ) OWINA Ov Ny TN) F εξηλθ.}] NYY M+ NITDN jd 
ArM τ. Tap. | pyan bya ArM Ke nyepé. | aveot. BA απ. τ. chur. | Ss 12 eur. autn Aden. αναστηθι] 
k. em. ava. ad. κι BA κ. T. εἰπ. προς Σ. a3. ἀναστα κ. 44, 106, 107 pos whe Joho μβο τοῦ 2 ἄϊσῖξ ὃ: 
surge soror 3» Ar M προσευξωμ.] & sup. ras. B®) -ομ. 106 kK. den. | > BA ArM τ. KUPLOU ἡμ. OT@S 
ποι. eb. ἡμ. Edeos x. gor. | wa (pr. Deum W) nu. denon ο. κυρ. (» 3) BAL (fF) τ. προσωπου κυρ. ovws 7. εᾧ. ny. ed. 
kK. σωτ. εν T. vuKTL ταῦτ. 44, 106, 107 bo LANS δὰ SWyo ee pow μωο εὖ S ’x pap 
mmo WON ΝΟ wpa (oon Μὴ Ar (cf Μὴ δ. aveor. . . . oor. κιὶ > BA 44, 106, τοῦ 3 Ar M 
bana Tm Hy 3D F aveoty | surrexerunt 3» den 8. | + Dom. 3 np&ato rey. | ηρξ. T. Xey. ΒΑ eer. T. 
44,106,107 lise shad βὑβος aslo 9. dixerunt % oN) ‘x opp “Ὁ ‘yy Ar (ff Μὴ Fan ’» nnn F 
εὐλογ. . . . atwvas2°| alter M εἰ} κυριος 44,106, τοῦ +haxo SU Ar F τ. mar. np. | Swe Ar (ff ΕἸ 
govl?| +7, ayov x. ενδοξ. BA (cf. F) παν. τ. aovas τ. yev.| τ. αἰωνας BA pasas SAr τ. yeveas τ. αἰωνων 44, 
106, 107 in omnia saec. saeculorum aBy Aug. evdoy. .. . kr. cou] > S aliter F π. ἡ κτισις] π. 
αι -εἰς BA εἰς π. τ. αἰωνας)] > BA 44, 106, 107 aBy Aug. Ar 6. τον Αδαμ] A. BA τ. avOpar. 106 
Jlmte Jeay S Ἐν F ἐποι.] εδωκας BA 44, τού, 107 aBy Ar MF βοηθ. στηρ. Ev. τ. y. aut.| B. Ev. 
στ. τ. y. avr. ΒΑ β. Ev. τ. y. 44, τού, 107 Ar Ms abwiedc0 JMO 95. adiutorium Evam aBy Aug. Spec. 56 
Mv mn F κι εξ... Bonbov2”| > M augor.| τουτ. BAX Ar > y Aug. aliter F eyev.| multiplicasti 
aB >yAug.  aliter F πὸ ΟΠ τὸ ανθρ.] τ. ανθρ. σπ. BA τ. yevos τ. ανθρ. 44,106,107 > y Aug. ‘33 ΡΞ 


VIII. 3. In RS εἰς τὰ ἄνω μ. (cf. aB γ) was written, which was retained in R° and paraphrased in RY. In δὲ (which 
Swete, Exfos. Tim., vol. xi, p. 39, appears totreat as the sole authority in this verse for R*!) the ἄνω has been acci- 
dentally inserted before εἰς τά. The reference to Egypt is pertinent historically (see Introd. p. 186) and mythologically 
(Jeremias, 4.7.Z.4.0., pp. 180, 432), and Kohut’s emendation [1728 for OS!) is pointless, but see J. H. Moulton, 
Hibbert Lectures, excursus to lecture ii. ’s reversus est may possibly have crept into the text from the mg. where it 
had been placed by a reader who had before him an Aramaic text in which 11M had taken the place of Ἵ2Π. 

223 


oo 


~~ 


Φ 


10 
It 
12 


13 
14 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 8. 6-14 


wife for a helper avd a stay for him: of them both came the seed of men : and thou didst say, It is 
not good that the man should be alone; let us make him a helper like unto him. And now 
I take not this my sister for lust, but in truth: command that I and she may find mercy and grow 
old together. And they said together, Amen. And they slept the night. 


The parents joy and the ensuing feast, vv. 9"-21. 


And Raguel arose and called his servants with him and they went and digged a grave, for he 
said, Lest he perish, and we become a derision and a reproach. And when they had finished 
digging the grave Raguel came into the house, and called his wife, and said, Send one of the maid- 
servants and let her go in and see if he be alive: and if he is dead that we may bury him, that no 
man know it. And they sent the maidservant and lighted the lamp and opened the door, and she — 
went in and found them sleeping and slumbering together. And the maidservant came forth, and 


nurs dr > y Aug. aliler Fk. ov... βοηθ.5"} > 44, 107 aBy Aug. x.ov| ov ΒΑ om] > BA 106 
τ. avOp. | pr? S$ Ar ποιησωμ.] ἘΣῪ, SArF 7. νυν] +Kupe BAS Κύριε ov γινωσκ. οτι 44, 106, 107 
aBy Aug. (in 4 loc.) Ar M ουχι] οὐ BA δια πορνιαν] ὃ. -ειαν BA 44, 106, 107 luxuriae causa 3» τ. 
αδελ. μ. ταυτ.] uxorem sororem meam aB αλλ᾽ er αληθ.] ἀλλα ε. «. A adda κατα (τα 44) δικαιωμα (-ara 44) τ. 
νομου σου (σ > 106 3) 44, 106, 107 9 sed ipsa veritate 3. NNN nada Ar Syne awn ΠῚΞ 330 awa M 
nont ὙΠ ppd F EMU ts) fe κοιν.] plen. F emit. ἐλεησ. με K. αὐτην] ε- eA. p. ΒᾺ επι τῷ ελεηθηναι npas 
κυριε (-Ἐ ἐμε τε κι αὐτὴν τού, 107) 44, 106,107 εἰν Ped lao e? pam S αἱ (> y) miserearis nostri Domine 
aBy Aug. yon Ney) am νὸν Din Ar (cf. M) kK. συνκαταγηρασαι κοινως] K. αὐτὴ (ταυτ. A) συνκαταγηρασαι 
(συγ. B®? συνκαταγηρασομε (aynpa sup. ras. ΔΆ) A) ΒΑ κ. συγκαταργησαι (= συ xatapaca?) τῷ ακαθαρτ. δαιμ. x. dos 
nuw κυριε Teva κ᾿ εὐλογιαν 106, 107 εἰ (ut y) consenescamus pariter sani cum pace aBy NIN ἽΝ soanned) 47 M 
+(-+4 NIN ΡΟ) M) JNssas9 hus εὔϑοο βοδα $a 8 Ar M 8. εἰπαν ped? εαὐτων] -ev per αὐτου BA 
-av κοινως 44, 106, 107 Ja hoo Lirfo § (of F) dixerunt# nam ‘y none) dr M 9. εκοιμ.} + ἀμφοτεροι 
BA (cf. F) nannd Sy ArM et receperunt se aBy 1: νυκτα] ev τὴ ν. ἐκειν. 44, τού, 107 SF post ταφον aBy 
avaot. P. εκαλ. TOUS OLKET. μ. εαυ. x. | avaot. P. BAF ειπ. (pr. op) + ποῦ M) P. τοις ork. aut. 44, 106, 107 2M 
saytayd TN) 9 DP xb madsen mim Ar ᾧχοντο x. wpugav ταῷ.] επορευθὴ x. -ev τ. BA (of. F) ορυξατε τ. νυκτι 
taut. (+ ϑομο Ww 5) 44,106,107 $ +4per noctem % soda xp xniand 47 M 10. em. yap] Neyov BA 
Ξ 14. τοῦ; Τοῦ nad aN) Ar Mn more | μὴ K. ouTos (aur. A) BA waeav 44,106,107 ON Ar αποθανῃ] ἢ 
τεθνηκως ( + why Ar) θαψω (9397393 Ar) αὑτὸν νυκτος κ. μηδεις γνῳ (cf. τ. 12) 44, τοῦ, 107 S Ar simil. (pr. NP Sy) F 
Κ. γεν. Καταγ. K. ονειδ.] »ΒΑ wa μὴ γενωμαι (a3 Nya Ar) εἰς ονειδισμον κ. καταγελωτα 44, τού, 107 Ar (of F) Joos Wo 
Jecoms «> 5 et omnibus fiam derisio et opprob. % II. ore . . . otxov] > Ar M ore . . . ταφον] 
> BAF eyevero (> 44) orav εξηλθοσαν οἱ οἰκετ. (+ orleans Pee ear? S) 44, τού, 107 5 ote | » 
ηλθ. Ρ.] > 44, 106, 107 5 τ. otkov| τ. -tav eavrov BAF > 44, 106, 107 S exa. τὴν yur. αὖτ. K.| 
> BA 44F ex. P. (P. > Ar) Βὸ (Ed. > 8) 7. y. av. 106, 107 3 Ay M 12. em.| +E. (P. 44) τῇ 
γ. aur. BAF + <avry τού, 107 5 Ar M Anoat.| Ἢ δὴ 44, τού, 107 kK. εἰσελθ.] > BASF εἰς τ. κοιτῶνα κ, 
44, τού, 107 HArM ἘΠῚ ΝΟΥ Ar ἰδέτω] ederaoay (ud. Bb) BA (| -Ἐὲν εἰρηνῃ 44, τού, 107 
>F ΓΟ ον ἃ ὁ γνῳ] εἰ δὲ μὴ (an mortuus est 30) wa θαψ. avr. (+5730 ἫΝ O10 Μὴ «. μηδ. yo (-oTw 
A) BAZ ArM 73PNi NF ὩΣ ADD) Now F > 44, 106, 107 ὦ 13. ameor. . . . λυχν. κιἾ εἰσηλθ. ἡ 
παιδισκη ΒΑ ΒΟ απεστ. Εδνα τ. παιδ. x. 106, 107 SAr Μ απηλθ. ἡ mad. k. 44 +d ArM ~ misit unam 
ex ancillis et aBy ηνοιξαν] avogaca BA avewke 44,106, 107 SaBy > Ar MF 6up.| + Tov κοιτ. 106, 107 3 
> ArMFE econ. x. | > BAArMF o λυχνος ev τὴ xXELpL αὑτῆς K. 44, 106, 107 S κι eup. aurous καθευδ, κ. 
ὑπν. κοιν.} κι eup. τ. δυω καθευδ, BAS x, ἰδου αὐτοι καθευδ. κοιν. 44, 106, 107 εἰ invenit illos pariter dorm. % 
(οὐ an) M) ΠΥ ΠῚ 39 Nai ΠΙΠῚ 47 Mpa ansxyn F 14. εξελθουσα)] εξηλθε (+ ES. 44) x. 44, 106, 
107$ArM_ η παιδ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 SLArMF υπεδ. avr.] ody m9 93 pad nays Ar ond wow F 
υπεδειξ.] απηγγειλ. BA 44, τοῦ, 107 avrots | Εδ. τ. avdpc avtns 106, 107 S > 44 + (ond ΝΠ) M 


er In the original story (R*), along with his servants (who are omitted in RY, accidentally or for brevity’s sake, as 
ὃ uller admits), Raguel digs the grave and returns from doing so before he addresses his wife (v. 11). R‘, however, 
enies Raguel’s presence at the digging and his share in the manual labour, as it is inconceivable ‘that a rich man 


en himself do such work’ (Néld., of. ci¢., p. 48, who with singular inaccuracy attributes this alteration and motive 
to R*!). 


12. εἰδέτωσαν. B* A, misplaced augment, Th. Gramz., p. 209. 
13. The three chief recensions, particularly ἈΞ, have not retained their individuality in this verse, but both the 
later ones seem as usual to have been based on RS either in the form it assumes in δὲ οὐ in that of 3... 
224. 


che ΒΘ OF FOBIT 8: 15-21 


15 told them that he was alive and that there was naught amiss. And he blessed the God of heaven 
and said, 
τό Blessed art thou, O God, with all pure blessing; let them bless thee for ever. And _ blessed 
art thou, because thou hast made me glad: and it hath not befallen as I supposed, but thou hast 
17 dealt with us according to thy great mercy. And blessed art thou, because thou hast had mercy on 
two that are the only begotten children of their parents: shew them mercy and deliverance, O 
Lord ; and fulfil thou their life with gladness and mercy. 
19 Then he bade his servants fill the grave before the morning came. And he bade his wife 
/ make many loaves. And he went to the herd, and fetched two oxen and four rams, and bade 
20 prepare them; and they began to make ready. And he called Tobias and said unto him, For 
fourteen days thou shalt not stir hence, but shalt stay here eating and drinking at my house, and 
‘2rshalt gladden my daughter's sore afflicted soul. And all that is mine take thereof the half, and go 
in safety to thy father ; and the other half, when I and my wife die, is yours. Be of good cheer, 
child! I am thy father, and Edna is thy mother; and thine now are we and thy sister's; from 
henceforth we are for ever. Be of good cheer, child! 


on... εστ.] 0. BA Ar > 44, 106, 107 S_ illum vivere et nihi! mali passum % yn on M (cf F) iiss 
REE 3, 5 evra | Ssoyn 308) Ar εὐυλογησαν] τεν (ηυ- A) BaP -y) ΒᾺ ΒΒ. Ἐὶ τον] pr.» MF τ. oup. | 
SBA 44, 106, 107 5 F ban M κ, eur. | Neyo BAH > Ar +/°9M bce | avo Geos BA κυριε ο Geos 
(θ. > S) τ᾿ oup κ. τ. γης 44, 106, 107 5 Ar ἜΠΟΘῚ πὸ nN Ar (ch M v. 16) 19NIIN mx» M awa 5s F 
ev m. evr. καθαρᾳ] ε. 7. εὐ. Β ε. π- ev. καθ. κ΄ αγια Bab™I AaB ε. π. ev. aye κ᾿ καθαρε K. ἀμιαντε 106, 107 ἀαγιε 
καθαρε x. ἀμιαντε 44 omni benedictione sancte et munde y NIT) ΝΡ ἼΠΞ 3) Ar > ΞΜ aliter F εὐλογει- 
τωσαν σε] τησατ. 106, ΤΟ > 44 ΕῚ 27. κ'. εὐλογ. σε οι αγίοι σου kK. TAG. αι κτισ. σου παντ. (pr. κ. Α) οἱ ayy. σου κ. Ob 
exdext. σου (κ. ove. 0. > Ar) BA (ch Ar F) +4 omnes sancti tui y οἵ benedicant tibi omnes electi tui et omnis 
creatura tua benedicat tibiaB > M εἰς παντας τ. αιων.] εἰς τ. at. Β Ar παντες οἱ αἰωνες σου (eS 44) 0 τυπτων κ. 
ἰώμενος εὐλογ. σε παντ. οἱ ayy. σου εὐλογ. σε (ε. σ. 44 K.) παντ. οἱ ἐκλεκτ. σου 44, 106, 107 > ΞΜ in omnia saecula 
saeculorum a8 in saeculum s—li y 16. eek» oo Kilo Qumr oo Moly 5 (ἡ Μὴ aliter Μ simil. F 
x1°] > BA 44, 106, 107 © εἰ] Jap’ ow Ar evpp.| qu. (ev. B*) B*b A με] ἡμᾶς 44, 106, 107 Ar eyevero | 
+po BAW ημιν 44,106,107 > Ar ὑπενοουν] τουμεν 44, 106, 107 Ar adda... ἡμων] JNO MIND 
ante x. οὐκ Ar πολυ] > 44, 106, 107 17. simil,F κι] > BA 44,106,107 SLAr ευλ. εἰ] > SM 
+ Kupte 44, τού, 107 aumbs Ar eden. | ΠῚΠ xban myy M δυο} pan Ar mx ow Μ᾿ povoy.| +k. 
τ. yoveis αὐτων 106, 107 S > Ar M mous. . . . ἐλεου] adyd payna AIM STN) ΝΟΣ nnd an Ar = aliter M 
edeos κι] > 9 x. got. x.]| > BA συντελ.} lozao Ko call how 5 per’ ev. kK. edeov.| ev υγειᾳ (-ιειᾳ Ba Ὁ 
-ia A) pera ev. x. ἐλεους ΒΑ μετα ελεους κ. evp. 44, τού, 107 L » 5 18. rore eum. τοις ork. αὐτου] (pr. 11 
F) εκελευσεν de τ. ox. BAF x. ἤλθοσαν οι οικ. k. εἰπ. αὐτοῖς 44, 106, 107 SAr ἘΠ Μ xooa| adn adj 5 
wha) F tag. | + quam fecerunt 3 + 5p F προ τ. opOpov yev. | > BAF π. τ᾿ npep. (heron 3S) y 44, 106, 
107  wo73 93 wn xb sy Ar (+ 8M) 19. k. ἐποιησεν avTots γαμον ἡμέραν δεκα τεσσ. ΒΑ ae γυν.] 
Ἑ. (> 44 3) τ᾿ y. αὐτου post εἰπεν 44,106,107 5  >M πεοιησ.] ετοιμασον 44,106,107 5 Ἐῤάπε. verb. M 
τ. Boux.| tas (τοὺς 44) Boas 44, τού, 107 Badia.| εδραμ. αὐτου (av. > 44 3) κι 44, τού, 107 5 M abiit ipse 3" 
som Ar nyayev| pond 3D) Ar δυο} > 44, 106, 107 Ar M τεσσ] > 44 Ar +hsoSM eum. 
συντελ.] εταξ. (- ον wtad S) ετοιμαζ. 44,106,107 SHAr AY ΠΟΥ ΝΣ saya wpa Ar k. np&. παρασκ. | 
> 44,106,107 SLM 3 ΠΣ) Ar 20. εκαλ. T, κι] > BAS ArM + opocev αὐτῳ x. 44, τού, 107 3» Ah 
yawo F auto | -ros ἃ +P. πριν συντελεσθηναι τ. nuepas τ. γαμου evopKas BA > 44,106,107 3» asad 3 ArM 
δέκα τεσ. nuepov| εαν μη πληρωθωσιν ar ὃ. τεσ. ἡμ. τ. γαμου Post αὐτὸν BA (cf. F) ews ἡμέρων δεκατεσ. 44, 106, 107 pos? 
oKov o. 44, 106, 107 ree Jeon yoke? frown post μη κιν. 5 ov μὴ κιν. ἐντευθ.} μὴ εξελθειν αὐτον BA 
ov μη εξελθης εκ τ. οἰκου σ. 44, τού, 107 Ar M wash WS Ὁ JON ΝΟΥ ΠῚ rahe ee xatod.| > ΒΑΕ add... 
ἐμοι] > 44, τού, 107 5 Ay M x. euppaves| wa τῇς 44, τοῦ, 107 3 τ. ψυχ.] > Ar M κατωδυνωμενην | 
-08. 44 -τωδυνομ. 106 multis adflictam doloribus 3» 21. vga por... τὸ ἡμισυ x. | tote λαβοντα τ. ημ. τ. 
υὑπαρχοντων αὐτοῦ ΒΑ τ: np. τῶν ὑπαρχ. μοι λαβε παραχρημα 44, τού, τοῦ SAr (cf ΕἾ pr. pn nxbp vans) F 
uraye vyaw. | πορευεσθαι pera vyeras (-ιας ΒΑ τιειας Bab) BA um. εν εἰρηνῃ 44, 106,107 >SAr_ vade salvus et 
sanus cum pace #® ANNA abn M 3b) F Tp. τ. mar. | >SAr σου] > BASAr τ. addAo ny. | τ. λοιπα 
BAF τι ημ 4. ΝΟ 39 4rM orav| ews 44, 106, 107 eyo te] > ΒΑ eyw 44, τού, 107 per. 

Rs παιδ.3"] > BAM Ῥ mon ὉΠ F uper. | cov 44 > Ar θαρσ.1"} > SAz παιδ.1"} τεκν. 44, 
106,107 >S pao yan ΓΝ 4,7, σοῦ ο] > 44,106,107 ἘΕδ.}] +°nnIN Ary] > 44, 106, 107 
kK. mapa a... .7ad.2°| > 44,106, 107 S τὸν Ἵν Ar θαρσ. παιδ.3"}.» ὶ 


| of liturgical and theological additions in RY and R“ 
1105 


. 
᾿ 
15. RS wrote εὐλόγησεν. . . k. εἶπεν which should be read in δ. See Introd., p. 174, footnote 2, for the importance 


90905 
-:Ὁ Q 


THE BOOKVOF ΘΒ τὸ 


1. Raphael’s journey to Gabael, ix. 1-6. 


91,2 Then Tobias called Raphael, and said unto him, Brother Azarias, take along with thee four 

servants, and two camels, and go to Rages and get thee to Gabael, and give him the bond ; receive the 

4 money and bring him with thee to the wedding feast. For thou knowest that my father will count 

3 the days, and if I tarry one day, I shall sorely grieve him ; and thou seest what Raguel hath sworn, — 

5 and I cannot break his oath. And Raphael went on his way with the four servants and the two — 
camels to Rages of Media and they lodged with Gabael, and Raphael gave him his bond ; and (he) 
made known to him concerning Tobias, Tobit’s son, that he had taken a wife and that he invited 
him to the wedding-feast. And he arose and counted out to him the bags with their seals and placed 
6 them together < on the camels >. And they rose up early in the morning together and came to 
the wedding-feast. And they came into the house of Raguel, and found Tobias lying at meat. 
And he sprang up and greeted him. And he wept and blessed him and said unto him, Honest and 


es A ΞΕ OE 


IX. 1. tore] x. BA P.] pr. τὸν BA 44,106,107 +ang. 1 F 2. παραλαβε] λαβε BA 44,106, 107 μετα σι] 


ἐντευθεν 44, τού, 107 3 +hinc X Ar M τεσσαρ. ouxer. | mada BA > 44, 106, 107 κι 15] > 44, 106, 107 
καμ. δυο] δυο cau. BA 44, 106, 107 εἰς Payas | ev Payots τ. Μηδειας (-cas A) BA > Sin civitatem 
Rages >F κ. nke | > 44, 106,107 SHA, MF παρα] προς 44, 106, 107 Γαβ.] ΡΞ Π bya Ε 
δος] > ΒΑ αὐτῳ | > BA  avros 44, 106, 107 τ. χειρ.] >BA be 'βᾷβ8θ S τ suum ΠΡ 
Ar onnnox M κομισαι] + μοι BA λαβε 44, τού, 107 jn’ Ar MF pr. κ᾿ δ' (» ΝὮ S 44, 106, τοῦ Ar 
MF παραλαβε avr. | aut. aye μοι (μ. > A) BA  ayaye αυτον {(-το 44) 44, 106, τοῦ fon Ar MF μετα σ.] 


>BAXArM τους γαμ.] τον y. BA 4. pr. V. 3 IBAVAz one eorat| « BA Ar yap | > 44 αριθμων o 
mar. | om. μ. αριθμει BA om. p. αριθμων 44, τού, 107 3» Ar μον Ib PS +: M τ. ἡμερ.] > 44, 106, 
107 χρονισω] νον SF soy nay 47M ἡμερ. μιαν] μεγα (γ Sup. Tas. A®) BA μιαν nuep. 44, 106, 107 
una plus die >F λυπησω avr. | οδυνηθησεται ΒᾺ gS ΕΞ μοο SF _  contristabo animam eius & (σ΄. Ar M) 
Aav| > 44, τού, τοῦ SH Ar 3. κι θεωρ. τι] διοτι BA κ. 44, τού, 107 wx 9. Sed vides quomodo 3» dwn 
by53 wond bid sao xbaoet drM > F ὠμοσεν P.| ομωμοχεν (-κεν BAb) p. BA 44, 106,107 +n εξελθειν 
pe (+9 DAIS Ty MM. Ὁ Ar MF) BA Ar MF  +pewar pe (μοι 44) δεκατεσσαρες (Jaca S) ἡμερας (δ. η. 44) 
παρ᾽ avto 44, τού, 107 3 κ᾿ ov.... opk. avt.| > BA 106 4r M dvvazat | τησομαι 44, 107  possumus % 
mapaBnva| abernoa 44, 107 spernere L 5 επορευθὴη] op M al +ang. 3» κι OL τ᾿ . «= OlK, K. δῷ ὧν 
«ay, | > BAF κ. οι ok. avrov 44, τού, τοῦ pr. ΠΡῸῚ M ets P. τ. M.| > BA εἰς P. 44, τοῦ, 107 M Gs 


veo? S ἴῃ οἷν. M.% Δ ΦΝ Ἢ yaypd Ae © S32: ηυλισθησαν] τθη BAL pr. ndOov προς T. x, 44, 106, 107 SF 
>M +n abba Ε mapa Γ.] exec 44,106,107 obaXS αὐτῳ 1°] 4+ Pad. 44, 106, τοῦ SH pr. 
ἽΡΞΞ) F τ. xetp. | ΞΞ) Ksko 9 αὐτου] > BA 44, 106, 107 9 x, umed. auto] > BAF oS wvlo a 
Me De Ula τι] >= BA a. 7. ut Τωβια 44, τού, ΠΟ ΞΞ SF οτι ελαβ.] > BAF +2 =) yer. | > BA +r. θυγ. 
P. 44,106,107 SH “1,3 Ὁ ArM πο Sse IBYAN ott kad.| > ΒΑ εστιν exer καλων (k. > 44) 44, 106, 107 
> Jeo yee cor coho S 77. (5.37 + 7M >F ast. yanov] >BA4g +/OM SF «. ἀναστας] os 
be BA κ. aveotn T. 44, 106,107 3 bya pow 32 4r > MF παρηριθμ.] προηνεγκεν BAF εξηνεγκε 44, 106, 107 
> ArM auT@ 3°| > BA 44, 106, 107 47 M συν τ. σφραγισιν] εν τ. σῷ. BA κ. εδειξε τας σφ. 44, 106, 


107 5. ὙΞΠΙ5 >ArM (5 Sy ἸΩΠῚΠΣ Ε συνεθηκαν aura | εἐδωκεν avro BA ηριθμησε τ. ἀργυριον κ. ἐπεθηκεν 


ἐπὶ τὰς καμ. 44,106,107 $ +supra camelos αβ y dor by saps ἱνῸ Αγ ΝΜ Sway ney joan “Ἴ mpd) F 
6. ὠρθρισαν] ὠρθρευσαν Β > 44 Ar M vigilaverunt % κοιν. κὶ >44ArMF εἰσηλθον 1°] ηλθοσαν B*b 44, 106, 


107 aBy ηλθον BA δ ΠΝ M εἰς τ᾿ yapov| > 44 τος.» “Ὁ k. εἰσηλθ.... εκλαυσ. x. | Say ΚΕ 
εἰσηλθ.3"} > BA 44,106, 107 SaBy Ar M es ta Ρ.] > BASaByArM __ προς. 44, 106, 107 k. eup. Te 
ανακειμ.] > ΒΑ et invenit Gabelus Th. discumb. (accumb. y) aBy κ. aver.] > BA 44, 106, 107 4r M κ- 


ησπ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 9 αὐτον 1] > 44, τοῦ, 107 omaso SaB ΑΥΜ k. ex). | > 44, τοῦ, 107 3 
+Gabelus a8 -NNNYIN Msp Ar M κ. εὐλογ.] > 44, 106, 107 Sy avroy | Τωβειας τ. yuvatka αὐτου 
ΒΑ (fF) > 44,106,107 Sy Deumag kK. iT... . Ὅμοιον αὐτῳ] > BAF κ᾿ εἰπ.} +7. 44,106, 107 9 
dicens 3» αὐτῳ] > 44, 106, 107 © Ay M Kale . . . ehenpor.| εὐλογητ. o κυρ. os εδωκε σοι εἰρην. (+ bone et 


optime vir a 8) ore vos εἰ (evd.... εἰ > y) avdpos Kad. x. (κ. κι > 44 S) ayad. k. ἐλεημοσυνας ποιουντὸς 44, 106, 107 (+ et 
benedictus tu filia8)SaBy 2p Ὅ ON PID ‘PAY TAY Ow aw Ἴ3) TI Now ΝΠῸΝ Ar Swe ads» 193 
AVNA DY AnHwA ὙΠ AWS M Own... yur. o.| evdoynpevos εἰ kK. voy. (ev. > 44) ὁ maT. σου κ. EVAoY. (Ev. 
> 44 8)n yur. σου k. o mar. κ᾿ ἡ μητ. (κ. ἡ. μι > 106) αὐτῆς 44, 106, 107 S NW NNID NnnsN snd) Jandy > ΠῚ 


IX. 3. ὀμώμοχεν (RY), Th. σγαηε., p. 205. 

5. συνέθηκαν αὐτά is possible alone, but probably ἐπὶ τ. καμήλους should be restored from aBy Av and M. On the 

other hand aB y Ar M inadvertently wrote x. εἰσῆλθον only once in the next verse and then omitted εἰς τὰ Ῥ- ΕΞ clings 

at any rate to the mention of Raguel though its compromise has suffered in 44 and is lostin S$. RY so radically abridged 

the verse that the second half was unintelligible to the copyists, but restore κ. evA. “P. τὸν T. x. τὴν yuv. αὐτοῦ in RY. 
226 


THE BOOK Or LOBIT 9. 6—10: 


7 


} good /ad, son of a man honest and good, just and merciful! The Lord give thee the blessing 
᾿ of heaven, and unto thy wife and thy father and thy wife’s mother! Blessed be God that I have 
seen Tobias my cousin like him. 


D. THE HOME-COMING, x. I-xi. 17. 
i. Tobias’ sorrowing parents, x. 1-7". 


1@: Now day by day Tobit kept counting how many days he would spend in going and how many 
lz return in. And when the days were expired, and his son was not come, he said, Is he perchance 
3 detained there? or is Gabael perchance dead, and there is no man to give him the money? And 
[1 he began to grieve. And Anna his wife saith, My child hath perished, and is no longer among the 

5 living ; and she began to weep and bewail her son, and said, Woe is me, wy child, that I let thee 
"6 go, the light of mine eyes. And Tobit kept saying unto her, Hold thy peace, trouble not, sister, he is in 
good health ; doubtless some distracting business hath befallen them there ; and the man who went 
7 with him is trusty and one of our brethren; grieve not for him, sister, soon he will be here. And 


Ar ν᾽ ΠΣ DPD) Ost OA 73219 — im ΠΣ Nin) M δωῃ σοι Kup. evdoy. oup. | det tibi benedictionem 
(ben. det tibi y) Dom. coeli a8 y K. T. TAT... . Yur. σου] ἘΞ Κ᾽ evdoy. .. . Of. aur. | > 44,106, 107 3 ArM 
ort et... . ὁμοῖον avt@| quoniam video Thobi consobrini mei similem a8 οἱ benedicat Deus Thobi consobrinum 
meum y 

X. 1. drev. M exaot. . . . emotp.| x. T. 0 mat. aut. ἐλογίσατο (-Cero A) εκαστ. ἡμερ. BA (GA 1B) τς 
ἡριθμει (-noe 44) τ. ἡμ. af’ ns εξηλθε T. ο wos aut. 44, 106, 107 3 δε] et LAr nuep. | +41 Ar πορευσ.] 
ΝΞΌΣ Sand Soa dy Ar ev ποσ.""] » ἐπιστ.] +filius eius © οτε συνετελ.] ὡς ἐπληρωθ. BA 
᾿ς επλεονασαν 44, 100, 107 ἡμεραι] +r. πορειας (-cas A) ΒΑΕ ἜΠΟΣ Π Ar o UL avr. | > BA 44, 106, 107 
2). 5 Ar Rac bo Oo παρην] οὐκ ἤρχετο (-οντο A BS) BA κ. ελυπηθη Τωβιας (T. > 44) 106, 107 (+F) ods Kujo 
ΠΑΝ 5 2. brev. M εἰπ.}) +T. Α pr. x. 44,106,107 3 +mwa Ar (οἷ F) Mrjloy πὶ 
> 44, 106, 107 2 κατεσχεθη] κατῃσχυνται BA 9339 wnbos Ar PON wap F exer] = BA 153 Κα 
απεθ.] τεθνηκε 44, τού, 107 9] > BA 44, 106, 107 ovdeis] ov 44, 106, 107 4, VW wlo S et nemo & 
aur, διδ.] Sid. avr. BA διδ. τ΄ υἱῳ pou 44, τού, 107 S mS yan Ar (f. F) 3. κι np& λυπ.] Kk. ελυπειτολιαν BA 
= 44, 106, 107 “ὁ meoynnd wi Ar (cf. M) antev. 2 EF 4. brev. M k. A. ἢ γ. aut. dey. | em. δὲ auto 
ἢ yun (-Ἐ αὐτου A) BAF κ. em. A. 44, 106, 107 S +i Ar τ. mad. μ.] τ. 7 BA ov. μ. 44, 106, 107 5 
ἘΠ Οὐκ. . .°. al (+ Ar) διοτι κεχρονικεν BA Ar κ. οὐκετι (y 44, τού, τοῦ S  quare tardat (-tur y)aBy >F 
mp& . . . vt. αὐτ.] ηρξ. Opnvew avrov BA εθρηνει περι aut. 44, 106, 107 S x. εἰπ.] εθρηνει λεγουσα 44 ΕΞ 
Ova μοι] ov μελει μοι (μ Sup. ras. A®) BA οιμοι 44, 106, 107 S ort | προς τι 44, 106, 107 S πορευθ.] 
» BAS απελθειν am’ ἐμου 44, 106,107 3. +NNP'NT yand Ar aliter F τ. φ. τ. oO. μ.] ante τεκν. 44, 106, 
107 5 + bid mnpaw and Ar = ΗΝ 6. drev. MF T. ελεγεν aut? | T. λέγει αὐτῇ BA παρεκαλει 
αὐτὴν T. κ. εἰπ. (x. ε. 44 Neyov) 44, 106, 107 x Oly... - vy. | θαρσει αδελ. παρεσταῖι O υἱος nu. υγιαινων 44, τού, ΤΟΥ δ 
aded.] > BA Ar κ᾿ pada... ndn παρεστ.] > BA κ᾿ pata] > 44,106 1078 sed forsitan%& ona Ar 
περισπασμ.] μϑθον. S$ mora & yun Ar avr. ey. exer} detinet illos £  avrow...0 av6p. | τις αὐτων (-τῳ 44 5) 
γέγονε μη λυπου οτι κ. (κ. > S) 44, τού, 107 S αὑτοις] mK. εἰς] ex.44,107 εἴ εχ 3) > 106Ar τ. ader. ημ.] 
> 106 Ar pn dur... mapeor. | μὴ Ons exe τὴν καρδ. σ. Kaxov 106, 107 S > 44 περι aur. aden. | os Ar 
7. κι em... mad. p. | onanad wom M (gr. ΕἾ are] Αννα 44,106,107 3 > +m Ar Sy... - mraval 
> 44,106,107 S Sey. am’ ep. κι] σιγ. BA Ar F  tace molestus es mihi a8 molestus es mihi esse noli y 
fall) HE πλ.] μη mr. με ΒΑ (ἘΠῚ ΠῚ Π xdi Ar F απωλ.] > Ar παιδ.] τεκν. 44, 106, 107 "92 Sy Ar 
ex). περιεβλ. τ. 0d.| emopeveto καθ᾽ ἡμερ. εἰς τ. 0d. BA F εκπηδ. ἐπὶ τ. οδου mepteB\. 44, 106, 107 Kado lian 


Loo Jemr0 Judas Loo Wyo S$ seme ΠΟ ἼΒΟ npr mm dr oti by wym Moy... - ἡμέραν] εξω 
owas ἀπηλθ. (-av A) ἡμερας τε (np. te > L) BAL (οἱ Ε) εἰ ερχεται o υἱ. αὐτῆς (av. > 44) 44,106,107 » 9 
ma on ADI ANN soda) xpd. Ar m3 N32). ON mid ov $59 M kK. οὐκ επειθ. ουδ.] aptov οὐκ ησθιεν 


X. 2. κατήσχυνται (RY, an unlucky substitute for κατεσχέθη of RS, which is supported by Av and F) must be 
translated ‘are they disappointed?’ (cf. v3). R° omitted the clause because of this difficult expression, and most 
moderns who uphold RY are here compelled to emend on the basis of R8. On -eryeOn v. Th. Gram., p. 238. 

4-6. On the relation of these verses to Jub. ch. xxvii. τ΄. R. Harris, 4./.7%. pp. 349 ff. 

5. οὐ μέλει μόι (RY) is corrupt. It might be emended ὦ (cf. A7) or ws or σὺ (Fri.) μέλει μοι or σὺ μέλει σοι (Tisch.). 

6. περισπασμός (RS) = ‘ distracting business, distraction’ (e.g. Polyb. iii. 87, 9; iv. 32, 5), represents }*J¥ (occupation, 
fask) six times in Eccles. The words ὁ divOp.... μὴ λυποῦ (RS) give the key to the difficult ‘ perfectus vir (et) verax... 
noli fiere’ in Jub. ch. xxvii. 

7. τλιμπ. -λιπ. (RY), Th. Gram., p. 227. In Ar 4D 37~N (cf. viii. 20, ix. 3) may be original, but prob. it is a trans- 
formation by a late scribe of the numerical 41". 


227 97 2 
227 Q2 


ot 


THE BOOK OF TOBIM Wi Ρ 


she said unto him, Hold thy peace at me and deceive me not ; my child hath perished. And hasten- — 
ing forth early she spent every day watching the road, by which her son had gone, and would hearken — 
to no one; and when the sun went down she would enter in, and mourn and weep the whole night, 
and have no sleep. 


ii, Tobias sets out for home, vv. 7’-13. 


And when the fourteen days of the wedding feast were expired which Raguel had sworn to ~ 
celebrate for his daughter, Tobias entered in to him and said, Send me away, for I know that my _ 
father and my mother believe not that they will see me again; and now I pray thee, father, that 

8 thou send me away that I may go to my father ; already I have told thee how I left him. And Raguel 
said unto Tobias, Abide, lad, abide with me, while I send messengers to Tobit thy father, and they 
9 shall tell him concerning thee. And he said unto him, Nay, I pray thee that thou send me away to 
10 my father. And Raguel arose, and handed over to Tobias Sarah his wife, and half of all his goods, . 
men-servants and maid-servants, oxen and sheep, asses and camels, clothing and money and chattels; 
11 and he sent them away in peace, and he embraced him and said to him, Farewell, child, depart in 
peace; may the Lord of heaven prosper you, and Sarah thy wife, and may I see children of you 
before I die. And he said unto Sarah his daughter, Go unto thy father-in-law, because henceforth 


4 
τὸ 


(-te B b) BAaByF > 44,106, 107 3 Ar Ὦ ὍΤΕ εὐ το' ὑπνον] τ. δὲ νυκτας (od A) ov διελιμπανεν (Bb (vid) A 
-ur. B*) θρηνουσα T. τ. vt. aut. BA (cf. F) ews ov dv o ηλ. x. εἰσηλθ. εἰς τ. otk. avr. (lohan S) κι οὐκ eyevoaro 
ovdevos kK. οὐκ δυνατὸ uTvwcat (κ. ο. ἡ. v. > 44) 44, τού, 107 9 nad πὸ why ΡΣ ΝΙΝ indo ὉΠ nave xy 
(5 49) > M) Ar M x. ore2°| ews οὐ BAF κ. eyevero ὡς 106, 107 Δ κ. ὡς 44 τ. γαμ.)] > 3S as op. P.] 
> 44 ArMF ας} καθως τού, 107 ποιησ. τ. θυγ. avt.| ποι. αὐτὸν εκ BA > 44, τού, 107 93 Ar MF 
ainNeb 6 oo x. | > BA 44, 106, 107 3 Ar MF εισηλθ.] > at er.2° | +6 (> Ar) T. τω τ: > B ab) P, 
(oS 9) ΒΑ 95 47Μ  λΖΦῷσ: Ε) +17. 44,106,107 +illiL Egan. . . . yap eyo| εξαπ. με BA Ar ΜῈ πορευ- 
copa προς τ. mar. μου 44,106(+F)107 >S 27. 308 F ov mot. . . . με ετι] ovkere ελπιζουσιν οψεσθαι pe 
BA Ar αγωνιωσιν (-covow 106) ει €TL (ere = 44) οψονται τ. προσωπ. μου 44, 106, 107 φρέϑοοῦ Eoin Ι᾿Ν.39 JNoss 
u2/ goku ax Vp S$ "Δ DAWN ON) DOT AN DAWN M DD Ww Any ἽΝ 5 Ε er] > & a 
νυν. . - αφηκ. avr.| > BA 44, 106, 107 SMF x. νυν} nunc itaque 3» πατ.] > Ar k. mopevO. . . . 
aur.| 5)n saoymnd ΝΟΣ ΝΟῚ Ar 8. x. εἰπ.] em. de BA P. τ. T.| avrw o πενθ. (- αὐτου A) ΒΑ P. 44, 
106, 107 SM “a mS Ar Mew.1°, . . per’ ἐμου] μ. παρ᾽ ἐμοι BAH > 44, τού, 107 S$ Remane hic penes 
meiM 3 ay F kK. eyo ἀποστελλω] Kayo εξαπ--λω (τλλω B*) B* vid NaBy εγω εξ-λω (-λλ 106) 44, τού, 
107 ayy.| > BA Ar MF T.| > BAS# ArMF t7.0.| >ArM 4+ mond) F υποδειξ.) δηλωσ. 
ΠΑ υποδ--ωσιν 44, 106, 107 aur | spand ArM περι σου] ta κατα ce BA JNanmas Loon hisay S σὺ 
δὲ μειν. ere ολιγ. ἡμερας μετ᾽ ἐμου (μ. ε. > 44) 44, 106, 107 S$ ΓΝ Ss ArM “307 F 9. eum. avr. | ‘Te 
λεγει BA εἰπ. T. 44, 106,107 MF ἘΤ. ὁ. ille dixit® ‘py mS anx Ar Μηδαμως] > (ouye Bab) B Ar 
ovyt ada A 23, 55,64, 7% μὲ ὠδα ἢ" S intotum& +46 πατερ 44, τού, 107% MN anNn bs My 
xox ἽΝ ἀξιω σε] > BAMF peto ἢ wn an Ar oros| > BA 44, 106, 107 $ Ar MF εξαπο- 
στειλῃς] τλὸον BA 44, 106, 107 and Ar aby F evrev6, | > BA 44, 106, 107 SArF nds) M προς] Ι 
wa μὴ λυπήσω 44,106,107 Jemh Wy S + n-byy F το. «.1°] > BA et continuo 3» ἀναστας] +6e 
ΒΑ -eorn 44,106,107 > M Pa +k. ἐλαβε 3. (3. > 3) τ. Ovy. aut. kK. 44, 106, 107 S post παρ. M raped. | 
«5. BA Ἔ αὑτὴν 44, Τοῦ: ΤῸ 6] T.| αὐτ BAF 3. τ᾿ yuv. aut. κι) > 44, 106, 107 5. filiam suam % | 
κ᾿ τὸ ἡμισὺυ (SA* 4) τὰ (a sup. ras.) np. ΒᾺ x, edwk. αὐτῳ 44, 106, 107 παντων] > BAX Ar ME παντα τοῦ | 
avre| > ΒΑ +70 np. 106,107 -Ἐπαντῶν τα ημισὴ αὐτου 44 mad. kK. παιδ.] σωματα BA Ar B. κ. mp. | κ. κτηνὴ Ϊ 
ΒΑ mp. 44  oves εἴ boves & (fost καμ. AT Acai ov. κ᾿ καμ.) > BAF κ. κ' ον. 106, 107 καμ. 44 
post ox. Ar par.) > BA 44,106,107 SF plen. Mx. apy.] apy. BA et pecuniam κ. ox.] > BA plen. M(f. | 
F) Tr. εξαπ.] pr. εὐλογησας αὐτους BA + ὩΡΦΠΔῚ mbwa Ayah auTOUs . . . ἡσπασατο autoy | > BA avr.k. | 
ἡσπάσαντο αὐτὸν 44,106, 107 & illum salv. san. et vale illi fecit 33. 2292) 47 MF κ᾿ eur. aut@| λεγων BA 
ἘΠῚ: P. 44, 106, 107 2 αἵ dixit 1 MF nnd wen) dr vy... . umaye| > BA Ar MF Badiere τεκνα vysawovres 
44, 106, 107 5 vade fili salvus sanus & ὁ kup.| ο 6. ( post rexva BA) BA 44, 107 Ar MF pr. κ. 44, τοῦ; Toye} 
oup. | thse S$ >4r ἸΣΓῚΣΝΝ Sea F evodoaat | -σει B 44,106,107 -λογησει A xnoy yw Ar ἽΝ! 
υμας] -Ἔ τεκνα ΒᾺ - τού, τοῦ DDI F x. 3. 7. y.0.| > Ar MF Kk. 3.... nadia] >BA k, oO. TeKva 
up. 44, τοῦ, 107 5 x. 5.] δ ἡπὸ Ar MF mad.| MANA ΡΟΝ) at O22 M προ... μὲ] ΣΝ 
με] ante ἀποθ. BA 2 Ke bon τ ΠΠΕΛῚ aur. | > 44 x.1°| +epidnue 3. τ. Ovy. aut. x. T. κ΄ τού, 107 & | 


Jo. τὰ ἥμισυ (}), Th. Gramz., p. 180. σώματα (RY) = slaves in classical Greek, e. g. Dem. (480. 10), Plut., but always | 
with αἰχμάλωτα, οἰκετικά or some similar epithet, in the Ptolemaic papyri (cf. espec. Demophon’s letter to Ptolemaeus 
ζ. 245 B.C. in The HHibeh Papyri, No. 54), in the LXX (e.g. Gen. xxxiv. 29, Bel and Drag. 32; 2 Mac. viii. 11), in | 
Polybius and later writers, and in the N.T. See Deissm., BS. p. 160, LAS. parsn. ἢ Ἶ 

228 


‘ 


Ge BOOK ION TOBIN 10! τ 11. 3 


re] 


they are thy parents as they who begat thee; farewell, daughter. May I hear a good report of 
| thee so long as I live. And he embraced them and let them go. And Edna saith unto Tobias, 
' Child and brother beloved, may the Lord restore thee, and may I see children of thee while I live 
- and of Sarah my daughter before I die. Before the Lord I commit my daughter unto thee in trust ; 
᾿ vex her not all the days of thy life. Child, farewell; henceforth I am thy mother and Sarah thy 
sister. May we all be prospered in the same all the days in our life. And she kissed them both 
(τ1} and sent them away in peace. And Tobias departed from Raguel in peace and rejoicing and 
__| blessing the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of all, because he had prospered his journey. And 
Raguel said unto him, Mayst thou be prospered to honour them all the days of their life. 


ili. Tobias’ reunion with his parents and the return of Tobit’s sight, xi. 1-17. 


112 And when they drew nigh to Caeserin which is over against Nineveh, Raphael said, Thou 
3 knowest how we did leave thy father: let us run forward before thy wife, and prepare the house 


+ apprehendit illum et (+salutans a) osculatus est (+ et y) Sarram (+ filiam suam a) et aBy pwn pad san 
nnd ArM Σ.]} > BA 106, 107 aBy τ. θυγ. avt.| αὐτὴ θυγατερ 106, 107 af __illi y >F Yr. 
προς] τιμα ΒΑ 106,107 SaBy Ar MF -ἼΝΟΜ tov πενθ, °! Tous 7. σου (ov sup. ras. (seg. ras. I Lit.) Al) 
BA +k. my 7. σ. τού, 107 SaBy Ar MF ore avo... yovets o.| aut. vuv yor. σ. εἰσιν BA aBy ore aut. o. 
γον. avo τ. ν. εἰσι 106, 107 S > M απ. τ. ν.] MN Ar ws οἱ γενν. σε] > BA AY ME καθὼς ημεθα np. 
106, 107 S_ pr. (post ws) pater tuus et mater tuus 3» Bad. ... θυγ.] > BAF β. υγιαινουσα 106, 107 Ar M 
ak, σ. ay. akoyy ε. ζω] ak. σ. ακ. καλ. BA > 106,107 5 +et gaudium® yma’ ** pow M Ἀν) ΠΞῬΠῚ 
EF ε. ζω] (+ Μὴ xnan sim Ar M oF k. απασπ. ἀαπελ. avr. | k. εφιλησεν αὐτὴν BA F et osculatus est 
eam et dimisit (+illam y)aBy cf 4, pr. ond pe» M > 44, 106, 107 9 κι] > 106 E. Ney. T.] E. 
ei. πρὸς T. ΑΒ etx. E. mp. T. 44, 106,107 3 "Ὁ Sx aon ΝΜ WETS oo αποθ.] αδελ. ἀγαπητε (NN NN I Ar 
3 M) αποκαταστησει (-αι A) σε (salvum te perducat (ducet te y) a8 y Ar M) o κυρ. τ. ουρ. x. δωῃ μοι ιδειν σου (σ. 
>aByAr) radia (+ powp Ar +" ὩΞῸ Dab M) ek Σ. τ. θυγ. μου (+antequam moriar aBy Μὴ BA aBy 
ΕΙΣ M simi. F > 44,106,107 3 ενωπ. τ. kup. | Ip Ar ante εκ 3. M evor. | pr. wa εὐφρανθω BA a B y 
του] » 44 kup. | +coeli aBy παρατιθ.] 27. κι ιδου BASF παραδιδ. 44, 106, 107 SF ΝΠῚ Ar M_trado 
(-am y) aBy τῆι θυγ.] pr. Sarram 3 Ar M ev| emt 44, 100, 107 ὦ παραθηκῃ] παρακαταθ. (κατα sup. 
ras. A1) ΒΆᾺ παρτην (-Ἐουτως 106) 44, 106, 107 >S tanquam bonum depositum 35 (- F) Jura dr MF 
py λυπησ.] μὴ σκυλ. 44,106,107 SH 27. εἰ 3: πασ. τ. ἡμερ.1". -. απεστ. vyaw.| > BA αν F ημερ.] 
yo M τὶ ὁ: σοῦ 1] > 44, 106,107 M avn Ar παιδ, εἰς etp.| > 44,106,107 3 vade f. salvus et sanus 
aBy ore 25 M mats. | » απὸ τ. vuy.. . Can ny. | p22 M απο τ. νυν] κι ἰδου 106, 107 “ὦ 
δ 44 > Ar σ. μητ. κι Σ. aé. | pnt. σ. Κ᾿ Σ. ἢ ad. σ. 44, 106, 107 S aded pn | uxor LAr evod. ... ζωῃ ne. | 
ἘΞ 44, 106, 107 S diligat (dirig. y) te deus et illam ut sitis in loco sanctitatis omn. dieb. vit. vest. (diebus 
vestris 7) aBy appor. | >ArM 3 Π "Ὁ" δ PInis ny ΜΟΠῸΝ Ar K. απεστ. vy. | κ᾿ εξηλθοσαν 44, 106, 
107 § vy. | > ArM 13. kK. απηλθ. 5 6 6 βασι τς παντ.] μετα τάυτα επορευετο κ. T. evAoyav tov 6. BA κ. εἐπορ. 
T. χαιρ. κ. (κ. > 44) εὐλ. τον θ. τ. ουρ. κ- τ. γης 44,106,107 S alter M Ν᾽ ΠΝ ΤΣ “Ὁ OW) 1257 j2 Ins) F 
ano P.| > Ar vy. κι] > aBy Ar κυρ.] deum aBy Ar τ. Bao.... ort] 4 mando nde Ar ott 
evodox. τ. 0d. aut.| ote εὐοδωσεν (-06. ΒΑ τωδ, B®) τ. 0. a. BA » 44, 106, 107 Salter M [is ὁ οἷς 
aut.| x. κατευλογει P. x. Ἐ. τ. γυναικα avr. (+et dixit iniunctum est mihi a Domino (2) 1} nabs Ar) honorari 
(-are y) vos omnibus die. vit. vestr. (meae y) aBy Ar) BAaBy Ar κ΄. προσηυξατο λεγων yevorro μοι τιμαν τον πενθ. 
μου womep τους εμαῦτ. γον. π. τ. nuep. τ. ᾧ. aut. 106,107 S > 44 MF 


XI. 1. plen. M os nyyecar | €TOPEVETO (+0 Ar 1257 F) μεχρις ov ἐγγίσαι αὐτὸν (-tous Bb2c? F) es BA Ar F 
exopevOnaav τ. odov avtwy x. ηλθον 44, 106, 107 5 Noy aby M Kacepew] > BA Καισαρειαν 44, 106, 107 
eemas (v./, ζῶν) S Charam af Caracha y Charan p OPS ArM SF ἡ ἐστιν] > BAF 
κατεναντι) > BAF  amev. 44, 106, 107 in medio itinere contra Ἐ N.] pr. τῆς 44,107 +undecimo die D 


mb F 26 ειπεν] 27. κι ΒΑ 44, 106,107 -ἔπρος T. BA 44, τού, 107 “Ὁ Ar P.| + inborn F Su] ou 
BAF γινωσκ.]  αδελφε BA Ar + Thobias frater 1 M πως] > 9 αφηκαμεν] τκες Β -κας (ς absciss.) 


A 44,107 ArMF -καιοό >S_ reliqueris 3, τ. πατερα] gools (22. μος, vel odsdeS) ot oEd S 
σου] ἼΩΝ ns) M 35 mpodp. | +ovw 106,107 “Ny poo laos pe S$ τ. γυναικὸς o.| pr. ἐμπροσθεν BA 
> 44,106,107 SAr MF +et eamus & eT ou. | ooh ἔα > M ev ᾧ epxovra| > BAF η de yw. σ. 
mapeorat (-εστι 106) κατα cxony (hwat> hxada>d 5) om nu. 44, 106,107 S dum prosequitur nos (+ puella a) 


XI. 1. RY followed by certain Vss. omits purposely to avoid the difficulty as to the precise name of the locality. 
R* on the contrary, though possibly not absolutely original (Reusch conjectures Χαλάχ, cf. y and Gen. x. 11), was the 
most ancient tradition and is presupposed by the majority of the variants. 

22 


THE BOOK OF TOBIMI aaa 


4 while they are coming. And they went both together; and he said unto him, Take in thy hands the — 
5 gall. And the dog went with them, behind him and her son. And Anna sat watching the road by — 
6 which her son would come. And she espied him coming, and said unto his father, Behold, thy son | 
7 cometh, and the man that went with him. And Raphael said unto Tobias before he drew nigh to his 
8 father, I know that his eyes will be opened ; stuff the gall of the fish into his eyes and the medicament 
will draw up and scale off the white films from his eyes, and thy father will see again and behold ~ 
9 the light. And she ran, and fell upon the neck of her son, and said unto him, I have seen thee, my 
10 child; hereafter I can die. And she wept. And Tobit rose and stumbled with his feet and went forth 
11 toward the door of the porch. And Tobias went towards him with the gall of the fish in his hand; 
aBy + Pa ΝΟΣ Dy (27. DTayA-ay M) Ar M 4. k1°,.. αὐτῶν > BAF κοινως | kK, 0 KU@Y προετρεχεν 
ἐμπροσθεν αὐτων 44, 106, 107 & ke. aur] > ΒΑ P. mpos T. 44,106,107 SM + angelus 3» Λαβε] 
ἜδεΒΑ » 47 μέτα χειρας] mapa χειρα BA > 44,106,107 tecum ΞΜ » 47 χολην] ++ τ᾿ ἰχθύος 
(4973 35 by “apn ns ’o npd 30 F) x. εἐπορευθησαν ([ and] M) BAFM +7. wyO. εν τ. χειρι σου 44, 
τού, 107 S de felle illo, et habe H > Ar x. συνηλ.} > 44, τού, 107347 Μ et abiit H avros| > BA 
44, 106, 107 S ὁ kuptos| οκυων BAaByF > 44, τού, 107 SArM εκ τ. OTLG@ αὐτοῦ K, τ. υἱοῦ αὐτης] 
οπισθεν avrov BAF εμπροσθὲν aut. 58, 71, 74, 76, 236, 249 > 44, τού, τοῦ 9 Ar M cum illis L 5. > 44, 
106,107 8 = Avva] MON INDwWNy Ar YON TIM M εκαθητο] +inviaet* +N nvaww.s Ar +770 by M 
περιβλεπ.] >F την οδον] 27. εἰς ΒΆΝ τ᾿ οδον] adventum % > 4,Χ.ὁΟῸ ΝΕ ΝΜ ΤΣ υἱου] mada BA 
ArM filii £ 6. > 44, τού, 107 S ερχομενον] VIM pinay Μ AWWA WD Ε κ. em... per αὐτου] > Ar 
k. eur. | yn F x2, | > BA τ. πατρι αὐτου] ΠΝ ΜΕ pr. δ M wou | + YIN FE σου] pou BM >F 
Tae AT ἘΣ ειπ.] 44, 106, 107 Τωβειᾳ] »Β Τωβια post eyo ἃ προς T. 44, 106, 107 sya Ἐ προ τ. 
EYYos so Te mar. | > BAM λαβε τ. χολὴν τ. ἰχθ. εν TH XELPL σ. K. EOTAL EV τ. EYY. τ. πατρι σ. προσελευσεται σοι (πρ. σ. 
> 44 god soaks ease §) 44,106,107 S$ antequam adpropinquemus patri tuo % ‘ipa yaw ons 
ΓΣΣ pnw) F Emot.| +eyo Β +eyoT. A > 44, τού, 107 8 ort] dis scr. ἃ -Ἐανοιξει Β avoryer 
A κι τού, τοῦ > 44 enimqua# .»~3 οἱ οφθ.] tous οφθ. BA F we S ay M αὐτου] o πατὴρ 
σοῦ, BAMF “5 ἀνεῳχθησονται] > BAM -oypevor 44, τού, 107 S Jpany F 8. of SIT NN 20 
NDVI Ww (Post v. 10) Ar SD Py Inna) NN AD Da) M ἐνπλασον] συ εγχρισον BF συ ουν evy. A 23; 
55) 58, 64, 71 εμπασον] 44, 106, 107 30 S +ergoL τ. x6.| > BA 44, τοῦ; 107 F Jyn 8 
ἀποστυψει τ. φαρμακον] δηχθεις διατριψει BA oS ad eas S insidet medicamentum % > F απολεπισει] 
ἀποβαλειται B βαλει 23, 58,71 prods 2539 βοο S decoriabis% 2 NIN 1 F aro τ. of 6, avr. | 


> BAF avaBiewe...k.| > BASF τ. pos] oe BA + go>! cE Seip 9. sim. M οδ, stm, Ar 
K.1°] mn F avebp. | προσδραμουσα ΒᾺ Αννα ειστῆκει ἐπιβλεπουσα emt τ. οδον κ. εἰδε τ. κυνα προτρεχοντα (περιτρ. 44 


1110 god S) κ' εδραμε (κ. ε- > 44) κ' εἰπεν (+ δέον. 5) wou T. (> 5) ὁ vw. cov (μου 44) ἐρχεται. x. (+ KAR 5) 


ἀνεστρεψεν A. εἰς ἀπαντησιν Tov vt. autns (τ. v. a. 44 avtov) κ. περιέλαβεν αὐτὸν {τ πὶ SS 44) 44, 106, 107 ἡ 
K.2° | Αννα BA mater sua aBF ἐπέπεσεν] ἐπεσ. A 44 ἐπι} εἰς 44 T. υιου αυτης] αὐτου 44, τού, 107 458 


+ 3m F avr] ιδου 44,106,107 > SF Ἐἰδὸν κτλ.] on0S mame ae Dbwa Jans ΝΠῸΝ ya 
JANIS (NN) TY NID NP NIN) sand nS ὃν πὸ NAS) NAD NNT KX Ty δ5 md ym) Ar ὙΝΝῚ INN DYDA ANN 
(mis F) Jub ns MF Exdov | wov A vides & παιδιον] texv. 44, τοῦ, 107 fili# anor. νυν] whol s 
amodo 3» αποθ.] tyke Jor SAwo S x.4°]| > 44, 106, 107 ἢ ἐκλαυσεν) -σαν ΒᾺ + dupdrepor BA 
> 44, 106, 107 SArF +Thobias etiam lacrymatus est a8 et Th. lacr. est y +7) NW by M 
το. o£ md Spnd soba ΝΟ sant ἡ ΠΡ an ὝΣΝῚ oa pow to amy Svat ‘a bist Ar aveorn ToBes ... 
auhys| τ. e&npxero πρὸς τ. θυραν x. προσεκοπτεν BA ΟΜ (+1985 Nb) 1D) M_ ηλθε προς τ. (+eoa5/ &) κ᾿ συτος 


ειστηκει ἐπι (προ 44) τ. θυρας k. ore ἤκουσε τ. φωνης τ. υἱου aut. ηλθεν (Joo hs, S$) ἀπαντησαι avr x. αὐτὸς προσεκοπτε 


(NSas0 Nolllo og coasshy bss goto 9) 44, 106, 107 $ spand 32 Ἴλ)5 ΩΝ Maw F k. εβαδ. T. 
πρὸς avr.| o de wos (2 Μὴ προσεδραμεν avtw x. επελαβ. (x. er. > M) +. marpos avr. BAM κ. προσεδραμ. T. τ. πατρι 
aur. κ΄ ype T. φιλησαι avr. (τ. υἱον avt. 106) x. aporep. οἱ ofO. aut. nrewypevor 44, 106, 107 oe> μοὶ dodo 
voasal? Joo base NaS υοαθὺ Loo (ence po 290 corasil proto ewfo S var td ὃν Say Ὁ 7} 


op) F tg Op NOUN (2 TWD wy ἢ" ΝΠῸΝ ὌΝ) 4, ηχολη.... αὐτου x.2°| >BA 44, 106, 107 ενεφυσησεν] 
προσεπασεν (a Sup. Tas. A®) 7. χολην BAF ἐπασε 44, τού, 107 Jhisso 5,0 S insufflavit # nv) M es | ex B 
44, 107 > 106 αὐτου") pr. τ. marpos BASH +r. xod. τ. 1x. 44, 106, 107 «8°... avrov3°] > BA 


MF εκκαμμυσε (pase =) tous οφθ. αὐτου 44,106, 107 2 κ. εἰπεν] λεγων ΒΑ +iili 3 >M Θαρσει, πατερ] 
τι TOUTO εποιησας τέκνον k. εἰπε Τωβιας (+ ξὥκοοο ey eas)/ S) φάρμακον ἰάσεως ἐστιν πατερ (>S +ear ΞΕ 


5. dog, see Introd., p. 195. 

8. ἀνιβλέψει (δὲ R°), Th. Gram., pp. 232, 262. 
9. ΓΕ Gen. xlvi. 20 f. for thought and language. & with true Oriental instinct adds the detail of Anna’s veiling 
nerself. 


2.30 


tie BOOK ΘΝ LOBI MW) r1—-17 


‘11| 2) and he blew into his eyes, and took hold of him and said, Courage, father! And Zodias threw the 
11 3) medicament upon him, and gave it him; and he peeled off <the white films> with both his hands 
|14 from the corners of his eyes. And he fell upon his neck, and wept, and said unto him, I see thee, 
child, the light of mine eyes. And he said, Blessed is God, and blessed is his great name, and blessed 
15 are all his holy angels. May his great name [ ] be blessed [1 to all ages; for he did chastise 
me, and behold, I see my son Tobias. And Tobias went in rejoicing and blessing God in his whole 
body, and Tobias shewed his father that his journey had prospered and that he had brought the 
money, and how he had taken Sarah the daughter of Raguel to wife; and, Behold, she is at hand and 
[τό is nigh the gate of Nineveh. And 7odz¢ went out to the gate of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in- 
: law, rejoicing and blessing God. And when the men of Nineveh saw him go and pass on with all 
_ |17his strength and not led by the hand by anyone, they marvelled. And Tobit gave thanks before 


2) 44, 106, 107 2 >M κι ἐπεβ. . . . ἐπεδωκ.] ws δὲ συνεδηχθησαν διετριψε (-Wev A) τοὺς of. avr. BA 
>44, 106, τοῦ soaasll ormrauto S et iniecit (introivit y) medicamentum in oculis eius et morsum illi 
praebebat (et momordit eum y)aBy >F 12, 19. :: 7 ἀπελεπισεν. .. οφθ. αὐτου] ελεπισθὴ απο τ. κανθ. 
τ. of. αὐτου τ. λευκωμ. ΒΑ απελ. τ. app. τ. λευκ. 44, 106, 107 oo Jaan oF ANS ον. peony} om edo 
Jsosau $ +albugines (-emy)a8y ΝΒ ΠΟΥ yoyo pdm yay yey amy ΜῈ oyay ns onay oddann wtanz a) 
3 ΠΝ ANT) F K.2°] + ey τ. wov ar. BA aBy + «ide (+T. 8) τ. φως 44, τού, 107 ἐπεσεν (emer. B) ihe 
Tpax. avr. | ηυλογησε tov θ. κ. avaBdeWe ets τ. Lov avTov (Jasco S$) κι εφιλησεν avr. (οι: δας. 3S) 44, 106, 107 ὦ 
14. aliter Ar ἐκλαυσ.} > 44,106, 107 Ar M_ +et benedixit Deum a8 αὐτῳ] > BA 44, τού, 107 aBy 
ArMF E.dov σε τεκν.] »ΒΑ.47͵Μ 8 τὸ φῶς τ" μου] > BA 44, 100, 107 2 Ar MF κι eur. | >BA 
44, τού, 107 3) Ar MF o| pr. BA > 44, 106, 107 © 0.| κυριος 44, τού, 107 κι 25] ore wWov Brerw 
Tov υἱον μου 44, 106, 107 τ. μεγα] >BA 44, 106, 107 M yma>o 29 F αὐτου] σου BAF Κυριου 44, 
106, τοῦ +es 7. αἰωνας BAM + 70v θαυμαστα ποιουντος 44, 106, 107 k.3°... aut.2°] > 44, 106, 107 
TMwP bs 5) 3] F αὐτου 3"] σου ΒΑ γένοιτο τ. ονομα] > BA 44, 106, 107 Ar (alter M) F τ. peya 
αὐτου] > BA 44, τού, 107 F illius sanctum aBy Spec. εᾧ np. k. evdoy. παντ. οἱ ayy.| > BA 44, 106, 107 αβ Ar 
F  benedictum εἰ bened. Spec. aliter ΜΙ εἰς παντ. τ. αιωνας] >BA 44, 106, 107 Ar F 158. plen. 
et aliter ArM @uliod Ὁ pov | > 44, 106, 107 avros | > BAy Spec. 28 ἐμαστιγωσεν] -σας ΒΑ +in 
redargutione mea Spec. 28 με] pr. κι ἐλεησας BA + ipse misertus est mei aBy Spec. 28 -ἘΝΒΥ dr M 
(7 Ε) κι Wov...pov| > Av Μ et reddidit lumen oculis meis ut viderem filium meum Spec. «.1°] »ΒΑΨ 
15. brev. Ar >M Τωβειας 15} o wos avr. ΒᾺ Τωβιτ x. Αννα ἡ γυνὴ αὖτ, εἰς τ. οἰκον 44, 106, 107 αβ Ge δ) 
ΣῈ χαιρων] kK, αὑτοι ἐχαιρον 44, 106, 107 gaudentes αβ(γ τ ) >F evdoy....«.4°] > BAF 
evoyor | -ouv 44, 106, 107 benedicentes 3» GPS cotuh σωματι] περι παντὼν τ. γεγενημενων AUTOLS 44, 106, 107 
toto ore suo pro omnibus quae 510] evenerant 3» ἐπεδειξεν] απηγγειλεν ΒΑ υπεδειξε 44, 106, 107 33 Span F 
ToBeas2?| > BA orl? ... Νινευὴ} τὰ peyadera ta γενομενα αὐτῳ [NIT II wapn awyy ΕἸ ἐν ty Mndeca BA 
F >Ar εὐυοδωθη | +a Domino Deo % ort2° | > 44, 106, 107 evnvoxev | ἀνήνεγκε 44, τού, 107 
ὡς] οτι 44, 106, 107 γυναικα] pr. εαὐτω 44, 106, 107 ort3°] > 44, τού, 107 παραγίνεται k.| > 44, 106, 
107 συννεγγυς] eyyus 44, 106, 107 Νινευὴ] εἰσερχομενὴ 44: 100, 107 τό. x. | 27. κι exapn Τωβιτ x. Αννα 
44, τού, 107 aB(>y) pr. ΝΙΝ 195) Ar εξηλθεν) τοσαν 44,106, 107 αβ >y +ToBeas BF Τωβειτ Bab 
Τωβιτ Avid αἀπαντησιν τ. νυμφης]) cuvavt. ty τφῃ BA >y ἜΝΠῸΝ bya Ar αὐτοῦ] -rev 44, 106, 107 
aB >y χαιρων ... Νινευη] > 44, 106, 107 aBy πυλην] ty -An Bo > Ar M Nuw.| >aBy Ar M 
ἰδόντες | εθαυμαζον οἱ ἐεθεωρουντες BA (cf MF) εἰδὸν 44, 106, 107 aBy > Ar οἱεν Νινευη] > BA 44,106, 107 
qui erant in porta Ninive aBy Kok ae che eGavpacar | ote εβλεψεν BA (ci MF) οἱ yetroves αὐτων x, παν. οἱ συναν- 
τωντες K. εθαυμαζον ort διεβαινε Ὑ, ταχυ TAO. τ. ισχυι AUT. κ. ουδεις οδηγει avuTov 44, τού, 107 venientem et ambu- 
lantem cum omni virtute sua nemine dante ei manum et mirabantur aBy > Ar 17.17% drev. Ar >M 
T.| > 44, 106, 107 εξωμ.] εξομ. A evdoyer T. 44,106,107 ΞΟ Ε εναντίον αὐτων] ἐνώπιον αὐτου (-των A) BA pr. 
μεγαλῃ ty φωνῃ 44,106,107 > F αὐτων] -του Β τον Θεὸν 44, 106, 107 oda F evar. avr. | coram omnibus 3» pr. 
et benedicebat magna voce Deum et ambulabat cum gaudio % avrov | -rovs B 0 Geos | > 44, 106, 107 
NWT TIT ΦΥῚΡΠ (eZ saepe) F oTt... K.2°| > BAF nyyev| pr. os BAL pr. ore 44, 106, 107 ANIM 353 
ArF >M Zappa | adducens Sarram 3 τῇ yuv. T. τ. viov αὐτου] τὴ νυμφη αυτ. ΒΑ 44, 106, 107 F 
uxorem suam & x, evdoy.] κατευλογ. ΒΑ evdoy. 44, 106, 107 αὐτην] +Thobis κ. εἰπ. αὐτὴ] λεγων BA LH 
pw) Ar Ε Ἐισελθ.15. .. θυγ.39] WON JON I IY. POP PII ΝῚΠ ΝΏΤΩΝ yo TD ΝΠῸΝ yn Ar ὄγευ. ef aliter M 
Ἐισελθ.] ελθ. BA  Sevpo eA. 44, 106, 107. intra >F duyatep| + mpos pe 44,106, 107 pr. Sarrah >F 


κιθος ΘΟ > 44, 106, 107 x.6°| > BALMF σου] > BAaBy MF θυγατερ 29] > BALMF 
εὐλογημενος 1} > BAM ἽΠ᾽3 72m) F omar, σου] +x. pytnp cov N°* BA 44, τού, τοῦ! >M k. eur, 
es ς Ouyarep 4° | >BAMF T. 0 VLOS pov | ov, p. T. 44, τοῦ; 107) > MF Κι Ἐν T. NED. « » « Nw. | > Ar 


12, 13. τὰ λευκώματα isto be restored after χερσὶν αὐτοῦ (from ay). WD alone states that Tobit held his father guasz 
dimidiam fere horam and that the peelings were guasi membrana ovi. i 
14. The second reference to the angels (which occasioned the insertion of ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς x.) in δὲ is a mere repetition from 
the preceding clause, being unknown to a By as well as to RY R° 47 MF. 
221 


co 


I 


12: 


WO 


+. 


σι 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 1 τ, ιρς 


them, because God had shewed mercy on him, and because he had opened his eyes. And Tobit 
came near to Sarah the wife of Tobias his son, and he blessed her, and said unto her, Welcome, 
daughter ; and blessed is thy God which hath brought thee unto us, daughter, and blessed is thy 
father and blessed is Tobias my son and blessed art thou, daughter ; welcome, daughter, to thy 
home, with blessing and joy, welcome, daughter. On this day there was joy to all the Jews which 
were at Nineveh. And Ahikar and Nadab his cousin [ ] came rejoicing unto Tobit. 


E. THE SELF-REVELATION AND ASCENSION OF RAPHAEL, xii. 1-22. 
i. The Offer of Wages, vv. I-5. 


And when the wedding feast was ended Tobit called his son Tobias, and said unto him, Child, 
see that thou give the wages to the man which went with thee, so that thou give him more for his 
wages. And he said unto him, Father, How much shall I give him as his wages? It is no harm 
to me to give him the half of the possessions which he has brought with me. He hath led me in 
safety, and he cured my wife, and brought the money with me, and cured thee; how much shall I 
give him further as wages? And Tobit said unto him, It is due unto him, child, to take the half of 
all which thou hadst when thou camest. And he called him and said, Take the half of all that thou 
hadst when thou camest for thy wages, and go in peace. 


Κι 99] > 44, 106, 107 ev τ᾿ ἡμέρᾳ ταυτ.] x. BA 44, 106, 107 F (of. M) xapa | ev τ. ἡμέρᾳ exewn 44, 106, 
107 tnd F Iovdaors | ev Νινευη αδελῴοις αὐτὸ BA > F rows... Νινευὴ) > BA τ. κατοικουσιν 44, 
106, 107 F ish, Ss Ali Ayetkap n*] Axetaxapos NC® Αχιαχαρος BA Αχιίαχαρ 44 ει. S$ Achicarus 
a8 Achiacar y Achior D >MF NaBad| Nagas BA NaBas 44, 106, 107 eas 3S Nabal af in 


navis y NabathhD >MF or εξαδελῴοι Ν ἢ] o -pos ΝῸΡ ΒΑ οἥμως» S avunculus αβ consobrini ¥ 
>yMF avrov] ymax Tobiae Ph > MF χαιροντες προς T.] (+aPy) «. x67 0 yapos Τωβεια per’ εὐφροσυνης 
enta ἡμερας BA aBy (cf. F) π. 7. x. 44, 106,107 +et data sunt yn» Μ illi munera multa {- ΠΥΡῚ Μὴ 
aBy M xatporres | > ( postea reshtul) ὃς ὁ b gaudens y 


XII. ahter Ar I. ore (NI (vid) > ore δὴ ἐπετ. ὁ ya. | > BAMF Gen Ὁ ἃ αὐτῳ] en. T. T. τι uo 
aur. 44, 106, 107 SM mad. opal o. τεκν. BA τεκν. 44, 106, 107 > & opa| > M δουναι τον] » ΒΑ 


αποδωμεν 44,106,107 SH [ΓΜ aowm F πορευθ. μετ. σ.] συνελθοντι σοι BA = qui tecum fuit 3: προσ- 
θειναι] pr. κι BAS κ. (> 3 Μὴ -θωμεν 44, 106, τοῦ 1 M >F αὐτῳ] ΞΞ Vil, τοῦ, ΤΟ 18° GS τὸ μισθ.] δει 
BA + αὐτου 44, 106, 107 3 > BF DE auT@ | > BX Τωβιας 44, 106, 107 ὦ pro“) ni) π᾿ mec 
picd.| > BAM F aur. doce | δῳ aut. 44, τού, 107 τον] > 44, 106, 107 SUL μισθ.] > SL ou 
βλαπτ.] βω ὡς | S$ nonenim satisest® > M 35 yy F didous| Sovs BA yap (> 44) cay δὼ 
44, 106, 107 τ. ὑπαρχ.] > BA 44,106,107 5 FDIn MF emvoxev| -xa BA SaByMF ηνεγκε τού, 107 
per εμ.})1 > BA nyo M 3. ene] ore pe pe BASH pr. διοτι 44, τού, 107 pr. 12 τῶν 7377 5ῈΕ 
αγιοχεν] -noxe ΒΡ -Ἐσοι ΒΑ ἐτήρησεν 44, τού, τοῦ 5. duxit et reduxit # ΔἼΠΠ Syn F υγιαινοντα] τιὴ 
ΒΑ εντ. οδῳ 44, τού, 107 S +ordvia sean) M apyvp. | + pou BA μετ᾽ ἐμου] > BA 44, 106, 107 3F 
waa ΤῸ M κι σ᾿ bep.| > 5 σε] -Ἐομοιως BA py ΠΕ M ποσὸν. - μισθον] > BAF ου βλαπτο- 


μαι οσοὸν αν (εαν 106 > 44) δὼ αὐτῳ 44, 106, 107 oy \s? CO? μὴ φρῶω, Ay Wes ἣν nnd ΝῚ np) M 


er] > ZF ner δ by M 4. > 2M ΚΕ 10} pr.’ my F αὐτῳ] > BA 44, 106, 107 & τῇ o 
πρεσβυτης BA Δικαιουται] Δικαίον δουναι 44, τού, 107 yy Prym yor pan jo F παιδιον. . . rev] 
> BAF παιδιον] > 44,106, τοῦ F λαβειν] > 44, 106, 107 F mavroy| horum % D370 ΠΕ ἐχὼν 
ηλθες] ηλθεν (-θες 44) εχ. μετα σου 44,106,107 tecum attulit 3» 5. exaa. | t+mn0 M Prewd F avrov | 
Te ἢ WYN 77. AN Eh aby M ὈΝΒῚ sydd F eur. | τἙαυτῳ BAS i (M)F +f) N3] ‘ms ΠΣ M oa “ty 
F mavrov| horum % ps7 MF exov ηλθες] evnvoxate ΒΒ evnvoxas A cxo 44 ὡϑῶσς Moduly 5 
ow [|jnsanw M > F εἰς τ᾿ μισθὸν o.| > BAS haec erit mercestua%® [ΣΦ ΝῚΠ 3] M yoww Ἴϑωβ F 


18. R® (except y) and ἈΞ reproduce fairly faithfully the original form of the name Ahikar, which RY has by no 
BUSBEE entirely lost. ἘΠ has Achior, an instance of D’s affinities with some Syriac version ῥωμωῤ -- gnaas/): Nasbas 
in RY (with which R° is a compromise) may be meant for the younger brother of Nadan, but /Vadad is the original, the 
second and third conss. having suffered metathesis in δὲ, characteristic transcriptional changes inaBS (eas into 
22>), vocalic confusion in DB, and more serious textual corruption in y. Cf. the variations in the Ahikar story 
and Ed. Meyer, Dert apyrusfund von Elephantine, 1912, p. 106, footnete 2. af (cf. ἘΠ) contain the original statement of 
R*, from which δὲ only departed by mistaking the sing. for the plur. Granted this slight change, RS is quite in 
conformity with the Ahikar story. ᾿ 


NII. 3. ἀγίοχεν, Th. Gram., p. 204. 


iP BOOK. OL VOBIT 12° 6-11 


ii, Raphael’s Wisdom and Self-revelation, vv. 6-15. 
Flis maxims of life, vv. 6-10. 


6 Then he called them both privily, and said unto them, Bless God, and give him thanks in the 
sight of all that live, for the good things which he hath done unto you, to bless and praise his name. 
7 The words of God show forth to all men with honour and be not slack to give him thanks. It is 
good to keep close the secret of a king, but to confess and reveal the works of God. And confess ye 
8 them with honour. Do the good, and evil shall not find you. Better is prayer with truth, and alms 
with righteousness than riches with unrighteousness; it is better to give alms than to lay up gold: 
9 almsgiving doth deliver from death, and it purges away all sin. They that do alms shall be fed 
το with life ; they that commit sin and unrighteousness are enemies to their own life. 


fis revelation of his own being and office, vv. 11-15. 


tr 1 will show you all the truth and will keep close nothing from you. Already I have shown you 

and have said, It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but the works of God to reveal gloriously. 
κι] > BA umaye | > BA βαδιζε 44, 106, 107 vytav.| > BA 6. tore | fede SS IML IB exan. | 
καλεσας BA pr. Raph. & “Ἴ ONY M ὍΝ Fz. δυο] pr. P. ὁμοῦ 44,106,107 «οἱ S "Ὁ ὈΝῚ ‘vy by M 
nab ὅπ F kpunt.| > 44,106,107 M plen. F κ᾿ εἰπ. . . . εξομ. αὖτ.) alter M Rial) SBA avrots | 
yoo NS $ tov 6.| post evhoy. BA avrg | -Tov 44, τού, 107 εξομ.}] -Ἐ μεγαλωσυνὴν διδοτε αὐτῳ κ. εξομ. 
auto B μεγαλυνατε 44, τού, 107 + et ipsius maiestati date honorem et confitemini illi a8 y τ. Cour. | 
avOpor. 44, 106, 107 S oy bapa F αὐ. πὸ. (€LOpt. avr. | >y¥ al περι ov BA quia αϑ' > up. | ημ. 
τοὺ. > F ayaba| -θον ΒᾺ -6ov yap 106, 10] > 44 egy Stoo Ν᾿ 5 ymsba F ποῦ 
αὐτου] > 44 evdoy.| τον 6. BA τού, 107 aBS pr. ro F υμν.] ὑψουν (-ow B) BA 106, 107 9 τ. 
λογ.] Ἔτ. epyov BA pr. k. 44 et sermones de operibus af του θ.] αὐτου 44 a3 umobetk, | -κνυοντες 
(-γν. A) BA post evr. ἀπαγγειλ. 44, 106, 107 rey) S πασιν ανθρ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 > αβ «5! δα: 
§ ety. | > S κ᾿ pn... αὐτῳ] > 44, 106, 107 S$ et confitemini illi af 7-12. >y ἡ. aliter M 
simi. F μυστηριον] τίια 44, τού, 107 pr. quoniam af βασιλεως] Jhaadsoy 5 Κρυπτ enone εντιμ.] = δῷ 
κρυπτ. kan. | kad. -ψαι ΒΒ kad. -πτειν A 44, τού, 107 epya| Ἔκυριου 44, 106, 107 e£—Ou k. avak. κ. εξ 
—6e evrip.| avak. evdoEos BA ἀναγγελλειν evTysws 44, 106, 107 revelare et confitere honorificum est a8 εἰ 
mult. patr. ro ay....vpas| > A 44, 106, 107 aB To ay. ποιειτε] ay. -yoate B JNag easmdto τὸ 
cvp. υμ.] Job WI? yaas woke S 8. similiter Μ SLasloo Jhaassjo JlaX a0 boos Jha) Joolo 
INs5 JXsarc0 Jlaowes ada. ed ΕΝ eo? Ss 2 αληθειας | νήστει. (-τιας A) BA 44, 
106, 107 αβ Spec. 24 Cypr. Aug. Ps.-Aug. F ἐλεημοσυνὴ] -ys ΒᾺ > F μετα 2°] κι BA Cypr. Aug. 
Ps.-Aug. (aps Spec. 24 = δ) Ss 1D δικαιοσ.] + ἀγαθον το ολιγον peta δικαιοσυνης BA paddoyl?, .. αδικιας | 
super utrumque autem melius est modicum cum iustitia quam plurimum cum iniquitate a β et in his 
omnibus etiam modicum cum iust. melius est quam plur. cum iniq. Spec. 24 > F μαλλον (d7s)| > BA 
44, 106, 107 η] ὑπὲρ 44, 106, 107 πλουτος] πολυ ΒᾺ apporepa 44, 106, 107 pera αδικιας] > 44, 106, 
107 καλον] κρεισσον 44, 106, 107 ποιησαι] pr. to Α ποιεῖν 44, 106, 107 θησαυρισαι]) -ζειν 44, 106, 
107 9. ελεημ.1}] + yap A 44, τού, 107 aB αὐτὴ] > 44, 106, 107 3 αποκαθαιρει] -αριει BA 
καθαριζει 44, 106, 107 aB >SM Tac, αμαρτιαν] απὸ π. ἀμαρτιας 44,106,107 > SM _ peccataaB py I 
eAenp.2° | Ἔκ. δικαιοσυνας BA + et miserationem et iustitiama8 >M χορτασθ. | πλησθ. BA aB εμπλ. 44, 106, 
Toy yas 8 ΠΕΡῚ ΠΕ >M τὸς >SM _ szmil. F οι] δὲ BA ποιουντες ap. κ. αδικ.] ἀμαρτανοντες 
BA ψυχης] (ons ΒΑ 44, τού, 107 11. mao... . υποδειξω x.| >BA MF κα vy avayyeho upw πασ. τ. αληθ. 44, 
106,107 πασ.}] >S κρυψ.] αποκρ. 106, 107 παν) > 44,106,107 S ρημα] ὩΣ ΤΣ dn... umederEa x. | 
> BA 44, 106, 107 SMF εἰπον. .. . ἐνδοξως) > 44,106,107 ΞΜ simil. F εἰπὸν) εἰρηκα δὴ (δε A) BA 


καλὸν κρυψαι) κρ. kad. BA x. ta] τα δὲ ΒΑ autem αβ Aug. > Cyr. E ανακαλυπτειν) + et confiteri 
a8 Cypr.> Aug. 12. szmil. MF x. νυν] > 44, 106,107 Set tuncaf ore| ουτω 44 κ- Σ.] ov 
(ἘΤ᾿ 5) κι η νυμφη σου Σ. BA 44,106, τοῦ SMF tuaB Cypr. Aug. Spec. eyo... ὑυμων] εισηκουσθὴ (pr. κι 44) 
ἡ φωνὴ (sahasy S) ἀαμφοτερων 44, τού, 107 S danyot ny ‘non F τ. δοξ. Kup.| τ. aywov BA tov 6. 44, 
106,107 S inclar. Deietlegia8 7)227 NDI M = Aa’pA y05 F κι ore eanr.| κ. εἰσηκουσθὴη (arable 
S) cou τ. epya x. ἐλεημοσυναι (pr. αἱ 44) σου (σ > 44) as εποιησας ἐπι 44, 106, 107 S ὡσαυτως] + συμπαρημὴν 


(cur. Α μην sup. ras. A®*) σοι BAM (ci Ε) > 44, 106,107 5 similiter αβ Aug.  simpliciter Cypr. 


6. Cod. Vat.’s iow is the only infin. in -ow in LXX ; among the papyri the earliest example of it belongs to the 
year 18 A.D., Moult., Prod. 53, n. 2. Σ : 
τῶν ἔργων after λόγους probably once stood in R® (as © suggests), but was either a gloss or a doublet translation, 
which is rightly omitted in N and Ἐπ but retained in RY, exactly as in v. 9 RY has retained the doublet δικαιοσύνην and 
inserted the copula before it. Miiller’s supposition that τ᾿ ἔργων here points back to pds ὌΝ (1718) 1737 misread 
as “δ “Ὁ (DN) 1737 is untenable since the verse is already more than sufficiently well supplied with verbs. 


235 


ΤᾺ 
13 
14 
(14), 15 


16, 17 
18 


19 RS 
20 


THE BOOK OF TOBLIi2ai2—an 


And now, when -thou didst pray and Sarah, I did bring the memorial of your prayer before the 
glory of the Lord: and when thou didst bury the dead, likewise. And when thou didst not delay 
to rise up, and leave thy dinner, but didst go and cover the dead, then I was sent unto thee to try 
thee ; and at the same time God did send me also to heal Sarah thy daughter-in-law. Iam Raphael, 
one of the seven angels, which stand and enter before the glory of the Lord. 


iii. Raphael’s Commission and Ascension, vv. 16-22. 


And they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces; and they were afraid. And he said _ 
unto them, Be not afraid, peace be unto you; bless God to all eternity. I when I was with you, 
was not with you of any favour of mine, but by the will of God; him bless ye day by day, him 
praise. 

And ye behold me that I have eaten nothing, All these days did I appear unto you; and IR 
but a vision hath appeared to you. And now | did neither eat nor drink, but it was a vision ye 
bless the Lord on the earth and give God thanks: | yourselves saw. And now give God thanks 
Behold I ascend to him that sent me: writedown | because I ascend to him that sent me: and write 
all these things which have béen happened to you. | in a book all the things which have been done. 
And he ascended. And they rose up and could |! And they rose up and saw him no more. And 


13. plen. M kK. ore | et quia aBy Cypr. Aug. οὐκ oxy. | > 44, τοῦ, 107 ME Wilasro 2 αναστηναι] 
-στας > 44, τοῦ, τοῦ ῷ >MF EP ao α 5} Mel, WOO, πῇ ἐ5 καταλιπειν] -λειπιν A σου] post apior. 
BA k. | oros BA ὠχου x. | ἀπελθὼν BA περιεστειλες] -στειλῃς BA -τεστειλας 44, 106, 107 KSaa S 


sepelisti “LMF + nbv5ay F TOTE .. . TEL. σε] οὐκ εἐλαθες με (s με SUp. Yas. A®) αγαθοποιων (αγαθον ποιὼν A) αλλα 
συν σοι ἡμὴν ΒΑ x. nOev ἐπι σε πειρασμὸς 44, 106, 107 (αβγ Cypr. Aug.=N) +etS.nurum tuam (ex v. 14) α β 
plen. M 14. »ῚὰΒ simil. M κι] >S  iterum Cypr. Aug. αμα] νυν BAF 0 @. 44, τού, 107 3 
ἼΣΟΝ nya M ἀπεσταλκεν] τειλεν BA 44, 106, 107 pe | + yeh 2 ο 6. | > 44, 106, 107 3 x.2°] pr. 


σε BA 44, 106, 107 Sy Cypr. Aug. 3.| postcov ΒΑ > 44, 106, 107 8 15. eyo] pr. WS P.]+7N5on 
M εἰς} +ex BA exta] > 44, 106, 107 M ayyed.| pr. aywov BA aBy Cypr. Ps-Aug. (> in altero loc. 
Ps-Aug.) > 44,106,107 +iustis Cypr. Aug. im alt. loc. own M a] > 44, 106,107 S$ παρεστη- 
κασιν προσαναφερουσιν τ. προσευχας τ. αγιὼων BA τ. παρεστώτων 44, 106, 107 ἐὸ κι εἰσπορ.] > 44, 106, 107 SM 
τ. do€. | > 44,106,107 SF pr. NDS M Kup. | τ. aywou BA του 6. 44, 106, 107 S Dizi >M na’pn F 


16. εταραχθ.] assihhlo aru» So δυο] ἀμῴοτεροι 44, 106, τοῦ O370 53 nx oynws a M (ff) F επεσαν] 
τον B44 + aporepa 44 avtav | >BA -+emt. γῆν 44, τού, 107 “ὁ x.3°] ort BA 106,107 > 4498 
ἐφοβηθ.] > 443M ΤΠ eur. | +R. 2M etpnvn | 27. οτι ἃ ante p. φοβ. M upw| -Ἐ ἐσται BA 44, 
106, 107 τον] +ée BA Tov 6. | post evdoy. 44, 106, 107 εἰς] 44, 106, 107 3 παντα] > BA 44, τού, 
107 S τ. awva] > 44, 106,107 8 altter M (cf. F) 18. >M_ aliter F eyo... ὑμων1"] > BA 44, 
106, 107 & ουχι] ort ov BA 44, 106, 107 S enn | ἐμαυτοῦ BA χαριτι] vloah> E) ἡμὴν μεθ᾽ up | 
> BA 44, 106, 107 SX Oehyoer | ohaab> 3 θεου] +vpov B Ἔν. ηλθον A -Ἔ ἐγω ηλθὸον 44, 
τοῦ, τοῦ Ἔρφςο com τὸ autoy ... ὑμνειτε] > 44, 106, 107 S aut. evn. | οθεν evA. aut. BA 33. κατα... 
npep-| εἰς τ. atova BA pr.etaBy αὐτῷ υμν.] > BA Ig. et videbatis me af videbatis enim 
me quia manducabam sed visu vestro videbatis y  videbatis me manducare sed visu vestro videbatis Aug. 
13122 vidistis me &c. Aug. 27,211. MF kK. θεωρειτε με] Tac. τ. ἡμερᾶς ὠὡπτανομὴν ὑμιν ΒΑ > 44, τού, 107 


2S ott] x. BA 44, 106, 107 “ὦ ovdev| οὐδὲ ἐπιον BA 44, τού, 107 S ὁρασις . . . εθεωρειτο] eo he yo? 
ho? Ιναο μὲ δον ὼς voheoo oh? τ ορασις] -σιν ΒᾺ τ-σεις 44, 106, 107 ypu | -i BA > 454) 
106, 107 εθεωρειτο] -pere BA 44, 106, 107 20. DAD pd nbys TD DIDI AS odwnay F evdoy.... 
Kup. k.] > BAM αναστητε ex τ. ys 44, 106, 107 S_ et nunc benedicite in terray εἴ nunc surgite a terra a8 
εξομολ..««ἀποστ. με] > 44,το6, 107 SM ιδου eyo | διοτι BA ypa. | pr. κι BA 44, 106,107 3 pr. ergoe 
παντα] pr. tavta 444 τοῦ, 107 NS) ww! S TauT, τ. συμβαντα vp.| τ. συντελεσθεντα BA » 44, 106, 107 S 
x. aveBn| εἰς βιβλιον BAYG4, 106, 107 S (4 mult. verb.) M +k. τὸν 0. evdoyerre eyo yap avaBawe προς τ. aroaret- 
λαντα pe 6. (8. > S) 44, τού, 107 S (cf M) +amndem M 2X— > (οἷ Uy 20) er x. ἀνεστησαν] qudn by 


\ 


16-22. The linguistic affinities with the records of the Transfiguration, Resurre¢tion, and Ascension of Christ are 
remarkable. With the whole of v. 16 cf. Matt. xvii. 6, Luke xxiv. 5. With μὴ φῤβεῖσθε in 17 cf. Matt. xxviii. 5, Io. 
εἰρήνη ὑμῖν cf. Luke χχῖν. 36 (>D + ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε G old Lat.), John xx. 10, 2th 26. (With v. 18 cf. John i. 13.) 
With ἐθεωρεῖτε (19) cf. Luke xxiv. 37, 39; οὐκ ἔφαγον contrast Luke xxiv. 43; with ὠπτανόμην (in LXX 3 (1) Kings viii. 8 
and in papytl, €.g. ὀπτάεται in Paris No. 49. 33. ¢. 160 B.C., and ὀπτανομένων Tebtunts No; 245. 117 B.C.) cf. Acts i. 3 
and the ‘Great magical papyrus’ of c. 300 A.D. (No. 574 of the Supplément grec in the Bibliothéque Nationale at 
Paris, reproduced in part by Deissm. in Z.4.£., pp. 250-60), in the Jewish text of which occur the words ὀρκίζω σε τὸν 
ὀπτανθέντα τῷ ᾽Οσραηλ. In v. 20 with ἀναβαίνω πρός cf. John χχ. 17; πρὸς τὸν ἀποστ. pe cf. John xvi. 5, xx. 21. With 
γράψατε and εἰς βιβλίον (RY) cf. John xx. 30, xxi. 25, Rev. i. 113 ἀνέβη (RS) cf. Ephes. iv. 9. With v. 21 cf. Acts 
xxi. 9, 10.7 With ηὐλόγουν in τ. 22 (R®) cf. Luke xxiv. 53; ὥφθη αὐτοῖς ἄγγελος cf. 1 Tim. iii. 16 apon ἀγγέλοις. 

234 


iP POOk ΘΒ 11 55:15 6 


22no longer see him. And they blessed and praised | they confessed the great and .wonderful works 
God and they gave him thanks for these his | of God, and how the angel of the Lord had 
great works, how the angel of God had appeared | appeared unto them. 

unto them. 


iv. Tobit’s Prayer of Joy, xiii. 1-18. 
The Exile’s prayer of exhortation and consolation, vv. 1-6. 


And he said 
Blessed is God that liveth for ever, and his kingdom, 


For he chastiseth, and showeth mercy. 
He leadeth down to Hades below the earth, 
And he bringeth up from the great destruction ; 
And there is nothing that shall escape his hand. 


Give thanks unto him before the Gentiles, ye children of Israel, 
For he hath scattered you among them, 
And there he hath shown you his greatness ; 
And extol ye him before all the living. 


Because he is our Lord, and he our God, and he our Father, 
Yea, he is God to all the ages: 
He will chastise you for your iniquities, 
And will show mercy unto you all. 


When ye turn unto him out of all the nations 
Whithersoever ye shall be scattered, 


ΠΟ » M οὐκετι ἡδυν. ιδειν} οὐκ εἰδον BA 44 ουκ εἰδοσαν 106, 10] com .-ὦ5 S$ mswd ἢ» xo M 
αὐτον] + οὐκετι 106, 107. + vooks/ Ilo 9 22. nudoy. ... αὐτου] ante mnby M ὄγευ. F nudoy. .. - 
θεον κι] > BA  nudoyow τ. 6. κι 44, 107 S τουντὸ τ. κυριον τοῦ αὐτῳ] > BA 44, 106, 107 S ἐπι} » ΒΑ 
αὐτου] > BA τ. peyata| > 44, 106, 107 5 ταυτα] x. θαυμαστα αὐτου (του 6. A) BA » 44, 106,107 S$ 
omnibus 3 @S... Geou | α εποιησεν autos 44, 106, IO7 >M ws | pr. k. A ayyeXos | 27. ὁ Α 
θεου] Kup. BA 


NII. > Ar τ. καὶ] pr. x. Τ᾿ ἐγραψεν προσευχην (την mp. (JMwaaal S$) ταῦτ. 44, 106, 107 S) εἰς ἀγαλλίασιν 
BA 44, τού, 107 $M_ >5annd dynnm aban jpn “or Ε Tunc locutus est T. et scripsit orationem in laetitiam 
(-ia a) aBy em.| +hioo SM Evdoy. o 6.| Benedictus es (3. passzm im vv. 1-18) deus#S ο ζων] quia 
magnus es et vivis H yay) yops yd (a solum) ΤῊ» wann Span M els T. aova| εἰς τ. -vas BA 44, 


106, ΤΟ SM x.2°| οτι εἰς παντ. τ. αἰωνας 44, 100, 107 3» +Jean Ws ἡ Bao. avr. | +esti py 
ymabn 722 F 2. pr. UND) AID Nin F ἐλεᾳ] -εεἰ Bab yar) MF ano non M ews mn 
εἰς adnv BA κατωτ. τ. γῆ] > BA 44 SMF κατω τού, 107 3» [«. aur. ἀναγ. usgue ad cap. fin. aliter M 


aur.2°| > BA 44 SU ex τ᾿ απωλ.] > BA 44 SF τ. pey.] > BASF evr. μεγαλωσυνῃ αὐτου 44, τού, 107 3» 
ovd.] > BA 44, 106, 107 SUF o| os BA 44, 106, 107 S“F expevé.| effugiat 3» τι χ' aur. | ε- 
ped SSS ip By. εξομολογεισθε] εξωμολογεισθαι A οι] > 44 lop.| θεου 44, τού, 107 ενωπ. τ. 
εθνων] pr. WON PID wat aw F vpas| nu. BA 44, 106, 107 9 4. simil. F x.l°| > BA 44, 
106,107 $ exer] > 44,106,107 3 umederkev . . . Covtos| pady ohzso9ho ohas? Kudo 9 υπεδειξεν 
vpw] υποδειξατε BA 44, 106, 107 αβ μεγαλωσ.} misericordiam 3» κι.» BA 44 καθοτι] διοτι 44, 106, 


107 quoniam 3, ημ.1" κυρ. ἐστιν K.8° αὐτ.2" 81° np.2° | kup. np. κι 0. aur. (o θς ο A) BA cal eu: MH. ΤΟΟΣ ΤΟΥ 
κυρ. θ. 44 est Dominus Deus noster 3» KA° aur.3°| > BA «. τοῦ, τοῦ 0 44 K.5° αὐτοῖν 0.2°| > BAS 
et deus # 5. paor.| pr. x. BA flagellavit 3 F μαστιγ. . . . ὕμων «| cose Spo ey coo 5 


vpas| nu. BA 44, 106, 107 em] εν BA 44,106,107 ob 3» υμων] nu. BA 44, 106, 107 mart. up. | 
παλιν BA 44,106,107 5 >F ελεησ.] + payed) oven ΠΥΊΠΝΣ Fo x. συνάξει nuas BA 44, 106, 107 SaB 
ὁπου αν] ov eav BA ov 44, 106, το7 ubicumque 9 διασκορπισθητε] σκορπ. ΒΒ eaxopmadnre A διεσκορπισθῆμεν 
44, τού, τοῦ S  dispersi fueritis 3» 6. alter F οταν] εαν BA 44, τού, 107 k1°, . . ὑμῶν δ > & 


22. ἐξομολ. (Cod. Vat.) cf. Th. Gram., p. 199. 

XIII. 3. ὅτι may be an error for οὗ or, as it is common to all recensions, a mistranslation of WN (Miiller, of. czz., 
D2 33) N. 1): al a : bi 

6-108, N's lacuna is due to that very common cause of such omissions, homoeoteleuton, and is not a proof of more 
than average frailty on the part of its scribe. After he had transcribed τ. Bao. τ. αἰὼν, of 6 ‘, his eye returning to the 
MS. he was copying, lighted on τ. Bao. τ. αἰων. in v. 10" and he proceeded to transcribe 10°. 


235 


ον: 


10 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT—18. 6-10 


With your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do truth before him, 
Then he will turn unto you, and will no longer hide his face from you. 


And now see what he hath wrought with you, 
And give him thanks with your whole mouth, 
And bless the Lord of righteousness, 

And exalt the everlasting King. 


<I, in the land of my captivity, give him thanks, Wick 
And show his strength and majesty unto nations of sinners.) 
Turn, ye sinners, and do righteousness before him. 
Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you? 


The New Ferusalem, vv. 7-18*. 
oJ 


I exalt my God, and my soul [ ] shall rejoice in the King of heaven ; 


Of his greatness let all men tell, 
And let them give him thanks in Jerusalem. 
O Jerusalem, thou holy city! he will chastise thee for the works of thy hands, 
And will again have mercy on the sons of the righteous. 
Give thanks to the Lord with goodness, and bless the everlasting King, > 
That thy tabernacle may be builded in thee again with joy, 
And that he may make glad in thee all that are captives, 
And love in thee all that are miserable and all the generations of eternity. 
τῇ} > B ev ody. . . ¥rixn) >S vpov2°| > B evarov| eumporbev 44, 106, 107 ' αληθ.] 
ἜΜμ59 Δ 5 9 τότε" αἴ υμων] > ἐπιστρεψει]) e sup. ras. A* overt | > BA 44, 106, 107 
κι νυν. . . δικαιοσυνὴς x. > 44 νυν] > BA 106, 107 ἐποιησεν] ποιήσει BA 106, 107 μεθ᾽] pe Sup. ras. 
Bab στοματι)] σώματι Β yanas S$ corde 3» εὐλογησατε] -γειτε A 106, 107 υὑμων 5°| - ut 
faciatis coram illo veritatem & κυριον] Jost S wy F τὸ δικαιοσυν.] >F in iustitia © τ. αἰωνων | 
ἽΝ ndyyd ΤῚΝ mon ws F εγὼ---τοῦ > [ wsqute ad τοῦ B:—| eyo... «μαρτωλων] ἘΞ 9 “ΞΟΝῚ 
vn 55 syd ἸΠΓ 32) In ymxbaa F μου] > 44, τού, 107 εξομολογουμαι] τ-γησομαι 44, 106, 107 ισχυν 


+ipsius % εθνη ἀμαρτωλων B.| -ver τλῳ 248, 240  coram [ἴῃ Cyfr.] natione peccatrice a (ὑν2γ. αμαρτωλοι 
> 44,106,107 pr. ΤΠ EF κ᾿ ποιήσατε... αὐτου] > F Tus yw... . untv;| > 44 τις yw. (γιγν. A) 
- Sn fie] BIN SSI ae wy F θελησει] > F μας] nuas 106,107 > aB (vos Spec. 5) 
x. ποιησει] ut faciat 3» υμιν] εἰς ὑμας ἃ ημιν 106, 107 =+NON) TON IN** * DIM bx 00 F 7. τον] 
pr. «yo 44, 106,107 F pr. Joy SQoxo 9 τ. Ocov p.| > aB vyo| SIPS F ego (wzde sub τ. ovp.) aB 
τ. βασιλει] τ. βασιλεα A 44,106, 107 «ον!» S τ. oup. (v. ὑψω)] > S caeli laetationem (-orum -titiam 
Fac. Herm. Def.) dicimus a8 x.2°| --anima mea (cerum) a8 k.2° aya\Nacerat| ἀγαλλιάσομαι 44, τοῦ 
> S$ web ram an ΕΞ +omnibus diebus vitae meae a8 τ. pey. αὐτ.] > S wwopoa maxani ny F  maie- 
statem eius pos/ laudate (v. 8) a8 8. Neyer. παντες ] Benedicite domino omnes electi, et omnes laudate a8 
Neyer.| > SF παντες] postlepoo. 44 > S +D yn F κ᾿ εξομ.] o90/ e? oh? Ξ +ynwbps Wee 
confitemini # ev Ἱεροσολ.] seg. ras. 2 vel 3 itl. in A Ἔπαντες 44 agite dies laetitiae ante «.3° L 9- 
Iepoo.] > SF [ayov usgue ad cap. fin. > 5] ayiov| aya A αγιασματος 44, 106, 107 μαστιγωσει] 
flagellavit Β μαστιγ.. «. δικ.] Dd225 p22 aw MA ANI JOANnNS MPM eM DYYY Ny 723 Miny ἽΡ δο sin 
Ε emt τ. epy.| in operibus & εργα] nay F voy | οἰκετων 44, 106, 107 manuum α β k. πάλιν .... 
δικαιων] > af 10. > 44 plen. et altter F kup. ἀγαθως | ayado Α in bono & [κα΄ usqgue ad libre 
caput κα :—| “| wa BA 106, 107 © ἢ σκηνὴ aut. oxod.| cf TINT Ww wd 12 nJ >A oxnyn | 
σπουδὴ τοῦ σου] αὐτου BA τού, 107 οἰκοδομηθησεται) -θῃ BA 106, 107 σοι 15] pr. ev A 44, 106, 107 © 
euppavat | τρανὴ A. -ροσυνὴης 106, 107 παντας] > BA 106, 107 (δι) αἰχμαλωτ. | pr. εκει A K.3° | > 106, 


7, 8. A line seems to be lacking and λεγέτ. is awkward without an object. Metre, parallelism, and grammar are 
alike improved if καί in v. 7 is omitted, ψυχή taken as subject of ἀγαλλ., and τ. pey. as object of Neyer. on the analogy 
of ἼΩΝ and 435 with direct accus., Ps. cxlv. 6, 11, Sir. xxxiii. 10, John viii. 27. 

9. works of thy hands, i.e. idols (with reference to Is. xxxi. 7), restored by Reusch from af in place of the colour- 
less sozs (derived from 9») of RY and R°. , 

10. Phe connexion of ΤῸ" with the earlier portion of the poem being lost after the omission of 6-10, the scribe 
of δὲ substituted καί for ἵνα, which must therefore be restored. The Semitic construction of the infin. (εὐφράναι) carrying 
on the finite verb was first altered in R°. 


236 


ie BOOT Or TOBIPA3! 114 


A bright light shall shine unto all the ends of the earth ; 
Many nations <shall> come from afar, 
And the inhabitants of the utmost ends of the earth unto thy holy name ; 


With their gifts also in their hands unto the King of heaven, 
Generations of generations shall utter rejoicing in thee, 
And thy name that is elect unto the generations of eternity. 


Cursed shall be all they that shall speak a hard word ; 
Cursed shall be all they that demolish thee, 
And throw down thy walls; 


And all they that overthrow thy towers, 
And set on fire thy habitations ; 
But blessed shall be all they that fear thee for ever. 


Then go and be exceeding glad for the sons of the righteous: 
For they all shall be gathered together, 
And bless the everlasting Lord. 


Blessed shad/ they de that love thee ; 
And blessed sial/ they be 
That shall rejoice for thy peace: 


And blessed shall de all the men 
That shall sorrow for thee 
For all thy chastisements : 


Because they shall rejoice in thee 
And shall see all thy joy for ever. 


107 ev 2° σοι 85] κι τού, τοῦ > L x. 45] εἰς BA 106, 107 αβ τ. atovos| ὑμων 106, 107 11. φως 
πη] > BA 44, 106, 107 F φως Naum. λαμψει} luce splendida fulgebunt a8 luce clara fulgebis Brev. 
Moz. Vig. Epiph. wpa soya boxe F x. κατοικ.] nfee BA 44, 106, 107 venient tibi habitare (-tatores 
Brev. Prosp.) αβ Brev. Ps.-Prosp. mavr. . . . yys| > BA 44, τοῦ; 107 παντ. τ. exy.| a novissimis 
partibus a8 tT. ayt. σου] κυρ. του 6. BA 44, 106, 107 Brev. Ps.-Prosp. dei mei aB (cf. wwan sbi indy mn 
ays) F) κ᾿] ἘΣ ΒΑ “7. τοῦ; ΤΟΥ τα ὃ. αὐτων 1° | ὃ. BA 44, 106, 107 Tals χ. αὐτῶν 39] x. BA 44, 106, 
107 & εχ.] +x. B 44, 106, 107 τῳ Bao.| pr. Sepa zlerum BA 44, 106, 107 του ovp.| caeli (-orum 
Prosp.) et terrae 3} γεένεαι yev.| -ea γεν A > EF > (sed Ὁ. εἰς ras y.) © δωσουσιν] pr. αἰνεσουσιν σοι κ- A 
post in laet. offerentes αβ pes/ terrae offerent Prosp. -runt Brev. (2) IDWS NAD Nay 1251 F) ev σοι 
ἀγαλλίαμα] σοι ay. B 44,106,107 τλιασιν Α in laetitia pos/ terrae aR cum laet. post off. Prosp. KS 
ov. . . . aovos| > BA 44, 106, 107 F ov. τῆς ekX.] Nomen magnum (fr. domini Prev.) erit a8 εἰς 
τας γεν. τ. atwvos| in saecula saeculorum a8 Prosp. in omnibus -lis Brev. 12. επικατ.] cf. Wi 
ans DY Ε παντεςὶ + qui spernunt (+in rev.) te et omnes 4. blasphemant te: maledicti erunt 
omn. q. odiunt (-erunt Brev.) te et aB Brev. ερυυσιν. . . οικήσεις σου] pucouvres σε BA 44, 106, 107 
emkart.2° egovr. παντ.] ante 4. odiunt aB Brev. κατασπωντ.] pr. omn. 4. Brev. ἐμπυριζ.} pr. omn. 4. Κὶ 
ν  Πσε] 5 kt κι} > BA 44, 106, 107 evroynt. | -ynuev. BA 44, 106, 107 εἰς τ. αιωνα | post σε BA 
aB Brev. οἱ pop. σε] οἱ ayaravres BA 44, τοῦ, 107 qui aedificant te αβ Brev. 13. tore] > BA 44, 
106, 107 πορευθητι]} χαρητι B* A 44, 106, 107 a8 Brev. χαρηθι Bab + aden E Tpos Tous ve. | ἐπι τοις UL. 
BA 44, 106, το] in filiis αβ Brev. το vt. τὸ Ox.| JIIPA DAWA PII PP by Ε mavtes| > ΒΑ 44, τού, 
107 F ἐπισυναχθ.} συναχθ. BA 44, τού, τοῦ 17). DY F κυριον] mn) ow F τ. awvos| δικαίων BA 44, 
ποῦ: Τὸ > F ΤΠ μα σε S= 18 μακ.3"} pr. ὦ ΒΑ ως 106, 107 kx. pax. o.] > BAF 
εὐλογημενοι εσονται πᾶαντες 44, 106, LOZ et qui x Xap. επι τ. εἰρ. σου] Ol ἀγάπωντες σε εἰς τ. αἰωνὰα 44, τού, 107 
>F  xap.| gaudent& = _«.2"| > BA 44,106, 107 HF παντ. οἱ avOp.1°| οσοι B 44, 106, 1o7 oA επι σοι 
λυπηθησ.] ελυπηθησαν BA 44, 106, 107 contristabuntur & πασαις] > B (exc. BA*b) 44, 106, 107 εν] ἐπι BA 
106,107 κ. owovrat | θεασαμενοι BA 44, 106, 107 NON F xap. | δοξ. BA 44, 106, 107 F σου 99] +k. εὐφρανθησεται 


11. The fine metaphor of R* in 114 finds support in a8 Brev. Moz. Vig. Epiph. The prosaic RY omitted it along 
with the universalistic x. κάτοικοι. . . γῆς which has been handed down by the scribe of δὲ in a corrupt form. Reusch 
emends κάτοικοι ἀπὸ πάντ. and inserts ἥξει after μακρόθεν from 35. ᾿ ; 

13. χάρητι ΒΊΑ, cf. Sir. iv. 25 ἐντράπητι B*AC for -n BY. The emendation yap. for wopev. (R*°) was so obvious that 
it was adopted not only in RY and R¢ but in #. 


237 


18 


14: 


2 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 19. πἸιϑ ii a 


My soul doth bless the Lord the great King ; . 
For Jerusalem shall be builded again as his house unto all the ages. 


Happy shall I be if the remnant of my seed come to see thy glory 
And give thanks unto the King of heaven. 


And the gates of Jerusalem shall be builded with sapphire and emerald, 
And all thy walls with precious stone. 


The towers of Jerusalem shall be builded with gold, 
And their battlements with pure gold. 


The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved 
With carbuncle and stones of Ophir. 


And the gates of Jerusalem shall utter hymns of gladness 
And all her houses shall say, Halleluiah. 


Final benediction, v. 18°. 


Blessed is the God of Israel. 
And the blessed shall bless the name 
That is holy for ever and ever. 


CONCLUSION OF THE HISTORY, xiv. 1-15. 


i. Tobit’s Age, xiv. 1, 2. 


And the words of Tobit’s thanksgiving were ended, and he died in peace being an hundred and 
twelve years old, and was buried magnificently in Nineveh. And he was threescore and two years old 
avhen he became maimed in his eyes; and after he recovered his sight he lived in prosperity and gave 
alms, and he still continued to bless God, and to give thanks for the greatness of God. 


Bk. εὐφρανθησονται A 44, τού, τοῦ F 15. εὐλογει] -yerro A 44, 106, 107 benedic HF kuptov | 6. BA 
44, 106, τοῦ 16. Ἱερουσ.1"} > BA 44, 106, 107 liberavit Hierus. et 3» οἰκοδομηθησεται] ι Sup. Fas. 
(seg. ras. 1 lit.) A® aedificabit a8 -ur Brev. mI Nn 5. F τῇ mode... at θυρ.] > BA 44, 106, 107 F 


τῃ mwoke| iterum 3» τῷ Bac.| nomini regis © K.2°] > σαπφειρ.] σαππειρ. B σαπῴφιρ A οικοδομηθ.1"] 
> BA 44, 106, 107 F λιθ. τιμι.] λιθ. ἐντιμῳ Β 44, 106, τοῦ λιθ. ἐπιτιμῳ ἃ 33) F mavra | > BA 44, 
τού, το] +MIPN aN F οι πυργ.] pr. x. BA 44, 106, 107 Ἱερουσ. χρυσ. οἰκοδομηθ.}] > BA 44, 106, 107 F 
mpopaxaves| -μαχοι 44, τοῦ, 107 avrov| > BA 44, 106, 107 eius HF χρυσιῳ3"] pr. ev A 44, 106, 107 
17. pr. κι BA 44, 106, 107 3» αι} > 44, τού, 107 πλατειαι] -ἰαι A pr. bs Ε av6p. | pr. βηρυλλῳ κ. 
BA 44, τού, 107 ATP aN) JD F avép. . . . Sovpep | carbunculo lapide sternentur % ψηφολογηθ.] post 


Boup. ΒΑ -λογησ. post Sov. 44, 106, 107 Σουφ.] pr. εκ BA 44, τού, τοῦ DIN F 18: αἱ Oups tere 
αγαλλ.] > BA 44, 106, τοῦ F Iepovo.] illius 3} F x.2° ef epovow2°| λεγοντες (γον sup. ras. A®) post awec. 
BA 44, 106, 107 oxe.| pup. BA 44, 106, 107 HF Αλληλ.} +«. αἰνεσιν ΒᾺ +k. αινεσουσιν (σουσιν sup. 


ras. A®) A® 44, 106, 107 > wx τ. Iop.| os ὑψώσεν (-ce σε 44, 106, 107) mavtas (pr. εἰς A 44, 106, 107) 
τ. ga BA Dominus qui exaltat te et benedictus in omnia saec. (-nibus -lis Brev.) saeculorum a8 Brev. MM 
WY) Dewy? aman pp on wy F κ᾿ evdoy..-.«. ett] > BA 44, 106, τοῦ F quoniam in te benedicet 
(-cent? -etur Brey.) nomen (omne Zrev.) sanctum (suum af) in aeternum af Lrev. 


XIV. > ArM I. ouveteA.... εξομολογησεως] ἐπαυσατε εξομολογουμενος BA πω ον σοῦ 
2 m2|n ΝΘ Ty F συνετ.] pr. ut κι απεθ.....ἐν Ν)] > BAF or. laaNas Joo ol 9 dwdexa | 
οὐ} 2 evdof.| +JNa3 9 2. ξβ' erov ην] ἣν et. πεντήκοντα ὀκτω BSUWE ν er. ογδοηκοντα oxrw Α 
ἐγεν. . . . οφθ.] ἀπωλεσεν τ. οψεις BAF τ. ἀναβλ.. . . ἀγαθ.] etn oxrw ἀνεβλεψεν BAF μ» cia saa0 
waa ΟἾΔΑ col be coos τ ϑλὶο Janae Jod? oS cove widh? Jlassams S et quin- 
quaginta quattuor annis postquam lucem recepit vixit in omnibus H ελ. εποιησ.] ἐποιει «A. BAF ett] 
>BAS προσεθ.} ὁ scr. x. προς A* (ras. 1° A1)  proposuit % S& evdoy.| φοβεισθαι BAF 
colare 3» => Ὁ tov 6.| pr. κυριον BA sim WW ΦῚΡΠ by wow F εξομολογεισθαι] -wpodoyero {-εισθαι 
A) avr» BA 44,106 SF τὴν pey. τ. 0.] μεγαλως (cum Se v. 3) BA μεγαλως 44, τοῦ Jos? pee 2 


16. As i testifies πάλιν stood in R®. δὲ has τῇ πόλει, τῇ being an incorrect repetition of the last three letters of the 
previous word, and πόλει a later scribal blunder for πάλιν under the influence of the τῇ. For the complete disappearance 
of the aspirate in σαππ. (Vat). see Th. Gram., p. 121. For thought and language cf. Is. liv. 11, 12, Rev. xxi. oe 

XIV.1. 3 
four. 

2. ἀνάπειρ. not -mnp., cf. 2 Macc. villi. 24 A.V.; Luke xiv. 13, 21; Th. Gravz., p. 83. 


238 


- RS ~ τον. " Η ἢ Η j j 
supports RS, the difference resulting from the Syriac copyist’s omission of fe, as in viii. 20 he omitted 


THEVBOOK OF TOBIT 14. 3-5 


ii. Tobit’s last words and hopes for the Messianic Age, vv. 3-11". 


The future of Ferusalem, Israel, and the heathen, vv. 3-7. 


3 And when he was dying he called Tobias his son, and charged him, saying, Child take thy 
4 children ; and go into Media, for I believe the word of God upon Nineveh, which Nahum spake, that 
all those things will be, and will befall Assyria and Nineveh. And all the things which the prophets 
of Israel spake, whom God sent, shall befall ; and nothing shall be minished of all the words; and all 
things shall come to pass in their seasons. And in Media shall be deliverance more than among the 
Assyrians and in Babylon; wherefore I know and believe that all the things which God hath spoken 
will be accomplished and will be, and there will not fall to the ground a word of the prophecies. And 
as for our brethren which dwell in the land of Israel, against all of them will God devise evils, and they 
will be carried captive from the goodly land, and all the land of Israel will be desolate, and Samaria and 
5 Jerusalem will be desolate, and the house of God will be in grief and be burned up for a time; and 
God will again have mercy en them, and God will bring them back into the land of Israel, and they 
will again build the house, but not like the first, until the time when the time of the seasons be 
fulfilled ; and afterward they will return, all of them, from their captivity, and build up Jerusalem 
with honour, and the house of God shall be builded in her, even as the prophets of Israel spake con- 


+ny ΡΈΕΙ F magnitudinem eius 3» Bis Os ore | δὲ (pr. μεγαλως ὁ UV. 2) ΒΑ as δε 44, 106 απεθν.] 
ἐγήρασεν κ. ΒΑ +Thobis £ Dal > BA αὐτου] +k. τ. νιους (εξ vious 71151 polius εξυιους A) αὐτου BA 
et septem filios eius H ΓὮ "3 πὺν F €veT. QUT. λεγων] emev aur. BA 5. precep. illis dicens 3» ΠἊαιδιον.... 
παιδια] τεκν. λαβε τ. υἱοὺς BA pr. whiaso νων βοῶ >F array. | dilige 3» cov | + ov γεγήρακα κ. 
προς τ. amorpexew εκ (απο A) τ. ζην ee BA (cf. F) 4. plen. εἰ aliter F kx. arorp.| απελθε BA recurre & 
Μηδειαν] -cav B* A pr. τὴ ΒΑ Ἔτεκνον BA regionem Medorum & πιστ. ἐγὼ T. Pp. Te 6. | πέπεισμαι BA 
fussy Goradso wl qi. o207 S ἐπι N.| περι N. post. mpop. BA ;» post dar. & a] οσα BA quod 3» 
Ναουμ] Ιωνας o mpopnr. BA »’ μν 1399 amas S Ὅτε TavTa ... aravr.2° | Sf) TavTa €oTal.. . καιροις 
αὐτῶν | καταστραφησεται Βὶ κατασκαφ. A κι οσα.. .. ἀπαντ.} > S x. οσα] quae 3» κ᾿ ov μηθ.. .. ρηματ.] 
μι ! (ooo JR.x0 9 μηθεν S* μὴ ovdeyv NOX kK, Tavra... καιρ. αὐτῇ > S κ. εν 19} ev de BA 
Μηδειᾳ] -a A -Ἐπαλιν 44, 106 σωτηρια] εἰρηνη BA Jizan S NTEp... λογων] ews καιρου BA ev Ago. | 
27. eo whoo Janaisy S 60... λογων] S> Ὁ ο 6. dominus & διαπεσ.] excedet & oyor | +dei 3 
κι οι] κ΄ ore οἱ BA οι κατοικ. | > BA εν τ. γῃ]} SS Iop. παντ. λογισθ. τῆ > BA op. | psasola τ 
πάντων) omnes 3", yoado 9 λογισθ.]} dispergentur 9. axparor.| σκορπ. BAS pr. ex illis & εκ τ. γὴς 
τ. ay. | amo τ. ay. y. BA Ἂς οὐ Mas i hss? osas 5S ad terram optimam % kK. ἐστι Tao... . ἐρημος 35] 
Ινβϑὼω jag has? ads Joolo 9 εσται Tac... . Dap. k. | > BAL Sapien ερημ.3"} >t ev λυπῃ] εν 
aut. BA Ja. .20 slo 2 quae in illa est © kK. καυθησ.] κατακαησ. BAH » 9 μεχρι xpov. | 27. κι ἐρημος 
eo BAL » 9 5. plen. F edeqo.| 1D F so avr.l?] > Sx. emorp....6.2]| > 062°] ΒΑΘ 
avr.2° | loia S κι ἐπιστ. aut.| > 3» εἰς τ᾿ γην] > S in terra © τ. 1σρ.1] > BA παλιν} > BAS 
κι οὐχ... πρωτ.] οὐχ οἷος o mporepos BA > S ews... kaipov| ews (ws A) πληρωθωσιν καιροι τ. αἰωνος BA > 8 
quoad usque repleatur tempus maledictionum & kK. μετα TauTa. . . οικοδ.8"] eh! EADS Aad oodoo 


Ιναῶαςρ ooo Mule ES peta ταυτα] ΞΞ 9 τ΄. WY) TAN aby msdn 3 Ε της αἰχμαλ. aut. mavres | των axpan. BA 
παντες] post x. & τ. ὅθ. εν avt.| > «ὦ του é. | » οικοδομηθ.] Ἔενδοξως (ενδοξω ΒΡ pr. εἰς mac. τ. 
yelveas τ. αἰῶνος οἰκοδομὴ (seg. ras.) Bh™ 5) BS -Ἐ εις [πασ. τ. γεν. τ. αἰων. [οἰκοδομῃ ἐνδοξω A (cf. ΕἾ +et in 


omnia saecula saeculorum aedificabitur ΨΚ, ean. | aaah? S ot mpop.| pr. omnes 3» τι lop.2°| > BA 


3. The κ. ὅτε of RS was changed in RY into as δέ, his favourite construction, e.g. vi. 10 (where R§ also has καὶ dre) ; 
vill. 4 (RS simply καί) ; xi. 12 (where the whole verse is edited by RY). ΒΞ has preserved this ὡς δέ of RS, but it has 
fallen out of BA by haplography. μεγάλως therefore in RY originally belonged to v. 2 and appears to have been 
a conjectural abridgement (earlier than R°) of μεγαλωσύνην (RS) necessitated by a scribe’s insertion of αὐτῷ before it 
and the consequent omission of τ. 6. after it. : 

4. Before the discovery of 8 Grotius had correctly conjectured that Jonah had been inserted in place of Nahum 
under the influence of Jonah iii. 4. κατακαήσ. (RY) Th. Gravz., p. 237. Dr. Charles conjectures that λογισθ. (R§) is a trans- 
lation of ΣΦ ΠΝ, which was a dittography of ἡ", and regards πάντων as a solecism for πάντες. Marshall suggests 
that σκορπ. (RY) = pwaan, λογισθ. (RS) = pyran’, but this does not account for the difficult πάντων. Further σκορπ. 
in RY (followed by S$) is a variation of αἰχμαλ. (to suit the circumstances of the Diaspora of that time), not of πάντων 
λογισθ. which was omitted on account of its difficulty and which is paraphrased in 30 just as ea z///s is inserted 
in the next clause with a definite motive. πάντων λογισθ. is an intentional corruption of ἐπὶ πάντας λογίζεται ὁ θεὸς κακά. 
oiadeh.... Ἰσρ. was thus a casus pendens, and ἐπὶ πάντας (cf. the resumptive πάντες in 50) was only corrupted into 
πάντων after λογίζεται ὁ θεός had been changed on dogmatic grounds into λογισθήσονται and κακά omitted. Cf. Mic. 
Ul. 3 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ λογίζομαι ἐπὶ τὴν φυλὴν ταύτην κακά, Ps. xxxiv. (xxxv.) 4, xl. (xli.) 7. 


5. πρῶτον (R*) and πρότερος (RY) v. Th. Gram, p. 183. For easy Ilgen would read cos. 
239 


THE BOOK OF TOBIT 6-16 


6 cerning her. And all the nations which are in the whole earth, all shall turn and fear God truly, and — 

z all shall leave their idols, who err after their false error. And they shall bless the everlasting God in 
righteousness. ΑἹ] the children of Israel that are delivered in those days, remembering God in truth, 
shall be gathered together and come to Jerusalem and shall dwell for ever in the land of Abraham 
with security, and it shall be given over to them; and they that love God in truth shall rejoice, and _. 
they that do sin and unrighteousness shall cease from all the earth. Al 


Special ingunctions to his descendants, vv. 9-11". 


9 And now, children, I charge you, serve God in truth and do what is pleasing in his sight ; and 
upon your children it shall be enjoined to do [ 1 alms, and that they be mindful of God and bless 
8 his name at every season in truth and with all their strength. And now, child, depart thou from 
το Nineveh, and abide not here. In what day soever thou buriest thy mother with me, in the self- 
same day abide not in the borders thereof; for I see that there is much unrighteousness therein, 
and much guile is wrought therein, and they are not ashamed. See, child, what things Nadab did | 
unto Ahikar that brought him up! Was he not brought down alive into the earth? and God ye 
recompensed the shame upon his face, and Ahikar came forth into the light, and Nadab went Na 
into the eternal darkness, because he had sought to slay Ahikar. Because I did alms, he came ~ 
forth from the snare of death which Nadab had set for him,and Nadab fell into the snare of death, 4 { 


pr. wp hax omnes ozcoly ee / τ᾿ 6. simil. Ἐ τα εν... παντε] >BAS terrae αβ ἘΠῚ 
eto. | ON ϊ ρον Jos? τ Σ ὦ kK. φοβηθ.] φοβεισθαι BA αβ says F Tov 6. | pr. κυριν BA 
os 5S nt F αληθ.} post emorpep. BA Jhanas S >F k. αφησ. . .. πλαν. αὐτ.] κατορυξουσιν 
(27. κ. A) τ. εἰδωλα aut. BA > 9 τ. πλανωντ. . .. aur. | quae seducunt illos falso errore aB oss = 
plen. F evdoy.| +marvra tr. εθνηὴ BA 27. omnes af τον 6. ... εν δικ.] κυριον (pr. tov A) BA 
dominum in aeternum et in iustitia α β mavTes . . « MEP. exew. | k. ὁ Aaos αὐτοῦ BA 27. et αβ 
οι coon. | qui liberabuntur a8 PUN... αληθ.]} εξομολογησεται to 6. BA pony. | memores erunt a8 
ἐπισυναχθ. ... παραδοθ. avt.| x. ὑψώσει κυριος τ. λαὸν αὐτοῦ BA ἐπισυναχθ. | pr. et aB τ. αιωνα] pr. in 
αβ ἐν τ᾿ yn... παραδοθ. avr.| in die illa cum diligentia et omnis iustitia in illis erit a β οἱ ay. | pr. martes 
BA τον 6. | pr. Κυριον BA er αληθ.] ev αληθ. x. δικαιοσυνη BA κι Ol TOLOUYT. . . . Te yns | ποιουντες ελεος 
τοις αδελ. ἡμων BA πασ. τ. yns | terris omnibus a8 9, 8. szmil. F 9. κ'. νυν] 5 mao. ... αληθ.1"]} 
» 9 παιδια] τεκν. BA eyo uu... δικαι. x. ἐλεημ.} ov de τηρησον τ. νομὸν κ. τ. προσταγματα κ. yevou (yw. A) 
φιλελημων κ. δικαιος Post mpod. Ιωνας BA τῷ θ. domino 3» ενυποταγ.] 0-22 5 αβ Spec. Cypr. Κι Wa... 
ισχ. αὐτων] wa σοι καλως yy (η BPA) BA του θ.] τ So Gi ev αληθ. x. | «5! Sas S$ +in toto corde © 
suo et 3» 8. κι vv ov rad.| > ΒΑ nunc vero fili £ εξελθε ek N. k. μὴ peer. wie | ἀπελθε απο N. ott παΐτως 
(παντως A) εσται a chad. 0 προφ. Ιωνας ante συ δὲ τηρ. ΒᾺ Jatas CO ys was το S> 18 εν ἢ αν ἡμ. 
θαψης} x. θαψον pe καλως x. BA gollo ws λέξον hse aie εξελθε 7.8 S pr. sed 3» aut. τῇ ἡμ. . - . opLols 


avr. | pykere αὐλισθητε εἰς (εν A) N. BA » ῷ opm yap... αισχυν.] > BA o> ey Wig nme SS} & 
εν aur.2°| >i We... Ναδαβ ἐποι.] τεκνον we τι ἐποι. Αδαμ (Αμαν A) BA eas nid od? SS} S ecce 
filius Nabad quid fecit a8 Axetkapa | Axtayapo BA 3a,a8S. 8 Achicaro a8 τ. exOpey. aur. | τ. Ope. 
aut. BA Jasob HaDd99 fans? Ss ovxt Cov... γὴν 5] ὡς εκ τ. φωτος ἡγαγεν avrov εἰς τ. σκοτος BA Joo My Sgro 
oe? Jal) S$ quem vivum deduxit in terram deorsum a8 avedox. . . . προσωπ. avt.| x. oa ἀπεδωκεν avto BA 
>3 τ. ατιμι.] malitiam illius a8 e&nO. . . . Axtxapos | Αχιαχαρον (-os A) μεν ἐσωσεν (-67 A) BA > (vide 
infra) 3 xk. NadaB... αιωνος | exewo δὲ τ. ανταποδομα ἀπεδοθὴ κ. αὐτὸς κατεβὴ εἰς τ. (r. > A) σκοτος BA =NSo 
eas joaae 5 ore εζητ. ἀποκτ. Axetkapov| > BAS e(nt.| + Nabad af ev τ. Tomo... . απωλ. aur. | 
> ap εν τ. ποιήσαι pe eAenp. | Μανασσης εἐποιησεν ἐλεημ. BA > 9 εξηλθ..... Ναδαβ] k. ἐσωθὴ εκ Tay. τ. θαν. 
ἧς ἐπηξεν αὐτώ BA ὥδν oS I fan eo aa JgauS ja,00 9 mak. | may. δὰ ἃ (473) kK. Nada 


6. τοὺς πλ. κτλ. in loose apposition to εἴδωλα, the gender of the original Hebrew or Aramaic probably being left 
unchanged, cf. Ezek. xlviii. 11. 


ΣῈ 3 ; ; : : ae ᾿ 
9, ὃ. R by no means placed v. 8 entire before τ. 9, as Swete’s verse-numbering (which is retained for con- 
venience’ sake) suggests. 


_ Io. ᾿Αδάμ in Vat. has arisen from Ναδάμ (= Nadab) by the attachment of its initial ν to the end of ἐποίησε while 
Cod. Al.’s ‘Apay is an attempt to identify Ahikar’s nephew with the villain of the book of Esther. Μανασσῆς in RY is the 
result of textual confusion in that recension, possibly for Nao@as (xi. 18 R.V.), possibly through a misreading of an 
anticipatory and partial excised pe ἐλεημ. before ἐποι. In S$ the order is disturbed and the text possibly corrupt. 
oaks after om599 may be a gloss from ii. 10 (Iigen) or a corruption of b> aXS (Frit.). aa is not = Ahab (Fuller) 
but a corruption of Se and ¢a.0% is a variation of -Qau/. 


240 


THESBOOK OF TOBIT 14. 11-15 


arand it destroyed him. And now, children, consider what alms-giving doeth, and what unrighteous- 
_ ness doeth, that it slayeth. And behold my soul fainteth. 


iii. Tobias’ piety towards his parents and his long life, vv. 11'-14. 


1112 And they laid him upon his bed and he died; and he was buried magnificently. And when 
/ his mother died, Tobias buried her with his father, and he and his wife departed to Media and 
12 dwelt in Ecbatana with Raguel his father-in-law. And he sustained their old age in honour and 
buried them in Ecbatana of Media, and he inherited the house of Raguel and of Tobit his father. 
114 And he died, being an hundred and seventeen years old, full of renown. 


iv. The Dawn of the Messianic Age, v. 15. 


15 And before he died he saw and heard of the destruction of Nineveh, and saw her captivity 
| led into Media which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Media took captive. And he blessed God for 
all he did unto the children of Nineveh and Assyria; and before his death he rejoiced over Nineveh, 
and blessed the Lord God for ever and ever. Amen. 


ἐπεσ. .. . απωλ. avrov | Αδαμ (Αμαν A) δὲ ἐνέπεσεν εἰς τ. παγιδα κ΄ αἀπωλετο BA fsa ad SX coo 3 II-15. 
SS Ith 11 = Calls) Κι νυν... αποκτ.] eo eoadss. Moral po» 20 5 ποι. eX. | ἐλτι πο BAS ἀπιὸν, τς 
amokr.| δικαιοσυνὴ (pr. τ. 1. A) puerae BA x, Wou... 7. κλινην) Kk. ταῦτα αὐτου λέγοντος εξελιπεν (-λειπ. A) αὐτοῦ ἡ 
Ψυχὴ ἐπι τ. κλινης BA ομοςὰ5 ον. NOs S κ᾿ απεθ.] ἣν δὲ er@y εκατὸν πεντήκοντα OKT ΒΑ ομοῖνδωςθο S 
eran | εθαψεν avrov BA 12. ore ameO. .. . ἀπηλθ. αὐτὸς] abiit 1. postquam sepelivit parentes suos α β ἡ pyr. 
avr. | Ἄννα BAS T.| post ἀπηλθ. de BA τ. matp. avt.| pr. δος 3 x. απηλθ.] απ. de BA autos 

. 5 yur. αὐτου] μετὰ τῆς γυν. aut. κ. τ. υἱων aut. (aur. > A) BA ῳοῶλπο οἰκου 5530 ante κ᾿ ἀπηλθ. 33. γυν. 
aur. | +et filii a 8 We SS ic Ἐκβ.] Εκβατανα BA εν Ἐκβ.] μλ55 2 peta P. του πενθ. avr. | προς P, Tov π. 
aur. BA 13. eynpoBoc. avt.| eynpavev BA avtovs| τοὺς πενθ. αὐτου BA S evyt.| Jos Jensb> S ev Ex. 
τ. M. | ἐνδοξως BA «55 S otk. P. | ουσι. αὐτων ΒᾺ ῳὡοῦδῶ, Kar S i] > 14. ar, | +hoa E 
deka] > BS εἴκοσι ἃ nonaginta novem ¥ ἐνδοξως] ev Ἐκβατανοις t.M. BA > S _ 15. εἰδ ΚΣ ΒᾺ 
αβ kK. nkov.]| > 9 προ του] mpw 1 BA aroday | -εἰαν ΒΡ (Οἷα) A x. d....esM] > BA x. v0. | 
elo τ nv... M7). | >3 ηχμαλωτισεν] -τευσεν A Aytayapos o βασ. τ. M. | Ναβουχοδονοσορ κ. Ασυηρος 
(Aco. δὲ ὁ ἃ Ασουηρ. A) δὲ ἃ BA κ᾿ eudoy.... Αθ.)] > ΒΑ Ze: A@.| > 3 Αθουρειας N* — Aavepos NC* 
ap €xapn | pr.« AaB Joos hn S πριν] προ BA ἈΠ EUNG "ἢ: aavor | >BAS αμην] »αβ 


11. In RY ‘if the text be right, there should be a strong stop after δικαιοσύνη᾽, Dr. Harris, Story of Ahikar, Ρ. 1, n. τ. 

13. For ἐγηροβ. cf. Eur. Wed. 1033, Alc. 663, and in the passive Ar. Ach. 678. RY is impossible since Tobit could 
himself scarcely have grown so old before he buried his parents! He has been influenced by a desire to emphasize 
the fulfilment of the prayer in vill. 7. Cf. Nestle, Sez. ili, p. 24. ι 

15. ᾿Ασύηρος seems originally to have stood in RS, for which the scribe of δὲ wrote ᾿Αχιάχαρος, influenced by the 
frequent recurrence of the latter. Dr. Harris (of. ct. p. xxxii) however supposes that Ναβουχ. has been omitted and that 
in Cod. Vat. ᾿Ασύηρος is a corruption of Αθύρ or ᾿Αθυρείας and ἣν ἠχμαλ. a gloss or displacement (4./.7., p. 354). Nestle, 
Septuag. iii, p. 24, argues that just as a corrector attached ’Acvepos to ᾿Αθουρείας in δὲ, if Tisch. is right and it should 
not refer to ᾿Αχιάχαρος, so in RY καὶ ᾿Ασ[σ]ύηρος, for which two MSS. have ᾿Ασ[σ]ύριος whilst another omits the two 
words, may be a confusion with καὶ ᾿Αθυρείας, i.e. καὶ ᾿Ασσυρίας, which found a place in the text after Ναβουχ. instead of 
after Νινευή. The assumption of confusion with Cyaxares or Xerxes (Lohr) is improbable. 


1105 241 R 


THE BOOK OF ἘΠ ΠΟ] 


INTRODUCTION 
§ 1. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK. 


THE Book of Fudith falls naturally into two parts: (1) The Introduction (caps. 1—7). War was 
proclaimed by Nebuchadnezzar against Media, and a summons was sent to Persia, Syria, and Egypt 
to join in the expedition. The remoter parts of the Empire, however, treated the order with 
contempt (i. 11), whereupon Nebuchadnezzar determined, after conquering Media (i. 13, 15), to take 
vengeance on Syria and Egypt. This task was entrusted to Holofernes, the commander-in-chief (ii. 4), 
with 120,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry (mounted archers, ii. 15). He marched three days’ journey 
from Nineveh and encamped ‘at the left hand of upper Cilicia ’, thence devastated ‘the hill country’, 
crossed the (upper) Euphrates as far as the coast, then turned south, ‘ compassing’ the Midianites, to 
the plain of Damascus (ii. 27)... After receiving the submission of Tyre and Sidon, Azotus and_ 
Ascalon, he went south to Esdraelon (iii. 9). The Jews, who were lately returned from the exile (iv. 3), 
resolved to resist, and Joakim the High Priest at Jerusalem sent instructions to Bethulia, which was 


near Esdraelon, to stop thé passes leading to the capital (iv. 7). All Israel then fasted and prayed _ | 
—*~_ - “© ἂν. 9). Holofernes, hearing of the intended opposition, called a council of officers, when Achior the 


Ammonité gave a long account of Israelitish history (v. 5), pointing out that they could only be_ 
conquered if they had offended against their God (v. 20) and advising Holofernes to leave them alone. 

The advice was rejected, and Achior was handed over to the people of Bethulia (vi. 10), who received 

him in a friendly manner (vi. 20). Holofernes then moved his camp towards Bethulia, his army 

being now 170,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, besides accessories (vii. 2). It was decided to get 

possession of the water-supply at the foot of the mountain (vii. 7, 12) on which Bethulia stood, and 

thus to force the city to surrender, instead of risking a pitched battle. After thirty-four days, the 

stores of water within the city being exhausted (vii. 21), the people compelled Ozias and the leading 

men to agree to surrender in five days if no help came in the meantime (vii. 30). 

(2) The story of Judith (caps. 8-16). This decision came to the ears of Judith (viii. 1, 9), the 
widow of Manasses, who lived in austere retirement (viii. 5,6). She sent for the chief men (viii. 10), 
expostulated with them on their want of trust in God, and promised that she would herself effect 
their deliverance within the five days (viii. 33). They agreed to her project, without hearing the 


details, and departed (viii. 36). Judith then prepared for her plan by prayer (ix. 2). She put on her ___ 


adornments, which had been laid aside since her husband’s death (x. 3), took with her a single maid- 
servant with a bag of ‘clean’ food (x. 5), and went towards the Assyrian camp (x. 11). In an 
audience with Holofernes she informed him that what Achior had said was true (xi. 10), but that 
now the people had sinned by using first-fruits and tithes (xi. 13), and therefore God would deliver 
them up to their enemies (xi. 15). She would herself advise him when this was to take place (xi. 17). 
Holofernes, attracted by her appearance, invited her to his table (xii. 1), but she refused. She was 
allowed to go out of the camp every day to pray and bathe (xii. 6, 7). On the fourth day she con- 
sented to go to Holofernes’ feast (xii. 10, 14), but partook only of her own provisions (xii. 19). The 
critical moment arrived when the guests departed (xiii. 1) leaving Judith alone with Holofernes. 


His excitement had caused him to drink immoderately, and he now lay on his couch helpless (xiii. 2). 


Judith, calling on God for strength (xiii. 4), took his sword and with two blows cut off his head 
(xiii. δ), which she put in the bag (xiii. 10) carried by the servant who was waiting outside. The two 
went out of the camp as if to pray, as usual, and escaped to Bethulia (xiii. 10). They were received 


with enthusiasm by the citizens (xiii. 17), and Achior became a convert to Judaism (xiv. 10). A 


sortie was made (xiv. 11), and the Assyrians, thus surprised, tried to rouse their general (xiv. 13), but 
found him dead (xiv. 15). They fled in a panic (xv. 2), pursued northward past Damascus (xv. 5), 
while their deserted camp was sacked (xv. 6,7). The High Priest Joakim came in person from 
Jerusalem to bless Judith (xv. 8). 


Chapter 16 contains a hymn of praise by Judith. The book ends by relating that Judith 


dedicated to God her share of the plunder (xvi. 19), that she remained a widow till her death at the 
age of 105 years (xvi. 23), and that the land was at peace all her lifetime and for long after. 

The book is thus almost equally divided between the introduction and the story proper. The 

242 : 


i! 


INTRODUCTION 


former is no doubt somewhat out of proportion, and the author dwells at rather unnecessary length 
on the military details. In spite, however, of these defects of composition, the literary excellence of 
the work is universally recognized even through the uncomely disguise of the Greek translation. It 
was originally written in Hebrew (now lost) for Jewish readers, with the object of encouraging and 
edifying the people in a time of trial or persecution. In order to carry conviction the more, it aims ἡ 
~at the appearance of being historical, in its use of well-known names and of precise details, ‘but this 
historical character is only apparent. The author is concerned with theology rather than with history, 
of which perhaps he had a not very exact knowledge, although he adopted this form as the most 
suitable for his purpose. He seems to have had in mind the time of Artaxerxes Ochus, with whose 
campaign in Syria many of the incidents agree, but it would be unsafe to assume that he is consciously 
depicting an episode in that campaign. The name and date of the author are alike unknown. He 
must have written at a time of oppression, such as the Jewish race often suffered, and various indica- 
tions point to the second century B.C. as the most probable date. It is, however, possible that the 
author adopted an existing story or popular tradition, purposely confusing his historical allusions in 
order to disguise it. 


We 2 DIRE OR DHE BOOK] = 


The title of the book in Greek is simply ᾿Ιουδείθ (or ἸΙουδήθ, or ᾿Ιουδίθ). In Hebrew it would 
have been ny ndy9, like ἼΠΟΝ nbz and pave ΠΟ, or NNT AYN, derived from the name of the 
principal character. The name, of course, simply means ‘ Jewess’, and hence Grotius, explaining 
the story allegorically, makes it represent the Jewish people. But apart from the fact that this 
method of interpretation is forced and unconvincing, there is no need to suppose that the name 
suggested this meaning. It is used personally in Gen, xxvi. 34 as belonging to the Hittite. awife of 
Esau, where at any rate it cannot mean ‘.Jewess’. 5 


€.- 


og SS 


§3. MSS. ~ :. Pn 
The Hebrew original (see § 5) being lost, the earliest form in which we have the fools is that of 
the Greek translation, the sate primary version existing. Of this theye are three recensions: (1) the 
usual and no doubt the most original form, represented by ὑμ ἀτός, δ, A and B (Swete’s text) ; 
(2) that contained in codd. το, 108; (3) that of cod. 58, with which the Old Latin version (VL) and 
the Syriac (Syr) agree in a remarkable manner. All three recensions, however, represent the same 
version and go back to the same original. Their differences are due to corrections made not on 
a fresh comparison with the Hebrew, but subjectively by editors*of the version, and though consider- 
able, they concern the form rather than the matter. Such ‘corrections’ are most evident in the 
second and third classes of MSS., and vary even within the same class. 

In the notes here added to the English (R.V.) variants are only mentioned where they materially 
affect the sense. 


§ 4. THE ANCIENT VERSIONS. ™~ 


The Greek version, at least as contained in s A B, is as a rule easily intelligible and probably 
a correct rendering of the original, but it is very hebraistic. From it were made the Syriac and the 
Old Latin, both of them fairly close and agreeing in general with cod. 58, as will be seen from 
the notes. VL is rough, often merely latinized hebraistic Greek, and sometimes misunderstands the 
Greek which it translates. The MSS., of which Sabatier used five for his text, have been much 
corrected, perhaps from different Greek MSS.,so that they vary considerably in minor details, 
though all derived from one text. 

The Syriac version was first printed in Walton’s Polyglot. It was derived from two late MSS., 

now in the Bodleian Library, of which one, dated 1614, belonged to Pococke (MS. Poc. 391), and 
the other was copied for Ussher in 1627 (MS. Bodl. or. 141). With these a Cambridge MS. was 
collated and the variants are given (by Thorndyke) in vol. vi of the Polyglot. The version has been 
edited by Lagarde, in his Libri. V.T. apocryphi Syriace (Lipsiae, 1861), from a tenth-century MS. 
in the British Museum (from the Nitrian collection) with a full apparatus criticus. The Museum 
possesses two other MSS.., of the twelfth and seventeenth century respectively. 

A third version, the Vulgate, is of less value for textual purposes. Jerome’s own account of it, 
in his preface, is not altogether clear. He says that he found great variations in the MSS. (‘ multorum 
-codicum varietatem vitiosissimam amputavi’) and implies that he endeavoured to produce a consistent 
text by embodying in his work only what he found in the ‘ Chaldee’. The questions which naturally 
present themselves are, What were these divergent MSS. and what was the ‘Chaldee’ text? The 
MSS. cannot have been Greek, because the Vulgate differs from that version in important particulars: 


DAN R 2 


THE BOOK OF JOPITH 


6. 5. xiv. 5-7 comes at the end of xiii; i. 12’-16 and iv. 3 are omitted ; iv. 13-15 is altered ; additions 
are made after xiv. 12 and elsewhere; names and numbers often differ. In fact, if compared with 


the Greek, the Vulgate presents the appearance of a paraphrastic recension. On the other hand, — 


apart from these material differences, it often follows VL closely even in diction (cf. cap. 16), and the 
resemblance throughout is sufficient to show that Jerome used MSS. of the VL, which he merely 
adapted and corrected, as he considered, by the help of his ‘Chaldee’ text. It is evident from his 
own remarks (‘huic unam lucubratiunculam dedi, magis sensum e sensu, quam ex verbo verbum 
transferens’) that he spent very little time or trouble on it, and for this reason its style is less like 
Jerome’s than the rest of the Vulgate. 

As to the ‘ Chaldee’ text, we have no other evidence. It will be remembered that he speaks 
in the same way of a Chaldee text of Tobit, and that an Aramaic recension of that book was actually 
found and published by Neubauer (Oxford, 1878). No such text of Judith is now known, but as 
Jerome’s statement is explicit with regard to both books, we have to inquire what the text was.” 
Probably the answer is to be found in a sentence in the preface to Judith, ‘Chaldaeo tamen sermone 
conscriptus inter historias computatur. If Azstorias represents nrwyn, he means that the story of 
Judith was regarded as a myyn, such as we find embodied in midrashim, or even composed separately 
for use on special occasions. Later forms of the story, in Hebrew (see § 8), were composed and so 
used, and in Neubauer’s midrashic MS. the story of Tobit is called as a matter of course ma» Ayn. 
We may therefore conclude that Jerome, finding no Hebrew text of the book, used an Aramaic 
πον (Ais/oria) containing a free treatment, not a translation, of the story, derived probably from the 
Greek. He evidently attached more importance to it than to VL, since he included in his own work 
only what he found in the Chaldee, but in language he was naturally influenced by VL where the 
two coincide. Thus the Vulgate of Judith is a hurried version of an Aramaic midrash containing a 
free presentation of the story, rather than a translation of any given text. It omits about one-fifth 
of the book. 


7 ᾧ 5. DATE OF THE ORIGINAL, AND OF THE VERSIONS. 


(a) The existing versions thus all go back, through the existing Greek, to the same original, 
their differences being due to alterations within the versions. It is now generally agreed (against 
earlier scholars such as Fabricius, Jahn, and Eichhorn) that this original was Semitic, and Hebrew 
rather than Aramaic. Indeed there can be no possibility of doubt if we consider the style of the 
Greek and the nature of some of the mistakes in it. The language is not merely that popular Greek 
which we now know from papyri of the early centuries A.D. to have been identical with the κοινὴ 
διάλεκτος of the New Testament, even when independent of any Semitic idiom. The translation is 
so literal that it can be put back into Hebrew with ease, and in some cases becomes fully intelligible 
only when so re-translated. Moreover, the unusual lack of particles shows that the writer was under 
the influence of a foreign idiom, while the constant recurrence of phrases uncommon in late Greek 
but frequent in Hebrew shows incontestably the language of the original. Such are e.g. ἀπὸ 
προσώπου = 291, εἰς πρόσωπον =35, the frequent use of σφόδρα = IND, ἐν = a, and many more: see 
the notes on iv. 2, v. 12, 19, Vii. 10, 28, Xii. 4, xiii. 4, 8, 13, 16, xiv. 2,6, 11. The same conclusion 
is indicated by the confusion in the geographical names, due to uncertainty in the mind of the 
translator as well as to mistakes of copyists, so far as it is not intentional on the part of the author 
(see ᾧ 6). So also in other names, 6. 5. Achior no doubt = "Any, chosen as meaning ‘friend of the 
Jews’, with the common confusion of Ἵ and Ἴ. 

Against this comparative certainty we have the express statement of Origen (ad Afric. 13), 
οὐδὲ τῇ ᾿Ιουδὴθ (χρῶνται) οὐδὲ yap ἔχουσιν αὐτὰ καὶ ἐν ἀποκρύφοις ἑβραιστί, ὡς ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν μαθόντες ἐγνώκαμεν, 
as well as the fact that Jerome did not use a Hebrew text, which he certainly would have done if he 
had found one. It is possible that in the statement which Origen received from his Jewish informants, 
stress should be laid on χρῶνται rather than ἔχουσιν, and that it had fallen out of use and was not even 
included among the apocryphal books at the beginning of the third century. This must have been 
only temporary, since in 398 Jerome says ‘Apud Hebraeos liber Judith inter apocrypha legitur ’. 
Jerome's preface is all rather obscure, and it may be that he really means here to indicate a Hebrew text 
which he knew to exist but did not possess. In the very next sentence he speaks of the Chaldee 
which ‘inter historias computatur ’, a degree lower than apocrypha, and seems to draw a distinction 
between them. No trace of the Hebrew original now survives. 

The story is represented as taking place just after the return from the exile (iv. 3). The author 
does not, however, represent himself (as e.g. Daniel) as contemporary with the events recorded. In 
fact, he must have written much later. The return is far enough away to have become a sort of 
golden age, a time of simple happiness granted by God in consequence of the piety of the people. 
In this, as in its details, the description is wholly at variance with history (see § 6), either because the 


244 


κι Ι 


INTRODUCTION 


- author did not know the facts, or because he was intentionally disguising them. He cannot have 
written as late as the first century A.D., for the book is quoted by Clement of Rome (1 Cor. 55). 
Moreover, there is no allusion to the final destruction of the temple, nor even to the Roman occupation 
of Palestine. Jewish tradition connects the story with the time of the Maccabees, making Judith the 
daughter of Johanan or Mattathia (Zunz, Gottesd. Vortrdge, 2nd ed., p. 131), and this date agrees 
on the whole best with the author's point of view (see ᾧ 9). We must, however, be careful to 
distinguish between the date of composition and the real or supposed date of the events related 
(see ὁ 6). The author evidently puts back into his-post-exilic story the state of things under which 
he himself lived. There was no king, but the whole people is united under the High Priest (Joakim) 
governing with the γερουσία or Sanhedrim. The object of the book, too, is clearly to encourage the 
nation to resist the enemies of their religion-ame-coumtry even under the most desperate circumstances, 
and presupposes a time of great political or religious emergency. These several points, as well as 
the definitely Pharisaic theology, most naturally indicate an author living towards the middle of the 
second century B.C. Such is the view of Schtirer, Hilgenfeld, and Noldeke. (Cf. also Chajes in 
Festschrift .. . Harkavy, p. 105 Heb., who finds a number of parallels with the books of the 
Maccabees.) Ball proposes a date about 79-70 B.C., and argues with great ingenuity that Judith is 
modelled on Salome, successively wife of Aristobulus and Jannai, but this seems less probable than 
the earlier date. 

The fact that the book is not mentioned by Josephus or Philo or in the New Testament proves 
nothing. Josephus does not refer to Job, besides other books, and Philo does not notice any of the 
Apocrypha. 

(ὁ) The versions can only be approximately dated. The earliest reference to the book, and 
no doubt to the Greek version of it, is by Clement of Rome (1 Cor. 55. 4 and 5) about go A.D. He 
alludes to the story as if it were well known to his Greek readers, very much in the same way as he 
goes on to speak of Esther. Allowing some time for the original book to become established before 
it was translated, and some time for the translation to become known, we should probably date the 
Greek not later than the beginning of the first century A. Ὁ. 

The VL was made from the Greek, and as in Jerome’s time (see ᾧ 4) it was already very 
corrupt, it must have been a long time in existence. The Syriac, which agrees closely with it, was 
possibly made about the same time from the same Greek text, for the use of oriental Christians. 
Fritzsche surmises vaguely that both were made between the first and third centuries A.D., and we 
have no means of dating them more precisely. 


$6. INTEGRITY OF THE TEXT; ITs HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK. 


It has been suggested that the story is founded on a popular tradition, true or imaginary. 
Reuss thought that the Song in cap. 16 was an early composition, like the song of Deborah, and that 
the story was built upon it. It is certainly remarkable that in xvi. 10 Persians and Medes, not 
Assyrians, are mentioned. There can be no doubt that Judith belongs to the family of Jael, Esther, 
and Joan of Arc. Such a theme appeals strongly to popular imagination, and even if based on fact, 
easily tends to be overlaid with fiction. Whatever may be the truth, the work, as we have it, is 
a consistent whole, and, with the possible exception of the song, shows no signs of being by more 
than one hand. 

What then is the period which the author is proposing to describe, and how far is it in agree- 
ment with history? The question has been very variously answered. Attempts have been made 
to identify the Nebuchadnezzar of the story with Assurbanipal, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes Ochus, 
Antiochus Epiphanes: Arphaxad with Deioces or Phraortes. Without discussing these theories in 
detail, it may be said at once that none of them is consistent without a good deal of forcing. The 
historical Nebuchadnezzar did not reign at Nineveh (i. 1): he died in 562, and the return from the 
exile was not till about 536. He did not make war on Media (i. 7) nor capture Ecbatana. Nor do 
the annals of Assurbanipal, though they are very full, record anything of the kind, while Media had 
ceased to be a power before the time of the other kings whom it has been proposed to identify with 
Nebuchadnezzar. ‘ At the time of the Return, the Babylonian émpire had passed to the Persians. 
They were not likely to send a punitive expedition against the Jews, who were not then in a position 
to offer any resistance. Moreover, Arphaxad is not the name of any Median king mentioned by 
Herodotus, and the fortifications of Ecbatana were not built by him but by Deioces (Hdt. i. 98): 
(H)olofernes (= Orofernes) and Bagoas, if they are historical names, are Persian, and belong to the 
time of Artaxerxes Ochus (see below). Again, there was no king in Israel, but the people was ruled 
by the High Priest Joakim (iv. 6, 8, 14, xv. 8) and a Sanhedrim (iv. ὃ, xv. 8). It has been 
suggested that this points to the reign of Manasseh when he was a prisoner in Babylon, or to the 
minority of Josiah. Either explanation is improbable. If a High Priest was acting for the king, so 


245 


THE BOOK OF J UR 


unusual a situation would have to be explained, whereas it is taken for granted, and also it is in- 
consistent with the references to the exile (iv. 3, v. 18). The suggestion that Joakim (Eliachim in 
the Vulgate) is the same as the Eliakim of 2 Kings xviii. 18, and that he may have survived as High 
Priest under Manassch, is not supported by the list of High Priests. In fact the author clearly 
intends to put his story at the time of the Return, but makes no attempt to fill in the picture con- 
sistently. If it is to be made consistent, this can only be done by explaining the names as pseudonyms 
disguising really historical persons. This is the view taken by Ball, and it must be admitted that he 
finds some remarkable coincidences, on the assumption that Nebuchadnezzar is Antiochus Epiphanes, 
the Assyrians are Syrians, Nineveh is Antioch, and Arphaxad is Arsaces-of Persia(= Media), against 
whom Antiochus made an expedition. But if the book is historical fiction, as it seems to be, we need 
not expect to explain all its statements. The writer selected such incidents as suited his purpose, 
without troubling about historical accuracy. The framework of the story was most probably 
suggested (so Schiirer and others) by the campaign of Artaxerxes Ochus against Phoenicia and 
Egypt (about 350 B.C.). One of his generals was Holofernes, brother of the king of Cappadocia 
(Diod. Sic. xxxi. 1g), who was sent against Egypt, though it is expressly stated that he died in his 
own country, and a certain Bagoas was his most trusted servant (Diod. Sic. xvi. 47). Sidon sur- 
rendered to the Persians (cf. Judith ii. 28 seq.), and the army then marched south towards Egypt, 
passing, no doubt, through Esdraelon (iii.9). If any incident occurred in the campaign similar to that 
related here, we have no other record of it. The details are not meant to be historical. Nebuchad- 
nezzar is introduced as the typical arch-enemy of Judaea: the time of the Return is chosen as being 
far away and little known, and the author is guilty of a further anachronism by describing his 
characters under the conditions of his own day. In the song (xvi. 10), if that is by the author of the 
rest, the mention of Persians seems to show that he was really thinking of the campaign of Artaxerxes 
Ochus. He also affects archaic names and allusions: hence with Nebuchadnezzar’s army he includes 
princes of Moab and captains of Ammon (v. 2), the traditional enemies of Israel, who were in place, 
e.g. in 2 Kings xxiv. 2, but can surely not have been important in 150 or even 350 B.C. Similarly 
Midian (ii. 26) and Esau (vii. 8) are archaistic for Arabs and Idumaeans. 

Such being the method of the book, we need not expect to identify all the geographical any 
more than the personal names. Bethulia, the scene of the story, is very like Shechem, and, if the 
author was thinking of Shechem, that may account for his using the name Βετυλούα = πιο ma, since 
the Samaritans call Mt. Gerizim 5x ma. It also fits the story, as a place of first-rate strategic 
importance, far better than Safed or Bait Ilfa, which have also been proposed. With regard to the 
other place-names, there is evidently a good deal of corruption either in the original or in the 
versions, or both. Many of them are too much distorted to be recognizable, but they may conceal 
actual sites, known or unknown. They can hardly be purely imaginary. Torrey (FAOS, 1899, 
pp: 160 sqq.and Florilegium ... de Vogiié, p. 599) shows that, taking Bethulia to be Shechem, the 
other places agree, so far as they can be identified. See further on iv. 6. 


§ 7. THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK.y 


As to the anonymous author there is no tradition. From his writing in Hebrew and from his 
detailed references to the geography of the Holy Land, it may be inferred that he was a Palestinian 
Jew. From his theological views (§ 9) it seems that he belonged to the Pharisaic party. He was 
a man of some literary skill. The story is well told, and apart from a certain tendency to exaggerate 
the magnitude of the military operations, the style is restrained and straightforward, without 
unnecessary elaboration. He was also well acquainted with the literature of his people, for, while his 
descriptions have vigour and originality, the book is full of reminiscences of the Old Testament, 
c.g. with the story of Achior in caps. 5, 6, cf. that of Micaiah in 1 Kings 22; with viii. 3 cf. 2 Kings — 
iv. 18 seq. ; vill. 16 is a quotation from Num. xxiii. 1g; ix. 7, xvi. 3 from Exod. xv. 3; xiii. 18 from 
Gen. xiv. 19, 20. The fact that the quotations agree with the LXX rather than with the Hebrew 
text may be merely due to the translator. The author apparently knew some of the latest of the 
O. T. books (Esther and Daniel), and in v. 6-8 draws upon some midrashic source for the story of 
Abraham. i 

§ 8. LaTER USE OF THE BOOK. 1 


(2) Although the Book of Judith was not received by the Jews, the story was well known to them, © 
at least in the middle ages. It is mentioned in the liturgy for Hanukka (the feast of the Dedication — 
of the temple. instituted by Judas Maccabaeus on Chisleu 25), and appears in various Hebrew forms 
among the minor midrashim (see Zunz, Gottesd. Vortrage, ed. 2, p. 131). A short recension of it is 
edited by Jellinek in his Bet ha-Midrasch, i, p- 130, a longer text, ibid. p- 132, and another, zézd. ii, 
p. 12. Three more forms of the story are found in MSS. of the Bodleian Library. See also 

246 


| 
INTRODUCTION 


Gaster in PSA, xvi, p. 156. A text translated from the Vulgate, and agreeing with that of 
two Bodleian MSS. (Heb. d. 11 f. 259 and MS. Opp. 712 f. 164), was published at Venice about 
1651, under the title of nom σῦν. None of these is in any sense a translation of the Greek, still 
less the original form of the book. They are free sketches of a well-known story, set down ‘from 
memory, like other nywyn, in more or less detail according to the taste of the writer. They are 
usually short, and of no great antiquity. In the MSS. they are generally headed ‘for Hanukka’. 
Hebrew translations of the Greek were published by Meir b. Ascher at Berlin in 1766, by Benseb 
at Vienna in 1819, and by Frankel at Leipzig in 1830 (with other apocrypha). A Judaeo-German 
translation by S. Landau appeared at Frankfurt a. M. in 1715. A Persian version exists in a 
Bodleian MS. (Hyde 19). It is anonymous, but is made from the Vulgate, and the MS. was probably 
written about 1600. 

(ὁ) In the Church it was well ote from the Greek (and Latin) translations, and was often 
quoted, not as canonical but as edifying, e.g. by Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, 
Tertullian, Ambrose, Augustine (see Pate Einleitung, § 9), thus gradually acquiring a quasi- 
canonical recognition. On the use of the book in mediaeval times, see Pentin, Fwdzth, London, 1908. 

After the Council of Trent, the Protestants, though rela it from the canon, maintained the 
early view that it was good for edifying. and used it largel y in preaching. It was never admitted to 
the English Church lectionary. 


§ 9. THEOLOGY OF THE BOOK. 


The theology of the book is strongly Pharisaic. The story is clearly intended for edification, to 
encourage the people in some time of trial, and to point out the true way to deliverance by showing 
that Israel’s troubles are due to sin (v. 17, 18, xi. 10), that salvation comes through trust in God and 
obedience to Him, and that God uses the weak things to confound the strong (ix. to and frequently). 
But obedience to God, which is righteousness, consists in the strict observance of the Law. Judith 
is strong because of her consciousness of keeping the Law (xvi. 16). She observes not only the 
pentateuchal feasts of the Sabbath and New Moon, but also the eves of them (viii. 6), as required by 
the later teaching. She not only abstained from forbidden food, but she fasted continually, and 
underwent further mortification (viii. 5,6) although she was rich. She is thus a perfect type of 
Pharisaic righteousness. She even dilates on these doctrines to Holofernes (cap. 11), laying stress 
on the sureness of punishment which would follow on such sins as the eating of forbidden things and 
the using of tithes and first-fruits by the citizens of Bethulia in their extremity. For even in the 
most desperate case God will find a means of deliverance for His faithful people and will punish 
the oppressor. This punishment is inflicted not only in the present life. There will be a day of 
judg¥ment (apparently after death) when the wicked will be condemned to torment by fire 
and worms for ever (xvi. 17). 

The objection which has been made to Judith’s deceit (xi. 5) and approval of violence scarcely 
deserves notice. It could only be made in complete ignorance of the spirit of the time, and shows 
an utter inability to appreciate the position of a people struggling against overwhelming odds for 
their religion and their very existence. 


τὸ 
+4. 
NI 


THE BOOK (OR) UD iit 


1: Inthe twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned over the Assyrians in Nineveh, 
> the great city; in the days of Arphaxad, who reigned over the Medes in Ecbatana, and built at 
Ecbatana and round about it walls of hewn stones three cubits broad and six cubits long, and made 

3 the height of the wall seventy cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits ; and set the towers thereof — 
at the gates thereof, a hundred cubits /zg/, and the breadth thereof in the foundation threescore 

4 cubits; and made the gates thereof, even gates that were raised to the height of seventy cubits, and 
the breadth of them forty cubits, for the going forth of his mighty hosts, and the setting in array of 

= his footmen: even in those days king Nebuchadnezzar made war with king Arphaxad in the great 

6 plain: this plain is in the borders of Ragau. And there came to meet him all that dwelt in the hill 
country, and all that dwelt by Euphrates, and Tigris, and Hydaspes, and in the plain of Arioch the 
king of the Elymeans ; and many nations of the sons of Chelod assembled themselves to the battle. 

, And Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent unto all that dwelt in Persia, and to all that dwelt 
westward, to those that dwelt in Cilicia and Damascus and Libanus and Antilibanus, and to all that 

g dwelt over against the sea coast, and to those among the nations that were of Carmel and Gilead, 

9 and to the higher Galilee and the great plain of Esdraelon, and to all that were in Samaria and the 
cities thereof, and beyond Jordan unto Jerusalem, and Betane, and Chellus, and Kadesh, and the 

το river of Egypt, and Tahpanhes, and Rameses, and all the Jand of Goshen, until thou comest above 
Tanis and Memphis, and to all that dwelt in Egypt, until thou comest to the borders of Ethiopia. 

11 And all they that dwelt in all the land made light of the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar king of 
the Assyrians, and went not with him to the war; for they were not afraid of him, but he was before 
them as one man; and they turned away his messengers frorn their presence without effect, and with 
disgrace. 

12 And Nebuchadnezzar was exceeding wroth with all this land, and he sware by his throne and 
kingdom, that he would surely be avenged upon all the coasts of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, 
that .he would slay with his sword all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the children of 
Ammon, and all Judza, and all that were in Egypt, until thou comest to the borders of the two 

13 seas. And he set the battle in array with his host against king Arphaxad in the seventeenth year ; 
and he prevailed in his battle, and turned to flight all the host of Arphaxad, and all his horse, and 

14 all his chariots; and he became master of his cities, and he came even unto Ecbatana, and took the 

15 towers, and spoiled the streets thereof, and turned the beauty thereof into shame. And he took 
Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragau, and smote him through with his darts. and destroyed him 


I. 1. On the history see Introduction, ὃ 6. Nebuchadnezzar reigned from 604 to 562 B.C.at Babylon. Nineveh 
and the Assyrian empire were destroyed about 607. Arphaxad is not known as a king of Media. It was Deioces 
(according to Herodotus i. 98) who fortified Ecbatana, about 700 B.C., and Cyrus who destroyed it in 550. 

5. The apodosis begins here, with καὶ ‘then’. Ragau = Ragae, the plain which begins about 100 miles north-east 
of Ecbatana. 

6. Hydaspes. There is no river of this name in the region. Perhaps the Choaspes is meant. Syr. has Ulai. 

and in the plain of Arioch the king, καὶ πεδίῳ ᾿Αριὼχ ὁ βασιλεύς (N* -ews). The nominative cannot be trans- 
lated as in R.V. The sentence may originally have run ‘they that inhabited the hills . . . and in the plain, and 


Arioch . . . and. . . Chelod assembled . . .. The plain is the plain of Elam. The name Arioch is borrowed from 
Gen. xiv. I, in accordance with the author’s love of archaism. 
of the sons of Chelod . . . to the battle, εἰς παρ iratw υἱῶν X. properly ‘many nations assembled to the army 


(‘ battle ’, “camp », as below, xvi. 12) of the sons of Ch.’ The name (otherwise unknown) may be a corruption of 
* Chaldaeans’. 
se those among the nations (D3), probably the non-Jewish inhabitants are meant. The Jews are mentioned 
ater. 
9. beyond Jordan, i.e. from the Babylonian point of view, though this should have come earlier in the verse. 
_ _ Ball thinks that Betane is Beth-anoth (Jos. xv. 59), that Chellus is Allus in Idumaea, and that Kadesh is Kedesh 
in jueeh osu xv. 23) or Kadesh-Barnea. The river of Egypt is the Wadi-al-Arish, the boundary of Palestine 
and Egypt. 
_ ii. as one man, ὡς ἀνὴρ εἷς, ΕΑ and Fritzsche. The ordinary reading is ὡς ἀνὴρ ἴσος. If this, is the original (and 
εἷς a correction of δὲ A) it may represent ΠῚ UND, a misreading of NY ‘a man of naught’. 
12. the two seas, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, or possibly two parts of the Mediterranean. 
14. beauty... into shame, a play on words in the Hebrew ΒΞ °5). 
15. destroyed him, i.e. him and his kingdom. 


248 


LIER SOOK OF -]UDITH 8 16—2. 21 


| 16 utterly, unto this day. And he returned with them to Nineveh, he and all his company of sundry 
nations, an exceeding great multitude of men of war, and there he took his ease and banqueted, he 
and his host, a hundred and twenty days. 
{21 And in the eighteenth year, the two and twentieth day of the first month, there was talk in the 
house of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, that he should be avenged on all the land, even as 
2he spake. And he called together all his servants, and all his great men, and communicated with 
3 them his secret counsel, and concluded the afflicting of all the land out of his own mouth. And 
4 they decreed to destroy all flesh which followed not the word of his mouth. And it came to pass, 
i when he had ended his counsel, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians called Holofernes the chief 
captain of his host, which was next after himself, and said unto him, 
5 Thus saith the great king, the lord of all the earth, Behold, thou shalt go forth from my presence, 
and take with thee men that trust in their strength, unto a hundred and twenty thousand footmen ; 
6 and the number of horses with their riders twelve thousand: and thou shalt go forth against all the 
7 west country, because they disobeyed the commandment of my mouth. And thou shalt declare 
unto them, that they prepare earth and water ; because I will go forth in my wrath against them, 
and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my host, and I will give them for a spoil 
8 unto them: and their slain shall fill their valleys and brooks, and the river shall be filled with their 
, τὸ dead, till it overflow: and I will lead them captives to the utmost parts of all the earth. But thou 
shalt go forth, and take beforehand for me all their coasts; and if they shall yield themselves unto 
11 thee, then shalt thou reserve them for me till the day of their reproof. But as for them that are 
disobedient, thine eye shall not spare; but thou shalt give them up to be slain and to be spoiled in 
r2allthy land. For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, I have spoken, and I will do this with 
13 my hand. And thou, moreover, shalt not transgress aught of the commandments of thy lord, but 
thou shalt surely accomplish them, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt not defer to do them. 
14 And Holofernes went forth from the presence of his lord, and called all the governors and the 
15 Captains and officers of the host of Asshur; and he numbered chosen men for the battle, as his lord 
had commanded him, unto a hundred and twenty thousand, and twelve thousand archers on horse- 
, 17 back; and he ranged them, as a great multitude is ordered for the war. And he took camels and 
* asses and mules for their baggage, an exceeding great multitude; and sheep and oxen and goats 
18 without number for their provision; and great store of victual for every man, and exceeding much 
το gold and silver out of the king’s house. And he went forth, he and all his host, on their journey, to 
go before king Nebuchadnezzar, and to cover all the face of the earth westward with their chariots 
20 and horsemen and chosen footmen. And a great company of sundry nations went forth with them 
like locusts, and like the sand of the earth: for they could not be numbered by reason of their 
multitude. 
2x And they departed out of Nineveh three days’ journey toward the plain of Bectileth, and 
encamped from Bectileth near the mountain which is at the left hand of the upper Cilicia. And he 


16. B has ‘and he returned with them (i.e. the spoils, &c.), he and his host, for 120 days’. 
company is σύμμικτος, used here as a noun, ‘a mixed multitude’; cf. ἐπίμικτος ii. 20 and Exod. xii. 38. Herodotus 
(vil. 55) uses σύμμικτος (adj.) of the army of Xerxes. 


Il. 1. the twenty-second day of the first month evidently ended the 120 days’ rest, so that the return to ‘ Nineveh’ 
took place just before the end of the ninth month of the seventeenth-year of Neb. The precise date is meant to give 
the appearance of real history. 

2, communicated, ἔθετο, lit. placed. The Greek of this verse is strange. 


concluded, συνετέλεσει. Fritzsche suggests that this translates nba a misreading of ΤΌΣ «revealed (his purpose 
to destroy)’. If so, ‘ended’ in verse 4 is also for ‘revealed’. Cf. the decree in Esth. 11]. 13. 


3. all flesh, a common Hebraism, 1/2 b>. 
4. (H)olofernes (always with the smooth breathing in Greek) is usually taken to be for Orophernes, a Persian name 
borne by the kings of Cappadocia. It is quite out of place in the time of Neb. 
A 6. ἊΝ west country is Egypt and Syria, which were the objects of the campaign of Artaxerxes Ochus; cf. 
ntrod. § 6. : 
7. earth and water asa sign of submission. The formula is Persian, not Assyrian or Babylonian (Ball, referring 
to Hdt. vi. 48, 49). 
I will go, i.e.my power will go. 
8. river ... overflow. Rather ‘even a strong, rushing river shall be choked up and filled... 


ἐπικλύζων translates Ov’ bm in Isa. Ixvi. 12. 
_ To. Rather ‘and they shall yield . . . and thou shalt reserve .. .. Resistance is not regarded as conceivable. 
reproof. ἐλεγμοῦ is ANN, implying conviction with consequent punishment. 
11. thy land. 58 VL Syr 19 108 omit ‘thy’. 
20, company, ἐπίμικτος, cf. σύμμικτος ini. 16. Note the exaggeration. 
.. 21. Bectileth, Bacrethaié. None of the proposed identifications is-at all convincing. Apparently it was near N. 
Cilicia, about 300 miles from Nineveh—an impossible journey to perform in three days. 


“2.49 


ι 
᾽ ποταμὸς 


THE BOOK! OF JUDITE 2.) 22—aa10 


took all his host, his footmen and horsemen and chariots, and went away from thence into the hill 

23 country, and destroyed Put and Lud, and spoiled all the children of Rasses, and the children of 

24 Ishmael, which were over against the wilderness to the south of the land of the Chellians. And he 
went over Euphrates, and went through Mesopotamia, and brake down all the high cities that were 

25 upon the river Arbonai, until thou comest to the sea. And he took possession of the borders of 
Cilicia, and slew all that resisted him, and came unto the borders of Japheth, which were toward the 

26 south, over against Arabia. And he compassed about all the children of Midian, and set on fire — 

27 their tents,and spoiled their sheepcotes. And he went down into the plain of Damascus in the days 
of wheat harvest, and set on fire all their fields, and utterly destroyed their flocks and herds, and 
spoiled their cities, and laid their plains waste, and smote all their young men with the edge of the 
sword. 

28 And the fear and the dread of him fell upon them that dwelt on the sea coast, upon them that 
were in Sidon and Tyre,and them that dwelt in Sur and Ocina, and all that dwelt in Jemnaan; and 
they that dwelt in Azotus and Ascalon feared him exceedingly. 

1,2 And they sent unto him messengers with words of peace, saying, Behold, we the servants of 
3 Nebuchadnezzar the great king lie before thee: use us as it is pleasing in thy sight. Behold, our 
dwellings, and all our country, and all our fields of wheat, and our flocks and herds, and all the 
4 sheepcotes of our tents, lie before thy face: use them as it may please thee. Behold, even our cities 
and they that dwell in them are thy servants: come and deal with them as it is good in thine eyes. 
5 And the men came to Holofernes, and declared unto him according to these words. 
6 And he came down toward the sea coast, he and his host, and set garrisons in the high cities, and 
7 took out of them chosen men for allies. And they received him, they and all the country round 
8 about them, with garlands and dances and timbrels. And he cast down all their borders, and cut 
down their groves: and it had been given unto him to destroy all the gods of the land, that all the 
nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar only, and that all their tongues and their tribes should call 
upon him as god. And he came towards Esdraelon nigh unto Doteea, which is over against the 
10 great ridge of Judea. And he encamped between Geba and Scythopolis, and he was there a whole 
month, that he might gather together all the baggage of his host. 


© 


encamped = }YD) (for which LXX three times has στρατοπεδεύειν, as here), ‘they went a day’s journey to their 
next camp at B. 
the left hand in Hebr. is the rorth, cf. Gen. xiv. 15. 

23. Put (Pontus?) and Lud (Lydia?) are often found together in O.T. Probably Put (Phut) does not always 

represent the same country, but in any case neither name can be identified with any region bordering on Cilicia. 
Rasses is also unknown. Vuilg. has Tharsis (= Tarsus in Cilicia), VL Thiras et Rasis, Syr Tiras and Ra‘amses. 
Chellians, 8 A, are unknown. B 58 Syr 19 108 read Chaldeans, which cannot be right. 

24. As it stands, this verse can only mean that he left Cilicia, re-crossed the Euphrates, and then returned to Cilicia 
—a most unlikely proceeding. Or the verse is out of place, since he must have crossed the Euphrates to get to 
Cilicia. Evidently the writer had very vague ideas as to the relative positions of Mesopotamia, Cilicia, and the 
(Mediterranean) sea. ν 

Arbonai is unknown. δὲ Χεβρών, B ᾿Αβρωνώ, Syr Jabbok, VL Beccon, Vulg. Mambre. 

25. He now turned south, towards Damascus, and, roughly speaking, in the direction of Arabia, but the meaning 
of the ‘borders of Japheth’ is obscure. 

26. Midian, again an archaism for Arabs in general. 

27. wheat harvest would be about the beginning of June. As the expedition started in the first month, the author 
has allowed far too little time (Ball), since there is no suggestion that this was the harvest of the next (nineteenth) 
year. 

28. Sur looks like a dittography of Τύρῳ (WS); 19 108 have Σούδ (WS) a misreading of the Hebrew; δὲ has Τούρ; 
B has ᾿Ασσούρ, which is clearly out of place. Fritzsche proposes to read Dor, a port near Carmel. 

Ocina, unknown. NS has ᾿Αμμάν (=Hamath?). Ball suggests Accho-Ptolemais, a haven north of Dor ; Judges i. 31. 

_ Jemnaan = Jamnia, Jabne, a well-known city on the south coast of Syria. The author evidently means to give 
a list of important towns going from north to south. His geography is more intelligible when he is dealing with 
Palestine, which he knew. 


ΠῚ. 1. they, i.e. the inhabitants of the non-Jewish towns just mentioned. 
8. borders, τὰ ὅρια, is Strange. Fritzsche and Ball think it is a mistranslation of N20, ‘the high places.’ 
aie is represented as doing what a Jewish conqueror or reformer would have done, cf. 2 Kings xxiii. 14 (of 
osiah). 
as god, hardly an allusion to the title of Θεός assumed by Antiochus, &c. It is more probably imitated from the 
story in Dan. iii. 
9. Dotea, a Greek form of Dothan (= Dothayim). The plain of Jezreel was a suitable place for assembling a large 
army. 
fe The vidge, πρίων, lit. ‘saw’ = sierra, must be the high ground on which Jerusalem stands. over against, 
ἀπέναντι, 15 a Vague expression, which may only mean that you can see the ridge from Dothan. Fritzsche (following 
Reland) suggests that WWD, ‘plain,’ has been misread as WWD, ‘ saw.’ 
Io. Geba, about six miles due south of Dothan (Ball). 
Scythopolis (= Bethshan) is the only purely Greek name occurring in the book. Elsewhere the translator uses 
Hebrew or Graecized Hebrew forms. 


250 


iE BOOK @F  UDIT Hes: 1-14 


And the children of Israel that dwelt in Juda heard all that Holofernes the chief captain of 
Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians had done to the nations, and after what manner he had 
2 spoiled all their temples, and destroyed them utterly. And they were exceedingly afraid before 
3 him, and were troubled for Jerusalem, and for the temple of the Lord their God: because they were 
newly come up from the captivity, and all the people of Judaa were lately gathered together; and 
the vessels, and the altar, and the house, were sanctified after the profanation. 
4 And they sent into every coast of Samaria, and to Konz, and to Bethhoron, and Belmaim, and 
5 Jericho, and to Choba, and A®sora, and to the valley of Salem; and they possessed themselves 
beforehand of all the tops of the high mountains, and fortified the villages that were in them, and 
| 6 laid up victual for the provision of war: for their fields were newly reaped. And Joakim the high 
priest, which was in those days at Jerusalem, wrote to them that dwelt in Bethulia, and Betomesthaim, 
7 which is over against Esdraelon toward the plain that is nigh unto Dothaim, charging them to seize 
upon the ascents of the hill country ; because by them was the entrance into Judza, and it was easy 
to stop them from approaching. inasmuch as the approach was narrow, w7th space for two men at 
§ the most. And the children of Israel did as Joakim the high priest had commanded them, and the 
senate of all the people of Israel, which dwelt at Jerusalem. 
And every man of Israel cried to God with great earnestness, and with great earnestness did they 
-|10 humble their souls. They, and their wives, and their babes, and their cattle, and every sojourner 
τι and hireling and servant bought with their money, put sackcloth upon their loins. And every man 
and woman of Israel, and the little children, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the temple, 
and cast ashes upon their heads, and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord; and they put 
12 sackcloth about the altar: and they cried to the God of Israel earnestly with one consent, that he 
would not give their babes for a prey, and their wives for a spoil, and the cities of their inheritance 
| 13 to destruction, and the sanctuary to profanation and reproach, for the nations to rejoice at. And 
the Lord heard their voice, and looked upon their affliction: and the people continued fasting many 
» 14 days in all Judaa and Jerusalem before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty. And Joakim the high 
priest, and all the priests that stood before the Lord, and they that ministered unto the Lord, had 
their loins girt about with sackcloth, and offered the continual burnt offering, and the vows and the 


1V. 2. exceedingly, σφύδρα σφόδρα = IND IND, a favourite expression with the author. 
3. The sanctification after profanation might refer to what is narrated in 1 Macc. iv. 36, but for the definite state- 
ment that the people had just returned from the captivity. In v. 18, too, the temple had been actually destroyed. If 
the description here is suggested by the action of Judas Maccabaeus, the author purposely puts it back to the earlier 
period (soon after 516 B.C.). 
4. Samaria in 516 was bitterly hostile to Judaea, and would not have been consulted. The political situation 
represented is imaginary. 

Kone. A reads κωμας, ‘villages’, and so VL. 

Belmaim (δὲ Abelmain) is unknown. Syr Abelmeholah. 

Choba and sora are also unknown, and the valley of Salem. 
5. newly reaped, cf. ii. 27. It was still the month of June. 
6. The name of the high priest Joakim is no doubt derived from Neh. xii. 26. VL in this chapter and Vulg. 
throughout read Eliachim, El- being substituted for Jeho-. 

Bethulia, Ba:rovAota. A Βετυλούα. NS here Βαιτουλίας. The question of the historical value of the book turns 
largely on this name. As the town is the scene of the main action of the story, many details of its situation are 
incidentally mentioned. It can hardly be doubted that the author had in his mind some well-known and important 
site, although he may not have described it accurately in all points. No place of the name is known, however, and we 
can only suppose that a fictitious name has been adopted for some actual town. Βαιτ(ο)υλούα is now generally explained 


as Mx ma = ὉΝ ma = Bethel = House of God, a name which might suitably be applied to any town which is to 
be represented as true to its faith in God, cf. e.g. viii, 20. It cannot, of course, be the historical Bethel, which was 
never of sufficient importance. The whole fate of the nation depended upon Bethulia, cf. vill. 21, 24. What place then 


is hidden under this assumed name? It would be natural to think of Jerusalem (YS NI ndyna), but this is out of the 
question, since in this verse Joakim wrote from Jerusalem to Bethulia. On the whole, Torrey’s view (see Introd. § 6) 
is most probable, that the author is describing Shechem, even if every detail is not exact. Supposing the story to be 
a romance, such exactitude is unnecessary. The importance of the position of Shechem is just what is wanted, while 
the antipathy to everything Samaritan affords a sufficient reason for not using the name, cf.on v.16. Fora description 
of the site see vi. 11, x. 10. ae : 
Betomesthaim is unknown. Apparently near Bethulia and Dothan. Torrey suggests thatit isa pseudonym for 
Samaria, and that it is a corruption of DY ΠΣ, House of outlook, as V2 from Wt’, to watch. 
8. senate, γερουσία -- JID. Its constitution (seventy members and the president, N*’2) no doubt was modelled 
on the seventy elders of Exod. xxiv. 1, &c., but as an official body it probably is not older than the time of the 
Maccabees. It certainly did not exist in 516 B.C. 

dwelt, ἐκάθηντο, rather ‘sat’ as a court or deliberative assembly. 
13. Jerusalem, ἅς. δὲ reads ‘and those in Jerusalem fell down before . . .’ 
14. continual burnt offering, the 12N, Num. xxviii. 3. 

vows and free gifts, M272) 0°773, as in Num. xxix. 39 and often. 

251 


15 


I 


2 


3 


ΠΝ 


9 


9 


e 


THE BOOKTOF JUD HU) τ ΘΟ) 


free gifts of the people; and they had ashes on their mitres: and they cried unto the Lord with all 
their power, that he would look upon all the house of Israel for good. 

And it was told Holofernes, the chief captain of the host of Asshur, that the children of Israel had 
prepared for war, and had shut up the passages of the hill country, and had fortified all the tops of 
the high hills, and had laid impediments in the plains: and he was exceeding wroth, and he called 
all the princes of Moab, and the captains of Ammon, and all the governors of the sea coast, and he 
said unto them, Tell me now, ye sons of Canaan, who is this people, that dwelleth in the hill country, 
and what are the cities that they inhabit, and what is the multitude of their host, and wherein is 
their power and their strength, and what king is set over them, to be the leader of their army; and 
why have they turned their backs, that they should not come and meet me, more than all that dwell 
in the west. 

And Achior, the leader of all the children of Ammon, said unto him, 

Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of thy servant, and I will tell thee the truth 
concerning this people, which dwelleth in this hill country, nigh unto the place where thou dwellest: 
and there shall no lie come out of the mouth of thy servant. This people are descended of the 
Chaldeans: and they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they were not minded to follow 
the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of the Chaldeans. And they departed from the 
way of their parents, and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew: and they cast 
them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many 
days. And their God commanded them to depart from the place where they sojourned, and to go 
into the land of Canaan: and they dwelt there, and were increased with gold and silver, and with 


10 exceeding much cattle. And they went down into Egypt, for a famine covered all the land of 


It 


12 


Canaan; and there they sojourned, until they were grown up; and they became there a great 
multitude, so that one could not number their nation. And the king of Egypt rose up against them, 
and dealt subtilly with them, and brought them low, making them to labour in brick, and made 
them slaves. And they cried unto their God, and he smote all the land of Egypt with incurable 


13 plagues: and the Egyptians cast them out of their sight. And God dried up the Red sea before 


14 
15 


them, and brought them into the way of Sinai, and Kadesh-Barnea, and they cast out all that dwelt 
in the wilderness. And they dwelt in the land of the Amorites, and they destroyed by their strength 


τό all them of Heshbon, and passing over Jordan they possessed all the hill country. And they cast 


17 


out before them the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Shechemite, and all the 
Girgashites, and they dwelt in that country many days. And whilst they sinned not before their , 


15. mitres, Exod. xxvill. 40 (A.V. bonnets). 

V. 2. Moabites and Ammonites were employed against Judaea by the historical Nebuchadnezzar, see 2 Kings xxiv. 2. 

and all the governors of the sea coast, omitted by 8. The word for ‘ governors’ is σατράπας, a Persian, not 
Babylonian, term. 

3. A rhetorical question expressing scorn, cf. vi. 2. 

Canaan is merely used archaistically for Syria, not (as Ball says) in its correct sense of Phoenicia and the coast. 
The name is rarely found in the later O.T, literature, and then only in reference to the early history of Israel (e.g. 
Neh. ix. 24). Holofernes, whether he was a Babylonian or a Persian, would not have used it. : 

5. Achior probably = Ahihud, by confusion of 1 and 7 as in LXX of Num. xxxiv. 27. 

this people . . . thou dwellest. τοῦ λαοῦ... πλησίον σοῦ οἰκοῦντος probably go together, ‘the people dwelling 
near thee.’ The sentence is very awkward, and one of the two clauses would be better omitted. R.V.seems to me 
impossible. 

6-8. This is rather the later midrashic development of the story of Abraham (refusing to worship the gods of Terah, 
incurring the wrath of Nimrod, and banished) than that contained in Gen. xi. 31-xii. 5, which is followed, e.g. in 
Neh. ix. 7-8, Acts vii. 2 f. 

6. descended of the Chaldeans, i.e. Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees. 

7. in Mesopotamia, i.e. at Haran. 

which were, ἐγένοντο, would naturally refer to ‘fathers’. 58 VL Syr add ἔνδοξοι, ‘which were worshipped,’ 
making it refer to the gods. 

8. God of heaven, cf. Dan. ii. 28, iv. 37, &c., and Sachau, Avamdische Papyrus aus... Elephantine,i.2, &c. The 
expression was common in Persian times. 

knew, ἐπέγνωσαν, perhaps ‘whom they had come to know’ or recognized as the only true God in consequence of 
a revelation, cf. Acts vii. 2. 

g. See Gen. xii. 1. 

10. grown up, μέχρις οὗ διετράφησαν. A.V. ‘while they were nourished’, which is correct. R.V. seems to mean 
“until they increased in number’, but that is said in the next clause. Possibly the Hebrew was YN ἫΝ ‘as long as they 
lived (or were fed)’. Cf. Gen. ]. 20. 

11. B reads ‘they dealt subtilly with them in (or with) labour (clay δὲ, cf. Exod. i. 14) and brick, and they humbled 
them and made... .’ ; 

12. The speech of Achior is part of the scheme of the book, to encourage the people in time of trouble by showing 
how God has given deliverance formerly when His people were worthy of it. Achior is represented as tending to 
a belief in the God of Israel, so that his sudden conversion later on is the less surprising. ; 

out of their sight, ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν is merely the Hebrew omabi, ‘from them.’ 

16. Shechem is not named in the list in Joshua xii. It is introduced here out of hostility to the Samaritans. 

252 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH "b.)18—6.: 7 


18 God, they prospered, because God that hateth iniquity was with them. But when they departed 
from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, and were 
led captives into a land that was not theirs, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and 
το their cities were taken by their adversaries. And now they are returned to their God, and are come 
| up from the dispersion where they were dispersed, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their 
20 sanctuary is, and are seated in the hill country : for it was desolate. And now, my lord and master, 
| if there is any error in this people, and they sin against their God, we will consider what this thing 
far is wherein they stumble, and we will go up and overcome them. But if there is no lawlessness in 
| their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and their God be for them, and 
we shall be a reproach before all the earth. 

22 And it came to pass, when Achior had finished speaking these words, all the people that 
compassed the tent and stood round about it murmured ; and the great men of Holofernes, and all 
23 that dwelt by the sea side, and in Moab, spake that he should kill him. For, sazd they, we will not 
be afraid of the children of Israel: for, lo, it isa people that hath no power nor might to make the 
24 battle strong. Wherefore now we will go up, and they shall be a prey to be devoured of all thine 
army, lord Holofernes. 

And when the tumult of the men that were about the council was ceased, Holofernes the chief 
captain of the host of Asshur said unto Achior and to all the children of Moab before all the people 
of the aliens, 

2 And who art thou, Achior, and the hirelings of Ephraim, that thou hast prophesied among us 
as to-day, and hast said, that we should not make war with the race of Israel, because their God 
3 will defend them? And who is God but Nebuchadnezzar? He shall send forth his might, and 
sha!l destroy them from the face of the earth, and their God shall not deliver them: but we his 
4 servants shall smite them as one man; and they shall not sustain the might of our horses. For with 
them we shall burn them up, and their mountains shall be drunken with their blood, and their plains 
shall be filled with their dead bodies, and their footsteps shall not stand before us, but they shall 
surely perish, saith king Nebuchadnezzar, lord of all the earth: for he said, The words that I have 
5 spoken shall not be in vain. But thou, Achior, hireling of Ammon, which hast spoken these words 
in the day of thine iniquity, shalt see my face no more from this day, until I shall be avenged of the 
6 race of those that came out of Egypt. And then shall the sword of mine army, and the multitude 
of them that serve me, pass through thy sides, and thou shalt fall among their slain, when I shall 
ἡ return. And my servants shall bring thee back into the hill country, and shall set thee in one of 


18. led captives, by (the historical) Nebuchadnezzar in 588. Achior is telling this toa representative of Nebuchad- 
nezzar seventy years later! 
temple . . . cast to the ground. It was not merely desecrated as e.g. by Antiochus. 


19. are come up aby), i.e. about 516. 
the dispersion. διασπορά is the common word in Hellenistic times for the Jews scattered in various lands, not 
exiles in one place, as here. 

20. Rather, ‘if there is any fault due to ignorance (792’) . . . and we see that this offence (σκάνδαλον) is in them, 
then (kai) we willgoup.. .’ 

21. lawlessness, ἀνομία, a breach of the Law, = ἀγνέημα in verse 20. 

lest . . . for them, rather ‘lest their Lord and their God defend (be a shield over) them’; ὑπερασπίσῃ . . . ὑπὲρ 
αὐτῶν = DMDY 33°. 
and we shall be. ἐσύμεθα is not dependent (incorrectly) on μή wore, but means ‘ for then (καί) we shall be . . . 
VI. 1. about the council, i.e. were round about forming the council. 
and to all the children of Moab is omitted by B, and transferred to the next verse by homoioteleuton, where it 
is evidently out of place. For ‘ Moab’ 19 108, read ‘Ammon’, more appropriately, as Achior was an Ammonite. 
aliens, ἀλλόφυλοι in LXX means Philistines, but here only ‘non-Jews’. 

2. hirelings, meaning that they were mercenaries in the ‘ Assyrian’ army (Ephraim being then incorrectly used for 
‘Syrian ’), or perhaps that they were bought over by Ephraim, i.e. Israel. 

For Ephraim 19 108 read Ammon, and similarly 58 VL Syr. 
as to-day. καθὼς σήμερον is no doubt D192 ‘to-day’, ‘ now’. 

3. Cf. 2 Kings xviii. 32-5. 

4. burn them up, κατακαύσομεν (Δ), an unsuitable word. The variants κατακλύσομεν and καταπατήσομεν (OY3) are 
evident corrections. 

for he said .. . , better ‘for he hath spoken (it). The words of his sayings (δὲ 19 108 “of his mouth”) shall 
not be in vain’; cf. verse 9. 

6. the multitude of them that serve. λαὸς τῶν θεραπόντων passing through his sides is a strange expression. 
Fritzsche emends χαλκός, comparing VL and Syr. But it may mean ‘cut him in two and march between the parts’ ; 
or, more probably, it is a mistranslation of ‘73y Symyx oS IN (for τοῦ λαοῦ), ‘the sword of my army and of my 
servants.’ So above, i. 6 βασιλείς. 

I shall return, B ‘they’. : . ae 

7. bring thee back, ἀποκαταστήσουσί σε used loosely for ‘take thee away’ (so Fritzsche), cf Hos. xi, 12, LXX (not 
bring back). 

253 


? 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH'S. 87 


8, 9 the cities of the ascents: and thou shalt not perish, till thou be destroyed with them. And if thou — 
hopest in thy heart that they shall not be taken, let not thy countenance fall. I have spoken it,and — 
none of my words shall fall to the ground. : ; = 

το And Holofernes commanded his servants, that waited in his tent, to take Achior, and bring him 
τι back to Bethulia, and deliver him into the hands of the children of Israel. And his servants took 
him, and brought him out of the camp into the plain, and they removed from the midst of the plain 
12 country into the hill country, and came unto the fountains that were under Bethulia. And when the 
men of the city saw them on the top of the hill, they took up their weapons, and went out of the city 
against them to the top of the hill: and every man that used a sling kept them from coming up, and 
13 cast stones against them. And they gat them privily under the hill, and bound Achior, and cast him 
14 down, and left him at the foot of the hill, and went away unto their lord. — But the children of Israel 
descended from their city, and came upon him, and loosed him, and led him away into Bethulia, and 
15 presented him to the rulers of their city ; which were in those days Ozias the son of Micah, of the 
16 tribe of Simeon, and Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis the son of Melchiel. And they 
called together all the elders of the city ; and all their young men ran together, and their women, 
to the assembly ; and they set Achior in the midst of all their people. And Ozias asked him of that ῃ 
17 which had happened : and he answered and declared unto them the words of the council of Holofernes, 
and all the words that he had spoken in the midst of the princes of the children of Asshur, and all 
18 the great words that Holofernes had spoken against the house of Israel. And the people fell down 
19 and worshipped God, and cried, saying, O Lord God of heaven, behold their arrogance, and pity the 
20 low estate of our race, and look upon the face of those that are sanctified unto thee this day. And 
21 they comforted Achior, and praised him exceedingly. And Ozias took him out of the assembly into 
his house, and made a feast to the elders; and they called on the God of Israel for help all that 
night. 

7 τ “But the next day Holofernes gave command to all his army, and to all his peopie which were 

come to be his allies, that they should remove their camp toward Bethulia, and take aforehand the 

ascents of the hill country, and make war against the children of Israel. And every mighty man of 
them removed that day, and the host of their men of war was a hundred and seventy thousand 
footmen, and twelve thousand horsemen, beside the baggage, and the men that were afoot among 

3 them, an exceeding great multitude. And they encamped in the valley near unto Bethulia, by the 

fountain, and they spread themselves in breadth over Dothaim even to Belmaim, and in length from 
Bethulia unto Cyamon, which is over against Esdraelon. 

4+ But the children of Israel, when they saw the multitude of them, were troubled exceedingly, and 

said every one to his neighbour, Now shall these men lick up the face of all the earth; and neither 

the high mountains, nor the valleys, nor the hills, shall be able to bear their weight. And every man 
took up his weapons of war, and when they had kindled fires upon their towers, they remained and 
watched all that night. 

But on the second day Holofernes led out all his horse in the sight of the children of Israel which ~ 
were in Bethulia, and viewed the ascents to their city, and searched out the fountains of the waters, 


Ny 


a1 Οἱ 


ascents, i.e, the hill-country of the enemy. 
8. with them, i.e. the cities. 
9. Meaning ‘if you really believe what you have just said, you need not look dismayed as you do’. 
10. bring him back, see verse 7. 
Bethulia, Βετυλουά B, Βαιτουλουά 8. Note thatit was on a hill, and there were springs just below it (v. 11 and vii. 12). 


12. on the top of the hill, though read by the chief MSS., is due to homoioteleuton from the line below. It is 
omitted by 58 VL Syr. 


13. cast . . . and left, better ‘left him lying’. 
15. The forms of the names vary very much in the MSS. 
Micah, Χειμά A: of the tribe of Simeon, as Judith was, ix. 2. 
Charmis, Χαλμείς A. 
Melchiel, Σελλήμ &*. 
19. those that are sanctified . . . i.e. ‘thy holy nation’, Twp, which Syr seems to have taken as 77%, ‘ thy 
sanctuary.’ a ἣ 


20. VL adds, ‘saying, As it shall please God (to do) concerning us, (so) shall it be also with thee.’ 
21. feast, πότον = NNW, 


VII. 2. the host . . . properly ‘ their host of warriors ’. 
170,000. N* has 8,000, corrected to 120,000, 
baggage and, B has ‘ baggage of’. 
3. The fountain was below the city, cf. vi. 11. 
Belmaim, δὲ Abelmaim, cf. iv. 4. 
Cyamon, Syr Kadmin, VL Chelmona, is unknown. 
5. when . . . towers, omitted by δὲ " and added by the corrector. 


254 


RHE BOOK TOF JUDITH ἡ 7-28 


and seized upon them, and set garrisons of men of war over them, and himself departed to his 
eople. 
18 a aa there came unto him all the rulers of the children of Esau, and all the leaders of the people 
of Moab, and the captains of the sea coast, and said, Let our lord now hear a word, that there be not 
‘ro an overthrow in thy host. For this people of the children of Israel do not trust in their spears, but 
| in the height of the mountains wherein they dwell, for it is not easy to come up to the tops of their 
ἔτι mountains. And now, my lord, fight not against them as men fight who join battle, and there shall 
12 not so much as one man of thy people perish. Remain in thy camp,and keep safe every man of thy 
host, and let thy servants get possession of the fountain of water, which issueth forth of the foot of 
13 the mountain: because all the inhabitants of Bethulia have their water thence ; and thirst shall kill 
| them, and they shall give up their city: and we and our people will go up to the tops of the 
mountains that are near, and will encamp upon them, to watch that not one man go out of the city. 
}14 And they shall be consumed with famine, they and their wives and their children, and before the 
}15 sword come against them they shall be laid low in the streets where they dwell. And thou shalt 
render them an evil reward ; because they rebelled, and met not thy face in peace. 
[τό And their words were pleasing in the sight of Holofernes and in the sight of all his servants; and 
17 he appointed to do as they had spoken. And the army of the children of Ammon removed, and with 
them five thousand cf the children of Asshur, and they encamped in the valley, and seized upon the 
18 waters and the fountains of the waters of the children of Israel. And the children of Esau went up 
with the children of Ammon, and encamped in the hill country over against Dothaim: and they 
sent some of them toward the south, and toward the east, over against Ekrebel, which is near unto 
Chusi, that is upon the brook Mochmur; and the rest of the army of the Assyrians encamped in the 
plain, and covered all the face of the land; and their tents and baggage were pitched upon it in 
a great crowd, and they were an exceeding great multitude. 
τὸ And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord their God, for their spirit fainted ; for all their 
enemies had compassed them round about, and there was no way to escape out from among them. 
20 And all the army of Asshur remained about them, their footmen and their chariots and their horse- 
21 men, four and thirty days; and all their vessels of water failed all the inhabitants of Bethulia. And 
the cisterns were emptied, and they had not water to drink their fill for one day: for they gave them 
22 drink by measure. And their young children were out of heart, and the women and the young men 
fainted for thirst, and they fell down in the streets of the city, and in the passages of the gates, and 
23 there was no longer any strength inthem. And all the people were gathered together against Ozias, 
and against the rulers of the city, the young men and the women and the children, and they cried 
with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, 
24 God be judge between you and us: because ye have done us great wrong, in that ye have not 
25 spoken words of peace with the children of Asshur. And now we have no helper: but God hath 
sold us into their hands, that we should be laid low before them with thirst and great destruction. 
26 And now call them unto you, and deliver up the whole city for a prey to the people of Holofernes, 
27 and to all his host. For it is better for us to be made a spoil unto them: for we shall be servants, 
_ and our souls shall live, and we shall not see the death of our babes before our eyes, and our wives 
28 and our children fainting in death. We take to witness against you the heaven and the earth, and 
our God and the Lord of our fathers, which punisheth us according to our sins and the sins of our 
fathers, that he do not according as we have said this day. 


7. to his people, 1. 6. went back to the main body of his army. 
8. Esau, archaistic. 
10. wherein they dwell, ἐν ois αὐτοὶ ἐνοικοῦσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς, a Hebraism. 
11. as... battle. παράταξις is battle-array ; ‘as a war is conducted in the field.’ 
13. to watch . . ., properly ‘as an outpost, so that no one shall. . .’ 
17. Ammon, 19 108 VL Syr Moab. The same variant in vi. 1. 
waters (i.e. reservoirs) and springs. 
18. Ekrebel in A: the rest have Egrebel: probably Akraba, about ten miles south-east of Nablus or Shechem 
Ball and Torrey. 
Chusi in A: the rest and VL, Chus: mod. Quzeh, five or six miles south of Nablus (Torrey). 
Mochmur, omitted by A: mod. Makhueh, south of Nablus (Torrey). 
in a great crowd, perhaps ‘among a great throng of camp-followers ’ (Ball). 
20. four and thirty days. 19 108 have fourteen days and a month; VL Syr four days and two months; Vulg. 
twenty days. The long siege by this large army is meant to emphasize the importance of Bethulia. 
vessels, ἀγγεῖα, in which water was stored in private houses. 
28. witness, cf. Deut. iv. 26. 
Lord of our fathers is only used to vary the phrase, which is a translation of }).0)1N ὙΠΟΝῚ yams, 
that he do not . . . ought to mean ‘we urge you (to take steps) that he do not...’ ‘If the text is correct, the 
subject of ποιήσῃ must be either God or Holofernes. The former is better, since they recommend surrendering to 


255 


THE.BOOK OF JUDITH 7. 29—8. 11 


29 And there was great weeping of all with one consent in the midst of the assembly ; and they cried 
30 unto the Lord God with a loud voice. And Ozias said to them, Brethren, be of good courage, let 
us yet endure five days, in the which space the Lord our God shall turn his mercy toward us ; for 
31 he will not forsake us utterly. But if these days pass, and there come no help unto us, I will do 
32 according to your words. And he dispersed the people, every man to his own camp ; and they went | 
away unto the walls and towers of their city ; and he sent the women and children into their houses: 
and they were brought very low in the city. 
81 And in those days Judith heard thereof, the daughter of Merari, the son of Ox, the son of Joseph, 
the son of Oziel, the son of Elkiah, the son of Ananias, the son of Gideon, the son of Raphaim, the 
son of Ahitub, the son of Elihu, the son of Eliab, the son of Nathanael, the son of Salamiel, the son 
of Salasadai, the son of Israel. And her husband was Manasses, of her tribe and of her family, and 
he died in the days of barley harvest. For he stood over them that bound sheaves in the field, and 
the heat came upon his head, and he fell on his bed, and died in his city Bethulia: and they buried 
4 him with his fathers in the field which is between Dothaim and Balamon. And Judith was a widow 
5 in her house three years and four months. And she made her a tent upon the roof of her house, 
6 and put on sackcloth upon her loins; and the garments of her widowhood were upon her. And she 
fasted all the days of her widowhood,:save the eves of the sabbaths, and the sabbaths, and the eves 
7 of the new moons, and the new moons, and the feasts and joyful days of the house of Israel. And 
she was of a goodly countenance, and exceeding beautiful to behold: and her husband Manasses — 
had left her gold, and silver, and menservants, and maidservants, and cattle, and lands; and she 
8 remained upon them. And there was none that gave her an evil word; for she feared God — 
exceedingly. 
g And she heard the evil words of the people against the governor, because they fainted for lack of 
water ; and Judith heard all the words that Ozias spake unto them, how he sware to them that he 
ro would deliver the city unto the Assyrians after five days. And she sent her maid, that was over all 
11 things that she had, to call Ozias and Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her city. And they came 
unto her, and she said unto them, 
Hear me now, O ye rulers of the inhabitants of Bethulia: for your word that ye have spoken 
before the people this day is not right, and ye have set the oath which ye have pronounced between 
God and you, and have promised to deliver the city to our enemies, unless within these days the 


ων 


Holofernes and in verse 31 Ozias promises todoso. ‘That he do not...’ then means ‘that he let us not die of thirst’. 
But δὲ omits μή, and VL reads w¢ faciatzs (Vulg. ‘ut tradatis civitatem,’ &c.), which suggests a reading ἵνα ποιήσητε, 
‘that ye do as we say,’ i.e. surrender, cf. verse 31. 

32. every man. The Greek requires ἕκαστον, as in 58 VL Syr. 


camp. παρεμβολήν 15 rather ‘station’ or ‘ post’ of duty in guarding the wails, as shown by the next clause ; cf. vii. 7 
(garrisons). 


he sent, ‘they sent,’ ἀπέστειλαν, is the common reading. 


VIII. 1. heard. 58 VL Syr have ‘was living in the city ’. 


If the genealogy is fictitious, it is strangely elaborate. The names are corrupt, and we have no means of checking 
them. 


Ox, which is not a Hebrew name, may be for Uz (19 Oz) or Uzzi (VL Ozi). 
son of Ananias . . . Ahitub, omitted by B. 
Raphaim (cf. Gen. xiv. 5) cannot be right. Ball suggests Raphaiah or Raphael. 
For Ahitub (δὲ 19 108 VL Syr) A has Akitho. 
After Elihu & B add υἱοῦ Χελκ(ε)ίου. 
Eliab, δ ENAB, VL Enar. 
Salamiel, δὲ Samamiel. ἢ 
Salasadai, δὲ Sarisadai (IW ?), B Sarasadai. 
3. Cf. 2 Kings iv. 18 f. 
4. 1.6. she had been a widow three years and four months up to the date of the siege. 
6. save the eves of the sabbaths, VL ‘ praeter cenam puram’. 
The observance of eves as well as the festivals was in accordance with the later Talmudic rule. 
joyful days, χαρμοσυνῶν, We should expect a word answering to O7pw, the general term for festivals, since 
ἑορταί are DIN, the three great feasts. 58 adds καὶ μνημοσυνῶν, VL ‘et memoriae’, and so Syr. ᾿ 


7. 58 VL Syr have *. . . countenance and wise in heart and good in understanding (cf. xi. 23), and she was 
(exceedingly) rich, for her husband . . .’ ἣ 


After Manasses VL adds his genealogy, copied from verse 1. 
remained, omdy nav”, she made her home on the property. Cf. Sayce and Cowley, Avamazc Papyri C 5, 6 
ἽΠΠΟΝ DY 12 3N,.. TI NPN. 
8. gave her an evil word, i.e. slandered her. 
9. how he sware. 58 Syr ‘how he hearkened (i.e. gave way) and sware’. So VL. 


10. maid, ἅβραν, said to be a foreign word: possibly from the root 13M, and so ‘companion’: but she was a 
slave (xvi. 23). Ozias is omitted by 8 A B. ‘ 


256 


PEE DOO OF |W DIT rH v8s12—33 


2 Lord turn to help you. And now who are ye that have tempted God this day, and stand instead of 
3 God among the children of men? And now try the Lord Almighty, and ye shall never know 
4anything. For ye shall not find the depth of the heart of man, and ye shall not perceive the things 
that he thinketh: and how shall ye search out God, which Rae made all these things, and know is 
mind, and comprehend his purpose? Nay, my brethren, provoke not the Lord our God to anger. 
= For if he be not minded to help us within these five days, he hath power to defend us in such rime 
6 as he will, or to destroy us before the face of our enemies. But do not ye pledge the counsels of 
the Lord our God: for God is not as man, that he should be threatened ; neither as the son of man, 
7 that he should be turned by intreaty. Wherefore let us wait for the salvation that cometh from 
| 8 him, and call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it please him. For there arose none 
in our age, neither is there any of us to-day, tribe, or kindred, or family, or city, which worship gods 
g made with hands, as it was in the former days; for the which cause our fathers were given to the 
ὁ sword, and for a spoil, and fell with a great fall before our enemies. But we know none other god 
τ beside him, wherefore we hope that he will not despise us, nor any of our race. For if we be taken 
so, all Judzea shall sit upon the ground, and our sanctuary shall be spoiled ; and of our blood shall 
12 he require the profanation thereof. And the slaughter of our brethren, and the captivity of the land, 
and the desolation of our inheritance, shall he turn upon our heads among the Gentiles, wheresoever 
we shall be in bondage; and we shall be an offence and a reproach before them that take us for 
,3 ἃ possession. For our bondage shall not be ordered to favour: but the Lord our God shall turn it 
24to dishonour. And now, brethren, let us shew an example to our brethren, because their soul 
»5 hangeth upon us, and the sanctuary and the house and the altar rest upon us. Besides all this let 
26 us give thanks to the Lord our God, which trieth us, even as he did our fathers also. Remember 
all the things which he did to Abraham, and all the things in which he tried Isaac, and all the things 
which happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, when he kept the sheep of Laban his mother’s 
27 brother. For he hath not tried us in the fire,as he did them, to search out their hearts, neither hath 
he taken vengeance on us; but the Lord doth scourge them that come near unto him, to admonish 
them. 
28 And Ozias said to her, All that thou hast spoken hast thou spoken with a good heart, and there 
29 is none that shall gainsay thy words. For this is not the first day wherein thy wisdom is manifested ; 
but from the beginning of thy days all the people have known thine understanding, because the 
30 disposition of thy heart is good. But the people were exceeding thirsty, and compelled us to do as 
31 we spake to them, and to bring an oath upon ourselves, which we will not break. And now pray 
thou for us, because thou art a godly woman, and the Lord shall send us rain to fill our cisterns, and 
32 we shall faint no more. And Judith said unto them, Hear me, and I will do a thing, which shall go 
33 down to all generations among the children of our race. Ye shall stand at the gate this night, and 
I will go forth with my maid: and, within the days after which ye said that ye would deliver the 


12. instead of God. ὑπὲρ rod θεοῦ. Ball renders ‘above God’, but the meaning is probably as in R.V. VL has 
pro Deo, ‘as God’, and similarly Syr. 

13. 58 VL Syr have καὶ νοῦν κυρίου... καὶ οὐθεὶς γνώσεται. Probably ἐξετάζετε is indicative ‘ye are trying’ (or 
tempting). Cf. Job xi. 7, and 1 Cor. ii. 11, 16, which is not a quotation. 

14. 58 VL Syr have ‘the depth . . . shall not be found’, and διαλογισμούς for λόγους. 

15. For . . . days, omitted by 58. 

Syr has ‘and to destroy our enemies before us’. 
16. Cf. Num. xxiii. 19 (LXX), where διαρτηθῆναι (to be undecided) is used, as here by 19 23 44 55 al. R.V. ‘turned 


τ by intreaty’ is διαιτηθῆναι, the common reading. 
| 17. voice. 19 23 44 55 al. δεήσεως, “ petition’, as in ix. 12. 
18. age. ἐν ταῖς γενεαῖς ἡμῶν = 1) 7) 2, i.e. within living memory, which might be true of the time after the exile. 
{ 18-20. This is the chief lesson of the book. 
: 20. we know. .. ἡμεῖς. .. οὐκ ἐπεγνῶμεν, ‘we (emphatic) have never recognized any...’ 58 VL insert (οὐδ᾽) 
ἀποστήσει τὸ σωτήριον ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, ‘nec auferet salvationem e¢ misericordiam suam a nobiseta.. .’ 
21. all Judea shail sit . . . καθήσεται. 19 23 44 64 al. κλιθήσεται, others κληθήσεται. 58 VL Syr ληφθήσεται. 


Fritzsche conjectures καυθήσεται and Thilo παυθήσεται. But probably ‘sit’ is right, and some word for ‘solitary’ has 
dropped out. Cf. 772 ΠῚ)", Lam. i. 1. 

of our blood is the reading of the MSS., but the expression is unusual, and seems to be due to a mistranslation. 
Fritzsche reads στύματος (without MS. authority) which is no better. The meaning is ‘he will punish us for its 
profanation ’. 
22. turn upon our heads, i.e. punish us for it, cf. Judges ix. 57 (Ball). 
23. to favour, as in the case of Jehoiachin, 2 Kings xxv. 27 ff. (Ball). 
24. Test upon us. Note the importance of Bethulia. It was the key of the whole situation. 
27. scourge, cf. Heb. xii. 6. This verse is quoted by Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 11. 447. 
31. 58 VL Syr have ‘for us and God shall speedily hear us, because’. 

godly, εὐσεβής ; 58 Syr θεοσεβής (as in xi. 17), VL sacra. 

32. 58 VL Syr ‘a thing of wisdom’. 
33. 58 VL Syr add ‘as I trust’ at the end. 


1165 25 


“MI 


THE-BOOK OF JUDITH 8. 34-920 


34 city to our enemies, the Lord shall visit Israel by my hand. But ye shall not inquire of mine act: 
35 for I will not declare it unto you, till the things be finished that I do. And Ozias and the rulers — 

said unto her, Go in peace, and the Lord God be before thee, to take vengeance on our enemies. 
36 And they returned from the tent, and went to their stations. 

9: But Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes upon her head, and uncovered the sackcloth where- 
with she was clothed; and the incense of that evening was now being offered at Jerusalem in the 
house of God, and Judith cried unto the Lord with a loud voice, and said, 

2  O Lord God of my father Simeon, into whose hand thou gavest a sword to take vengeance of the 
strangers, who loosened the girdle of a virgin to defile her, and uncovered the thigh to her shame, 
3 and profaned the womb to her reproach; for thou saidst, It shall not be so; and they did so: 
wherefore thou gavest their rulers to be slain, and their bed, which was ashamed for her that was 
deceived, to be dyed in blood, and smotest the servants with their lords, and the lords upon their 
4 thrones; and gavest their wives for a prey, and their daughters to be captives, and all their spoils | 
to be divided among thy dear children ; which were moved with zeal for thee, and abhorred the 
pollution of their blood, and called upon thee for aid: O God, O my God, hear me also thatama 
5 widow. For thou wroughtest the things that were before those things, and those things, and such 
as ensued after; and thou didst devise the things which are now, and the things which are to come: 
6 and the things which thou didst devise came to pass; yea, the things which thou didst determine 
stood before thee, and said, Lo, we are here: for all thy ways are prepared, and thy judgement is 
7 with foreknowledge. For, behold, the Assyrians are multiplied in their power; they are exalted 
with horse and rider; they have gloried in the strength of their footmen; they have trusted in 
shield and spear and bow and sling ; and they know not that thou art the Lord that breaketh the | 
8 battles: the Lord is thy name. Dash thou down their strength in thy power, and bring down their 
force in thy wrath: for they have purposed to profane thy sanctuary, and to defile the tabernacle 
g Where thy glorious name resteth, and to cast down with the sword the horn of thine altar. Look 
upon their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads: give into my hand, which am a widow, the 
1o might that I have conceived. Smite by the deceit of my lips the servant with the prince, and the 
11 prince with his servant: break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman. For thy power 
standeth not in multitude, nor thy might in strong men: but thou art a God of the afflicted, thou 


36. 58 VL ‘returned and went down from the tent’, which was on the roof of her house (viii. 5). 


IX. I. uncovered, i.e. rent the mantle which she wore over it, so 55 VL Syr, or took off her mantle. 
2. Referring to Gen. xxxiv. 25. 
girdle, μίτραν, is Grotius’s emendation for μήτραν (as all MSS.). But ‘to loose the girdle’ is not a Hebrew expression 
in this sense, and μέτρα is used elsewhere in this book for head-dress, not girdle. λύειν μήτραν, if it is for ON MMA, 
is quite unsuitable here. The verse is evidently corrupt, as the second μήτραν shows (which 248 has changed to 


παρθενίαν). We should expect in Hebrew ADIN MAY AP, Can Nyy have been misread NY and translated pirpa? 
The result would be sufficiently unintelligible to lead to corrections in the Greek. 
It shall not be so, as LXX in Gen. xxxiv. 7. 

3. bed ... blood. The text is difficult, and must be corrupt. B has ἣ ἠδέσατο τὴν ἀπάτην αὐτῶν ἀπατηθεῖσαν, 
apparently meaning ‘ which was ashamed of their deceit (wherewith they had deceived)’. A and δὲ omit ἀπάτην, and 
so R.V. Fritzsche omits ἀπατηθεῖσαν. 58 has ἐδέξατο τὴν ἀγαπηθεῖσαν (and similarly VL Syr) which must bea | 
conjectural emendation. For ἠδέσατο Fritzsche conjectures ἡδύνατο, Ball ἡδήσατο, 248 has ἠρδεύσατο, others ἠδεύσατο, ὦ 
ἃς. None of these is an improvement on the ordinary reading, and some are impossible. The parallelism requires 
the whole relative clause to be omitted. Read ‘thou gavest their rulers to slaughter and their bed to blood’. 


with. ἐπί = by, and so the second ἐπί perhaps = ‘ with their thrones’, cf. verse 10. 

5. those things, and. ἐκεῖνα καί is very clumsy. δὲ omits καί. A omits rd. Syr has ‘the middle things’. We 
should expect the Hebrew to be NYIINNY NDP MWY, for which there may have been a variant ‘MNT abs ‘ony 
giving rise to the existing Greek. The present things are mentioned in the next sentence. 

devise (1) is διενοήθης, ‘intend’. 
devise (2) is ἐνενοήθης, NWN, ‘thou hadst in mind’. Cf. Sir. xxix. 30 and Midrash Ber. 20, § 3, where creation is 
said to originate T2wnND3. 

6. judgement. A has ‘judgements’. 58 VL Syr ai κτίσεις. 

7. breaketh . . . name, from Exod. xv. 3 LXX. 

8. in thy power, rather ‘ by’, ἐν = 2 as frequently. 

58 VL Syr have ‘dash down their strength, oh Eternal (aioe), break their multitude by thy power, smite 


(πάταξον for κάταξον) their force . . .᾿ δὲ has σύνραξον, which may be the original reading for σὺ ῥάξον. 
tabernacle ... Cf. Deut. xii. 11 and frequently. 


9. the might . . . i.e. strength to do what I have conceived. 
lo. deceit. Vulg. read ἀγάπης for ἀπάτης, as in ix. 3. ‘Lips of deceit’ is a Hebraism PY “NEY, cf. Ps. cxx. 2. 
With this clause cf. ix. 3. | 
stateliness, ἀνάστεμα, a form also found in xii. 8 in some MSS. A has dviotnpa, 
by the hand ofa woman. She was thinking of Jael, cf. Judges ix. 54. 
11. might. 58 VL Syr have δόσις ‘ gift’, δὲ δεξιά, 


258 


cE BOOK OF JUDITH 95 a1—10: τ 
art a helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them 
2that are without hope. Yea, yea, God of my father, and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of 
the heavens and of the earth, Creator of the waters, King of every creature, hear thou my prayer: 
-3and make my speech and deceit to be their wound and stripe, who have purposed hard things against 
thy covenant, and thy hallowed house, and the top of Sion, and the house of the possession of thy 
«4 children. And make every nation and tribe of thine to know that thou art God, the God of all 
power and might, and that there is none other that protecteth the race of Israel but thou. 
x1 And it came to pass, when she had ceased to cry unto the God of Israel, and had made an end of 
2 all these words, that she rose up where she had fallen down, and called her maid, and went down 
3 into the house, in the which she was wont to abide on the sabbath days and on her feast days, and 
pulled off the sackcloth which she had put on, and put off the garments of her widowhood, and 
washed her body all over with water, and anointed herself with rich ointment, and braided the hair 
of her head, and put a tire upon it, and put on her garments of gladness, wherewith she was wont 
4 to be clad in the days of the life of Manasses her husband. And she took sandals for her feet, and 
put her chains about her, and her bracelets, and her rings, and her earrings, and all her ornaments, 
5 and decked herself bravely, to beguile the eyes of all men that should see her. And she gave her 
maid a leathern bottle of wine, and a cruse of oil, and filled a bag with parched corn and lumps of 
figs and fine bread; and she packed all her vessels together, and laid them upon her. 
6 And they went forth to the gate of the city of Bethulia, and found standing thereby Ozias, and 
7 the elders of the city, Chabris and Charmis. But when they saw her, that her countenance was 
altered, and her apparel was changed, they wondered at her beauty very exceedingly, and said unto 
' Sher, The God of our fathers give thee favour, and accomplish thy purposes to the glory of the 
g children of Israel, and to the exaltation of Jerusalem. And she worshipped God, and said unto 
them, Command that they open unto me the gate of the city, and I will go forth to accomplish the 
το things whereof ye spake with me. And they commanded the young men to open unto her, as she 
had spoken: and they did so. 

And Judith went out, she, and her handmaid with her; and the men of the city looked after her, 
until she was gone down the mountain, until she had passed the valley, and they could see her no 
-1/12more. And they went straight onward in the valley: and the watch of the Assyrians met her; and 

they took her,and asked her, Of what people art thou? and whence comest thou? and whither goest 

thou? And she said, 1 am a daughter of the Hebrews, and I flee away from their presence ; because 
13 they are about to be given you to be consumed: and I am coming into the presence of Holofernes 
the chief captain of your host, to declare words of truth ; and I will shew before him a way..whereby 
he shall go, and win all the hill country, and there shall not be lacking of his men one person, nor 


oppressed, ἐλαττόνων, is right (not as R.V. margin) = those who are inferior to others, i.e. overcome by them. 
58 VL Syr have ‘saviour of the forlorn’, omitting σκεπαστὴς ἀπηλπισμένων. 


12. of every creature, πάσης κτίσεώς cov = TNX $3 «all (thy) creation’, a common expression in late Hebrew. 
13. against thy covenant. Ball cft. Dan. xi. 28, and suggests that this is an indication of Maccabean times, but 
the indication is too slight to be pressed. 
top, i.e. mount, unusual with Sion. 
14. every nation... of thine, δὲ B ἐπὶ πᾶν τὸ ἔθνος σου, A ἐπὶ παντὸς ἔθνους cov. 58 ‘every nation of every tribe to 
know thee’. VL also omits σου. The meaning is (as Syr) ‘ make thy whole nation (Israel) and every (foreign) tribe 
to know ’, not as R.V. 


X. Ball rightly points out that x. 1-x1. 5 is modelled on the Greek Esther v. I-15. 
2. maid, ἅβραν, as in viii. 10 and in the parallel passage in Esther. 

house. She lived usually in a tent on the roof, but went down into the house for festivals. 

3. braided, διέταξε, properly ‘arranged’. Syr ‘anointed’. VL (cod. Corb.) and Vulg. discrzminavit, ‘she parted 
it? δὲ διέξανε. 19 108 διεξήνατο = VL Pectinavit, ‘she combed it out.’ 

tire is μίτρα, cf. above on ix. 2. 

4. sandals would not have been worn during her mourning. 

chains, χλίδωνας, following sandals, are probably ‘anklets’, as VL. 

decked herself. Vulg. adds that her beauty was miraculously increased because of her virtuous object. 

to beguile, cis ἀπάτησιν. AB ἀπάντησιν, to meet. 

5. lumps of figs, παλάθης. δὲ om. Syr has plural. 

After bread 19 108 add ‘cheese’, and so 58 VL Syr. 

It is in accordance with Judith’s pious observance of the Law that she should make these careful preparations to 
ensure having clean (osher) food while away from home. The vessels were for such cooking as might be necessary. 
Gentile vessels would be or might be unclean. 

8. give thee favour, δῴη σε «is χάριν. A Hebrew expression = make thee to be favoured. 58 VL Syr have δῴη 
σοι χαριν. 

ts tpechulia was on a mountain and was approached by a valley. The outposts (προφυλακή) of the enemy were at 
the other end of the valley. 

12. Hebrews. Correctly used to distinguish them from foreigners, to whom she was speaking. 

13. lacking, διαφωνήσει, a late Greek use of the word. In 1 Sam. xxx. 19 it renders 1792. The end of the verse 
would be strange, even in Hebrew. It means ‘no one shall be taken prisoner or killed’. 


259 52 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH 10. 14—I11. τὸ 


14 one life. Now when the men heard her words, and considered her countenance, the beauty thereof q 
r= was exceeding marvellous in their eyes, and they said unto her, Thou hast saved thy life, in that 
thou hast hasted to come down to the presence of our lord: and now come to his tent, and some of 
16 us shall conduct thee, until they shall deliver thee into his hands. But when thou standest before 
him, be not afraid in thine heart, but declare unto him according to thy words ; and he shall entreat 
17 thee well. And they chose out of them a hundred men, and appointed them to accompany her and 
her maid ; and they brought them to the tent of Holofernes. 
1 And there was a concourse throughout all the camp, for her coming was noised among the tents; 
and they came and compassed her about, as she stood without the tent of Holofernes, until they told 
19 him of her. And they marvelled at her beauty, and marvelled at the children of Israel because of 
her, and each one said to his neighbour, Who shall despise this people, that have among them such 
women? for it is not good that one man of them be left, seeing that, if they are let go, they shall be 
20 able to deceive the whole earth. And they that lay near Holofernes, and all his servants, went forth 
21 and brought her into the tent. And Holofernes was resting upon his bed under the canopy, which 
22 was woven with purple and gold and emeralds and precious stones. And they told him of her; and 
23 he came forth into the space before his tent, with silver lamps going before him. But when Judith 
was come before him and his servants, they all marvelled at the beauty of her countenance; and 
she fell down upon her face, and did reverence unto him: and his servants raised her up. 
11 τ And Holofernes said unto her, Woman, be of good comfort, fear not in thy heart: for I never 
hurt any that hath chosen to serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of all the earth. And now, if thy 
people that dwelleth in the hill country had not set light by me, I would not have lifted up my spear 
against them: but they have done these things to themselves. And now tell me wherefore thou 
didst flee from them, and camest unto us: for thou art come to save thyself; be of good comfort, 
4 thou shalt live this night, and hereafter: for there is none that shall wrong thee, but all shall entreat 
5 thee well, as is done unto the servants of king Nebuchadnezzar my lord. And Judith said unto him, 
Receive the words of thy servant, and let thy handmaid speak in thy presence, and I will declare 
no lie unto my lord this night. And if thou shalt follow the words of thy handmaid, God shall bring 
7 the thing to pass perfectly with thee ; and my lord shall not fail of his purposes. As Nebuchadnezzar 
king of all the earth liveth, and as his power liveth, who hath sent thee for the preservation of every 
living thing, not only do men serve him by thee, but also the beasts of the field and the cattle and 
the birds of the heaven shall live through thy strength, in the time of Nebuchadnezzar and of all his 
8 house. For we have heard of thy wisdom and the subtil devices of thy soul, and it hath been 
reported in all the earth, that thou only art brave in all the kingdom, and mighty in knowledge, and 
wonderful in feats of war. And now as concerning the matter, which Achior did speak in thy 
council, we have heard his words: for the men of Bethulia saved him, and he declared unto them | 
) 


to 


w 


N 


Ss 


το all that he had spoken before thee. Wherefore, O lord and master, neglect not his word; but lay 
it up in thy heart, for it is true: for our race shall not be punished, neither shall the sword prevail 


14. The two halves of the verse are connected by καί, Perhaps the Hebrew original should be translated ‘and noted 


her countenance, that (ov for) it was very wonderful in beauty to look at (amy), then they said...’ 

16. when, properly ‘if’, i.e. if you are fortunate enough to be admitted. 

17. appointed them to accompany, παρέζευξαν, lit. ‘they yoked (them) alongside’. 
Pers: ῬΈΠΕΙ ‘until they had told him’, i.e. she stood outside while some one went in and told him. The whole account 
IS very Vivid. 

19. because of her, ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς, properly ‘(judging) from her’. 58 VL Syr ‘they wondered at her beauty and 
received her words because they were very good, and marvelled . . .’ 

deceive, κατασοφίσασθαι, i.e. beguile with the beauty of their women. 

20. that lay near. 58 παρεδρεύοντες, ‘that were in attendance,’ and so VL Syr. 

21. under (prop. ‘in’) the canopy, which probably means the mosquito net. 

22. 58 VL Syr ‘very many silver lamps going before him, and they brought her in to him’. 

23. was come. 58 VL Syr ‘stood’ more probably represents the Hebrew. 


XI. 4. The construction is awkward. Lit. ‘there is none who shall harm thee but shall entreat. . .’ i.e. we (or all) 
will entreat. 19 44 al. VL Syr ποιήσω. 

6. Ball suggests that the phrase ‘God shall bring the thing to pass’ is intentionally ambiguous, but the concluding 
words are against this. On the morality of Judith’s device see Introduction. 

7. Not very clear. At the end B has ζήσονται Naf. καὶ πάντα τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, which will not translate. The other 
MSS. have ἐπὶ N. καὶ πάντα ..., of which the meaning is not evident. R.V. follows Fritzsche’s emendation παντός, &c., 
which may be the sense but has no MS. authority. VL has ‘per virtutem tuam sciet N. et omnis domus eius’. Syr 
“shall know (acknowledge) N. through thy strength’. Cf. Jer. xxvii. 6. 


8. brave, ἀγαθός, rather ‘a good general’. He was ἀρχιστράτηγος, ii. 4. 
feats, στρατεύμασι, perhaps ‘campaigns’. 
9 aS... matter, λόγος is a nominativus pendens. 58 VL Syr ‘and now, my lord, the word which A. spake’ 
(ὃν ἐλάλησε λόγον A.). At the end 19 108 add ‘and all thy words’. 58 omits ‘before thee’, and ‘lord and master’ in 
verse 10. 


260 


GEE SBOOK- OF JUDITH Li ti—I12. 5 


-ragainst them, except they sin against their God. And now, that my lord be not defeated and 
frustrate of his purpose, and that death may fall upon them, their sin hath overtaken them, where- 
τ with they shall provoke their God to anger, whensoever they shall do wickedness. Since their 
victuals failed them, and all their water was scant, they took counsel to lay hands upon their cattle, 
and determined to consume all those things, which God charged them by his laws that they should 
13 not eat: and they are resolved to spend the firstfruits of the corn, and the tenths of the wine and 
the oil, which they had sanctified, and reserved for the priests that stand before the face of our God 


15 thing, to bring them a licence from the senate. And it shall be, when one shall bring them word, 
τό and they shall do it, they shall be given thee to be destroyed the same day. Wherefore I thy 
servant, knowing all this, fled away from their presence ; and God sent me to work things with thee, 
17 Whereat all the earth shall be astonished, even as many as shall hear it. For thy servant is religious, 
and serveth the God of heaven day and night: and now, my lord, I will abide with thee, and thy 
servant will go forth by night into the valley, and I will pray unto God, and he shall tell me when 
18 they have committed their sins: and I will come and shew it also unto thee; and thou shalt go forth 
19 with all thy host, and there shall be none of them that shall resist thee. And I will lead thee 
through the midst of Judzea, until thou comest over against Jerusalem ; and I will set thy seat in 
the midst thereof; and thou shalt drive them as sheep that have no shepherd, and a dog shall not 
so much as open his mouth before thee: for these things were told me according to my fore- 
knowledge, and were declared unto me, and I was sent to tell thee. 
j20 And her words were pleasing in the sight of Holofernes and of all his servants; and they 
[21 marvelled at her wisdom, and said, There is not such a woman from one end of the earth to the 
22 other, for beauty of face, and wisdom of words. And Holofernes said unto her, God did well to 
send thee before the people, that might should be in our hands, and destruction among them that 
25 lightly regarded my lord. And now thou art beautiful in thy countenance, and witty in thy words: 
for if thou shalt do as thou hast spoken, thy God shall be my God, and thou shalt dwell in the house 
| of king Nebuchadnezzar, and shalt be renowned through the whole earth. 
Ji z And he commanded to bring her in where his silver vessels were set, and bade that they should 
2 prepare for her of his own meats, and that she should drink of his own wine. And Judith said, I 
will not eat thereof, lest there be an occasion of stumbling: but provision shall be made for me of 
_ 3 the things that are come with me. And Holofernes said unto her, But if the things that be with 
_ thee should fail, whence shall we be able to give thee the like? for there is none of thy race with us. 
4 And Judith said unto him, As thy soul liveth, my lord, thy servant shall not spend those things that 
5 be with me, until the Lord work by my hand the things that he hath determined. And the servants 


11. Translate ...‘ purpose, death shall fall upon them, and (= for) their sin, wherewith they will provoke their God, 
has (already) got a hold on them, whensoever they may (actually) commit folly’ (58 VL Syr ‘commit it’). There are 
many small variants, but this (Swete’s text) seems to give a suitable sense. They were already in the power of their 
sin by intending to commit it (see verse 12), although she does not know when the actual commission will occur. 

13. which... it is not fitting for any of the people (but only for the priests) .. . to touch (much less to eat). The 
author feels so strongly on the point that he makes his heroine select this as her proof of wickedness even when speak- 
ing to an unbeliever. 

14. have done, ἐποίησαν, i.e. did it on some former occasion. 

to bring is Fritzsche’s μετακομίσοντας. The ordinary reading μετοικίσαντας gives no sense. 
Note their dependence on the Sanhedrin. 

Ite religious, θεοσεβής, rather ‘ god-fearing ’ (cf. Gen. xlii. 18), as the reason for her receiving a divine communication. 

18. ee there is none of them that shall . 

19. adog... Cf. Exod. xi. 7. Here literally * growl with his tongue’. according to my foreknowledge, κατὰ 
πρόγνωσίν (ian om. 19 108), probably means ‘by way of revelation’ (Ball). 

20. 58 VL Syr ‘at her beauty and wisdom’. 

21. for beauty of face. ἐν (καλῷ προσώπῳ) is again the Heb. “3. 

22. that might should be . . ., τοῦ γενηθῆναι . . ., rather ‘send thee to be made a strength to us and a destruction 


to them’ (’2) 5nd wea nin). 

23. beautiful, ἀστεία, ‘ pretty.’ é 

witty, i.e. wise, ἀγαθή, ‘acceptable.’ The text may be right considering what follows, but it is tempting to 

suggest that after ‘beautiful of countenance’ (ANT ND’) the ‘Hebrew had INN Nl) ‘and goodly in form’ (cf. 
Esther ii. 7) which was misread ΠΝ 31D) ‘and thou speakest well’. 19 108 have ‘if thy God do as thou sayest’, 
which would then be original and have been altered to agree with ἀγαθὴ ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου. It is her beauty which 
should entitle her (as Esther) to dwell in the house of the king, not her intellectual qualities or her services to Assyria. 

XII. 1. prepare, καταστρῶσαι, should no doubt mean ‘spread a couch’, &c., but here it must be ‘set on the table 
Then πίνειν is simply epexegetical (minw) ‘set before her of his own viands and of his wine to drink’. 

2. As before, stress is laid on the duty of using only clean food. 

4. B omits ‘the Lord’ wrongly. 

261 


in Jerusalem ; the which things it is not fitting for any of the people so much as to touch with their ἢ 
t4 hands. And they have sent some to Jerusalem, because they also that dwell there have done this ἡ 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH 12. 5—18. 4 


of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept till midnight, and she rose up toward the © 
6 morning watch, and sent to Holofernes, saying, Let my lord now command that they suffer thy 
7 servant to go forth unto prayer. And Holofernes commanded his guards that they should not stay — 
her: and she abode in the camp three days, and went out every night into the valley of Bethulia, — 
8 and washed herself at the fountain of water in the camp. And when she came up, she besought 
9 the Lord God of Israel to direct her way to the raising up of the children of his people. And she ~ 
~ came in clean, and remained in the tent, until she took her meat toward evening. 
ro And it came to pass on the fourth day, Holofernes made a feast to his own servants only, and 
τι called none of the officers to the banquet. And he said to Bagoas the eunuch, who had charge over 
all that he had, Go now, and persuade this Hebrew woman which is with thee, that she come unto 
12 us, and eat and drink with us. For, lo, it is a shame for our person, if we shall let such a woman 
13 go, not having had her company ; for if we draw her not unto us, she shall laugh us to scorn. And 
Bagoas went from the presence of Holofernes, and came in to her, and said, Let not this fair damsel 
fear to come to my lord, and to be honoured in his presence, and to drink wine and be merry with 
us, and to be made this day as one of the daughters of the children of Asshur, which wait in the δ΄ 
14 house of Nebuchadnezzar. And Judith said unto him, And who am I, that I should gainsay my 
lord? for whatsoever shall be pleasing in his eyes I will do speedily, and this shall be my joy unto 
15 the day of my death. And she arose, and decked herself with her apparel and all her woman’s 
attire; and her servant went and laid fleeces on the ground for her over against Holofernes, which 
16 she had received of Bagoas for her daily use, that she might sit and eat upon them. And Judith 
came in and sat down, and Holofernes’ heart was ravished with her, and his soul was moved, and 
he desired exceedingly her company: and he was watching for a time to deceive her, from the day 
17, 18 that he had seen her. And Holofernes said unto her, Drink now, and be merry with us. And 
Judith said, I will drink now, my lord, because my life is magnified in me this day more than all the 
19 days since I was born. And she took and ate and drank before him what her servant had prepared. 
20 And Holofernes took great delight in her, and drank exceeding much wine, more than he had drunk 
at any time in one day since he was born. ; 
13: But when the evening was come, his servants made haste to depart, and Bagoas shut the tent δ 
without, and dismissed them that waited from the presence of his lord ; and they went away to their 
2 beds: for they were all weary, because the feast had been long. But Judith was left alone in the 
3 tent, and Holofernes lying along upon his bed: for he was overflown with wine. And Judith had 
said to her servant that she should stand without her bedchamber, and wait for her coming forth, as 
she did daily: for she said she would go forth to her prayer; and she spake to Bagoas according to 
4 the same words. And all went away from her presence, and none was left in the bedchamber, neither 
small nor great. And Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart, O Lord God of all power, look 


7. Properly ‘she used to go out (of her tent, cf. verse 9) by night . . . and bathe in the camp at the spring’. This 
is awkward, but Movers’ suggestion (quoted by Ball) that the Hebrew was 772719, which was misread 77122, is impos- 
sible. 58 VL Syr omit ‘in the camp’. It may be due to dittography from the line above. If it stands, it must mean 
that she was not allowed outside the limits of the camp, but went out of her tent and did her (merely ceremonial) 


washing (Π5530) at the spring, which was within the camp (cf. vii. 3). 


8. came up, i.e. from the water, πον, as e.g. in Mishna Yoma vii. 3. 
direct, κατευθῦναι, to make it straight by removing the difficulties, cf. J77 WN, Ps. v. 9. 
10. feast, πότον = NNW. 
called .. . banquet, εἰς τὴν χρῆσιν (ad. κλῆσιν) οὐδένα τῶν πρὸς ταῖς χρείαις is difficult. χρῆσιν may be ‘the enjoy- 
ment of it’. κλῆσιν (which is well supported), ‘invited to the invitation,’ is no better. τῶν πρὸς ταῖς χρείαις are the 
officers on duty. He only invited his personal friends. 
11. Bagoas, a Persian name, "3, Ezra ii. 2, spelt ‘73 in the Elephantine papyri of 407 B.C. It is derived from 
O. Pers. Baga = god, as if Theodorus, &c. He was in charge of Judith. 
15. Sit, κατακλινομένην, prop. ‘recline’ (and so ἀνέπεσεν in ver. 16), according to the later practice. The earlier 
custom was to sit, cf. 1 Sam. xx. 24 with Amos vi. 4 (Ball). 
16. was watching, ἐτήρει, a proper use of the imperfect: ‘he had been waiting for an opportunity to seduce her.’ 
19. Again it is carefully noted that she ate only clean food. 
20. delight, ηὐφράνθη ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς, ‘was merry because of her.’ 


_ XIII. τ. dismissed, ἀπέκλεισεν, prop. ‘shut out’ those who had been in attendance on his lord, 13}78 yd pny, 
lit. ἐν προσώπῳ τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, which has been corrupted in the Greek to ἐκ προσώπου. 
2. lying along, προπεπτωκώς, fallen forward. 
overfiown, lit. the wine was poured all over him. 
3. had said, i.e. before starting out. Spake, i.e. had spoken. 
4. And (= ‘so’) all went: resuming what was said in verse I. 
from her presence. The common reading is ἐκ προσώπου, as if = ἐκποδών, ‘out of the way.’ A adds αὐτῆς, others 
αὐτοῦ, ἅς. The Hebrew would naturally be iad referring back to verse 1. 
bed. 58 ME Syr κεφαλήν. 


“62 


a 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH 138. s—14. 2 


5 in this hour upon the works of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. For now is the time to 
| help thine inheritance, and to do the thing that I have purposed to the destruction of the enemies 
[6 which are risen up against us. And she came to the rail of the bed, which was at Holofernes’ head, 
}7 and took down his scimitar from thence; and she drew near unto the bed, and took hold of the hair 
}8 of his head, and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day. And she smote twice upon 
Το his neck with all her might, and took away his head from him, and tumbled his body down from the 
| bed, and took down the canopy from the pillars; and after a little while she went forth, and gave 
το Holofernes’ head to her maid; and she put it in her bag of victuals: and they twain went forth 
together unto prayer, according to their custom: and they passed through the camp, and compassed 
that valley, and went up to the mountain of Bethulia, and came to the gates thereof. 
τ And Judith said afar off to the watchmen at the gates, Open, open now the gate: God is with us, 
| even our God, to shew his power yet in Israel, and his might against the enemy, as he hath done 
|r2 even this day. And it came to pass, when the men of her city heard her voice, they made haste to 
13 go down to the gate of their city, and they called together the elders of the city. And they ran all 
| together, both small and great, for it was strange unto them that she was come: and they opened 
Ἰτ4 the gate, and received them, making a fire to give light, and compassed them round about. And 
she said to them with a loud voice, Praise God, praise him: praise God, who hath not taken away 
_}15 his mercy from the house of Israel, but hath destroyed our enemies by my hand this night. And 
she took forth the head out of the bag, and shewed it, and said unto them, Behold, the head of 
Holofernes, the chief captain of the host of Asshur, and behold, the canopy, wherein he did lie in his 
16 drunkenness; and the Lord smote him by the hand of a woman. And as the Lord liveth, who 
"preserved me in my way that I went, my countenance deceived him to his destruction, and he did 
17 not commit sin with me, to defile and shame me. And all the people were exceedingly amazed, 
and bowed themselves, and worshipped God, and said with one accord, Blessed art thou, O our God, 
18 which hast this day brought to nought the enemies of thy people. And Ozias said unto her, Blessed 
art thou, daughter, in the sight of the Most High God, above all the women upon the earth ; and 
blessed is the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who directed thee to the smiting 
τῷ of the head of the prince of our enemies. For thy hope shall not depart from the heart of men that 
| 20 remember the strength of God for ever. And God turn these things to thee for a perpetual praise, 
to visit thee with good things, because thou didst not spare thy life by reason of the affliction of our 
race, but didst avenge our fall, walking a straight way before our God. And all the people said, So 
be it, so be it. 
kx And Judith said unto them, Hear me now, my brethren, and take this head, and hang it upon the 
2 battlement of your wall. And it shall be, so soon as the morning shall appear, and the sun shall 
come forth upon the earth, ye shall take up every one his weapons of war, and go forth every valiant 
man of you out of the city, and ye shall set a captain over them, as though ye would go down to the 


5. now is the time, sc. which thou didst appoint. 
destruction, θραῦμα (B), τραῦμα (58), θραῦσμα (A), Opatow (19, 44). The last would best express the Hebrew 
yop Tar, 
6. rail, κανών, a bar at the head of the bed. 
scimitar, ἀκινάκης, a Persian sword. 
9. took down (or off) the canopy, cf. x. 21. She took it away as a trophy, verse 15. ν 
10. unto prayer, omitted by Β. ‘As if to prayer,’ 58 VL Syr. It would be past midnight, ‘toward the morning 
watch’ (xii. 5). This time they went out of the camp. Compassed, ἐκύκλωσαν, perhaps means ‘took a circuitous route 
along the side of the valley, so as not to be seen. Went up . . ., rather ‘ went up the mountain to B.’ (which was on 
the top). For τὸ ὄρος &* has πρός. 
11. now, δή (one of the few particles used in the book) = NJ. 
12. her city. δὲ 44 106 58 VL Syr omit αὐτῆς, rightly. 
13. Strange, παράδοξον, i.e. unexpected. 
14. destroyed, ἔθραυσε, ‘broke,’ the same stem as in verse 5. 
16. deceived, ἠπάτησεν, ‘ beguiled.’ 
Wiablessed,.: « ads oss ANS W3, the usual formula in later Hebrew. 
18. A reminiscence of Gen. xiv. 19, 20, LXX. : 
directed thee to the smiting of the head... is a strange expression. 58 alters it to ‘ directed thee to the 
head’. The Hebrew must have been 12.2.8 WS" mab, ‘directed or inspired thee to smite the head (i.e. chief) of 
our enemies.’ The incident of the head has caused ΟΝ to be translated twice. ; 
19. thy hope. 58 VL Syr have ‘the praise of thee’. Hope, &c., may mean ‘thy trust in God shall always be 
remembered when men recall (07. talk of) the mighty works of God’. 
20. avenge, ἐπεξῆλθες, ‘you went to meet (and avert) our fall.’ 


XIV. 1. The account of Achior (vv. 5-10) precedes this in the Vulgate, certainly a better arrangement. 
2. a captain over them, apparently over those who go out, but the change of person is strange. 


263 


DHE BOOK OF JUDITH Woe 


3 plain toward the watch of the children of Asshur ; and ye shall not go down. And these shall take 
up their panoplies, and shall go into their camp, and rouse up the captains of the host of Asshur,and 
they shall run together to the tent of Holofernes, and they shall not find him: and fear shall fall upon — 

4 them, and they shall flee before your face. And ye, and all that inhabit every coast of Israel, shall 

5 pursue them, and overthrow them as they go. But before ye do these things, call me Achior the 
Ammonite, that he may see and know him that despised the house of Israel, and that sent him to us, 
as it were to death. 

6 And they called Achior out of the house of Ozias; but when he came, and saw the head of 
Holofernes in a man’s hand in the assembly of the people, he fell upon his face, and his spirit failed. 

7 But when they had recovered him, he fell at Judith’s feet, and did reverence unto her, and said, 
Blessed art thou in every tent of Judah, and in every nation, which hearing thy name shall be 

8 troubled. And now tell me all the things that thou hast done in these days. And Judith declared — 
unto him in the midst of the people all the things that she had done, from the day that she went forth 

9 until the time that she spake unto them. But when she left off speaking, the people shouted with 

10a loud voice, and made a joyful noise in their city. But when Achior saw all the things that the 
God of Israel had done, he believed in God exceedingly, and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, 
and was joined unto the house of Israel, unto this day. 

1r But as soon as the morning arose, they hanged the head of Holofernes upon the wall, and every 
12man took up his weapons, and they went forth by bands unto the ascents of the mountain. But 
when the children of Asshur saw them, they sent hither and thither to their leaders; but they went 

13 to their captains and tribunes, and to every one of their rulers. And they came to Holofernes’ tent, 
and said to him that was over all that he had, Waken now our lord: for the slaves have been bold 
14 to come down against us to battle, that they may be utterly destroyed. And Bagoas went in, and 
15 knocked at the outer door of the tent ; for he supposed that he was sleeping with Judith. But when 
none hearkened to him, he opened it, and went into the bedchamber, and found him cast upon the 
16 threshold dead, and his head had been taken from him. And he cried with a loud voice, with 
17 weeping and groaning and a mighty cry, and rent his garments. And he entered into the tent where | 
18 Judith lodged: and he found her not, and he leaped out to the people, and cried aloud, The slaves 
have dealt treacherously: one woman of the Hebrews hath brought shame upon the house of king — 
19 Nebuchadnezzar; for, behold, Holofernes /e¢z upon the ground, and his head is not on him. But 
when the rulers of the host of Asshur heard the words, they rent their coats, and their soul was 
troubled exceedingly, and there was a cry and an exceeding great noise in the midst of the camp. 
15; And when they that were in the tents heard, they were amazed at the thing that was come to 

2 pass. And trembling and fear fell upon them, and no man durst abide any more in the sight of his 
neighbour, but rushing out with one accord, they fled into every way of the plain and of the hill 

3 country. And they that had encamped in the hill country round about Bethulia fled away. And 

4 then the children of Israel, every one that was a warrior among them, rushed out upon them. And 


3. these, i.e. the Assyrian outposts. 
panoplies, πανοπλίας. ‘Arms’ would be less pedantic. Outposts when not expecting an attack would lay down 
some of their equipment. They would take this up again and so become πανόπλοι before going into camp. 
4. as they go. Rather ‘leave them lying in the paths by which they flee’. 
5. Looks as if it had been put in to introduce an episode which had somehow got misplaced ; see on verse I. 
7. Tecovered, ἀνέλαβον αὐτόν (δὲ B) = ‘had lifted him up’. ἀνέλαβεν αὑτόν (A, ἅς.) = ‘he had recovered himself’. 
tent. A reminiscence of Judges vi. 24? 
troubled, i.e. alarmed at such things being possible. 
9. made a joyful noise, ἔδωκαν (58, &c., -κεν 8A B) φωνὴν εὐφροσύνης (A 58 VL, -voy δὲ B) = ANDY bp ΓΝ) (Ball). 
10. God of Israel. 58 VL Syr ‘ God had done for Israel’, 
exceedingly, σφόδρα. The author’s favourite word is not very suitable here. It must mean ‘with all his heart’. 
unto this day is really meaningless. The Vulgate applies it to his descendants. 
Achior became a proselyte at once. The author overlooks the law of Deut. xxiii. 3. 
12. leaders, i.e. subordinate officers, and they (the subordinates) went to their superiors, who eventually came to 
Holofernes’ tent. 
tribunes, χιλιάρχους, ‘captains of thousands’. Rulers, πάντα ἄρχοντα, should be ‘ commanders’. 
13. to him. 58 VL Syr ‘to Bagoas’. 
the slaves, O02), for which Movers suggests (‘plausibly,’ Ball) DY73~A, ‘the Hebrews’ (cf. VL), but this is 
unnecessary, cf. verse 18. Ball seems to prefer D'33)7, ‘the mice,’ as Vulg. 
14. door is necessary after ‘knock’, but αὐλαίαν is prop. ‘ curtain’ (cf. verse 15). 19 108 ἐκρότησε τῇ χειρὶ ἐν τῇ 
αὐλαίᾳ, and similarly Vulg. ‘stetit ante cortinam et plausum fecit manibus suis’. 
15. opened, διαστείλας, ‘drew aside the curtain.’ 
threshold, ἐπὶ τῆς yehwvidos, more probably the step at the side of the bed (Ball). 
18. dealt treacherously, ἠθέτησαν, alluding primarily to Judith’s promises. The verb ought to have an object. 


XV. 3. These were the Edomites and Ammonites, cf. vii. 18 (Ball). 


264 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH 15, 4—16. 4 


Ozias sent to Betomasthaim, and Bebai, and Chobai, and Chola, and to every coast of Israel, such as 
should tell concerning the things that had been accomplished, and that all should rush forth upon 
5 their enemies to destroy them. But when the children of Israel heard, they all fell upon them with 
one accord, and smote them unto Chobai: yea, and in like manner also they of Jerusalem and of all 
the hill country came (for men had told them what things were come to pass in the camp of their 
enemies), and they that were in Gilead and in Galilee fell upon their flank with a great slaughter, 
6 until they were past Damascus and the borders thereof. But the residue, that dwelt at Bethulia, fell 
7 upon the camp of Asshur, and spoiled them, and were enriched exceedingly. But the children of 
Israel returned from the slaughter, and gat possession of that which remained ; and the villages and 
the cities, that were in the hill country and in the plain country, took many spoils: for there was an 
exceeding great store. 
§ And Joakim the high priest, and the senate of the children of Israel that dwelt in Jerusalem, came 
to behold the good things which the Lord had shewed to Israel, and to see Judith, and to salute her. 
9 But when they came unto her, they all blessed her with one accord, and said unto her, Thou art the 
exaltation of Jerusalem, thou art the great glory of Israel, thou art the great rejoicing of our race: 
zo thou hast done all these things by thy hand: thou hast done with Israel the things that are good, 
and God is pleased therewith: blessed be thou with the Almighty Lord for evermore. And all the 
11 people said, So be it. And the people spoiled the camp for the space of thirty days: and they gave 
unto Judith Holofernes’ tent, and all his silver cups, and his beds, and his vessels, and all his 
furniture: and she took them, and placed them on her mule, and made ready her wagons, and 
heaped them thereon. 
12 And all the women of Israel ran together to see her; and they blessed her, and made a dance 
among them for her; and she took branches in her hand, and gave to the women that were with 
113 her. And they made themselves garlands of olive, she and they that were with her, and she went 
before all the people in the dance, leading all the women: and all the men of Israel followed in their 
Ὁ 1 armour with garlands, and with songs in their mouths. And Judith began to sing this thanksgiving 
2 in all Israel, and all the people sang with loud voices this song of praise. And Judith said, 
Begin unto my God with timbrels, 
Sing unto my Lord with cymbals: 
Tune unto him psalm and praise: 
Exalt him, and call upon his name. 
3 For the Lord is the God that breaketh the battles: 
For in his armies in the midst of the people 
He delivered me out of the hand of them that persecuted me. 
4  Asshur came out of the mountains from the north, 
He came with ten thousands of his host, 
The multitude whereof stopped the torrents, 
And their horsemen covered the hills. 


4. Betomesthaim, see iv.6. Bebai only in A. For Chobai N* has Choba, cf. iv. 4. For Chola A has Kola, 8* 
Abelmaim, δὲ 6:8 Keila. The sites are unknown. 
5. past Damascus. This was the way they had come, cf. ii. 27. 
6. dwelt, κατοικοῦντες = ὮΝ)", ‘ remained (behind).’ 
7. Cities, ai πόλεις, N A; ἐπαύλεις, ‘ farmsteads,’ B. 
9. they came. 58 VL Syr 19 108 ‘when she went out to meet them’, a correction in the interest of the high 
priest’s dignity. 
Tejoicing, καύχημα, ‘the boast.’ 
12. for her, i.e. ‘in her honour’. 
branches, θύρσους, a strange word to choose. It properly means the wands of the Bacchants. In the LXX only 
here and in 2 Macc. x. 7. 
(Bab Lit. ‘they crowned themselves with olive’, a Greek, not a Jewish, custom, indicating a late date for the book 
all). 


XVI. 1. sang with loud voices, ὑπερεφώνει, so N AB. The common reading is ὑπεφώνει, ‘(J. began and) they 
were singing in answer.’ 
2. Begin, ἐξάρχετε = 139 in Ps. cxlvii. 7. 
4 and praise, καὶ αἶνον. A has καινόν, ‘new’ (cf. xvi. 13), as in Ps. xxxiil. 3, &c. 
3. breaketh the battles, cf. Exod. xv. 3 LXX, as above, ix, 7. 
The rest of the verse is corrupt. in his armies, εἰς τὰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτοῦ is properly ‘into his camps’. For 


ἐξείλατο, N has ἐξελείσεσθαι, &c. ; for ἐκ χειρός N* has ἕως χειρός. Perhaps the Hebrew was OY NI ἸΠῚ)Π3 Os, “God, 


when he encamped among . . .,’ which was misread as ymon-by, εἰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτοῦ, 
4. from the north. They came by way of Damascus. 
stopped, i.e. blocked up. 


265 


οι 


-τ 


Io 


It 


12 


13 


14 


THE BOOK OF JUDITH 16. 5-14 


He said that he would burn up my borders, 

And kill my young men with the sword, 

And throw my sucking children to the ground, 

And give mine infants for a prey, 

And make my virgins a spoil. 

The Almighty Lord brought them to nought by the hand of a woman. 
For their mighty one did not fall by young men, 
Neither did sons of the Titans smite him, 

Nor did high giants set upon him: 

But Judith the daughter of Merari made him weak with the beauty of her countenance. 
For she put off the apparel of her widowhood 

For the exaltation of those that were distressed in Israel, 
She anointed her face with ointment, 

And bound her hair in a tire, 

And took a linen garment to deceive him. 

Her sandal ravished his eye, 

And her beauty took his soul prisoner: 

The scimitar passed through his neck. 

The Persians quaked at her daring, 

And the Medes were daunted at her boldness. 

Then my lowly ones shouted aloud, 

And my weak ones were terrified and crouched for fear: 
They lifted up their voice, and they were turned to flight. 
The sons of damsels pierced them through, 

And wounded them as runagates’ children ; 

They perished by the battle of my Lord. 

I will sing unto my God a new song: 

O Lord, thou art great and glorious, 

Marvellous in strength, invincible. 

Let all thy creation serve thee: 

For thou spakest, and they were made, 

Thou didst send forth thy spirit, and it builded them, 
And there is none that shall resist thy voice. 


6. brought them to nought, ἠθέτησεν as in xiv. 18, but here with a personal object. 58 19.108 add κατήσχυνεν 
auTOvus :-- 
‘The Lord Almighty set them at nought, 
By the hand of a woman he brought them to shame.’ 


7. their mighty one, 013) = their champion, as 1 Sam. xvii. 51 (Ball). The next two lines look like alternative 
renderings of the same Hebrew. Sons of the Titans may be D'N51 3, Cf. 2 Sam. v. 18, LXX. 
high giants, perhaps PJy 33. 
" g. For sandals as an adornment, cf. Cant. vii. 1. Chajes suggests that πον) (her sandal) is a mistake for 723 (her 
eauty). 
10. quaked, ἔφριξαν, shuddered at it. 
᾿ daunted, ἐρράχθησαν δὲ B, ἐταράχθησαν δὰ ὁ: A. Neither word could be construed with an accusative. VL and 
Vulg. omit the verb, thus making ‘boldness’ depend on ἔφριξαν. The mention of Persians here suggests that the 
author was really thinking of the time of Artaxerxes Ochus, and forgot for the moment that his invading army was 
Assyrian. Medes are naturally parallel to Persians, although, according to i. 13-16, Media had been devastated in 
the previous year. 
11. my lowly ones must be Israelites. So also ‘my weak ones’ (VL ‘aegrotantes in siti’), but ἐφοβήθησαν, ‘ were 
Pred: 15: euler as a parallel to ἠλάλαξαν, ‘shouted in triumph.’ Several cursives and VL Syr have ἐβόησαν, 
cried aloud.’ 
crouched. Apparently the subject changes to the enemy and the next three verbs form a climax, ‘ they crouched, 
wey ee out, they fled,’ as often in Hebrew poetry. 19 108 read ἠττήθησαν for ἐπτοἠή(θη)σαν, and add οἱ ἐχθροί μου 
at the end. 
__12, sons of damsels, i.e. of young wives, whose sons would be mere children. But κοράσιον in LXX often means 
maidservant’, 50 that it may be contemptuous, ‘ the very slave-boys.’ 
᾿ runagates children, properly ‘sons of runaway slaves’. 19 108 VL Syr have παῖδας αὐτομολοῦντας, ‘ runaway 
slaves. 


een : Ε by means of the army . . . παράταξις (cf. i. 6) prop. ‘an army in fighting order’. 


invincible, ἀνυπέρβλητος, prop. unsurpassed. Perhaps a loose rendering of xdp nwy. 
14. send forth, ἀπέστειλας. ὃὲ ἐπέστρεψας. 


it builded is harsh. N has ‘they were builded’. Probably the Hebrew was 1N132) (were created), not 134) 
(were built). Cf. Ps. xxxiii. 6-9, civ. 30 (Ball). 
266 


tHE BOOK OF JUDITH 10: 15-25 


15 For the mountains shall be moved from their foundations with the waters, 
And the rocks shall melt as wax at thy presence: 
: But thou art yet merciful to them that fear thee. 
16 For all sacrifice is little for a sweet savour, 
; And all the fat is very little for a whole burnt offering to thee: 
But he that feareth the Lord is great continually. 
17 Woe to the nations that rise up against my race: 
The Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgement, 
To put fire and worms in their flesh ; we 
And they shall weep and feel their pain for ever. 
} 18 . Now when they came to Jerusalem, they worshipped God ; and when the people were purified, 
19 they offered their whole burnt offerings, and their freewill offerings, and their gifts. And Judith 
dedicated all the stuff of Holofernes, which the people had given her, and gave the canopy, which 
20 She had taken for herself out of his bedchamber, for a gift unto the Lord. And the people continued 
sfeasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for the space of three months, and Judith remained with 
-orthem. But after these days every one departed to his own inheritance, and Judith went away to 
22 Bethulia,and remained in her own possession, and was honourable in her time in alk the land. And 
_many desired her, and no man knew her all the days of her life, from the day that Manasses her 
23 husband died and was gathered to his people. And she increased in greatness exceedingly ; and 
she waxed old in her husband’s house, unto a hundred and five years, and let her maid go free: 
24 and she died in Bethulia; and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasses. And the 
house of Israel mourned for her seven days: and she distributed her goods before she died to all 
them that were nearest of kin to Manasses her husband, and to them that were nearest of her own 
DH 25 kindred. And there was none that made the children of Israel any more afraid in the days of Judith, 
nor a long time after her death. 


15. For the mountains ... waters. ὄρη yap ἐκ θεμελίων σὺν ὕδασιν σαλευθήσεται is obscure. Perhaps it means 
‘the mountains (or cliffs) shall be swayed down to their foundations, together with (i.e. just as much as) the waters 
which roll up against them’. 

melt as wax, cf. Ps. xcvii. 5. 

16. i.e. Any sacrifice is unworthy of God’s acceptance as a sweet savour, but, while sacrifices are obligatory, it is 
the spirit which underlies them, namely the fear of the Lord, which is really important. Cf. Ps. li. 16-19. 

17. Cf. the end of Deborah’s song, Judges v. 31. 

It is evident that the writer looks forward to a judgement after death, ἢ ὙΠ O1, a later and more definite doctrine 
than the 717" DY of Mal. iv.5. The belief is indicated in Ecclus. vii. 17 (Ball), and developed in the Book of Enoch, 
thus corroborating the date assigned to the composition of Judith. 

fire and worms are no doubt suggested by Isa. lxvi. 24, but applied to hellas in the N.T. 

weep and feel, lit. weep at (or ‘ with’) feeling, i.e. without losing consciousness of their pain. 

18. Note again the insistence on purification (after contact with the dead) and sacrifice. 


19. stuff, σκεύη = b>, his silver plate. 
gift, ἀνάθημα (or ἀνάθεμα) -- ὩΠ (Ball) asa thing devoted. F 
20, three months. Another instance of the author’s love of exaggeration. Three days would be more likely. 
21. inheritance. 58 VL Syr ‘tents’. 
to Bethulia. δὲ ‘to her house at B’. ay : ᾿ 

23. increased in greatness, ἢν προβαίνουσα μεγάλη, is not clear. Prob. VL (and Vulg.) is right, ‘she increased in 
reputation.’ 

24. She bequeathed her property according to the Law in Num. xxvil. 11. : : 

25. Cf. again Judges v. 31. If Judith was twenty-five or thirty years old at the time of her exploit the land must have 
had peace for at least eighty years. Such a period can only have occurred ‘ under the Persian kings, and according 
to Jewish ideas under the Hasmoneans’ (Ball). : ἊΨ ER 

The Vulgate adds that a festival was instituted to commemorate the deed of Judith, probably in imitation of 
Esther ix. 27, 28. No such festival is known, it is not mentioned in any other version, and cannot have been recorded 
in the original book. The statement may be founded on the fact that the story was read at the feast of Hanukka, see 
Introd. § 8 a. 


te 
oO 
“NI 


THE BOOK OF τ ἴσια 


INTRODUCTION? 
§ 1. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK. 


BEN-S1RA’S Book of Wisdom belongs, together with the Book of Job, a number of the Psalms, 
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Wisdom of Solomon (so-called), to the Hokmah or Wisdom Literature 
of the Hebrews. This literature represents the development of the crude philosophy of more 
ancient times, a philosophy which sought by means of proverbs and fables to express the results of 
reflections concerning the general questions of life. Such proverbs and fables were not necessarily 
of a religious character; see, 6. g., Judg. ix. 8-15 (Jotham’s parable), 2 Sam. v. ὃ, xx. 18; but they - 
tended to become so more and more (cp. Jer. xxxi. 29, Ezek. xviii. 2); this is well exemplified by 
such parables as those contained in 2 Sam. xii. 1-4 (Nathan’s parable of the ewe lamb), and Isa. v. 
τ- 4 (the parable of the vineyard) ; and ultimately all wise sayings, upon whatsoever subjects they 
were uttered, came to have a religious content inasmuch as it was taught that all wisdom emanated 
from God. Ben-Sira, therefore, as a constructor of wise sayings, belonged to the class of Sages or 
Hakamim (‘wise men’) who already in the days of Jeremiah occupied a recognized position along- 
side of the priests and the prophets: ‘ For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from 
the wise (Zakam), nor the word from the prophet’ (Jer. xviii. 18). So that in presenting his book 
to his people he is making a justifiable claim when he says: 


7, indeed, came last of all, 
As one. that gleaneth after the grape-gatherers : 
: 7 advanced by the blessing of God, 
And filled my winepress as a grape-gatherer. 
(xxxiii. 16-18 [= G@ xxxvi. τό and xxx. 25-27]). 
The claim is modestly urged ; but Ben-Sira, while whole-heartedly admitting his indebtedness to 
earlier sages, clearly reckons himself as one of the ‘ grape-gatherers’, i.e. as one of the Hakamzm. 
like the authors of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, though the last in the succession. 
A notable feature in our book is that it offers many examples of expanded proverbs; a little 
essay, as it were, is constructed on the basis of a proverb. A good example of this is xxxviil. 24— 
ΧΧΧΙΧ, I1 ; here the proverb, or text of the essay, is: 


The wisdom of the scribe tncreaseth wisdom, 
And he that hath little business can become wtse. 


Then Ben-Sira proceeds to expatiate upon these words by giving a number of illustrations showing 
that those who are occupied with ordinary trades and professions cannot possibly find the requisite 
leisure which must be possessed by those who would acquire wisdom (xxxviii. 25-35); and the 
essay concludes with an eloquent description of the ideal seeker after wisdom, thus presenting the 
positive side of his thesis. 

Although Ben-Sira exhibits no great signs of originality there is plenty of individuality in his 
book ; this is shown chiefly (in addition to what has just been said about the expansion of the pro- 
verb into the essay) by the use he makes of the Old Testament Scriptures. He does not merely 
quote from the Old Testament, but he utilizes the words and teaching of the inspired writers as the 
authority for what he has to say, and then proceeds to set forth his own ideas upon a given subject. 
An instructive example of this may be adduced. Ben-Sira’s teaching on death and the hereafter is 
identical with that of the Old Testament, but in xli. 1-4 he offers some thoughts upon the subject 
of death which are evidently quite his own. He shows that two views concerning death exist among 


οὖ The two editors who are responsible for Sirach as a whole, apart from the Prologue and ch. xlix (the notes on 
which were written in consultation), shared the rest of the book between them as follows: 

_. Mr. Box is primarily responsible for §§ 3, 6, 7, and 10 of the Introduction, and for the commentary on chs. ix. I- 
xill. 23, xxx-xl, xlii-xlv: Dr. Oesterley is primarily responsible for §§ 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, and 9 of the Introduction, and for 
the commentary on chs. i-viii, xiii. 24—xxix, xli, xlvi-xlviii, 1, li. ; 

268 


INTRODUCTION 


men; to those who are living at, ease and prosperity the thought of déath is bitter, but it is welcome 
to such as are in sickness and adversity, who are broken and have lost hope. Then he goes on to 
utter a word of comfort to those to whom the thought of death is painful, by saying that it is the 
destiny of all men, and that it is the decree of the Most High ; he concludes by reminding them 
also that : 

In Sheol there are no reproaches concerning life. 


For the rest, the book contains a large collection of moral maxims and sage counsels regarding 
almost every conceivable emergency in life; if the majority of these appear to be merely moral, it 
has to be remembered, as already pointed out, that to Ben-Sira the apparently most secular forms 
of wisdom partake of something religious fundamentally, because all wisdom is in its multifarious 
and varied expressions so many offshoots of the one primeval Wisdom which emanates from God. 
These maxims and counsels are applicable to people in every condition of life ; a large proportion of 
them deals with the ordinary, every-day relationships between man and man, whether in regard to 
the rich or the poor, the oppressed, the mourners, &c., &c.; rules of courtesy, behaviour at table, 
politeness, respect for one’s betters, and many other similar topics, abound. Ben-Sira’s intimate 
knowledge of human nature meets one at every turn, and is certainly one of the most instructive 
features of the book. It was clearly Ben-Sira’s object, in writing his book, to present to the Jewish 
public of his day an authoritative work of reference to which recourse could be had for guidance and ~ 
instruction in every circumstance of life. In doing so, however, Ben-Sira makes it his great aim to 
set forth the superiority of Judaism over Hellenism. For some time previously the Hellenistic 
spirit had been affecting the Jews both in Palestine and in the Dispersion, and though there was 
immense good in the wider mental horizon fostered by this spirit, yet there can be no doubt that 
Hellenism had assumed a debased form in Palestine! and a true Jew, such as Ben-Sira was, rightly 
felt bound to oppose its extension in the best way he could, namely, by offering something better 
in its place. Nevertheless, Ben-Sira was himself not unaffected by the Hellenic genius, probably 
unconsciously ; and his admiration for Judaism of the orthodox, traditional type is unable to conceal 
altogether the newer tendencies of thought brought into existence through that Greek culture by 
which he, too, had become possessed. ‘The results of the past and the beginnings of a future 
development were still in juxtaposition—not amalgamated, but as yet not separated, nor were their 
further sequences in view. Alike the close of the old and the beginnings of the new are side by 
side in Ecclesiasticus. The former reaches back to the early times of Israel’s glory; the latter 
points forward to that direction which was to find its home and centre, not in Palestine, but in 
Alexandria.’* The traces of the influence of Greek modes of theught to be found in our book are 
not seen in definite form, but, as one would expect where the influence was at work unconsciously, 
they are to be discerned rather in the general outlook and conception; what is perhaps the most 
striking exampie of this is the way in which virtue and knowledge are identified ; this is a distinct 
Hellenic trait, and is treated in the book as axiomatic. In the past, human and divine wisdom had 
been regarded as opposed, whereas, owing to Greek influence, both in our book and in the Wisdom 
Literature generally, it is taught that wisdom is the one thing of all others which is indispensable to 
him who would lead a godly life. | The evil of wickedness is represented as lying in the fact that 
wickedness is foolishness, and therefore essentially opposed to wisdom. On the other hand, the 
Jews were faithful to the Law, the ordinances of which were binding because it was the revealed 
will of God ; and, therefore, in order to reconcile this old teaching with the new teaching that, 
wisdom was the chief requirement of the man of religion, wisdom became identified with the Law: 
‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’; by the ‘fear of the Lord’ is meant, of course, 
obedience to His commands, i.e. the observance of the Law, These words express what is, in truth, 
the foundation-stone of the Wisdom Literature, and this identification between wisdom and the Law 
formed the reconciling link between Judaism and Hellenism in this domain. Nowhere is this 
identification more clearly brought out than in the Book of Wisdom and in Sirach. This fully 
explains why Ben-Sira, following herein, without doubt, many sages before him, divides mankind 
into two categories, the wise and the foolish, which correspond respectively to the righteous and the 
wicked. 

But while there is no sort of doubt that traces of Hellenic influence are to be discerned in the 
book, there is a danger which must be guarded against of seeing them where they do not exist. 


τ “We have reason to believe that it was just in Syria that Hellenism took a baser form. The ascetic element 
which saved its liberty from rankness tended here more than anywhere else to be forgotten. The games, the shows, 
the abandonment of a life which ran riot ina gratification of the senses, grosser or more refined, these made up too much 
of the Hellenism which changed the face of Syria in the last centuries before Christ’ (Bevan, Jerwsalem under the 
High-priests, p. 41). 

* Edersheim in the SHeaher’s Commentary. 


269 


SIRACH 


Ben-Sira has here and there thoughts which at first sight look like traces of Hellenic influence, 
but are not so in reality; they are independent parallels, but have not otherwise anything to do 
with Greek culture. For example, the following might well appear at first sight to be an echo of 
Epicurean philosophy : 


Give not thy soul to sorrow, 
And let not thyself become unsteadied with care. 
Heart-joy is life for a man, 
And human gladness prolongeth days. 
Entice thyself and soothe thine heart, 
And banish vexation from thee: 
For sorrow hath slain many, 
And there is no profit in vexation, 
Envy and anger shorten days, 
And anxiety maketh old untimely. 
The sleep of a cheerful heart ts like daintes, 
And his food is agreeable unto him (XxX. 21-25). 


But quite similar thoughts are found in a fragment of the Gilgamesh epic found on a tablet written 
in the script of the Hammurabi dynasty (2000 B.C.), and published by Meissner in the Mzttheclungen 
der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, 1902, Heft i. On p. 8, col. iii, line 3, we read : 


... Thou, O Gilgamesh, fill indeed thy belly ; 
Day and night be thou joyful, 

Daily ordain gladness, 

Day and night rage and make merry ; 

Let thy garments be bright, 

Thy head purify, wash with water, 

Desire thy children which thy hand possesses. . οἷ 


There are other passages which might likewise seem to manifest the influence of Greek philosophy ; 
in some of these it may well be that this is actually the case ;* but it is well to be on one’s guard, 
lest what appears to be a Hellenistic note is in reality nothing more than a parallel. While the 
Judaic elements in the book preponderate to an overwhelming degree, tinges of Hellenic influence 
are to be discovered here and there. 


ὃ 2. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK. 


As the fragments of the Hebrew text of our book which are extant only begin with the con- 
cluding words of chap. iii. 6,> we do not know how the title ran, but the third line of the subscription 
reads: ‘The Wisdom of Simeon, the son of Jeshua, the son of Eleazar, the son of Sira’; and the last 
line of the subscription in most of the Syriac manuscripts has : ‘ The writing or the Wisdom of Bar 
Sira is ended.’ Jerome, however, says in his Praef. in Libr. Sal.,‘ Fertur et mardperos [651 filit Sirach 
liber, et alius \evderlypapos qui Sapientia Salomonis inscribitur ; quorum priorem Hebraicum reperi, 
nec Ecclesiasticum, ut apud Latinos sed Parabolas praenotatum’ ; this title = 1200 4 i.e. the Hebrew 
title for the Book of Proverbs, but that this was a title, in the ordinary sense, of our book is very 
improbable ; it is more likely to have been a general title, descriptive of the contents, which was 
applied to the three books Ecclesiasticus, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles, for Jerome (in the context of 
the passage quoted above) says that these two latter were joined to Ecclesiasticus. In the Syriac 
Version the title is ‘Wisdom of Bar Sira’, while in most manuscripts of the Septuagint it runs: 
Σοφία ᾿Ιησοῦ υἱοῦ Σειράχ, or abbreviated in Cod. B, Σοφία Σειράχ.5 The probability is that the original 
title of the book was xo-j2 pw" noon (‘The Wisdom of Jesus Ben-Sira’).° The title ‘ Ecclesias- 
ticus’ of the English Versions comes from the Vulgate, though it is one which has been in use in 
the Western Church ever since the time of Cyprian (d. A.D. 258). It meant the ‘ Church Book’ par 


| Quoted by Barton, Ecclesiastes (Intern. Crit. Com.), p. 39. 
e.g. when Ben-Sira controverts the fatalistic philosophy of the Stoics. 
: According to Smend, a clause= ii. 18d is placedafter vi. 17. 
In later Jewish literature quotations from Sirach are sometimes prefaced with the words, ‘the Parabolist said’ 
(ror bz 1); see Cowley-Neubauer, p. xxiv. ἢ. v. liv, and xx. ἢ. x. 
5 In Cod. 248 ᾿Εκκλησιαστικύς is placed before the ordinary title. 
Ὁ In some Latin manuscripts the title is ‘ Liber Iesu filii Sirach’. 


270 


1 


INTRODUCTION 


excellence among the ‘ Libri Ecclesiastici’, Among the early Greek Fathers the book is referred to 
as Πανάρετος Σοφία; see, e.g., Eusebius (Chronzcon, ed. Scheone, ii. 122); and Jerome (Comm. in Dan. ix) 
speaks of it as ἡ Πανάρετος ; Clement of Alexandria calls it Παιδαγωγός (Paed. ii. το. 99, &c.), and 
sometimes quotes from it with the words ἡ σοφία A€yet.! In the Talmud it is called ‘The Book of 
Ben-Sira’ (Hagigah 13 a, Niddah τό ὁ, Berakhoth 11 6) ;* and Sa‘adya speaks of it as ἼΘ᾽" 7D, ‘The 
Book of Instruction, while other Rabbis call it so-j}2 sow, ‘The Instruction of Ben-Sira.’ 
Schechter (JOR, xi. 460 f., 1900) quotes the words of a Rabbi Joseph that the ‘ Proverbs of Ben- 


Sira’ (s9707j2 Sw) must be read because they contain useful matter. 


§ 3. THE ORIGINAL HEBREW TEXT. 


Apart from a few scattered citations in the Talmudic and post-Talmudic Jewish literature the 
Book of Ben-Sira was, until recent years, known only in the two principal ancient translations of it, 
viz. the Greek and Syriac versions, and the secondary versions based thereon. The disappearance 
of the Hebrew MSS. of the book may be explained as due, ultimately, to its exclusion from the 
Canon, for which early rabbinical evidence exists.’ In spite of such exclusion, however, the book 
long retained its popularity in Jewish circles,‘ and in Jerome's time apparently MSS. of the Hebrew 
text were still accessible in Palestine. In his preface to the Books of Solomon, Jerome expressly 
mentions one of these which he had in his possession: ‘Quorum priorem—sc. Iesu filii Sirach 
librum —Hebraicum reperi.’ In the succeeding centuries, down to the eleventh, the book was still 
freely quoted in a Hebrew (and also an Aramaic) form. One of the most interesting references to 
the existence of copies of the Hebrew text is made by Sa‘adya, Gaon of Bagdad (A.D. 920). who 
states that vowel-points and accents—usually reserved only for canonical writings—were to be found 
in copies of Ben-Sira.? Sa‘adya also cites some seven (or eight) genuine sayings of Ben-Sira in 
classical Hebrew. Of the existence of the book in Spain, Provence, or among the Rabbis of France, 
the Rhineland, and Germany, there is no direct trace. The Hebrew text was apparently unknown 
(or at least inaccessible) to Rashi, the Tosafists, and even to Maimonides,® and seems to have com- 
pletely vanished from knowledge in the eleventh century. The recovery of large portions of it has 
been one of the most striking discoveries of recent years. 


(a) The recovery of portions of the lost Hebrew original. 


It was in 1896 that the first portion of the lost Hebrew text came to light—a single leaf con- 
taining the text of ch. xxxix. 15-xl. 7, among some manuscript fragments brought from the East by 
Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Gibson, together with the famous palimpsest of the Syriac Gospels. This leaf 
was examined by Dr. Schechter, then Reader in Talmudic in the University of Cambridge, who 
recognized its contents and published it, with an English translation, introduction and notes, in 7%e 
Expositor for July, 1896. Almost simultaneously Professor Sayce presented to the Bodleian a box 
of Hebrew and Arabic fragments, among which Messrs. Cowley and Neubauer ‘recognized another 
portion of the same text of Sirach, consisting of nine leaves, and forming the continuation of 
Mrs. Lewis’s leaf from chapter xl. 9 to xlix. τ΄. Both fragments proved to be furnished with 
marginal notes ‘ giving the variants of another copy of Sirach, or more probably of two other copies... . 
In the Bodleian fragment there are also at least two Persian glosses (ff. 1 and 5”), which point to its 
having been written in Bagdad or Persia, possibly transcribed from Sa‘adya’s copy «ὃ 

These fragments had come from the Genizah at Cairo. In consequence Schechter at once 
proceeded thither, and, having obtained the necessary authority, made an examination of the manu- 
script material there deposited, with the result that a considerable amount of the collection was 
brought to Cambridge. In this collection other fragments of Sirach were discovered by Schechter, 
all from the same MS. (denoted B by Schechter), covering parts of chapters xxx—xxxviii, as well 
as the final portion, covering chapters I1-li. Two additional fragments of the same MS., containing 
XXX1. 12-31 and xxxvi. 24—-xxxvii. 26, were secured for the British Museum, and edited by the 
Rev. G. Margoliouth (JQR, xii. 1-33). Meanwhile Schechter had discovered in the Genizah 
collection at Cambridge fragments of a second MS. of the Hebrew text (= MS. A), containing 


1 Cp. Hart, Ecclesiasticus in Greek, p. 333. 2 JE, xi. 388 a. 

* Cp. Tosefta, Vadayim ii. 13 (ed. Zuckermandel 683), which runs: ‘The gilyOnim and the books of the heretics 
(inim) do not defile the hands [1. 6. are not canonical]; the books of Ben-Sira and all books written after the prophetic 
period do not defile the hands’: cp. also T. J. Sah. 28 a. 

* For its influence on early Jewish and Christian literature cp. § 7 below. ἢ 

δ Sefer ha-galuy, p. 162 (cp. Cowley-Neub. O. H. p. x f.). ° Cowley-Neub. of. c7¢., ibid. 

τ Thid., p. xii. 8. Tbid., p. xiii, where see a full description of the MS. and its peculiarities. 

271 


Sia Cla 


ch. iii. 6-xvi. 6, with a hiatus from vii. 29 to xi. 34, which was afterwards made good by some — 


leaves that came into the possession of Mr. Elkan Adler. When the remaining contents of the 
Genizah were sold Israel Lévi discovered a fragment of a fresh MS. (= MS. D) in a single leaf 
covering ch. xxxvi. 24-xxxviii. 1 (thus providing a second text against that of MS. B for this portion 
of the book). Finally, Schechter, Gaster, and Lévi found in material derived from the same Genizah 
fragments of an anthology of the Book of Ben-Sira (= MS. C) embracing the following : iv. 23 4, 
30, 31; v. 4-8, 9-13; vi. 18-19, 28. 35; vii. I, 4, 6, 17, 20-21, 23-25; XViil. 30-31 ; Xix. I-2; xx. 
4-6, 12 (?); xxv. 76, 8c, ὃ, 12, 16-23; xxvi. 1-2; xxxvi. 16; xxxvii. 19, 22, 24, 26. The MSS; 
may be classified as follows :— : 

(2) Manuscript A, containing ch. iii. 6—xvi. 26 ; this consists of six leaves, and may be of the 
eleventh century. There are 28-29 lines-to the page; in some places vowels are added, and, in one 
or two cases, accents. The size of the page is 11 x 11 cm. δ Ἶ 

(6) MANUSCRIPT B, containing xxx. 11-xxxiii. 3, XXxv. II-XXXvill. 27, ΧΧΧΙΧ. 15-li. 30 ; this 
consists of τὸ leaves, and may be of the twelfth century. ‘The MS. is written on oriental paper, 
and is arranged in lines, 18 to the page, and the lines are divided into hemistichs.’1 There are 
many marginal notes, containing, apparently, variant readings from two other codices, one of which 
is closely related to MS. D. ‘Asa rule, the body of the text corresponds to the Greek version, and 
the glosses in the margin to the Syriac ; but occasionally the reverse is the case.’* The size of the 
page is 19-1 x 17 cm. 

(c) MANUSCRIPT C (= Lévi’s D), containing an anthology from chapters iv—vii, xviii-xx, xxv, 
XXvi, Xxxvii (as specified above). This MS. consists of four leaves, and, according to Gaster, is older 
than the other MSS. It contains 12 lines to the page, the size of which is 14:6x10cm. ‘The 
text is often preferable to that of A, and offers variants agreeing with the Greek version, while the 
readings of A correspond to the Syriac.’ ὅ 

(4) MANuscRIPT D (= Lévi's C), containing xxxvi. 29-xxxviii.1. This MS. consists of a single 
leaf; there are 20 lines to the page, which measures 16 x 12 cm. Words, and in some cases entire 
verses, are provided with vowels and accents. 


It will thus be seen that the MSS. so far recovered yield a Hebrew text for something like 
two-thirds of the entire book. In some cases two MSS., and for four verses three, are available for 
the restoration of the text. 

The following list shows the extent of the Hebrew MS. authority for different parts of the text: 


(a) The portions of the text for which one manuscript authority only is available are: From MS. A, iii. 6- 
IV. 23 ὦ, ἵν. 24-29, V. 1-3, 8, 14-15, vi. 1-17, 18 (C), 20-25, 27, 29-33, 36-37, Vii. 3, 5, 7-16, 18-10, 22, 26, 
29-36, vill. I-xvi. 26: from MS. C, xviii. 30-31 [32-33], xix. 1-2, xx. 4-6[5-7], 12 [13], xxv. 7¢, 8c, 8 a, 12 
[13], 16-23 [17-24]; xxvi. 1-2: from MS. B, xxx. 11—xxxiil. 3, xxv. 11—XXxXxvi. 15, XXXVi. 17-28, XXXVill. 2— 
27; XXXIX. 15-li. 30. 

(ὁ) The portions of the text for which two MSS. are available are: iv. 23 4, 30-31; v. 4-7, 9-13; Vi. 19, 
28; 35; vil. 1, 2, 4, 6, 17, 20-21, 232. 25; xxxvi. 16; xXxxvi- 2Q—XXXVill. I. 

(c) The portions of the text for which three MSS, are available are: xxxviii. 19, 22, 24, 26. 

(4) The portions of the text for which no Hebr. MS. is yet available are: i. 1-iii, 5; xvi. 27-Xviii. 3; Nix. 
3-XX. 4, 8-12 5 XX. 14-ΧΧν. 6, Χχν. 9-12, 14-16, 25-26; Xxvi. 3-XXX. 10; ΧΧΧΙΪ. 4-xxxv. 8 (10); xxxvili, 28- 
X¥XIX. 14. 


(b) Lhe value and authenticity of the recovered fragments. 


The questions touched upon in this section have given rise to much controversy which it will be 
impossible to review here in detail. All that will be attempted will be to indicate the main lines 
and directions of the best eritical opinion. 

The problems raised by the Hebrew fragments are of an exceedingly complex character. The 
first point to determine, in a general way, is the relation of the MSS. to each other. The manuscript 
material that has been recovered, fortunately, is sufficiently extensive—overlapping as it does for 
certain parts of the text of the book—to make it possible to establish certain relations. 


(i) The relation of the Hebrew MSS. to each other. 


The most important point of relation between the MSS. is the frequent agreement of the 
marginal variants of B with D against the text of B in the section where comparison is possible, 


156: ΤΕΣ the two MSS. overlap (xxxvi. 29-xxxviii. 1), A good example of this is to be seen in 
XXXVII. 10: 


1 Cowley-Neub., of. ci¢., p. xiii. * I. Lévi in JZ, xi. 393 a. 3 Lévi, of. cit., xi. 392 6. 
299 


~/< 


INTRODUCTION 


Here B™"s- and D have 
son ney 53 ven 
naving wn (D dys) Syne 53 90d 

The beginning of every action is speech, 
And before every work ἐς the thought. 
For this B '®** has 

327 ney 53 wx 
navn sw Sya 55 yx 


Another good example is afforded by xxxvii. 25, where B™*- and D read jv against Syssv py 
of B**t. According to Peters!, about 75 per cent. of the variants conform to this rule; ia the 
other cases where D has a variant not attested in B™"s: some are explicable as scribal errors in D, 
or as corruptions produced under the influence of. the text of B. In several cases B™"2* and D 
agree in purely orthographic variants, and even in reproducing identical scribal errors. The impor- 
tant conclusion deducible from these phenomena is that the marginal variants of B are not the 
emendations of the scribe, but represent readings derived from another MS. which has close affinities 
with D. Probably the marginal variants of the rest of B are derived from an identical or related 
source. Regarding the relation of C to B and D the material for comparison is too slight to enable 


any certain conclusions to be drawn. In one striking case, however, C = B ***t in reading 5yy against 


B™™"s- and D which read ὅν). Hence Peters concludes that C is to be ranked with the B type of 
text (against D+ B™*"*:), The other important area of contact is iv. 23-vii. 25, where C and A 
partly overlap and comparison is possible. Here the divergence is occasionally considerable, as in 
iv. 30, 31 (see next subsection). But this must not be unduly exaggerated. The similarity of whole 
verses is so marked as to make it clear that we are confronted with different recensions of the same 
archetypal text, and not with independent types of text.” 


(ii) Zhe general character of the Hebrew fragments and their relation to the Versions. 


The relation of the Hebrew fragments to the Versions presents many difficult textual problems 
which cannot be said yet to have been fully solved. In the case of MSS. A and B, which may 
conveniently be considered first, the Hebrew sometimes agrees with the Greek version against the 
Syriac, sometimes differs from both, and occasionally explains one or the other, or both. The cases 
in which the Hebrew seems to follow the Syriac and to be dependent on it are, perhaps, the most 
crucial. In this connexion the doublets, which are particularly numerous in B, are most important. 
These have been indicated in the critical notes of the commentary. The following example will 
illustrate many others. In xxxi. 13 ® has: 

AY PY AY 5 (marg. YI) Wt (1) 

be sey py »Ὲ (2) 

rena xd wen »Ὲ (3) 

py (marg. yn) yn ΔΙ 53 ED ΠῚ 5 (4) 
(marg.? yn) youn Aydt DDD (5) 

by pon wd pyn yr (6) 

and Ὁ) $3 (250) 2a (marg. b> dy) 15 dy (7) 


(1) Remember that an evil eye ts an evil thing ; 

(2) The man of evil eye God hateth, 

(3) And He hath created nothing more evil than him. 

(4) Lor this—by reason of everything the eye quivereth, 

(5) And from the face it maketh tears. 

(6) God hath created nothing more evil than the eye, 

(7) Therefore by reason of everything tts freshness ts abated. 


1 Der jiingst wiederaufgefundene hebriische Text des Buches Ecclesiasticus (1902), p. 23%. Ὁ oe ; 

* Schechter (/QA, xii. 458) pertinently remarks: ‘ Had we here to deal with different translations, it is impossible 
that they should agree as closely as they [MSS.C and A] do. Those who are inclined to doubt this obvious fact should 
take the trouble to compare these same fourteen verses [covering iv. 23-v. 13 + xxxvi. 24] in the three Hebrew versions 
we possess of Ben-Sira, viz. by Ben Zeeb, Frankel, and Joshua Duklo, and he will see at once the difference between 
independent translations and families of MSS. differing but descendant from the same common origin. In the first case 
he will, before a closer reading, hardly be aware that they represent the same work, whilst in the latter it will take him 
some time before he detects their differences.’ : 

5 The most elaborate and detailed reconstruction of the text, taking the fullest account of all relevant data, is that 
of Smend (as cited in § 10). 

1105 2 73 T 


SIRACH 


Here (1) (6) (7) substantially = &: and (2) (3) and (4) = & (see crit. note on xxxi, 23 in the fol- 


lowing commentary): (5) is a doublet of (4) and (7). It is noticeable that ® does not, as it stands, 


yield an exactly corresponding text either to & or 8, while it provides one doublet (5) and (7) which — 


corresponds to neither. The simplest explanation is that # embodies variants from different recen- 
sions of the original text that lie behind & and 3.1 Not improbably ® itself has been glossed and 
emended by scribes. The variant in (7) above (‘its freshness is abated |) may, perhaps, be explained 
in this way (from Deut. xxxiv. 7). As another example of a gloss in ® to which nothing corresponds 
in G or $ xxxi. 2 may be cited. Here ® adds the following two lines: 


ADIN Won pox yr 
wad INS TWD AnD 


Reproach putteth to flight the faithful friend, 
But he that hideth a secret loveth (a friend) as his own soul. 


As this couplet does not harmonize with the context it is probably a gloss (? from the margin of 
a MS.). In general 3" has many scribal errors and corruptions in its text, which is also marked by 
the occasional presence of strong Syriasms? and late Rabbinical expressions.® 

In the case of # the number of marginal variants is comparatively small. There are a certain 
number of doublets which exhibit features on the whole similar to those of 3η" illustrated above. But 
3ηλ diverges more from the text of & than is the case with ®"—it very rarely sides with & against 3. 
It has certain orthographical peculiarities of its own, and is marked by a number of errors due to 
the carelessness of the copyist.t In the case of 32", which covers xxxvi. 29-xxxviii. 1, and provides 
(with #") a duplicate text for this section of the book, we have, on the whole, a text superior to 
that of #”, though there are numerous cases of corruption. In two instances it yields a text which 
agrees with % against the common text of @, viz. in xxxvii. 26°, where it reads 1133 (= δόξαν 248 
and #) against πίστιν of the ordinary text of &; and in xxxvii. 28 ὁ where, against 39" which = (τ, 
ui vente snan jr 55 vias $25 xy 
which = © (e¢ non omni animae omne genus placet). In this MS. late Hebrew expressions are of 
frequent occurrence. In the three fragments of selections which make up 38“ a type of text is preserved 
which is, on the whole, remarkably free from the corruptions and blemishes which disfigure the other 
MSS. It agrees sometimes with &, sometimes with 5, and occasionally with neither (e.g. v. 11). In 
those parts of the book where it coincides with ®* it often agrees with the text of & against S. 

The relation of the Hebrew fragments to the citations of Sirach that occur in the Talmudic 
and Rabbinic literature ° is not easy to determine owing to the uncertain state of the Talmudic and 
Rabbinic texts, and also to the loose way in which such citations are often made. It would appear 
that in some cases the two Talmuds had different texts of Ben-Sira before them. Thus iii. 21 is 


cited in one form in T.J. Hag. 77 ¢ (agreeing with #* in first and last word), and in another (doublet) _ 


form in T.B. Hag. 15 ἃ (also in Midr. rabba Gen. viii). In the latter the first couplet agrees with $ 
and & (and partly with %#*); the second diverges considerably from all the other forms of the text 
(though agreeing in one word with ®*, and in another with T.J. Hag.). The most natural inference 
to draw from these phenomena is that two divergent types of text of Sirach were current in the 
fifth century A.D. The citations from Sirach in Sa‘adya (Sefer ha-galuy) are of a different character. 
They agree much more closely with the text of ®, give the impression of being more exact citations, 
and are apparently derived from substantially the same text as that represented in the Hebrew 
fragments. 

__ It is important to note, in this connexion, that collections of detached sayings derived from 
Sirach were apparently in existence in the Talmudic period. The only long continuous quotation 
from Ben-Sira given in the Talmud (T.B. Sanhedrin 100 ὁ) is apparently made from such a /florz- 
legium. It consists of the following passages in the following order: xxvi. I-43; ix. 8, 9; xi. 29-34, 
and vi. 10. Another such collection is represented in the fragments denoted ®°. Such collections 


: See further the discussion in the next subsection. 

* e.g. D9 xlii. 5, which apparently = inf. Pael (Syr. méemahayu) ; TAADA xlii. 12, ‘converse’=Syr, ’estawwed= 
ὁμιλεῖν : ND xiii. 12 = perhaps ‘among’ (Syr. 4é¢h). ; 

δ᾽ εἰρι ‘3 NYYD XXXVill, 17, ‘such as befits him’ (in 9"; also in #94 x. 28); "Ὁ ὙἼ M33 Ii. 23. 

; 4 Of differences of diction the following is the most notable: 18. writes }1.D"] where 328 has 1D. See further 

Taylor-Schechter, "7.8.5, pp. 7-12. 

ὃ This verse is wanting in 79", 

° For a collection of the citations conveniently grouped "ow. <IX—XX 
For c at grouped together see Cowley-Neub., pp. xix-xxx ; also Schechter 
in JOR, iii. 682-706 (with full critical notes), = Ὁ Ἴ Ὁ} : ᾿ 


274 


ΡΥ Υ (eats 


INTRODUCTION 


᾿ seem to have superseded the original Hebrew text of the entire book after it fell under the ban and 


was reckoned among ‘the books of the heretics’. The ‘good things’ profitable for reading were 


᾿ excerpted ; the rest consigned to neglect.' It is worth noting that some of the sayings of Ben-Sira 
are cited in an Aramaic form, which implies that an Aramaic translation of parts of the book was 


at some time or other made. This factor must be allowed for as a possible source of corruption in 


' the diction of the fragments. 


(iii) Zhe authenticity of the Hebrew fragments, 


The authenticity of the Hebrew fragments was early called in question by Professor D. S. Mar- 


_ goliouth,’ who, noting the decadent nature of the diction, coloured as it is by the frequent presence 
: of Syriasms and Arabisms, as well as of neo-Hebraisms, and struck by the presence of Persian 


glosses in }*, propounded the theory that 30 is itself a retranslation of a Persian version, which was 


| based partly on the Greek and partly on the Syriac versions of the book. The hypothesis is that 


a Syriac version, which had been revised by the Greek, was used as the basis of a Persian rendering, 
and that this Persian translation was rendered by an unintelligent Persian Jew, who knew neither 


- Syriac nor Greek, into Hebrew. ‘The theory is incompatible with the known facts ; the agreements 


(often literal) and the disagreements of the Hebrew with the primary versions make it practically 
inconceivable that it could have arisen in the way described.’* The obscurities in the Hebrew text 
alleged to be due to a misunderstanding of Persian expressions are all susceptible of a different— 
and more probable—explanation.t Consequently the hypothesis of a Persian basis for the text of 38 


' may be ruled out. But in a modified form the hypothesis of retranslation may be made much 


more defensible, viz. on the basis of the Syriac—and Greek—versions. It is not, indeed, alleged 
that the whole of the recovered Hebrew text can be explained in this way, but the dependence of 


_ parts of the text on & or 3 is seriously maintained by some scholars. It will, therefore, be necessary 
᾿ to subject some of the crucial cases adduced to examination. Nestle° brings forward a number of 


cases from #° in which he concludes that the Hebrew text of these passages ‘ cannot be explained 
in any other way than by the supposition that’ it rests ‘on a corrupt and glossed text, sometimes of 


' G, sometimes of S$’. He, however, does not allege of #° as a whole that it is a s¢mple retranslation 
᾿ of G ‘for even in #° there are passages which are at variance with &.’ The passages in question 


are iv. 30, 31, v.94, 13 ὦ, vii. 25, xxv. 17. The first and last of these may be taken as crucial 


᾿ examples. 


In iv. 30 & has: 
μὴ ἴσθι ws λέων ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ (Vv. 1. τὴ οἰκίᾳ) σου 
καὶ φαντασιοκοπῶν ἐν τοῖς οἰκέταις σου. 
x noli esse sicut leo in domo tua ; 
evertens domesticos tuos et opprimens subiectos tibi. 
Be not a dog (23) in thy house, 
And rebuking and fearful in thy works, 


ὮΝ ἼΠ23 2059 van bx 
ἼΠΘΝΟΩΣ Ν ΠῚ 1) 
H" sma. masa can ΟΝ 


:Jnmaya mnandy 


Here #* ‘like a dog’ (3539) = $; and ®° ‘like a lion’ (ΠΥ 1 Ν 5) =. ‘Can there be any doubt,’ 
says Nestle, ‘that A (i*) agrees with $ and C (15) with @?’ The mistake in S$ (353) may be due 
to a misreading of "355 (= was) ‘like a lion’. He, however, admits that the couplets as they stand 
cannot be explained entirely as retranslations. In particular, ‘how would a late Jewish translator 
hit upon tnan» to render so obscure a word as φαντασιοκοπῶν Ῥ᾿ But if the two couplets are not 
retranslations the obvious inference is that they represent two recensions of the original Hebrew 
text, one of which lies behind $ and the other behind & In #* 3055 is a corruption of 253 = "293 
(1253), which may be explained as a variant on the true reading (preserved in #°) A N32: IMD) may 
be a gloss: ἼΧΝΟΣ has come in by mistake from the previous verse ; the correct reading is preserved 


Cf. Schechter in /QA, xii. 461. 

The Origin of the ‘ Original’ Hebrew of Ecclesiasticits (1899). 

Toy in £8, i, col. 1168. 

For a detailed criticism of these alleged cases see Taylor-Schechter, WAS. 
Art. ‘Sirach’ in Hastings’s DB, iv. 547 f. 


275 ΤΆ 


a τον μὰ 


SIRACH 


in 325 ynmay3 (cf. ὅτ and $); sn is probably original, and inane) in #° a corruption of Jnana 


variant on ΝΠ. Thus the original Hebrew of the couplet may be restored : 


maa ama van bs 
syonaya nn 


Be not like a lion in thy family, 
And timid among thy slaves. 


[Smend, however, keeps ΟῚ in line 2: then render 
And shy and timid among thy slaves. | 


In the text so read xvn» affords an excellent word-play (suggested by Amos iii. 8) on ΠΡῚΝ in line 1 
—quite in the style of Ben-Sira." 
Again, in xxv. 17: 


The wickedness of a woman... darkeneth her countenance like sackcloth (A.V. marg. ‘or like ἃ 


bear’): R.V. as a bear doth. 
G® δίς. ὡς σάκκον: GY 55, 106, 155,157, 248, 253, Syro-Hex. ὡς ἄρκος : % (combining both 
readings) ¢anguam ursus et quast saccum. 


8 ... maketh pale the face of her husband, and 
Muaketh it black like the colour of a sack. 
wy WS ANID Wo AWK I 


:ay79 YB PN 


From these data Nestle concludes that ‘all rules of textual criticism .. . must be naught, or 
C (®°) is here the retranslation of a corrupt Greek text. The assumption is that ἄρκος is an inner 
(Greek) corruption of σάκκον, and that #° here has followed a Greek text which had the corruption. 
But it should be noted that ®° for the rest of the verse diverges strongly from &, and agrees with 
$ against & (1) in adding vx, and (2) in making the following word (135) refer to the husband (zs 
face). We are, therefore, driven to suppose that # has here followed & zz one word only, viz. in 
reading ‘bear’ for ‘sack’; in the rest of the verse it is independent of G, and approximates to 
(though it does not coincide with) $. The phenomena point in the same direction as in the other 
case examined, viz. to the existence of divergent recensions of the text of 32, one of which has been 
followed by & and another by 3, #° partly agreeing with both. At least two alternatives are 
possible to Nestle’s hypothesis, either of which is to be preferred to his solution; either (1) σάκκον 
is an inner (Greek) corruption of ἄρκος which has affected 5, or (2) the readings py and 3)1 existed 
in different recensions of ®. In either case 319 is probably the true reading of the original Hebrew, 
which may be restored from #° thus: 


ANID Ww) AWS pI 
$22 I] Wp 


The wickedness of a woman maketh black her look, 
And darkeneth her countenance like a bear's. 


The meaning of the couplet appears to be that wickedness makes a woman sinister of aspect and 
fierce ; the alternative reading ‘like sackcloth’ would introduce the idea of sadness and mourning, 
which does not harmonize so well with the context. As the previous couplet” suggests the comparison 
of the wicked woman to a lion or dragon, the further comparison of her aspect to a bear’s is in 
keeping. What is referred to, apparently, is the hardening effect of a course of wickedness, which 
makes a woman brazen. The context, therefore, does not really favour the idea that a woman's 
wickedness makes her sad of countenance (‘darkeneth her countenance like sackcloth’). Schechter® 
aptly cites in illustration a passage from the MWzdrash (Gen. rabba, § 87. 4) where Potiphar’s wife 
is compared to a bear (‘I will incite against thee the bear’). The bear is proverbially associated 
with fierceness in the O. T. ; cp. Prov. xvii. 12, 2 Sam. xvii. 8, Hos. xiii. 8. 
The hypothesis of partial retranslation of $ in ® has been urged by Prof. I. Lévi with much force. 
It may be stated in his own words:* ‘ Certain details indicate that both A (322) and B (425) are derived 
from a copy characterized by interpolations due to a retranslation from Syriac into Hebrew. Ina 
number of passages the same verse is given in two distinct renderings, one of which usually corre- 
1 So Taylor in JOR, xv. 611. 
> 7 would rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than keep house with a wicked woman. 
° JOR, xv. 464. Ε * JE, xi. 393 (art. ‘Sirach’). 
27 


INTRODUCTION 


᾿ sponds to the Syriac, even when this text represents merely a faulty or biased translation of the original. 
' These verses, moreover, in their conformity to the Syriac, become at times so meaningless that they 
| can be explained only as incorrect translations from that language. Such suspicious passages are 
| characterized by a comparatively modern style and language, by a commonplace phraseology, and by a 


| break in the parallelism which is affected by Ecclesiasticus. It may, therefore, be safely concluded that 


these doublets are merely additions made to render the Syriac version more intelligible. The same 
| statement holds true of certain textual emendations made by the glossarist. In this, however, there 
is nothing strange, since it is a well-known fact that the Jews of certain sections were familiar with 
Syriac, as is shown by the quotations made by Nahmanides from the Wisdom of Solomon, from 
Judith, and from Bel and the Dragon, and also by the introduction of the Peshitta of Proverbs 
into the Targum of the Hagiographa.’ The alleged cases in the doublets of 38 in which retranslation 
from S$ is assumed by Lévi have been subjected to close examination by A. Fuchs,! who has shown 
good grounds for rejecting the hypothesis, The alternative view that these doublets represent 
variant readings derived from different recensions of # is strongly upheld by Fuchs, and may be said 
to hold the field. With regard to the final acrostic hymn (li. 13-30), of which the version in #” is, 
- according to Lévi,a retranslation from 5,2 Levi’s hypothesis is again rejected by Fuchs, and also 
- by Dr. C. Taylor, who, after a careful discussion,’ concludes as follows: ‘ Further study of 35 has now 
brought out much positive evidence for its independence of 5, and seemingly none to the contrary.’ 
A word must be said in conclusion regarding the canticle which follows li. 12, and does not appear 
in any of the Versions. Is this a genuine part of the original Hebrew text of Ben-Sira? In favour 
of its authenticity may be urged the presence of the sentence : 


Give thanks unto Him that chooseth the sons of Zadok to be priests, 


which apparently contains an allusion to the pre-Maccabean high-priests who were descended from 
Zadok. The absence, too, of any reference to specifically Pharisaic ideas, such as the doctrine of 
the resurrection of the body, may also be cited in favour of its genuineness. Its omission in the 
Greek translation of Ben-Sira’s grandson may be explained by the reference to the ‘sons of Zadok’ 
—which might have proved a source of offence at a time when the high-priesthood was no longer 
held by descendants of that line. On the other hand, the sentiment expressed in the line: 


Give thanks unto Him that maketh the horn of the House of David to bud 


is directly opposed to that expressed in ch. xxxvi, and in the entire ‘ Hymn of the Fathers’ (ch. xliv— - 
xlviii). Perhaps the solution reached by Fuchs? is least open to objection. Fuchs concludes that 
the Psalm, which is not a genuine part of the original Book of Ben-Sira, is old and originally existed 
in an independent form ; it was inserted in the Hebrew text of Ben-Sira before the year 153 B.C. by 
a reader who thought the context, which already contained psalm-pieces, a suitable one. It may 
have emanated from the circles of the Haszdim (‘the Assideans’), who had already taken a stand 
against Hellenism before the Maccabean revolt. 

Enough has been said to show that the text of 39, though it is disfigured by scribal errors and 
corruptions, and—in some places—by the presence of glosses, is yet essentially independent of & and 
δ; the hypothesis of retranslation breaks down, at best a plausible case for the influence of such 
a factor can only be made out for an insignificant number of verses, where, however, an alternative— 
and, on the whole, more probable—explanation is possible. 

On the other hand, it is all-important to remember that # constantly explains the variations in 
the Versions. This is one of the surest indications of its essential genuineness. One or two examples 
will illustrate many others. In vi. 30 ® reads: aby ant Ὃν and & has κόσμος γὰρ χρύσεός ἐστιν ἐπ’ 
αὐτῆς. Here the first word in ® can be corrected by & to "Ἵν (‘ornament’), thus yielding the line: 

An ornament of gold is her yoke. 
At the same time the third word in ® explains G’s ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς, which is obviously due to my being 
misread mY, 


The following is an example of a different kind. In xiii. 1 ὦ ® has: 


5 snd) yd Sx am 
And he that associateth with a scorner will learn his way. has καὶ 6 κοινωνῶν ὑπερηφάνῳ ὁμοιωθήσεται 


aire. S&S He that associateth with a godless man is clothed with his way. 
Here § reads 1955 wads for ®s ἸΣῪΤ ποῦ; G& has apparently corrected the expression (cf. %) ; 


1 Texthritische Untersuchungen zum hebraischen Ekklesiastikus (Freiburg i. B., 1907). 

2 The hymn, which follows the Syriac version closely throughout, is evidently a retranslation from the latter’ 
(JE, xi. 393). For Lévi’s detailed arguments see his Z’ £cclésias/égue, ii, pp. xxi-xxvii. 

$ Journal of Philology, xxx, pp. 95-132. 4 Op. cit., pp. 102-110. 


277 


SIRACH 


spd) and εἶπον may have arisen by confusion; or smb) may be a correction of an original vas. In 
any case # independently throws light on the text ; even its corruptions are illuminating. Another 
indication of originality in ® is the frequent word-plays. A good example of such is viii. 18: 
7 wyn oy ates. Here a and 17 provide an excellent instance, and will serve to illustrate 
numerous others. 

If any further confirmation be needed as to the value and genuineness of the Hebrew fragments 
as a whole it may be furnished from the words of Prof. Lévi, who, as has been pointed out above, 
feels constrained to adopt the hypothesis of retranslation in the case of a restricted number of verses _ 
(mostly doublets). Yet, despite these assumed ‘corrections and interpolations’, he declares that ‘the 
originality of the text in these fragments of Ben-Sira cannot be denied. Besides the fact that many 
scholars deny the existence of any interpolations, there are portions in which it is easy to recognize 
the author’s hand, for he has a characteristic technique, style, vocabulary, and syntax which are © 
evident in all the Versions. It may safely be said that in the main the work of Ben-Sira has been 
preserved just as it left his hands, while the chief variant marginal readings recorded in the fragments ξ. 
and confirmed by the translations may be regarded as evidences of the existence of two separate 
editions written by Ben-Sira himself. It is self-evident, moreover, that Ecclesiasticus has undergone 
some alterations at the hands of scribes, and it would have been strange indeed if this book alone — 
should have wholly escaped the common lot of such writings. No more conclusive proof could be — 
found, were any necessary, of the fidelity of the Hebrew version than its frequent agreement, in 
citations from the Bible, with the text on which the Septuagint is based rather than with the — 
Massorah, as in the case of 1 Sam. xii. 3 as compared with Sirach xlvi. 19, or Isa. xxxviii. 17 with — 
irach 1. 2.1 


(c) The secondary Hebrew recension. 


The indications that point to the existence of a secondary Greek version of Sirach are 
discussed and set forth in the next section (ᾧ 4). It is there shown that this secondary and amplified 
recension—undertaken clearly in order to make the teaching of the book more acceptable to later 
orthodox (Pharisaic) circles—is not fully represented in any group of Greek MSS.; it has affected 
most extensively the 248 group, and is largely in evidence in the Old Latin and also in the Syriac 
versions.” Originally, however, it seems probable that it existed in a complete and independent form, 
of which the readings mentioned above are traces. In other words, the secondary Greek recension 
has affected in varying degrees certain groups of the Greek MSS. of the book, and also the Versions. 
The question arises: was this secondary Greek version due to a purely Greek revision of the book, 
or does it depend upon a revised Hebrew text—in other words, upon a secondary Hebrew recension ἢ 
The phenomena of the text point unmistakably to the latter alternative ; the secondary Greek text 
depends essentially upon, and is a translation of, a younger Hebrew recension of the book. 

Traces of this younger recension remain in the MSS. of 32, though there are only traces ; it has 
in fact affected these MSS. only partially, and its influence can also be seen in the Rabbinic citations. 
The following from among the examples cited by Smend® will illustrate what has just been said. 
In xvi. 3 ς the ordinary Greek text (B, &c.), which represents the origina’ Ben-Sira, has: 


κρείσσων yap εἷς ἢ χίλιοι. 
For this ®* has an expanded text, viz. : 
FOND YT ΠῸΡ ἼΠΝ mw 5 (so 9 exactly). 

Chrysostom, in citing the verse, has the doublet : 

καὶ κρείσσων εἷς ποιῷν τὸ θέλημα κυρίου ἣ μύριοι παράνομοι. 
δοιὰ has the doublet : 

κρείσσων yap εἷς δίκαιος ποιῶν θέλημα κυρίου ἢ μύριοι παράνομοι. 
& 70 248 have for 3c: 
κρείσσων γὰρ εἷς δίκαιος ἢ χίλιοι (70 + ἁμαρτωλοί). 

x Melior est enim unus timens deum quam mille filii impii. 


What Ben-Sira wrote was: 
FROND IAN sD 5 


The addition yn τῶν belongs to the secondary Hebrew recension which underlies the revised Greek 


B/E x1 504. 
3 The Syriac version, though made directly from the Hebrew, has apparently been influenced often by Greek MSS., 


which contained secondary readings; see ὃ 5 below and cp. S d <Xxl 
> Ope g $5 Ρ- Smend, § 12 (p. cxxxix f.). 


278 


INTRODUCTION 


text. Another example shows the same verse as it appeared in the original Hebrew text and in the 
secondary recension. Ch. v. ΤΙ is preserved in two forms in ®* and ®°. In ®* it runs: 


ΠΝ ΠΟ sayy mn 
203ND awn A AND) 


Be swift to give ear, 
And with patience of spirit return answer. 
In ® it runs: 
AO AYNOWA D2 An 

273133 AYN AY JANA 
CS ee 
(ἃ has: γίνου ταχὺς ἐν ἀκροάσει σου (248 + ἀγαθῇ)) ΔΕ 

καὶ ἐν μακροθυμίᾳ φθέγγου ἀπόκρισιν (248 &c. + ὀρθήν). 


Here clearly the Greek MSS. 248 &c. have corrected the older text of & according to the later 
Hebrew recension represented in ®°; the ordinary text of & and 3 = ®* (except that & appears to 


have read myy2v'a for jn, the latter being a variant of the former perhaps). 

In some cases the doublets in 39, to which reference has been made in the former part of this 
section, are to be explained in this way, one couplet reproducing the older Hebrew text, another the 
younger. It might be argued that these additions in the text of & are merely glosses and inde- 
pendent amplifications made in the Greek MSS. which have affected the Hebrew fragments. But 
Smend, after a very close and exhaustive investigation, has made it probable (a) that the additions 
as a whole—though a certain small amount of inner Greek amplification, perhaps under Christian 
influence, must be allowed for—possess a number of striking and peculiar features which point to 
a common origin and their being part of a comprehensive and deliberate revision ; in other words, they 
belong to a special recension: and (4) that this recension depends upon a Hebrew basis: many of 
the expressions and phrases used are fundamentally Hebrew, and are clearly translations of Hebrew 
originals. The difficulties of the hypothesis which would account for the presence of such elements 
in the Hebrew MSS. as due to retranslation have already been discussed. 


(4) Zhe reconstruction of the original Hebrew text. 


It has already been shown that the Hebrew fragments contain the genuine original text, though 
with many corruptions and with a certain amount of text-mixture due to the existence of different 
recensions. The first task of criticism, therefore, is to free the text, as it has been handed down in 
the MSS., from corruptions, glosses, and scribal errors. For this purpose the Hebrew text itself 
offers, in the first place, the most valuable aid. Ben-Sira’s language constantly echoes that of the 
Old Testament, and it is remarkable how clearly and frequently these reminiscences display them- 
selves in the text of 3.2 Then, again, the form of the text in couplets of short lines of a certain 
approximately equal length and defined rhythm is of material assistance. It is often possible to reduce 
the lines to the normal length and rhythm by the removal of a superfluous word or words. The use 
of the ancient Versions—especially of & and S—is often of great value for reconstructing the original 
Hebrew, though it must not be forgotten that these Versions are themselves beset with many draw- 
backs. Both have suffered much from textual deterioration; both are often free and not literal 
renderings ; even the original form of &, as it was made by the author's grandson, does not, it would 
seem, depend upon the Hebrew text of Ben-Sira’s autograph, but upon a later transcript. Yet, when 
all possible reservations have been made, the ancient Versions constantly afford aid of inestimable 
value for the work of reconstruction. Finally, the data derived from ® is often of the greatest 
possible value for criticizing those parts of the book for which no portions of the Hebrew text have 
been recovered. These points receive ample illustration in the text and textual notes which are 
printed in the following commentary. We are unable to subscribe to the verdict of Prof. Toy when 
he says:* ‘In general the text of Ben-Sira remains nearly as it was before the discovery of the 
fragments. On the contrary, a careful study of 32, and the use of it for the purpose of constructing 


_ ἦ Cp. xxxiv. 20 a ὦ, xxxv. 22 in ®; xi. 15, 16, which appears in #*, apparently belongs also to the secondary recen- 
sion, and 50 xvi. 15, 16. f : " ᾿ 5 ΤΥ ΤΑ ΠῚ ; 

Such expressions as ἐντολαὶ αἰώνιοι (i. 5), γνῶσις ἐντολῶν (xix. 19), μακρότης ἡμερῶν are of this kind: δένδρον 
ἀθανασίας (xix. 19) =O" YY: in some cases the renderings amount to mistranslations, e.g. φωτισμὸς ὑγιείας (xvii. 26) = 
᾿ BYNT NN: see further Smend, p. cxv f. 
5 See e. g. the elaborate list of parallel passages given in Taylor-Schechter, ZS, pp. 13-32. 
4 EB, iv, col. 4651. 

279 


SIRACH 


4 critical text of the book, has confirmed to us the verdict of the distinguished scholars who first 
made it available for the scientific world. How far-reaching and transforming its effect on the old 
currently-received Greek Sirach really has been will be apparent to any careful reader who will take 
the trouble to compare the critical version of the text, as it appears in the following commentary, 
with that printed in the Authorized and Revised English versions.’ 


§ 4. THE GREEK VERSION AND THE SECONDARY GREEK TEXT. 


Among the versions of Sirach this is the most important as being the earliest. As the 
Prologue tells us, the Greek translation was made from the original Hebrew by the author's grand- 
son; there was, therefore, not a long period of time between the original writing and its Greek 
translation. The Greek form of the book was that in which it was first officially received by the 
Church. Another fact which enhances the importance of this version is that in a number of 
instances the text represents a purer form of the original Hebrew than that contained in the manuscripts 
of the Hebrew text recently discovered. This fact makes the use of the Greek version extremely 
valuable, and indeed indispensable, for the reconstruction of the Hebrew text. 

The text of this version, as the critical notes in the commentary will amply show, has come 
down to us ina bad condition; not infrequently it defies emendation. But in connexion with this 
two points must be taken into account when using the Greek text for the purpose of reconstructing 
the Hebrew. In the first place, there is in many cases of an apparently bad condition of the text 
the possibility that it was always so; that is to say, that it may be due to the initial inability of 
Ben-Sira’s grandson to give a proper translation, so that what appears now as a bad text was so from 
the beginning. ‘Ye are entreated, therefore, says the translator in his Prologue, ‘to make your 
perusal with favour and attention, and to be indulgent if in any parts of what we have laboured to 
interpret we may seem to fail in some of the phrases. For things originally spoken in Hebrew have 
not the same force in them when they are translated into another tongue.’ And, secondly, Ben-Sira’s 
grandson clearly does not consider it the duty of a translator to give anything in the shape of 
a literal translation of his original; he seeks, rightly, to present as far as possible a well-constructed 
Greek interpretation rather than a slavish reproduction of what he translates ; and when, as in the 
present case, it is poetry which is in question, the translator’s freedom is of course increased. These 
two points must, therefore, not be lost sight of. But when all allowance is made for this, the fact 
still remains that the Greek text is in a far from satisfactory state; it has suffered greatly from 
corruptions made in transmission, it has often been inflated by the addition of glosses, inserted some- 
times for explanatory, at other times for doctrinal purposes, and further, marginal notes, not originally 
intended to be additions, have been later on incorporated into the text. Before proceeding, mention 
may here be made of the great displacement in the Greek text ; we quote from Dr. Swete:* ‘A 
remarkable divergence in the arrangement of the Septuagint and Old Latin versions of Ecclesiasticus 
xxx-xxxvi calls for notice. In these chapters the Greek order fails to yield a natural sequence, 
whereas the Latin arrangement, which is also that of the Syriac and Armenian versions, makes 
excellent sense. Two sections, Xxx. 25-xXxXxiii. 13. @ (ὡς καλαμώμενος.. .. φυλὰς ᾿Ιακώβ) and xxxiii. 13 b- 
XXXVi. 16 @ (λαμπρὰ Kapdla ... ἔσχατος ἠγρύπνησα), have exchanged places in the Latin, and the change 
is justified by the result. On examination it appears that these sections are nearly equal, containing 
in B 154 and 159 στίχοι respectively, whilst 8 exhibits 160 in each.’ There can be little doubt that 
in the evemplar from which, so far as is certainly known, all our Greek MSS. of this book ‘are 
ultimately derived the pairs of leaves on which these sections were severally written had been 
transposed, whereas the Latin translator, working from a MS. ‘in which the transposition had not 
taken place, has preserved the true order. ὃ 

When the various MSS. of the Greek version are examined it is seen that they exhibit great 
divergences,* and these divergences are further increased when the other versions and the patristic 
quotations are taken into consideration. For English readers the most instructive way of being 
brought face to face with these variations found in the Greek MSS. is to compare the Revised and 
Authorized versions together, for in the margin of the Revised version the following note occurs 
again and again: ‘Verse... is omitted by the best authorities’; by these ‘best authorities’ are 
meant the great Greek uncials of the fourth century A.D. (Bs A). In the Authorized version, on 
the other hand, all the verses or parts of verses omitted by the Revised version find a place, the 


* It should be noted that the displacement in chapter xxxi. 25 f., which has affected all extant Greek MSS., does not 
appear in #), which has the true order. See further on this point next section. 
* The Old Testament in Greek, vol. ii. p. vi. 
; The solution is due to O. F. Fritzsche, Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zu den Apokryphen, ν, pp. 169, 170. 
For examples recourse must be had to the apparatus criticus in the commentary. 


280 


INTRODUCTION 


reason for this being that the Greek text of which the Authorized version is a translation is that 
represented by a number of cursives belonging to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a text 
which is also to a large extent represented in the Old Latin version, and in the quotations from 
Sirach in the writings of some of the Church Fathers. These great divergences, then, in the 
Greek MSS., all of which, as we have just seen, go back to one copy in which the great displacement 
was already present, occasion a difficult problem. Two points, however, emerge clearly; in the 
face of the striking and numerous divergences and additions it is evident that all the MSS. cannot 
ultimately all go back to one original form of text; and, again, since all the extant Greek MSS. 
are descended from one copy in which the displacement was already found, the divergences and 
additions must have been in existence at a very early period. The matter can be put in another 
way ; Cod. B, for example, represents one type of Greek text, Codd. 248, 253 represent another type, 
that, namely, which contains the additions: both have the great displacement, and therefore both, 
presumably, must ultimately go back to one and the same copy, although in the actual dates of 
these two manuscripts there is a difference of, roughly speaking, a thousand years. But how can it 
be possible that these two manuscripts should go back to one original copy when one of them has 
sO many variations and additions as compared with the other? Here let us note another factor 
which is of real assistance in helping to arrive at a solution of the problem—the Old Latin version, 
which is a translation of the Greek, has the additions, but has 707 got the displacement. Now the 
Old Latin version represents a condition of affairs which is older than either the great uncial codices 
or the cursives as we now have them; this, therefore, proves that the type of text represented by 
Codd. 248, 253 was extant in some MSS, before the existence of the archetypal MS. which contained 
the displacement. 

It seems clear that there existed at a very early period, probably as early as the last century 
B.C., two types of the Greek text, a przmary text, which lies at the back of αὐ the Greek MSS., and 
which represents the original translation of Ben-Sira’s grandson, and a secondary text. The former 
of these, the przmary text, is represented by the great uncials Bs A and the group of cursives 68, 
155, 157, 296, 307, 308, as well as in the Aldine and Sixtine editions. The secondary text is 
represented in varying degrees by the group of cursives 55, 70, 106, 248, 253, 254, and in the MS. 
used by the seventh-century corrector of Cod. Siniaticus, x°* ; of these the foremost representative 
is 248; this type of text is also reflected in the Old Latin and the Syriac versions, as well as in 
the Syro-Hexaplar (in this latter many of the passages belonging to the secondary text are marked 
with the asterisk), and in the Complutensian text ; it also has the support of Clement of Alexandria 
and Chrysostom in their quotations from our book. This secondary Greek text was, like the 
primary one, translated from the Hebrew.’ In the Talmud, and in some other Jewish writings, 
there are Rabbinical Hebrew quotations from Sirach which vary from the text of the great 
uncials (the primary text), but which are represented in the secondary Greek text. Again, in some 
cases the secondary Hebrew text, remnants of which are preserved in the recently-found Hebrew 
-MSS., is represented in the ‘248 group’, but not in the uncials and their followers. And there is 
this further fact that many of the additions found in the ‘ 248 group’ can, on account of their form, 
only be explained on the supposition of their having been translated direct from a Hebrew original. 
These points go to show that the additions which belong to the secondary Greek text are not 
interpolations, but are based in the main upon a secondary Hebrew original. 

To come back again, then, to the question with which we started ; how are the two (apparently 
contradictory) following facts to be explained? There are great divergences in our Greek MSS., 
and yet all go back to one archetype, because all have the same great displacement. The most 
probable hypothesis would seem to be that the archetype responsible for the displacement was 
a Greek MS. which contained the primary text represented by the uncials. From this MS. the 
uncials were directly derived, but at the same time other Greek MSS. were in existence which 
contained the secondary text and were without the displacement.2 As copies were multi- 
plied of the former group the distorted order was adhered to, while in some cases the variant text 
of the MSS. representing the secondary recension was adopted and embodied ; hence two varieties 
of text, both of which contain the displacement, come into existence. The purest extant form of 
the text of the secondary recension is represented apparently by the Old Latin version ; the text 
of Cod. 248 only partially embodies the variants and additions of the Greek MSS. behind the 
Old Latin. 

But although there are some half-dozen Greek MSS., in addition to the Syriac and Old Latin 
versions and the Syro-Hexaplar, in which the secondary Greek text is represented, it is certain that 
no one of these actually contains that text as such; all that can be said is that these authorities 


? On the primary and secondary Hebrew texts see the preceding section, § 3 (esp. (c)). Ὁ 
* It should be noted that # agrees with 11, &c., in having the true order; it has not the displacement. 
281 


SIRACH 


have to a greater or less extent been influenced by it. Thus, apart from a great many minor 
additions, the ‘248 group’ of MSS. (including 8** and the Syro-Hexaplar), taken altogether, have 
about a hundred and fifty s¢échoi which are not found in the MSS. representing the primary Greek 
text ; 1 of these additions thirty-two are found in the Syriac version, which has, besides these, thirty- 
seven more of its own; the Old Latin version has a much larger number of its own, together with 
thirty-three of those found in the ‘248 group’. The other group of cursive MSS., mentioned 
above, which with the uncials represent the primary Greek text, were originally based on the 
secondary text, for they still contain traces of this latter, and must therefore be regarded as the 
descendants of manuscripts representing the secondary text which were corrected on the basis of 
the uncials. 

Although the fragments of the secondary Greek text now extant are considerable, they are but 
fragments, and, as the sequel will show, it is reasonable to assume that at one time the divergences 
between the two types of text must have been considerably greater. The question, therefore, 
naturally arises why it was that a secondary type of text (in the first instance, as we have seen, 
existing in Hebrew) should ever have come into existence ? The additions found in the ‘ 248 group’ 
and other authorities are so considerable that they cannot be accounted for by the assumption 
that they are merely arbitrary expansions of the text or explanatory glosses; they must have some 
more specific purpose. We believe that Mr. Hart is right in saying that these additions are 
‘Fragments of the Wisdom of a Scribe of the Pharisees, and contain tentative Greek renderings 
of many of the technical terms and watchwords of the sect. As Jesus ben Sira dealt with the 
earlier Scriptures, so some unknown disciple dealt with his master’s composition. He received the 
deposit and added to it ;’ the additions are ‘ traditional accretions, which—so far as external evidence 
testifies—descended from an immemorial antiquity’, though ‘they do not necessarily proceed from 
the hand of one individual’. In fact, the secondary Greek text represents a Pharisaic recension 
of the original work of Ben-Sira. But before we deal more fully with the subject of this Pharisaic 
recension, it is important as well as instructive to indicate the standpoint represented by Ben-Sira 
himself in his work ; this will help to explain and justify the existence of the later recension. 

Dr. Taylor, in his edition of Pzrge Aboth (1897), p. 115, says in reference to the books of the 
Sadducees: ‘We have no authentic remains of Sadducee literature, but it has been suggested with 
a certain plausibility that the book Ecclesiasticus approximates to the standpoint of the primitive 
Caduqin as regards its theology, its sacerdotalism, and its want of sympathy with the modern 
Soferim.’ The name of Ezra is significantly omitted from its catalogue of worthies. ‘It remains 
singular’, remarks Kuenen, ‘that the man whom a later generation compared, nay, made almost 
equal, to Moses, is passed over in silence. . .. Is it not really most natural that a Jesus ben Sirach 
did not feel sympathy enough for the first of the Scribes to give him a place of honour in the 
series of Israel’s great men?’ The modern Scrze was to Ben-Sirach an unworthy descendant of the 
primitive lV/zse, in accordance with Eli‘ezer ha-Gadol’s lament over the degeneracy of a later age: 


243 NYNADD yard NOI Ww wopen ma aanw ows 


‘Ex quo Templum devastatum est,* coepere Sapientes similes esse Scrzbis; Scribae aedituis; Aeditui, 
vulgo hominum ; Vulgus vero hominum in peius indies ruit, nec quis rogans, aut quaerens, superest. 
Cui ergo innitendum? Patri nostro coelesti?’ Dr. Taylor points out, further, the important fact 
that in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 100 6) the Books of the Sadducees and the Book of Ben- 
Stra are placed side by side on the ‘ Index expurgatorius’ : 


apd TDN I ND {2 HDI AWS FD 34 DP My aD’ Non 


What Dr. Taylor says receives confirmation from the Hebrew text of the Canticle following 1. 12, 
which was discovered subsequently to the publication of his book: ‘Give thanks unto Him that 
chooseth the sons of Zadok to be priests; for His mercy endureth for ever.’® It is also in accordance 
with the Sadducean theology contained in the book. There is no mention of the existence of 
angels, and only the scantiest reference to demons (and even this is not certain), the central idea 
being that of a personified Wisdom.® Then, again, special prominence is given to the Law; here we 
may be permitted to quote again from Dr. Taylor's book, especially as in connexion with what 
he says a further Sadducean tenet, the denial of a resurrection, is included (in Sirach belief in 
a hereafter is restricted to the Sheol-conception): ‘The Sadducees said, μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν (Matt. 
xxii. 23), and our Lord answers by an indirect argument from the Pentateuch, instead of bringing 


3 Cod. 248 alone has a hundred and twenty-three. 2 See Smend, Die Weisheit des Jesus Sirach, pp. xciv. 

> Of. cit., p. 274. Ἄν * Mishnah, «ϑοζαλ ix. 5 (Surenhusius, vol. iii, p. 308). 

* These words do not occur in either the Greek or the Syriac versions. 5 See further § 9, ili. 
282 


INTRODUCTION 


proofs of a more obvious and direct kind from other parts of Holy Scripture. Hence it has been 
inferred that they accepted the Pentateuch only, and rejected the Nebiim and Kethubim. On the 
other side, it is asserted that this inference is wholly inaccurate ; that they accepted the three divi- 
sions of the Old Testament, and rejected only the extra-scriptural ‘ Tradition’ and scribe-law. The 
truth, perhaps, lies 272 medio. The Jews in general esteemed, and still esteem, the Pentateuch more 
highly than the Prophets and the Hagiographa: 


preys oo ὉΞΟῚ ae mio part [jaa] poapo yay adap as pansy ow wap “ors ὮΝ Job) 
24> opim my» ΟΡ omap ayvend 


‘And therefore I say that the Prophets and Hagiographa are called words of Qadébalah, because they 
were received by διαδοχή, and they came from the days of Moses; and by no means are they equal 
to the Five Books, which are all precepts and ordinances, &c.’ If the Sadducees were of the number 
of those who insisted most strongly upon the superior authority of the Pentateuch, it might in 
certain cases be nearer to the truth to say that they rejected the Prophets and Hagiographa than 
to say that they accepted them. If a prophet were quoted in opposition to Moses they would 
have questioned the authority of the prophet.’ The antagonism between the Sadducees and the 
Pharisees on this point is clearly indicated by Josephus (Azz. xiii. 10. 6), where he says: ‘ The 
Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession [cp. Dr. Taylor's 
quotation above] from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses; and it is for this 
reason that the Sadducees reject them, and say, that we are to esteem as obligatory (only) those 
observances that are in the written word, but are not to observe those things that are derived from 
the traditions of our forefathers. The prominence given to the Law in Sirach may, therefore, 
well indicate the Sadducean attitude. Again, the very meagre reference to the Messianic hope, 
which is also characteristic of our book, likewise points to its emanating from a Sadducean mzlzeu, 
for the Sadducees did not share the Messianic hopes of the Pharisees; the latter, following the 
teaching of the Prophets, looked to God to guide the destinies of the nation, while the Sadducees 
disbelieved in such divine guidance; they ‘take away fate, affirming that there is no such thing, 
and that the events of human affairs are not at its disposal, but they hold that all our actions are 
in our own power’ (Josephus, Azz. xiii. 5. 9; cp. Bell. ud. ii. 8. 14). Further, Ben-Sira shows 
himself to be a Sadducee by his comparatively favourable attitude towards the heathen world; it is 
true that one of the main objects of his book is to show the superiority of Jewish wisdom over that 
of the Greeks, but he does not show that contempt for non-Jews which was so characteristic of the 
Pharisees. f 
What has been said is sufficient to show that our book, in its original form, represented the 
Sadducean standpoint; and this fact offers a prima facie presumption that with the growth of 
Pharisaic influence a book which enjoyed so much popularity as Sirach should have been later 
on moulded, as far as possible, into a form more in accordance with the ideas of the dominant 
party, and that therefore the additions which constitute the main feature of the secondary Greek 
text should reflect specifically Pharisaic teaching. As an active movement Pharisaism emerges from 
the Maccabean conflict with surrounding heathenism and only becomes quiescent after the annihila- 
tion of the Jewish national life in the reign of Hadrian (from about 150 B.C.-A.D. 130). The work 
which the teachers of the Law had begun—viz. the application of the Torah to the practical affairs 
of everyday life—was continued and made effective by the Pharisees. Elbogen, in his Relzgzozs 
Views of the Pharisees, p. 2, says: ‘The Pharisees are usually described as the party of narrow 
legalistic tendencies, and it is forgotten how strenuously they laboured, against the Hellenizing 
movement, for the maintenance of MWonotheism; it is forgotten that they built up religzous indivi- 
dualism and purely spiritual worship; that it was through them more especially that delief i 
a future life was deepened ; and that they carried on a powerful mission propaganda. They are 
represented as merely the guardians of the Pentateuch, and the fact is overlooked that they no less 
esteemed the Prophets and the Hagiographa, and were not less careful to make it their duty, in the 
weekly expositions of the Scriptures, to preach to the people the truths and hopes of religion out of 
these books.’ Fully in accordance with these religious views of the Pharisees are the three great 
watchwords in reference to practical religion to be found in Pharisaic literature, viz. ΠΡ ΝῚ nmban) awn, 
ie. repentance, prayer, and almsgiving (lit. ‘ righteousness’) ; these three are mentioned together as 
the three things which ‘avert the evil doom’.* In illustration of these Pharisaic religious views we 


1 [Read }'§) for Ὁ 1Π2: Then we get the right sense: ‘though they came not’ instead of ‘ and they came.’— 
Gen. Editor.] 

2 Op. cit., p. 114. J 

8 With what is said here regarding the Pharisees cp. Box’s ‘Survey of Recent Literature on the Pharisees and 
Sadducees’, in the Review of Theology and Philosophy, vol. iv, No. 3, pp. 133 ff. 


283 


SIRACH 


will take a few examples from the additions found in the secondary Greek text in order to show the 
high probability of their having been put in by a Pharisaic scribe or scribes for the purpose of 
bringing the book more into harmony with the views of what had become the dominant religious 
party in Palestine. i ὶ 

We have seen that in contra-distinction to Sadducean teaching the Pharisees believed strongly 
in the divine governance of the world and in a close relationship between God’s children and their 
heavenly Father ; in illustration of this we may turn first to xvi. 10, where the Hebrew text has: 


᾿ 


Thus (did it happen) to the six hundred thousand footmen, ; 
Who were destroyed in the arrogancy of their heart. 


To this 55 70 248 add: ἱ 


Chastising, showing mercy, smiting, beating, 
The Lord guarded them in mercy and in discipline. 


This addition is quite inappropriate where it stands, and has evidently got out of place, but it must 
evidently have been inserted for the purpose of emphasizing God’s activity among His people. 
A similar emphasis is found in the addition to xvii. 17, where 70 248 insert: 


Whom (i.e. Israel) He brought up as His firstborn with severity, 
Vet loving them, imparting to them the light of love, and He forsook them not. 


Further, in order to assert more strongly the divine guidance in the world, which, as we have seen 
from the words of Josephus above, the Sadducees denied, the Pharisaic scribe inserts in the middle 
of xvi. 19 (as preserved in 248), The whole world was made, and existeth, by His will; the fine passage 
in which Ben-Sira describes the transcendent might of Jahveh scarcely seems to require this inser- 
tion, but, as a matter of fact, it does afford a better answer to the words of the supposed sceptic which 
Ben-Sira uses ; the point cannot be grasped unless the passage is quoted ; in xvi. 17 it is said: 


Say not: “7 am hidden from God, 
And in the height who will remember me ? 
7 shall not be noticed among so illustrious a people ; 
And what is my soul among the mass of the spirits of all the children of men?’ 


These are the words which a sceptic is supposed to utter, and Ben-Sira answers the objector thus, 
Xvi. 18, 19: 
Behold the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, 
And the deep, and the earth ; 
When He treadeth upon them they stand firm, 
And when He visiteth them they tremble ; 
Vea, the bottoms of the mountains, and the foundations of the world, 
When He looketh upon them they tremble greatly. 


Ben-Sira’s reply is a fine one ; it is probably true to say that he was a better Scribe than Sadducee 
in spite of the main tendency of his book (see the exegetical notes in the commentary for the 
Biblical references echoed in the lines above), but his answer was not sufficiently to the point for 
the practical Pharisee, whose added words offer in reality a more direct and pointed argument 
against the erroneous view expressed. Again, for practical purposes, as Hart well points out, ‘ it 
Was necessary to guard against the tendency towards the Sadducean position, and to assert against 
them the fact that God governed the world’ ; and so the Pharisaic glossator adds after xviii. 29 (248) : 


Better is trust (lit. ‘ boldness’) in a single Master (i.e. God), 
Than with a dead heart to cling to dead things (i.e. idols). 


With a similar object the following addition is made after xviii. 2 (70 248): Ben-Sira says, The 
Lord alone shall be justified; then comes the addition: 


And there is none other beside Him, 
Who guideth the world in the hollow of His hand, 
And all things are obedient unto His will ; 
For He is king of all things, and they are in His power; 

He separateth among them the holy things from the common. 
1 κρείσσων παρρησία ἐν δεσπότῃ μόνῳ 

ἢ νεκρὰ καρδία νεκρῶν aes (xvill. 29 Cod. 248). 

284 


INTRODUCTION 


And with the same purpose these striking words are added after xx. 91 (248): 


Letter is persistent endurance (ὑπομονή) in seeking the Lord 
Than a driver (tpoxndarns, ‘ charioteer’) of his own life without a master. 


Hart (of. cit., p. 280) has some interesting remarks on these passages. ‘The description of the 
typical Sadducee’, he says, ‘as clinging with dead heart to dead things goes little beyond the account 
of Josephus. It is true he never identifies the sect formally with the Epicureans, but he describes 
them both in similar terms, and indicates his conviction that their denial of Providence leads to 
virtual atheism. A God who has no oversight of the universe is equivalent to a dead idol. Epi- 
cureans and Sadducees might acknowledge the distant existence of the gods of their respective 
nations,! but this formal acknowledgement could not save them from the lash of the orthodox. The 
Rabbis employ the word Epicurus to denote the fool who said in his heart, There is no God. And 
such were dead even in their lifetime, as the righteous live on even in death.? The picture of the 
charioteer, who drives his life, which is his chariot, at random, directed by no master, corresponds 
closely enough with one of the metaphors employed by Josephus: “ The Epicureans ”, he says, “expel 
Providence from life, and do not admit that God oversees events, nor yet that the universe is guided 
by the blessed and incorruptible Essence for the permanence of the whole; they say that the world 
is borne along lacking a charioteer and uncared for.” ὃ 

The divine unity, together with the belief in God as the unique Saviour, is brought out by the 
addition in 70 248 (with slight variations) to xxiv. 23: 


Faint not, but be strong in the Lord, 
And cleave unto Him that He may strengthen you. 

Cleave unto Him; the Lord, the Almighty, ts the one and only God ; 
And beside Him there ts no Saviour. 


This passage offers one of the most striking instances of the Pharisaic doctrine of God, both as 
regards the Divine personality as well as the relationship between Him and His true worshippers. 
This double aspect of Pharisaic doctrine, which has not always been adequately recognized, has 
been insisted upon with some emphasis by a recent writer. ‘It is well’, he says, ‘to lay stress upon 
. the Pharisaic belief in the nearness of God and the directness of access to Him; also to make clear 
the fact that emphatic resistance was offered by the Pharisees to any idea of a plurality of Divine 
persons. ... Of course it was never denied that God was the Almighty, the Lord of all worlds, 
supreme over everything. Indeed, that was affirmed over and over again, and is one of the axioms 
of Pharisaic belief. But, whatever other Jews may have done under the influence of Hellenism, the 
Pharisees never doubted for a moment that God Himself, the one supreme God, was actually near to 
every one of His people; “near in every kind of nearness,” as it was said (Jer. Berak. 13 a). + 

The cleaving unto the Lord so strongly emphasized in the last-quoted addition leads us on 
to illustrate the Pharisaic characteristic of pietism; personal religion, that religious individualism 
which did so much to foster spiritual worship, is brought out in a number of the additions found in 
the secondary Greek text. Not that Ben-Sira was himself wanting in deep piety, but as compared 
with the Pharisaic ideal it is not surprising to find that the book was considered in some respects 
wanting, and that it seemed to the more ardent religious temperament of the Pharisees as not 
sufficiently expressive of the close relationship between God and His pious ones. For example, 
Ben-Sira says in i. 12: 

The fear of the Lord delighteth the heart, 
And giveth gladness, and joy, and length of days ; 


but the Pharisee deepens the sentiment by adding (70 253): 


The fear of the Lord is a gift from the Lord, 
For it setteth |men]| upon paths of love. 


In the same way, a few verses further on (16 f.), Ben-Sira’s words: 


To fear the Lord is the fullness of wisdom, 
And she satiateth men with her fruits ; 
oa Gpeexvile 17- } ; ᾿ 
2 Jer. Berakh. ii. 3 (4 Ὁ): ‘For the living know that they shall die; these are the righteous, who even in their 
death are called living. But the dead know not anything; these are the wicked, who though living are called dead, 
for it is said, For I have no pleasure in the death of nn.’ : ; 4 
3 Antig. x. 11. 7. The word which Josephus uses for ‘ charioteer’ is, however, not the same one which occurs, in 
our book. 
* Herford, Phavisaism, p. 259f., and see also the pages that follow. 
285 


SIRACH 


are supplemented by the similar thought (70 248): 
And both ave gifts of God unto peace. 


Few better examples could be given illustrative of the trust which a pious Pharisee had in the mercy 
of God than the words added to xvii. 20. Ben-Sira says: 


Their iniquities are not hid from Him, 
And all their sins are {inscribed before the Lord. 


To this the Pharisaic glossator adds (70 248): 


But the Lord, being merciful, knowing also (that they are made in) His own image, 
Spared them, and forsook them not, nor cast them off. 


The closeness of God to those who love Him—a characteristic Pharisaic doctrine, as we have seen— 
receives illustration from the following addition in 70 248 to xvii. 26a: 


For He Himself will lead (thee) out of darkness unto the light of salvation. 


The religious individualism of the Pharisee is brought out again in the addition of these words to 
Xxiii. 5 in 248: 
And Him that desireth to serve Thee 
Do Thou ever hold up. 


This is added in spite of the fact that the passage xxiii. 1-6 is one of the most striking ones expressive 
of personal religion in the whole book. One more example of this characteristic ¢raz¢ of the best 
Pharisaic spirit may be given; Ben-Sira says in xxv. 11: 


The fear of the Lord surpasseth all things, 
He that holdeth it, to whom shall he be likened ? 


The addition in 70, 248 breathes a deeper personal religion : 


The beginning of the fear of the Lord is to love Him; 
And the beginning of faith is to cleave unto Him. 


Among the characteristic watchwords of the Pharisees few, if any, occupied a more prominent position 
than ‘repentance’ (nmawn); ‘in their efforts to confirm the faith of their own people and to effect the 
conversion of those without, the Pharisees, like the Prophets and the Rabbis, were concerned to insist 
upon the paramount importanee of repentance. For the latter it was the condition of reception, and 
for the former it was the means of restoration. It was the function of the Pharisee to convict all 
men everywhere of their need of repentance.! A good illustration of this occurs in the Pharisaic 
addition to xx. 2; Ben-Sira (according to the Syriac version, which has preserved the best text 
here,—the Hebrew is wanting) says : 


Fle that reproveth a sinner getteth no thanks ; 
But let him that maketh confession be spared humiliation. 


To this is added in 70 248 (the Old Latin version also has the words, but in a wrong place) : 


flow good it is when he who ἐς reproved manifesteth repentance, 
For thus wilt thou escape wilful sin.2 


The phrase φανερῶσαι μετάνοιαν certainly connotes more fullness of meaning than the one Ben-Sira — 


uses in this connexion, δεῖξον ἐπιστροφήν (xviii. 21); the former, as Hart well puts it, ‘includes all 
forms of outward manifestation of the inner change of mind.’ Again, in xvii. 22, Ben-Sira says: 


The righteousness of men ts to Him as a signet, 
And the mercy of man He preserveth as the apple of an eye ; 


but according to the Pharisaic glossator the real preciousness of man in God’s sight lies in the fact 
that repentance, divinely accorded, is manifested ; therefore he adds: 


Granting repentance to His sons and daughters (70 248). 


1 Hart, of. czt., p. 305. For instructive quotations from Rabbinical literature on the Pharisaic doctrine of 
repentance, see Herford, of. cit., pp. 211-15. 


* An almost identical addition occurs in 70 248 after xx. 8. 


286 


πα esacmaure ei 


; 
Ϊ 
Ἵ 
; 
; 
' 
; 


INTRODUCTION 


There are at least two of the additions in the secondary Greek text which contain a reference to the 
future life, a doctrine the development of which the Pharisees did much to foster. In xvi. 22, where 
Ben-Sira puts the following words into the mouth of a supposed sceptic : 


My righteous dealing, who declareth it? 
And what hope (is there), for the decree is distant ? 


The Pharisaic glossator adds what is evidently intended to be a reference to future judgement in 


saying : 5 
And the trying of all things is not until the end (70 106 248).1 


But more pointed is the longer addition found in 70 248 after xix. 17: 


The fear of the Lord ts the beginning of acceptance (by Hint), 
And wisdom will gain love from Him. 
The knowledge of the Lord ts life-giving instruction ; 
And they who do the things that are pleasing unto Him shall pluck the fruit of the tree of 
7mmor tality. 


There are also, as Hart points out (of. cz¢., p. 312), one or two references among the additions to the 
Future Life under the term ‘ Holy Age’, but as the references occur only in the Old Latin version 
‘they are perhaps to be relegated to a lower place in the succession of scribes who followed 
Ben-Sira . . . but their contexts contain nothing that is demonstrably Christian *. Thus in xviii. 27 
the Old Latin has this addition : 


Go to the lot of the Holy Age 
With the living and them that offer thanksgiving to God. 


And in xxiv. 32: 
7 will leave it to them that seek wisdom, 
And I will not leave their progeny until the Holy Age. 


‘ Speaking generally, there does not appear to be any definite demarcation of the future from the 
present in these fragments. The mercy which rewards the faithful here differs in degree perhaps, 
but not in kind, from that which awaits them hereafter.’ 

_ We have dealt only with some examples of the additions found in Greek MSS. which represent 
toa greater or lesser degree the secondary Greek text; the character of this text could be still 
further illustrated by taking the Old Latin version into consideration, for this version has retained 
a number of the additions belonging to the secondary Greek text which have disappeared from all 
extant Greek MSS.;? but enough has been said to show that this text, translated originally from 
the Hebrew, has with every justification been called the Pharisaic recension of Sirach. For 
illustrations from the Old Latin version reference may be made to Hart’s book, pp. 289 ff., 313, in 
connexion with which should be read Herford’s Pharisaism, pp. 267-281. 

Turning now once more to the original translation of Ben-Sira’s grandson, there are some 
Special points to be noticed. His knowledge of the Septuagint is very considerable; as Smend 
has pointed out, he frequently utilized this for the purposes of a lexicon. But his use of the 
Septuagint varies with the different divisions of the Old Testament ; thus, he appears to be most 
familiar with the Greek text of the Pentateuch, of which he makes a far greater use than of the two 
other divisions; for example, the words in xx. 29 δῶρα ἀποτυφλοῖ ὀφθαλμοὺς σοφῶν are a verbal 
quotation from the Septuagint of Deut. xvi. 19 ; the same is the case in xxiv. 23, which contains an 
exact quotation from Septuagint of Deut. xxxiii. 4; cp. also xxiv. 15 with the Septuagint of 
Exod. xxx. 23 f., 34; xlix. 1 with the Septuagint of Exod. xxxv. 28, &c. His use of the Greek 
version of the prophetical books is considerably less, though in a variety of instances he shows his 
knowledge of this (e.g. with xlviii. to cp. Mal. iii. 24, and xlix. 7 with Jer. i. 10). But he does not 
seem to have had any acquaintance with a Greek translation of the Hagiographa. 

It is very probable that in his desire to attain a more than ordinary knowledge of Greek Ben- 
Sira’s grandson was to some extent versed in the general literature of the Greeks; he uses over two 
hundred words which do not occur elsewhere in the Septuagint ;* he is fond of using compound 


1 These words are also Becseuyed | in the Old Latin version. 2 See further § 5, ii. 
8 Smend, Die Wershett des Jesus Sirach, p. \xiv. 
287 


SIRACH 


verbs instead of the simple forms, and he shows his liking for variety by rendering the same Hebrew 
word by different Greek ones. Not infrequently he expands his translation of the Hebrew by adding 
an explanatory word or two (see e.g. the Hebrew and Greek of viii, 12, x1. 19, xli. 9); he also often 
renders concrete words and expressions by abstract ones. The difference between the Greek of the 
Prologue and that of the book itself is so marked that Smend is justified in believing that Ben-Sira’s 
grandson was helped in composing the former." 


§ 5. OTHER ANCIENT VERSIONS. 


i. The Syriac Version. 

It is impossible to fix the date of the Syriac version of our book with any certainty; the 
earliest known MS. (Cod. Mus. Brit. 12142) belongs to the sixth century, but this MS. contains 
already a very large number of scribal errors, which points to a Jong previous history; it 
seems, however, to be the parent of all other extant Syriac MSS. of Sirach, for its corruptions 
occur in all of them. Wright, in speaking of the Syriac translations of the Old Testament 
Apocrypha, the dates of which are quite unknown, says that ‘it seems tolerably certain that 
alterations were made from time to time with a view to harmonizing the Syriac text with that of 
the Septuagint’,?2 a process which Burkitt thinks ‘may have begun as early as the episcopate of 
Palut (about A.D. 200)’, which would imply the existence of a Syriac version some time previous 
to this date. 

Although some scholars long ago sought to show that the Syriac version of Sirach was a 
translation from the Hebrew, their contention was combated by Syriac scholars, who maintained 
that it was translated from the Greek.* The discovery of the Hebrew text has, however, definitely 
settled the matter; if there was reason to believe, as was certainly the case, that the Syriac text 
itself presented indications of its having been translated from Hebrew and not from Greek, there is 
absolutely no doubt about this now that we can compare the Syriac with the Hebrew. Nevertheless, 
the Syriac translation was not made from the origzzal form of the Hebrew, though from a form 
which seems to have been in many respects nearer to the original form than that represented in the 
recently found Hebrew MSS. This fact makes the Syriac version valuable for correcting, where 
necessary, the Hebrew text in the form in which we now have it; and for those large portions of the 
book of which the Hebrew text has not been found the Syriac is, of course, indispensable. Another 
fact which makes the Syriac version valuable is that it contains a number of verses and parts of 
verses which are only found elsewhere either in the Hebrew alone, or in isolated Greek MSS., in 
some few cases also in the Old Latin version. ‘In some instances the Syriac has retained the 
correct text where both the Hebrew and the Greek agree in having gone astray. But in a consider- 
able number of passages the Syriac is not a translation of the Hebrew, but of the Greek ;° it is 
possible that the reason of this was that in such cases the Greek version represented what the 
original Syriac translator believed to be the reflection of a more original form of the Hebrew than 
that which he had before him; or else, and this is more probable, it may be that the Syriac, as we 
now have it, has been corrected on the basis of the Greek; this would have been a very natural 
proceeding (even if a comparatively speaking pure Hebrew text had been available) at a time when 
the Greek Bible was regarded in the Christian Church as more authoritative than the Hebrew. 
That the Syriac translator of Sirach was a Christian seems more than probable. The Greek 
MS. or MSS. which the Syriac translator made use of contained elements representing the 
secondary Greek text, and it was a text which had undergone deterioration in other respects.’ °® 
In any case, the Syriac version is one which has a distinct value; nevertheless it must be used with 
caution, for, in spite of what has been said about its usefulness and importance, it has some grave 
blemishes which must be taken into consideration when utilizing it. Smend says it is the worst 
piece of translation in the whole Syriac Bible, though in many cases it is uncertain in what pro- 
portion its mistakes are due to the translator himself, or to the Hebrew text which he had before 
him, or to some deteriorated Greek text which he utilized, or to textual corruptions which crept 
in during the process of transmission. But, however this may be, the fact remains that the work 
of translation has been done carelessly and without much trouble having been expended upon 
it; paraphrases abound; sometimes they are of a purely arbitrary character, at other times they 


ey examples illustrating what has been said about the Greek translation, see Smend, of. cit, 
pp. Lxii-Ixvii. 


* Syriac Literature, p. 4, quoted by Burkitt in ZB, iv. 5026, 5 Smend, of. czt., p. CXxxvi. 
* See e.g. il. 18 d, xxv. 8 ὁ, xvii. 23 6, xlviii. 12 ¢, d, li. 11d, 19 d, 26d. 5 See e.g. xxvi. 19-27, xliii. I-10. 
° Oesterley, Ecclestasticus, in the Cambridge Bible, p. ci. 

288 


INTRODUCTION 


apparently represent what the translator believed to be the general meaning of the original, which 
he did not understand in all its details; in yet other cases these paraphrases were evidently due to the 
desire to give a Christian sense to a passage. But perhaps the most serious blemish in this version 
is the large number of omissions ; Smend says that these amount to 370 sticho?, or one-ninth of the 
whole book. In many cases it is evident that the Syriac translator had what seemed to him good 
reasons for omitting certain passages; thus, as a Christian he felt justified in omitting such words 
as these : 
Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead as from one that is not, 
(But) he that liveth and is in health praiseth the Lord (xvii. 28). 


It was probably owing to an anti-Jewish tendency that he omitted xxxvii. 25: 


The life of a man (numbers) days but few, 
But the life of Jeshurun days innumerable. 


A similar reason would account for the omission of xxxviii. 11, xlv. 8-14, parts of 1. 18-21, and 
the litany after li. 12, though this last is also omitted in the Greek version. Quite comprehensible 
are the omissions of xxxiii. 26 (& xxx. 35) and xxxvi. 21, 23 (& 26, 28); but why such passages, 
e.g., aS xli. 14—xlii. 2, and most of xliii. 11-33 should have been passed over it is impossible to say, 
excepting on the supposition that they are difficult ones to translate, and the Syriac translator did 
not feel inclined to undertake the task. 

It will thus be seen that while the Syriac version has a distinct value of its own and can 
certainly not be neglected, it must nevertheless be used with great caution ; indeed, the student will 
be wise never to utilize it without at the same time referring tothe Greek. It should be added that 
in this version the right order of the chapters is preserved. 


ii. The Old Latin Version. 

This is the oldest 1 and most important of the daughter-versions of the Greek, Like the Syriac 
version, while in some respects it is valuable for correcting the Greek, in other respects it presents 
grave drawbacks. As we shall see later on (§ 8), Jerome left the Latin text of Sirach as he found 
it—a matter for congratulation, since as the version now stands it contains many really ancient 
elements which would probably have been lost altogether if Jerome had undertaken a translation of 
his own. That it contains, as we have already seen (p. 281), the chapters in the right order is also 
a fact of importance. But the text of the Old Latin version has come down to us in a deplorable 
condition, added to which it has the further disadvantage of having been made from a Greek text 
which was in a worse condition than that represented by any extant Greek MS. Moreover, the 
Old Latin text is full of scribal errors, and many arbitrary alterations have been introduced ; 
quotations from this version in the writings of the Latin Fathers are of little use for emending its 
text. Emendation is made the more difficult in that the original translation was apparently 
subjected to constant correction on the basis of different Greek texts; one example out of a great 
many may be given: in niii. 8 the Greek text runs: 


πρύσεχε μὴ ἀποπλανηθῇς (V 106 248 253 Syro-Hex add τῇ διανοίᾳ σου), 
καὶ μὴ ταπεινωθῆς ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ (248, &c. add καρδίας) σου. 


For this the Latin has: 


Attende ne seductus 
Ln stultitiam humilterts. 
Noli esse humilis in sapientia tua, 
Ne humiliatus tn stultitiam seducaris (= vv. 10, 11 in Latin). 


In cases like this the question arises as to whether the additions have been inserted from other 
Latin texts, or whether they are doublets due to the incorporation of marginal notes into the text ; 
in other words, do they represent different Greek texts from which Latin translations were made, 
or are they merely Latin variations of one and the same Greek text? It is by no means always 
possible to decide which, a fact which materially increases one’s difficulties when utilizing the 
Latin version. 


1 Of its date nothing further can be said, but the earliest known citations are found in Cyprian. 
1105 289 U 


SIRACH 


The question as to whether the Old Latin version was made from a MS. representing the 
primary or secondary Greek text is one of extreme complexity; at first sight one would feel 
impelled to postulate the secondary Greek text as the basis of the Latin version, but the fact that _ 
many of the additions belonging to the secondary Greek text are preserved in the Syro-Hexaplar 
but not in the Old Latin goes to show that the latter cannot have been made derectly from the 
secondary Greek text. And yet, as Smend has shown, the copy from which the Old Latin was 
made was more influenced by the secondary Greek text than any other known Greek MS., though 
that copy did not in itself represent the secondary Greck text; for, as Smend says, ‘trotz aller 
sekundaren Elemente, die die Vorlage enthielt, und trotz aller Bearbeitung, von der der urspriing- 
liche Text des Lateiners betroffen sein mag,— durch Massenbeobachtung ldsst sich nachweisen, 
dass die Vorlage des Lateiners im Wesentlichen der griechische Vulgartext war, den der Lateiner 
nicht nur in alten guten Lesarten, die freilich auch aus Gr. II’ (i.e. the secondary Greek text) 
‘stammen kénnten, sondern auch in héchst sekundarer Entartung vor sich hatte’ (of. cét., p. cxxiv). 
The proof of this is minutely worked out by him. The conclusion which Smend draws from this 
complicated state of affairs is that the foundation of the text from which the Old Latin Version 
was made was the primary Greek one, but that in that text was incorporated a later recension of 
the secondary Greek text, the offspring, perhaps, of a Hebrew original." And it must be confessed 
that only on this hypothesis can all the phenomena of the Old Latin version be explained. 


iti. Zhe Syro-Hexaplar. ; 

This is the Syriac version made by Paul of Tella from the Greek (ας. A.D. 616). ‘If we retain 
the designation Syro-Hexaplar,’ says Nestle, ‘we must bear in mind that Sirach had no place in 
Origen’s Hexapla; but in one particular respect this Syriac version reminds us of the Hexapla; one 
of the critical marks of Origen, the asteriscus, appears also in Sirach, at least in its first part up to 
chap. xiii? Hart, on the other hand, remarks: ‘Origen valued the Book of Jesus Ben-Sira, and 
its text required a settlement. It seems reasonable to accept the evidence—direct and indirect—as 
it stands, and to conclude that he attempted to purge the current Greek version of its accretions, 
and that his disciples removed them bodily, and sometimes parts of the true text with them’ 
(op. cit., p. 359). It is true wé are nowhere told that Origen incorporated the books of the - 
Apocrypha in his Hexapla, but the way in which he quotes from them, speaking of them as 
‘ Holy Scripture’ (see below, ᾧ 8), would naturally lead to the supposition that he did so incorporate 
them. There is also the fact that in the Syro-Hexaplar the Book of Baruch undergoes much the 
same treatment with regard to the Hexaplaric signs as the canonical books. As Smend says : 
‘The excellence of Syro-Hexaplaric Sirach text would not be unworthy of Origen.’ In general 
the text of this version follows very closely a MS. with which Cod. 253 was intimately related, but 
the translator also utilized the Peshitta when for one reason or another he found it convenient 
to do so. The translation is in parts very free. There are a number of marginal notes which 
were presumably taken from the Greek MS. which the translator had before him; these not 
infrequently present the better reading. 


iv. The Sahidic Version. : 

The MS. containing this version, which is based on a Greek text closely related to the Greek 
uncials, has suffered a good deal of mutilation ; the Prologue is almost entirely wanting through 
this cause ; in addition to this a good many s¢zchoz are omitted. Other Coptic versions of more 
or less value are the Bohairic and Akmimic; only fragmentary remnants of these are extant. For Ὁ 
the published texts of them see Smend, Opacilan PC xo fe 


v. The Ethiopic Version. 

This version is rendered from the Greek, of which it is often a literal translation, but in his 
desire to make the meaning of the original before him clear the translator often interprets, i.e. he 
gives a paraphrastic rendering. Smend (of. cét., p. cxxxii) gives as an example of this xxiv. 21, where 
for the Greek: 


Le) 7 , ld 
οἱ ἐσθίοντές με ἔτι πεινάσουσιν, Kal οἱ πίνοντές με ἔτι διψήσουσιν, 


* Cp. the words of Herkenne (De Veteris Latinae Ecclesiasticé capitibus i-xliit [1899]): ‘ Nititur Vetus Latina 
textu vulgari Graeco ad textum Hebraicum alius recensionis Graece castigato’; quoted by Nestle in Hastings’s DB, 
iv. 545. 

In Hastings’s DB, lv. 544. There are altogether forty-five asterisks, about twenty of which are placed against 
words and sentences belonging to the secondary Greek text. 


290 


INTRODUCTION 


the Ethiopic has: 


They that cat me, eat me and are not satisfied, 
And they that drink me, drink me and are not satisfied. 


The value of this version is not infrequently marred by the fact that its renderings only partially 
represent the Greek, the reason being presumably that the Ethiopic translator did not really under- 
stand what was before him and made a guess at the meaning. Smend quotes Dillmann (who has 
edited this version, V.7. Aethtopicz, tom. v, Berol. 1894) to the effect that the Ethiopic has been 
subjected to revision in later times on the basis of the Greek text; he does not believe it possible 
to restore the Ethiopic text to its original form from the MSS. which are now extant. Upon the 
whole the Ethiopic follows the text of Cod. B; the MS. from which the version was made, however, 
represented in some cases a purer, in others a more corrupt, form of text than that of Cod. Β. 
Here and there the Ethiopic is of value for correcting the Greek. 


vi. The Armenian Version. 

This version exists in two forms, one translated from the Old Latin, and the other from the 
Greek ; the former is but of small value for text-critical purposes. The latter is of more use, but 
a good deal of the text is wanting, viz. xxxvi. I—xxxvili. 14, xliii-li, besides a number of isolated 
passages. On the other hand, it has some additions which are singular to it; see Herkenne, 
Armenischer Sirach, Ὁ. 30 ff. 


vii. Zhe Slavonic Version. 

One point of importance regarding this version is that it sometimes agrees with the Old Latin 
against all extant Greek authorities; moreover, in agreement with the Old Latin and against all 
known Greek MSS. (with the exception of Cod, 248) it has xxx. 25—xxwiii. 13 a in the right place. 
According to Margoliouth it ‘follows a text similar to that of the Complutensian edition, but with 
only a portion of the additions’! It has been revised from the Syro-Hexaplar. 


viii. The Arabic Version. 

This is a translation of the Peshitta (Syriac Vulgate). ‘The translator’, says Smend, ‘ was not 
concerned to offer a careful translation of his copy; he desired rather to present an elegantly- 
written Arabic book.’ His translation is, therefore, throughout a free one, and he inserts additions 
of his own. The text, or that of the MS. from which it was made, has been influenced by the 
Greek. But the manifold /acwae of the Syriac version recur in the Arabic. The version is of but 
small value. 


§$ 6. AUTHORSHIP AND DATE. . ἢ 


i. The name and personality of the author. In the MSS. of the Greek Bible the author of our 
book is called “Ἰησοῦς Σειράχ, or more briefly Nepax?; among the later Jews ΝΛ 13, and so in the 
MSS. of the Syriac Bible xp 713 (or in a less authentic form Nw D8 72, i.e. Sov of the Captive). 

The full name of the author is given in the body of the book, in 1. 27, which in ® appears as 
Simeon the son of Jeshua (Jesus) the son of Eleazar the son of Sira (in Hebrew ἜΡΟΝ 13. eh 15. py 
ΝΟ 13). For this & has: Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Σειρὰχ ᾿Ελεαζάρου ὁ Ἰεροσολυμείτης (but 548 Complut. Sixtine 
» Ἐλεαζάρου). In S$ this passage is omitted altogether; the Syro-Hexaplar has: Jesus the son of 
Strach of Eliezer. The usual designation of the author in the Syriac MSS. of the Bible is: Jesus 
the son of Simeon.* 

Now as the author’s grandson states explicitly in the Greek Prologue to his version of the book 
that his grandfather’s name was Jesus (Ἰησοῦς), it is likely that the name Szmeov is an intrusion 
in the text of #; this is made exceedingly probable when it is seen that the clause |. 27, as it appears 
in ®, is overloaded; by the removal of ja pyow symmetry is restored, and the line may be read 
with Smend : 

ἘΝ pa ΡΟΝ 12. yer 


Of Jesus ben Eleazar ben Sira. 


1 Quoted by Nestle in Hastings’s DB, iv. 544. 

2 Setpax (Sirach) is the Greek form of Sira (N71D), the final y being added in the Greek form of the word to indicate 
that it is indeclinable; 50 ᾿Ακελδαμάχ Acts i. 19, in some MSS., for ᾿Ακελδαμά : cp. Dalman, Grammatik αἰ. jidisch- 
palistinischen Aramdisch?, pp. 137, 202. 

* This form of the name reappears twice in the Hebrew subscription of the book, which follows li. 30. 

“ Nestle (HDB, iv. 541 δ) remarks that the name Simeon ‘is firmly attached to the author of this book in the 
Syriac Church’, 


291 U2 


SIRACH 


Thus the name of the author was /esas, and his grandfather's name Szva; the use of a grandfather's — 


(or earlier ancestor’s) name as a patronymic (with Aen prefixed) was not uncommon, especially 
when a father’s name was not sufficiently distinctive. The intruding $z7eox may have been derived 
from 1. 1 (the name of the High-Priest), and in this way may have come erroneously to be attached 
to the name of the author of the book." i ! 

From the data supplied by the book itself it may be inferred that Ben-Sira was a professed 
student and teacher of ‘wisdom’. Asa ‘scribe’ (he is described in the Prologue as ἀναγινώσκων = 
1510) —for by this time ‘ scribe’ and ‘wise’ had become amalgamated—he imparted instruction to 
young members of the Jerusalem aristocracy, who assembled in his ‘ house of instruction’ (wa m3 
li. 23); and there, doubtless, he lectured on matters of jurisprudence, as well as ethics, in the manner 
congenial to the Teachers of the Law (cp. xxiii. 11, 23). Ben-Sira, however, belonged to the earlier 
Sdoferim in whom the spirit pervading the Wisdom-Literature was still strong. Though possessed 
with a deep sense of Israel’s unique position among the nations, the class of teachers to which 
Ben-Sira belonged was animated by a broad and tolerant spirit that could take a genial view of 
life as a whole. This spirit pervades the book. It is marked by sound piety mixed with a thorough 
knowledge of human nature, and a sympathetic and cultivated appreciation of the amenities of the 
social side of life. Both the follies and the heroism of the fanatic are carefully avoided by Ben-Sira. 
When he sings the praise of the ideal scribe (xxxix. 1-11) we doubtless have in the description 
a piece of self-revelation of the author: Ξ 


Not so he that applieth himself to the fear of God, 

And to set his mind upon the Law of the Most High ; 
Who searcheth out the wisdom of all the ancients, 

And ts occupied with the prophets of old ; 
Who heedeth the discourses of men of renown, 

And entereth into the deep things of parables ; 
Searcheth out the hidden meaning of proverbs, 

And ts conversant with the dark sayings of parables. 


Court life and foreign travel are part of his experience : 


Who serveth among great men, 2 
And appeareth before princes ; 
Who travelleth through the lands of the peoples, 


Testeth good and evil among men. 


It has been suggested that our author may have ‘travelled as a young man, and at one time 
have been in the service of one of the Greek kings (successors of Alexander the Great), perhaps 
Ptolemy IV (220-204 B.C.). During these experiences, it would seem, he encountered much 
personal danger : ; 

In my journeying 7 have seen much, 
And many things have befallen me: 
Often was 7 in danger even unto death, 
But was preserved . . - (Xxxiv. 11-12), 


The opening verses of chap. li refer, in a tone of unusually deep feeling, to deliverance from 
a grievous danger which seriously threatened the author’s life. This may have been, as has been 
suggested, some peril of a political kind, possibly connected with his life at court or with his 
responsible public life. He alludes in this passage more than once to ‘cunning lips’ and ‘framers 
of lies’, the result of whose machinations was that his 


Soul drew nigh unto death ...... 
And I turned about on every side, yet there was none to help me. 


The author's relation to contemporary Jewish life, as revealed in his book, could not be better 
summed up than in the words of Edersheim. ‘The book of Ben-Sira *, he says, ‘represents an 
orthodox, but moderate and cold, Judaism—before there were either Pharisees or Sadducees; 
before these two directions assumed separate form under the combined influence of political circum- 
stances and theological controversies. In short, it contains, as yet undistinguished and mostly in 


1 Schechter, however, thinks that the au 
called after the High-Priest Simeon whose 
a very early period’ (HB, p. 65). 


thor’s name may have been Sieon (or Simon): ‘Probably he was so 
younger contemporary he was—a custom usual enough among the Jews at 


292 


INTRODUCTION 


germ, all the elements developed in the later history of Jewish religious thinking. But beyond all 
this the book throws welcome light on the period in which it was written. If we would know 
what a cultured, liberal, and yet genuine Jew had thought and felt in view of the great questions of 
the day; if we would gain insight into the state of public opinion, morals, society, and even of 
manners at that period—we find the materials for it in the book Ecclesiasticus.’ 1 5 


li. The date of composition of the Book. The two crucial factors for determining the date of the 
book’s composition are (a) the identity of the High-Priest Simon, who is the subject of the eulogium 
in ch. 1; and (4) what is meant by ‘the thirty-eighth year’ in the Prologue of the Greek translation ἢ 

(a) Simon I or Simon 77 5 With whom is the Simon son of Jochanan (so ®: but (ἃ Onias), 
mentioned in |. 1 f., to be identified? From the glowing description which is given by Ben-Sira of 
this High-Priest it has been surmised, with considerable plausibility, that our author wrote of one 
whom he had actually seen officiating in the sanctuary. The Simon referred to has been identified 
with ‘Simon the Just’ (pyyn pyney), who, again, is identified by some scholars with Simon I, son of 
Onias I, and grandson of Jaddua (he flourished 310-291 or 300-270 B.C.), according to others with 
Simon IT (219-199 B.C.) son-of Onias II. As far as Ben-Sira’s description is concerned it would fit 
either of these identifications. The question of date must be determined on other grounds. 


Josephus (Azz. xii. 2. 5) relates of Simon 1 that, on account of his piety, he was surnamed ‘the Just’. 
Reference to Simon II is made in Avs. xii. 4. το. Herzfeld identifies the ‘Simon the Just’ (pytyn ΠΝ) of 
Pirge Aboth iit..1 with Simon II, and fixes the date of his high-priesthood as 226-198 Β.0. (Zunz 221-201 B.C.); 
see Dr. C. Taylor’s note on Adofh ii. 1. Derenbourg also (L’ssaz sur histoire et la géographie de la Palestine, 
Ῥ- 46f.) argues strongly in favour of the identification of Simon the Just, whose memory is preserved in Rabbinic 
‘tradition, with Simon 11. It is this Simon, according to-Derenbourg, who is the subject of Sirach 1. Josephus’ 
application of the epithet (the Just’) to Simon I is a mistake. 


et 
or) 


(ὁ) Lhe date in the Prologue. An explicit indication of date is given in the Greek Prologue 
written by the translator as a preface to his Greek translation of the book. In this the translator 
says he came to Egypt ‘in the thirty-eighth year ἐπὶ rod Evepyérov Βασιλέως. This, it is true, has 
been taken by some scholars to mean in the thirty-eighth year of the translator’s age ‘under king 
Euergetes’. If this were right it would be impossible to say what date is meant, as we have no 
other means for determining when the translator was born, or which king Euergetes is referred to. 
As there is no particular reason why the translator should have stated his age in this context, it is 
natural to interpret ‘the thirty-eighth under king Euergetes’ as referring to the thirty-eighth regnal 
year of the king so named. This limits the reference to the two Ptolemies, among the Egyptian 
kings, who were called Euergetes: of these Euergetes I reigned only twenty-five years (247-222 B.C.), 
and is thus excluded ; Euergetes II, surnamed Physcon, reigned in all fifty-four years, partly as 
joint king (170-145) and partly as sole king (145-116). Reckoning from this king’s accession his 
thirty-eighth regnal year would be 132 B.c. It may be concluded, therefore, that the translator 
reached Egypt in this year, and completed his translation of the book some few years later (between 
132 and 116; see the note on line 15 of the Prologue in the following commentary). 

The translator calls the author of the original book his πάππος, a term which may be inter- 
preted in its usual sense of ‘ grandfather’.2 The composition of the original book of Ben-Sira may, 
therefore, be assigned to the first quarter of the second century B.C. (200-175 B.C.). The author 
would thus have been a younger contemporary of the High-Priest Simon II, and could have 
witnessed a service on the Day of Atonement in the temple in which Simon took part. The tone 
of the references to Simon in ch. 1 suggests that when Ben-Sira wrote Simon had been dead for 
some time. This rather suggests a date about 180-175 B.C. for the actual composition of the book. 
As there is no allusion in the book to the events that led up to the Maccabean conflict the date 
cannot well be placed later than 175 B.C. 


aortic 


Fa 
a game 


i ee οὐ τ μὰς 


ee per ον. ὕὅὕΣὕὦ.“πὦ.-οὗδοον 


The internal evidence of the book itself favours the suggested date—especially the traces of Greek influence 
onthe thought; notably the personification of Wisdom (cp. esp. ch. xxiv), and the acquaintance shown with Greek 
customs, such as the use of music at feasts (xxxv. 3-6). 


Recently, however, a much earlier reckoning for the date in the Prologue has been proposed 
on new grounds and maintained by Mr. J. H. A. Hart.* Hart thinks it incredible that a Jew from 
the outside world should have visited and stayed for any length of time to work in Egypt in the 
reign of Euergetes II, who was notoriously hostile to Jews, and, in fact, to all foreigners. He 


Τ In Wace’s Apocrypha ii. 2 (Introduction to Ecclesiasticus). ; 
* “It sometimes means “ancestor”; but in such cases the connexion usually indicates the wider sense’ (Seligmann, 
EB, ii, col. 1171, note 3). 

8 Ecclestasticus in Greek, pp. 249 ff. 


SIRACH 


accordingly proposes to interpret the date in the Prologue as follows: the preposition ént—though 
he allows that it is sometimes used in Greek translations of Hebrew date-specifications in a 
pleonastic sense = of, and that this usage can be paralleled from the papyti and inscriptions (e.g. 
the Rosetta stone)—is not, as it is used in the Prologue, without definite significance, and merely 
a meaningless part of an established formula. While admitting that the words might conceivably 
mean the thirty-eighth year of Euergetes II, yet the number ‘may equally well belong to some 
familiar and therefore unspecified era’, and that this is the common Egyptian era which begins with 
the accession of each king and ends with his death. Ptolemy Philadelphus (284-247 B.C.) was 
succeeded by Euergetes I in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of the former, i.e. Euergetes I 
ascended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Philadelphus (247 B.c.). The formula 
in the Prologue therefore means that the grandson of Ben-Sira came to Egypt in the thirty-eighth 
year of the era of Ptolemy Philadelphus, but after Euergetes I had come to the throne. Thus, 
according to Hart, the younger Ben-Sira came to Egypt in the year 247 B.C., and stayed there 
during the whole reign of Euergetes, till his death in 222 B.c.1 These results would necessitate 
placing the composition of the original book of Ben-Sira at least a century before the commonly 


received date (i.e. 300-275 B.C.). 


Hart’s arguments are unconvincing. In particular he seems to exaggerate the hostility of Ptolemy Physcon 
to the Jews in Alexandria. The Jews were persecuted for a time by this king, not on account of their religion, 
but for political reasons. ‘With the establishment of order, peace was doubtless restored to the jews also.’? 
Willrich, indeed, has given good reasons ® for believing that this Ptolemy was far from being hostile to the Jews in 
general. It has been shown that he possessed many Jewish officials, and that the Jews prospered and increased 
in Egypt under his rule exceedingly. The proposed explanation of the date is also anything but convincing. If 
the translator wished to say that he arrived in Egypt in the year which concluded the reign of Philadelphus and 
was marked by the accession of Euergetes(I) he might have written ‘in the thirty-eighth year of Philadelphus ἐπὶ 
τοῦ Evepyérov βασιλέως. But it is difficult to imagine him writing at least twenty-five years after the era of 
Philadelphus had come to an end: ‘in the thirty-eighth year ἐπὶ τοῦ Evepyérov βασιλέως. On Hart’s own 
showing a new era had intervened (that of Euergetes I); why then should not the first year of this era have been 
specified distinctly, if it was meant? Further, Hart’s criticism of the very strong examples adduced by Deissmann® 
of the independent use of ἐπί in such date-specifications cannot be said to impair their cogency. The internal 
evidence of the book, as well as the character of the diction of the original Hebrew, also points to a later date than 
300-275 B.C. 


§ 7. THE INFLUENCE OF SIRACH ON LATER LITERATURE. 


The influence of our book on the later literature of the Christian Church may be measured, in 
a general way, by the history of its relation to the Canon, which is summarized in the next section.® 
Restrictions of space will only allow of citations here to illustrate the influence of the book on 
(a) the New Testament, and (6) later Jewish literature. 

(a) The relation of Sirach to the New Testament. When it is remembered that the New 
Testament writers, as a rule, use the Greek Bible in their citations of Scripture it is somewhat 
surprising to find so few direct quotations from the books which find no recognition in the Pales- 
tinian Canon. Not even all the books included in the latter are cited—no quotation occurring from 
Canticles, Qoheleth, Esther, or Ezra-Nehemiah. On the other hand, a rich use is made of the 
Pentateuch, Prophets, and Psalms, while the historical books are referred to more rarely. Still 
some quotations from deutero-canonical and extra-canonical books do occur, such as the citation 
from the Book of Enoch in the Epistle of Jude. In view of the important place occupied by 
Sirach in the Wisdom-Literature, and the popularity enjoyed by this literature, especially 
among the Jews of the Greek Dispersion, it would be surprising not to find any traces of its influence 
on those books of the New Testament which markedly reflect the Alexandrine spirit. If there are 
no actual citations of Sirach in the Epistle to the Hebrews, there are at least some possible indica- 
tions of acquaintance with it (in its Greek form). Thus in Heb. xii. 12 a citation is made of 
Isa. XXXV. 3 (τὰς παρειμένας χεῖρας καὶ τὰ παραλελυμένα γόνατα) in a form which exactly agrees with 
that of Sirach xxv. 23, against the LXX (which has χεῖρες ἀνειμέναι). Such examples are not, it 
must be confessed, decisive. On the other hand, in the Epistle of St. James indications of direct 
acquaintance with our book are abundant and clear. The more important may be given here. 


ovyxpovioas, ‘I stayed in Egypt as long as king Euergetes reigned.’ But see our note on this word in the 
Prologue, line 15. 
meus in JE, x. 265 a. } i 3 Judaica (Gottingen, 1900), p. 11 ἢ. 
* This is involved in συνχρονίσας, according to Hart’s explanation, ° Bible Studies (E.T.), pp. 339 ἢ. 
And also by the number of secondary versions based on the Greek text (see § 5 above). 


294 


minimal eee δὰ 


INTRODUCTION 


Ep. of St. James. 


i. v: But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask 
of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbracdeth not 
(καὶ μὴ ὀνειδίζοντος). 


1. 6, 8: But let him ask tn fatth, nothing doubling ; 
Sor he that doubteth ts like the surge of the sea driven by 
the wind and tossed ... a doubleminded man (ἀνὴρ 
δίψυχος), wnstable in all his ways (ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς 
ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ). 


i. 2-4: Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall 
anto manifold temptations, &c. (cf. v. 12). 

i. 13-15: Let no man say when he τς tempted, 7 am 
tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, and 
He Himself tempteth no man, &c. 

i. 19: Let every man be swift to hear (ταχὺς eis τὸ 
ἀκοῦσαι), slow fo speak. 

i. 23: Mor of any one τς a hearer of the word, and not 
a doer, he ts like unto a man beholding his natural face 
mn a mirror (ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ). : 

v. 5: Ve have lived delicately on the earth, and taken 
your pleasure (ἐσπαταλήσατε). 


ν. 14: Ls any among you sick? let him call for the 
elders of the church ; and let them pray over him, anointing 
him with oil in the name of the Lord. 


Strach (&). 

xvii. 18: A fool will upbrard (ὀνειδιεῖ) ungractously, 
&e, xx. 15: He [the fool | will give little and upbraid 
(ὀνειδιεῖ) much. xii. 22: After thou hast given upbraid 
not (μετὰ τὸ δοῦναι μὴ ὀνείδιζε). 

i. 28: Desobey not the Lord ; and come not unto Him 
with a double heart (ἐν καρδίᾳ δισσῇ). ii. 12 f.: Woe unto 
Searful hearts, and to faint hands, and to the sinner that 
goeth two ways ; woe unto the faint heart, for tt believeth 
not, &C.; Cp. Vv. 9 (6 δίγλωσσος), vii. το (Be not farnt- 
hearted in thy prayer). 

il, τα: JLy son, if thou comest to serve the Lord, 
prepare thy soul for temptation, &c. (cp. i. 23). 

xv. 11-20: Say not thou, 7) τς through the Lord that 
L fell away. ... Say not thou, It ἐς He that caused me to 
err, For He hath no need of a sinful man, &c. 

v.11: Be swift to hear (γίνου ταχὺς ἐν ἀκροάσει σου): 
cp. iv. 29. 

xii. 11: And thou shalt be unto him as one that hath 
wiped a mirror (ὡς ἐκμεμαχὼς ἔσοπτρον). 


XXvil. 13: Zhe discourse of fools ts an offence, and 
thetr laughter ts in the wantonness of sin (ἐν σπατάλῃ 
ἁμαρτίας). 

XXXvull. 9-15: Jy son, 171 thy sickness be not negligent, 
but pray unto the Lord and He shall heal thee, &c. 


There are also many resemblances in thought and theme throughout the two books: cf. e.g. the 


treatment of humility (Jas. i. 9, Sirach iii. 18), pride (Jas. iv. 6, Sirach x. 7), of poor and rich 
(Jas. ii. 1-6, Sirach x. 19-24; cp. xiii. 9), of stumbling (Jas. iii. 2, Sirach xix. 16), and of true 
wisdom (Jas. iii. 13-17, Sirach xix. 18-22); and other parallels are to be noticed in the use of 
figure, such as that of the crown of life (Jas. i. 12, cp. Sirach xv. 6), and of rust (Jas. v. 2, 3, cp. 
Sirach xxix. 10, xii. 10).! 

If these examples are not sufficient to establish a relation of direct dependence, they are 
sufficient to justify the inference—which is confirmed by the general character of the Epistle and its 
relation to other books of the Wisdom-Literature—that the author of St. James was well acquainted 
with, and was influenced by, Sirach. 

It is difficult to believe that a book that enjoyed in the early centuries of the Christian era such 
popularity both among the Jews of Palestine and the Dispersion could have been entirely unknown 
to the writers of the other New Testament books. And, in fact, possible signs of acquaintance with 
it are not wanting. In this connexion the following parallels have been noted :? 


Matt. vi. 14 ἐὰν yap ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παρα- 
πτώματα αὐτῶν, ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος. 
Matt. vi. το f. μὴ θησαυρίζετε ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, 
ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται διορύσσουσι καὶ 
κλέπτουσι" θησαυρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ κτλ. 
Matt. xvi. 27 καὶ τότε ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν 
ais 
αὐτοῦ. 
Luke i. τ ἐπιστρέψαι καρδίας πατέρων ἐπὶ τέκνα κτλ. 


(of Elijah). 


Strach xxviii. 2 ἄφες ἀδίκημα τῷ πλησίον σου, καὶ τότε 
δεηθέντος σου ai ἁμαρτίαι σου λυθησόνται. 

Strach ΧΧΙΧ. 12 σύνκλεισον ἐλεημοσύνην ἐν τοῖς ταμείοις 
σου, καὶ αὕτη ἐξελεῖταί σε ἐκ πάσης κακώσεως. 


Strach Xxxii. 24 ἕως ἀνταποδῷ ἀνθρώπῳ κατὰ τὰς πράξεις 
αὐτοῦ κτλ. 
Strach ΧΙΝ]. 10 ἐπιστρέψαι καρδίαν πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν 


κτλ. (of Elijah). 


These parallels are, it must be confessed, not very convincing. On the other hand, the Parable 
of the Rich Fool (Luke xii. 15 f.) may have been suggested by more than one passage in Ben-Sira. 
The theme of the parable finds an exact parallel in Sirach xxxi. 3 ἐκοπίασε πλούσιος ἐν συναγωγγ 
χρημάτων, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀναπαύσει ἐμπίπλαται τῶν τρυφημάτων αὐτοῦ. St. Luke has parallels to some of the 
phrases used here (συνάξω, ἀναπαύου). There is also the remarkable parallel to the same passage, 
presenting similar features, in Sirach xi. 18-19: 


1 See, further, Mayor, 22. of Sz. James*, pp. exvi-cxviii; Zahn, Lzn/ectung, i. 87. 
2 Cp. Nestle in HDB, iv. 5500. 
295 


ΞΟ ΘΗ 


There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, 
And this is the portion of his reward: 
When he saith, I have found rest, 
And now will I eat of my goods ; 
Vet he knoweth not what time shall pass, 
And he shall leave them to others, and die (R.V.). 
It will be convenient in concluding this paragraph to note a passage from the Didache, which 
looks like a real quotation either from Ben-Sira or a common source. 
Sirach iv. 31 runs: 
Let not thy hand be stretched out to take, 
And closed in the midst of giving (so i). 


This is apparently quoted in the Didache iv. 5: 


Be not one that stretches out his hands to receive, 
But draws them in when he should give. 


It is difficult to believe that our book did not exercise a considerable influence on the formation of 
the Didache asa whole. There are many parallels both in thought and sentiment. i- 


(6) Sirach and later Jewish Literature. Τὰ this connexion it will be convenient to note 
some of the more striking parallels between our book and (i) Ahiqar,, (ii) Tobit, (iii) other non- 
Rabbinical Jewish literature, and then (iv) to estimate and illustrate its influence on the Rabbinical 
literature. : 

It is difficult to determine priority of date in the case of Ben-Sira’s relation to Ahiqar απ 
Tobit. The parallels may merely imply the presence of common matter from older sources. A 
strong case, however, can be made out for the priority of Ahiqar. Thus the famous dictum, which  ~ 
is repeated over and over again in different forms in later literature, and appears in Tobit as Ε: 

Alms delivereth from death, : 
And suffereth not to come into darkness (iv. 10, cp. ΧΙ]. 9), : 


already implies the legend of Ahiqar, and is only explicable by 11. In Sirach we meet with the 
same maxim, but in a form modified from that of Tobit: ; 
Store up almsgiving in thy treasuries, Ἷ 
And it shall deliver thee from all evil ; Ἵ 

Better than a mighty shield and a heavy spear 

Shall (this) fight for thee against an enemy.” 
i. Parallels with Ahigar. Of matter common to Sirach and Ahiqar the following are striking 

examples: 


Sirach iv. 26: Stand not against the stream. 
Ahigar ii. 65: Stand not against a river in its flood. 
Again, 


Sirach xxii. 14,15: What is heavier than lead? 
And what ts its name but ‘ Fool’ ? 
Sand and salt and a weight of tron 
(Are) easter to bear than a senseless man. 


A close parallel occurs in Prov. xxvii. 3 ; but Ahiqar (Syriac version) ii. 45 contains one even nearer * 


My son, 7 have carried salt and removed lead: and I have not seen anything heavier than that 
a man should pay back a debt that he did not borrow. 

My son, I have carried iron and removed stones,and they were not heavier on me than a man who 
settles in the house of his father-in-law. 


- τοι Parallels with Tobit. The following may be cited to illustrate the parallels that occur in 
obit : 
Sirach iv. 4: Despise not the supplication of the poor, 
And turn not away from the afflicted soul. 


Tobit iv. 7: Turn not away thy face from any poor man, 
And the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. 
* See the discussion in Zhe Story of Ahikar, ed. by Rendel Harris, p. xlviii. f. 2) x1xs) 025) 03h Cpa Wille 32; ΣΧ]: 2e 


* Cited by Rendel Harris, of. cét., p. liv: see also Nau, Histoire et sagesse d’ Ahikar, pp. 60-63. 
290 


INTRODUCTION 


Sirach xxxviii. 16: My son, let tears fall over the dead; 


In accordance with what ts due to him bury his body. 


Compare with this the passages in Tobit which commend the pious duty of burying the dead; esp. 
SO, 15: 

And when thou didst not delay to rise up... that thou mightest go and cover the dead, thy 
— good deed was not hid from me, &c. 


iii. Parallels with other non-Rabbinical Jewish Literature. Sirach has apparently influenced 
two other important books, viz. 2 Enoch (the Slavonic Enoch) and the Psalter of Solomon. 

In 2 Enoch passages of Sirach are sometimes cited verbally ; thus xlvii. 5 (Who has numbered 
the dust of the earth, and the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, &c.) is cited from Sirach i. 2; 
in 2 Enoch li. 1-3 parallels occur with Sirach vii. 32, xiv. 13, Xxix. 20, xxix. Io, and ii. 4. 


The following further parallels are noted by Charles (Secrefs of Enoch, p. 96): 2 Enoch xxx. 15 = Sirach 
πο ΤΠ 18: 2 Enoch ΣΧ]. ΤῊ — Sirach vii. 3\; 2 Enoch xliii. 2, 3 = Sirach x. 20, 22, 24; 2 Enoch lii. 5 = 
Sirach xxxix. 14; 2 Enoch lii. 8 = Sirach xxxi. 26; 2 Enoch lii. 12 = Sirach xxviii. 9; 2 Enoch lxi. 2 = 
Sirach xxxix. 25; 2 Enoch Ixi. 4 = Sirach xxxi. 21-24, 28; 2 Enoch Ixv. 2 = Sirach xvii. 3,5; 2 Enoch 
Ixv. 11 = Sirach xiv. 19. 


In the case of the Psalms of Solomon there are many parallels, but dependence cannot be 
shown conclusively to exist. ‘The language and thought of Sirach often illustrate’ these 
Psalms; ‘actual correspondences of expression are found, but the agreement is generally to be 
explained by some passage of Scripture from which both writers have borrowed’ (Ryle and James). 


The following passages are cited by Ryle and James in their ed. of the Psalms of Solomon (p. Isxiii f.): 
PSs: 1 19, Cp. Sirach xxxii. 12; Ps. S. ili. 7, 12, cp. Sirach iii. 25, v. 5, xxi. 1; Ps. 9. ν. 15-17, cp. Sirach 
ΕΠ 2s) PS) θῖν 04, cp. sirach xl. x14'; Ps. 9: ix. 16-18, cp. Sirach xxxvi. 17; Ps. S. ΧΗ. 2, 3, cp. 
ΕἸ ΟΝ xxxix, 29, 59: Ps. 5: xiv. 3, cp. sirach xvii. τὰ; Ps. S. xvi. 2, cp. Sirach li. 6; Ps. S. xvi. 7, 8; cp. 
Sirach ix. 8; Ps. 5. xvii. 6, cp. Sirach xlv. 18. 


iv. The influence of Ben-Stra on Rabbinical Literature. That Ben-Sira’s book has exercised 
a considerable influence on Rabbinic literature hardly needs any further demonstration. Allusion 
has been already made more than once, in the course of this Introduction, to the large number of 
quotations from the book that occur in the Talmuds, the Midrashim, and the works of some great 
Jewish scholars and poets like Sa‘adya and Ibn Gebirol.!' Even after the work had been banned 
by distinguished Rabbinical authority, and so became suspect to the orthodox, collections of extracts 
from it were still circulated and read (in the original Hebrew) among the Jews.” Apparently, also, 
it was at some time or other translated, either in whole or in part, into Aramaic for Jewish use. It 
was only in the Middle Ages that the original work entirely vanished from knowledge in Jewry. 
The extent of its influence in the earlier period can be measured by recalling one or two important 
facts. It apparently exercised a formative influence on such important Jewish works as the tractates 
Pirge Aboth and Derek eres (rabba and, perhaps, zzta). Not only is Ben-Sira actually cited in 
Pirge Aboth iv. 7 (= Sirach vii. 17; see note), but a whole series of parallels can be traced 
throughout the tractate,° which shows that the book was, in the earlier period, closely studied and 
much esteemed in Rabbinical circles. For parallels in the tractate Derek ‘eres rabba reference must 
be made to the notes in the commentary. A good illustration is to be seen in the section concerning 
behaviour at banquets (xxxi. 12-24 and notes). This tractate is mainly concerned with rules 
about behaviour in social intercourse. Ben-Sira’s book also influenced the liturgy. At any rate, in 
the prayer contained in xxxvi. I-17 there are some remarkable parallels to parts of the Shémdonéh 
“‘Esreh (‘ Eighteen Blessings’), which occupies so important a position in all the synagogue services.* 
Of course, it is possible that an earlier form of this liturgical prayer was already in existence in the 
time of Ben-Sira, and that he is quoting from or alluding to it. This is, on the whole, the most 
probable explanation. Ben-Sira’s prayer has a liturgical ring about it which suggests that it is not 
his own individual composition. The following citations will illustrate the parallelism referred to: 


1 Ben-Sira’s vogue among the Rabbis of the period before the Middle Ages is well brought out (in detailed 
references) by Zunz, Die gottesdienstlichen Vortrige der Juden, pp. 100-105. 

* De is an example of one such florilegium. 

3. Cp. e.g. the notes in the commentary on the following passages, where the parallels are cited: vii. 36, x1. 9, 28, 
ΧΙ]. 4, 9-13, XiV. 10, Xxxi. 12, xxxvili. 24, &c. 
* Cp. also xxxii. I-10, 
5 The full form for week-days can be seen in Singer’s Azthorized Daily Prayer Book, pp. 44-54- 


297 


SIRACH 
Sirach xxxvi. 4: As Thou hast sanctified Thyself (nvap2) before them 
So glorify Thyself in them before us. 
Compare paragraph 3 of the Shémdnch ‘Esrch (‘the sanctification of the Name’): 


Thou art holy and Thy name is holy .. . 
Blessed art Thou the holy God. 
The key-note here is ‘holy’ (sanctification). 
Again, Sirach xxxvi. 11 ὦ runs: 


Gather all the tribes of Jacob, 
That they may receive their inheritance as in the days of old. 


The tenth paragraph of the Shémdnch ‘Esréh is: 
Sound the great horn for our freedom .. . and collect us from the four corners of the earth. 


Possible parallels or allusions exist in this section to all except the sixth, eighth, and ninth 
paragraphs of the prayer, which it must be remembered in its present form contains nineteen 
sections. There is, however, at least one important part of the Jewish liturgy which is unquestion- 
ably dependent on Sirach. This is the rapturous description of the beautiful appearance of the 
High-Priest as he officiated in the temple on the Day of Atonement, which is still recited in the 
services of the day. It is largely based upon, and imitated from, the description of the High-Priest 
Simon the Just, given in Sirach 1. It begins: 


In truth, how glorious was the High-Priest as he came forth from the Holy of Holies in ~ 
perfect peace. 


δ 8. CANONICITY OF THE BOOK AND ITS USE IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 


As is well known, Sirach owed its place and use in the Christian Church to the fact that 
it was included in the Alexandrine Canon ; before coming to speak, therefore, of the early patristic 
evidence concerning our book, it will be well to draw attention to the ecclesiastical lists of the 
biblical books. ‘Our earliest Christian list’, says Prof. Swete (Zntroduction to the Old Testament im ς΄ 
Greek, 1900, p. 221), ‘was obtained from Palestine? and probably represents the contents of the 
Palestinian Greek Bible. It is an attempt to answer the question, What is the true number and 
order of the books of the Old Testament? Both the titles and the grouping are obviously Greek, 
but the books are exclusively those of the Hebrew Canon.’ Sirach, therefore, together with 
the rest of the books of the Apocrypha, is excluded. Origen, in his Commentary on Ps. i, gives 
the second list that we know of, which belongs to a time not later than A.D, 231; he reckons as 
belonging to the Canon the twenty-two books of the Hebrew Old Testament.® But, strange to say, 
Origen includes in his list the First Book of Esdras (he treats 1, 2 Esdras as one book) and the Epistle 
of Jeremiah, neither of which had ever been regarded as canonical by the Jews. Origen’s list is 
adopted by Athanasius, Cyril, and Epiphanius,‘ as well as in the Laodicean Canon, in each case with 
the addition of Baruch. Furthermore, as Dr. Swete goes on to say (0p. c7¢., p. 222), ‘ Amphilochius 
mentions two books of Esdras, and it is at least possible that the Esdras of Gregory of Nazianzus 
is intended to include both books, and that the Epistle, or Baruch and the Epistle, are to be under- 
stood as forming part of Jeremiah in the lists both of Gregory and Amphilochius.’ The point of 
importance which these facts reveal is that ‘an expansion of the Hebrew Canon, which involved 
no addition to the number of the books, was predominant in the East during the fourth century’. 
Dr. Swete gives two other lists: one mentioned by Lagarde (Sepinagintastudien, ii. 60 ff.), Σύνοψις 
ἐν ἐπιτόμῳ, in which the Wisdom of Jesus (the son) of Sirach is mentioned among the canonical 
Scriptures (so, too, Tobit and Judith) ; and the other is anonymous; in it Sirach is, together with 
Tobit and the Wisdom of Solomon, placed under Apocrypha, though Judith is reckoned among the 
canonical books. 


* This composition is the work of the Jewish mediaeval poet Meshullam bar-Kalonymus. It forms part of the 
Musaf, ox Additional’ Prayer for the Day of ‘Atonement, and can be seen in any of the Collections of Jewish Festival 
Prayers (in Routledge’s edition, vol. ii of Day of Atonement Festival Prayers, p. 166f.). See also Zhe Religion and 
Worship of the Synagogue (Oesterley and Box), ed. 2, p. 428. 
ΝΕ Melito (¢. A.D. 180) af. Eusebius, A. Ζ. ἵν. 26 ἐπειδὴ μαθεῖν τὴν τῶν παλαιῶν βιβλίων ἐβουλήθης ἀκρίβειαν, πόσα τὸν 
εἰ sea ὁποία τὴν τάξιν elev... ἀνελθὼν eis τὴν ἀνατολὴν καὶ ἕως τοῦ τόπου γενόμενος ἔνθα ἐκηρύχθη καὶ ἐπράχθη .. + 
5 Eusebius, Η. E. vi. 25 εἰσὶ δὲ αἱ εἴκοσι δύο βίβλοι καθ᾽ “Ἑβραίους aide . 
4 On the evidence of these Fathers see further below. 


298 


INTRODUCTION 


The following evidence of a more official kind may be added. It is conceivable that there is 
in the M/uratorian Fragment’ (which, as Westcott says, ‘expresses with fair distinctness the first 
known judgement of the Catholic Church on the sum of the Christian Scriptures’) a reference to the 
Wisdom of Sirach in the words: ‘Et Sapientia ab amicis Salomonis in honorem ipsius scripta ;’ 2 
it has to be remembered in this connexion that, as we shall see presently, the book of the Wisdom 
of Sirach, together with other books of the Apocrypha, seems from the beginning to have enjoyed 
greater esteem in the Western than in the Eastern Church. Next, the eighty-fifth of the Apostolical 
-Canons gives a list® of the books of the Hebrew Canon, and adds the three first books of the 
Maccabees and the Wisdom of Sirach; these last four are not, however, included in the Canon, 
though the Wisdom of Sirach is specially recommended for the instruction of the young. Again, 
in the Apostolical Constitutions, vi. 14, 15 (= Didascalia), quotations from Sirach are given 
with the same formula as those from the books of the Hebrew Canon,* but in the list given in ii. 57 
of the same work there is no mention of any of the books of the Apocrypha.® On the other hand, 
at the Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) Sirach was specially mentioned as being one of the canonical 
books, while at the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397) the ‘five books of Solomon’, i.e: Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Wisdom, and Sirach, are reckoned among the canonical Scriptures.° This 
was also confirmed by the Council of Carthage in A.D. 419. 

Coming now to speak in some detail of what the Church Fathers" say as to the canonicity or 
otherwise of the book, we turn first to the Eastern Church. 

In the Didache iv. 6 (c. 120) Sirach iv. 31 is quoted thus: Μὴ γίνου πρὸς μὲν τὸ λαβεῖν 
ἐκτείνων τὰς χεῖρας, πρὸς δὲ τὸ δοῦναι συσπῶν, Which is sufficiently near the wording of Sirach iv. 31 
to show that it is intended to be a quotation, viz. Μὴ ἔστω ἡ yelp σου ἐκτεταμένη εἰς τὸ λαβεῖν, καὶ ἐν 
τῷ ἀποδιδόναι συνεσταλμένη. The same text is quoted in the Epistle of Barnabas, xix. 9 (c. 120). 
Eusebius, as we have already seen, quotes Melito of Sardis (d.c. 180), however, to the effect that 
the books of the Hebrew Bible are the only canonical ones; he excludes, therefore, Sirach.® 
The evidence of Clement of Alexandria (d. 220) is conflicting ; in his Paedagogus he quotes very 
often from Sirach, and speaks of it as 7) γραφή and θεία γραφή (e.g. I, chap. xxxiv. 4, xlviii. 4, 
lix. 4; III, chap. xviii, xxiii. 4, Ixxxiii. 3), from which it would evidently appear that he 
regarded it as canonical Scripture; but, according to Eusebius, Clement reckoned Sirach 
among the ‘ Antilegomena’, for in speaking of Clement's works he mentions the S7zromateis, or 
‘Medleys’, and says: ‘He quotes in them passages from the disputed Scriptures, the so-called 
Wisdom of Solomon, for example, and (that) of Jesus the son of Sirach, and the Epistle to the 
Hebrews, and those of Barnabas, Clement, and Jude.’® Origen, too, gives conflicting evidence ; we 

' Published by Muratori in 1740 from a manuscript in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, though belonging originally 
to the great Irish monastery of Bobbio. ‘It was found in a volume of Latin fragments and translations which dates 
apparently from the eighth century. But the fragment itself was evidently copied from a manuscript of much higher 
antiquity ; for it was mutilated both at the beginning and end before it was transcribed. The writer claims to be 
a contemporary of Pius, who was bishop of Rome in the middle of the second century; so that its date may be fixed 
with tolerable certainty between A.D. 160 and 170’ (Westcott, The Bible in the Church (2nd ed.), p. 112). 

2 See further on this G. Kuhn, Das muratorische Fragment, pp. 94, 112. 

8 Westcott says in reference to this: ‘The list of the books of the Bible in the eighty-fifth of the Afostolical 
Canons was introduced into, its present place at a much later date. Yet the list itself is remarkable, and probably 
Alexandrine in origin.... This canon, together with the canon of Carthage, was ratified at the Quinisextine Council 
[of Constantinople, a.D. 553], and had a powerful influence on many of the Eastern Churches’ (of. c/¢., p. 176). 

* Cp. Herbst, Aist-krit. Einleitung in die heiligen Schriften, ii. pp. vf. 

5 Μέσος δ᾽ ὁ ἀναγνώστης ἐφ᾽ ὑψηλοῦ τινος ἑστὼς ἀναγινωσκέτω τὰ Μωσέως καὶ ᾿Ιησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ, τὰ τῶν Κριτῶν καὶ τῶν 
Βασιλειῶν, τὰ τῶν Παραλειπομένων καὶ τὰ τῆς ᾿Επανόδου" πρὸς τούτοις τὰ τοῦ Ἰὼβ καὶ τοῦ Σολομῶνος καὶ τὰ τῶν ἑκκαίδεκα 
προφητῶν. “Ava δύο δὲ γινομένων ἀναγνωσμάτων ἕτερός τις τοὺς τοῦ Δαυὶδ ψαλλέτω ὕμνους καὶ ὁ λαὸς τὰ ἀκροστίχια 
ὑποψαλλέτω. 

5 The thirty-ninth canon reads as follows: ‘Item placuit ut praeter Scripturas canonicas nihil in ecclesia legatur 
sub nomine divinarum Scripturarum ; sunt autem Canonicae Scripturae hae’: then follow the books of the Pentateuch, 
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Chronicles, Job, the Psalter, after which it continues : ‘Salomonis 
libri quinque, libri duodecim prophetarum, Jesaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, Daniel, Tobias, Judith, Esther, Esdrae libri duo, 
Machabaeorum libri duo’: and then the books of the New Testament are enumerated. After this the following words 
occur: ‘Let this be made known also to our brother and fellow-priest Boniface, or to other bishops of those parts, for the 
purpose of confirming that canon, because we have received from our fathers that those books must be read in the 
Church’ (quoted by Westcott, Cazo, pp. 439 f., 541 f.). As Westcott says further: ‘ Between the years A.D. 390 and 419 
no less than six councils were held in Africa, and four of these at Carthage. For a time, under the inspiration of 
Aurelius and Augustine, the Church of Tertullian and Cyprian was filled with a new life before its fatal desolation.’ 

_ 7 Among the writings of the Apostolic Fathers there is only one citation from Sirach, viz. iv. 31, which is quoted 
in 52. Barn. xix. 9. 

® Eusebius, 27... ἵν. 26. In Strom. 11. chap. xiv. 5 (ed. Stahlin), however, Sirach vi. 33 is referred to as Solomon's. 
And such a passage as the following suggests that Clement regarded Sirach as canonical Scripture: .S¢vovz. V. chap. il. I 
“Makdptos ὁ λέγων εἰς ὦτα ἀκουόντων" " (Sirach xxv. 9) πίστις δὲ ὦτα ψυχῆς, καὶ ταύτην αἰνίσσεται τὴν πίστιν ὁ Κύριος λέγων 
“6 ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω" (Matt. xi. 15). 


" Eusebius, H. £. vi. 13. 
299 


SIRACH 


have seen above that in the list of canonical Scriptures which he gives he only regards the twenty- 
two books of the Hebrew Canon as the genuine Scriptures of the Old Testament, but elsewhere he 
speaks of Sirach, the Book of Wisdom, and other books of the Apocrypha as ‘authoritative — 
Scripture’, or as ‘ the Divine Word’, or as ‘ Holy Scripture’ (see e.g. Περὶ ᾿Αρχῶν, ii. 95, ed. Migne ; 
Contra Cels. vi. 7, vii. 12); in these works he quotes Sirach vi. 4 and xxi. 18 as ‘ Holy Scripture’. 
As Westcott says, in speaking of Origen: ‘ In his other writings he uses apocryphal books as divine 
and authoritative, yet not without noticing the difference of opinion on the subject. But even in 
his case the familiar use of the Greek Bible practically overpowered his knowledge of the original 
Hebrew Canon, and in his famous “ Letter to Africanus” he expressly defends the reception 
among Christians of the additions found in the Alexandrine Septuagint.’! Not that Origen was 
ignorant of the Hebrew Bible, for Eusebius (7. £. vi. 16) tells us that ‘so accurate an examination 
was Origen undertaking with the Holy Scriptures that he even learned the Hebrew language, and 
acquired as his private possession original copies of the Scriptures in Hebrew characters, which were 
current among the Jews themselves’.* The evidence of Eusebius (d. 340) has been admirably 
summarized by Westcott as follows: ‘Eusebius has left no express judgement on the contents of 
the Old Testament. In three places he quotes from Josephus, Melito, and Origen, lists of the 
books (slightly differing) according to the Hebrew Canon. These he calls in the first place “the 
canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament (lit. ‘Scriptures in the Testament’), undisputed among 
the Hebrews”; and, again, “the acknowledged Scriptures of the Old Testament ” ; and, lastly, “the 
Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament.” In his Chronicle he distinctly separates the Book of 
Maccabees from the “Divine Scriptures”, and elsewhere mentions Sirach and Wisdom as 
“controverted”” books. On the other hand, like the older Fathers, he quotes in the same manner 
as the contents of the Hebrew Canon passages from Baruch and Wisdom. On the whole, it may 
be concluded that he regarded the Apocrypha of the Old Testament in the same light as the books 
of the New Testament, which were “ controverted and yet familiarly used by many”. The books 
of the Hebrew Canon alone were, in his technical language, “ acknowledged.” One general charac- 
teristic of his judgement must not be neglected. It is based expressly on the collective testimony 
of antiquity expressed in the works of the chief ecclesiastical writers. There was no combined 
decision of any number of churches to which he could appeal... . According to Eusebius the 
only method by which the contents of the Bible could be determined was that of a simple historical 
inquiry into the belief and practice of earlier generations, and this did not appear to him to lead to 
a certain conclusion in every case.’* The evidence of Athanasius (d. 373) is likewise very important, 
both on account of his high ecclesiastical position as metropolitan of Egypt, as well as on account 
of his dominating personality. In the thirty-ninth of his Festal Letters * he writes as follows: ‘ As 
I am about to speak (of the divine Scriptures), I shall use for the support of my boldness the 
model of the Evangelist Luke, and say as he does, Horasmuch as some have taken in hand to set 
Jorth in order for themselves the so-called Apocrypha, and to mix these with the inspired Scripture 
which we most surely believe, even as they delivered it to our fathers which from the beginning were 
eyewitnesses and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having been urged by true 
brethren, and having learned the truth from the first, to publish the books which are admitted in 
the Canon, and have been delivered to us, and are believed to be divine, that if any one has been 
deceived he may condemn those who led him astray, and he that has remained pure from error 
may rejoice in being again reminded (of the truth). All the books therefore of the Old Testament 
are in number twenty-two.’ He then enumerates the books of the Hebrew Canon ; these are followed 
by a list of the New Testament books, after which he continues: ‘But for the sake of greater 
accuracy I add this also, writing of necessity, that there are also other books excluded from among 
these (ἕτερα βιβλία τούτων ἔξωθεν), not canonical, which have been framed by the Fathers to be read 


' The Bible in the Church, p.136; and cp. Eusebius’s words (27. £. vi. 31) : ‘At this time Africanus also, the compiler 
of the CesZi [1. 6. “ Mystic Girdles’’] as they are called, came into note. A letter of his, written to Origen, is extant, in 
which he intimates doubts about the Story of Susannah, in Daniel, as being ungenuine and fictitious, to which Origen 
wrote a very full answer.’ It is true that Sirach is not mentioned by Origen in his letter to Africanus, but since 
he defends Susannah, much more would he have defended Sirach if the authority of this book had been speci- 
fically called in question ; moreover, the objection urged by Africanus against the reception of Susannah, viz. that it did 
not exist in Hebrew, did not apply to Sirach, the Prologue of which was sufficient to prove its Hebrew origin even 
if Africanus did not know of any existing Hebrew copies. 

_ ἢ Cp. also the words of Jerome (De wiris illustr. liv), who tells us that Origen had so much holy zeal for the 
Scriptures ‘ut etiam hebraeam linguam contra aetatis gentisque suae naturam edisceret’ (quoted by Hart, of. cét., 
p- 348 note). 

° The Bible in the Church, pp. 153 ff. 

* Migne, Patr. Gr. xxvi, col. 1347. These Paschal, or Festal Letters, were pastorals issued by the bishops of 
Alexandria ; they were originally written for the purpose of announcing the date of Easter, but gradually assumed the 
character of an annual metropolitan pronouncement in which topics of prominent interest were dealt with. 

300 


OE Si <item 


Deets. Bnd. EE. τι, 


INTRODUCTION 


by those who are just approaching [entry into the Church], and who desire to be instructed in the 
word of godliness: the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, 
and Tobias, and the so-called Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd. And, nevertheless, 
beloved, neither among those books which are canonical, nor among those that are read [i.e. those 
just enumerated], is there anywhere mention made of the apocryphal (books).’ It is worth noticing 
here that Athanasius uses the word ‘apocryphal’ in an entirely different sense from that in which 
the word is now used in reference to the books of our Apocrypha; indeed, he goes on to say in 
this passage that such apocryphal books are ‘a device of heretics’, words which in view of the 
passage before us he could not possibly have ever applied to the books of what we now understand 
by the Apocrypha. One example, at least, exists of Athanasius quoting from Sirach, and 
speaking of it as ‘Holy Scripture’ (Contra Arianos, xii), but it is evident that, upon the whole, 
Athanasius did not regard Ecclesiasticus as belonging to the canonical Scriptures, for among these 
he included only the books of the Hebrew Canon. Amphilochius (c. 380) enumerates the books 
of the Old Testament, but includes only the books of the Hebrew Canon, and makes no mention of 
the books of the Apocrypha.? Cyril of Jerusalem (ἃ. 386) in his Catechetical Lectures (iv. 35) quotes 
the books of the Hebrew Canon (among which he, too, includes Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah 
as belonging to the Book of Jeremiah) as the canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament, after 
which he says: Ta δὲ λοιπὰ πάντα ἔξω κείσθω ἐν δευτέρῳ. He, however, quotes Sirach in his Caze- 
chetical Lectures, vi. 3. Gregory of Nazianzus (d. 389) divides the books of the Hebrew Canon, 
which alone he acknowledges as canonical Scripture, into three groups—historical,’ poetical, and 
prophetical; in the second, besides Job and ‘ David’, he includes three of ‘Solomon’, Ecclesiastes, 
Canticles, and Proverbs; no mention at all is made of any books outside the Hebrew Canon, there 
is only a reference to ‘strange books’, against which the reader is warned. In the Preface to the 
Synopsis Sacr. Script. (pseudo-Chrysostom) ὅ there is a threefold division of Scripture: τὸ ἱστορικόν, 
τὸ συμβουλευτικόν, and τὸ προφητικόν, in the second of which are included Proverbs, the Wisdom of 
Sirach, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles. Chrysostom himself quotes passages from Baruch, Sirach, 
and Wisdom as ‘divine Scripture’. We come next to the evidence of Epiphanius (d. 404); 
in three places ὃ he enumerates the canonical books, holding these to be only those of the Hebrew 
Canon; but he is not altogether consistent, for in one place he includes the ‘ letters of Jeremiah and 
Baruch’ in Jeremiah, while in another he remarks that ‘the letters of Baruch’ are not found in the 
Hebrew Bible. ‘ He is equally inconsistent or uncertain’, says Westcott, ‘ with regard to Wisdom and 
Ecclesiasticus. These’, he says, ‘occupy a doubtful place. They are useful, and still they are not 
reckoned among the acknowledged books, nor were they ever placed in the Ark of the Covenant,’? 
i.e. regarded as Scripture by the Jews. Yet again, after enumerating summarily all the books of the Old 
and New Testaments, he adds, ‘ and the books of Wisdom, that of Solomon, and of the son of Sirach, 
and generally all divine writings.’ It is evident that he wishes to combine the practice of the early 
Fathers with their direct teaching. He will sacrifice nothing which had even the appearance of 
authority, and this characteristic of the man gives weight to his repeated statement that the books 
of the Old Testament ‘ were twenty-seven, counted as twenty-two’. The Hebrew Canon was that 
which he, like all the other Greek Fathers, wished to mark as definitely authoritative, though he 
admitted to a second place the books which had been sanctioned in some measure by Christian 
usage. In the list given by Leontius (De Secézs, ii) and in the S“chometria of Nicephorus no 
mention is made of Sirach, though in the latter Baruch is mentioned among the canonical 
books.® Finally, John of Damascus (d. 750) in his De fide orthod. iv. 17 speaks of Wisdom and 
Sirach, after enumerating the books of the Hebrew Canon, in the following way: ‘H δὲ 
Πανάρετος, τουτέστιν ἡ Σοφία τοῦ Σολομῶντος καὶ ἣ Σοφία τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἣν ὁ πατὴρ μὲν τοῦ Σιρὰχ ἐξέθετο 
Ἑβραϊστὶ “Ἑλληνιστὶ δὲ ἡρμήνευσεν 6 τούτου μὲν ἔγγονος ᾿Ιησοῦς τοῦ δὲ Σιρὰχ υἱός" ἐνάρετοι μὲν καὶ καλαὶ 
ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀριθμοῦνται οὐδὲ ἔκειντο ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ. In his De /mag.i he speaks of Baruch as ‘ divine 
Scripture’. 


At the same time it is worth noting that Athanasius clearly did not feel himself bound by the Hebrew Canon, 
for he includes Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah among the canonical Scriptures, and excludes Esther from 
the Canon. 2 Migne, Patr. Gr. xxxvii, p. 1593. 

3. Ruth is treated as a separate book, and Esther is omitted altogether ; Nehemiah is not mentioned, but included 
under Esdras among the historical books. 

* Haer.1.i.5; De mens. et pond., §§ 4, 23. ° Migne, Patr. Gr. iii. 473 f. 

δ Migne, Patr. Gr. lvi. 513 ff. Westcott regards this as ‘certainly a Syrian catalogue of Chrysostom’s time’ (7/e 
Bible in the Church, p. 174). 

7 i.e. the ‘ark’ in the Synagogue; the rolls of the canonical Scriptures read in the Synagogue service were kept 
there ; κιβωτός -- NIN (‘chest’). 

δ The Bible in the Church, pp. 172f. ® Cp. Swete, of. czz., p. 207. 
10 Cp. Westcott, Zhe Canon of the New Testament (5th ed.), p. 546. 
301 


SIRACH 


We turn next to the Western Church. The earliest evidence is that of Irenaeus (d. 202); 
although he nowhere quotes from Sirach,! he has in his Adv. Haeres. iv. 26, Wo Age quotations 
from Baruch, which he cites as ‘ Jeremiah the prophet’, and from the Additions to Daniel, which — 
he cites as ‘ Daniel the prophet’, and also from Wisdom pe presumably, therefore, he would have 
regarded the books of the Apocrypha as canonical. Tertullian (d. 220), in quoting from our book 
(e.g. Contra Gnostic. viii, De Exhort. Castit. ii, De Hab. Mul. iii), uses the same formula as that with 
which he introduces the quotations from the books of the Hebrew Canon, Viz. secut scriptum est. 
Cyprian (d. 258), in his Testémonia (e.g. iil. 95, 96) 3 and in his letters (e.g. Ep. lix. 20),° has many 
quotations from Sirach, and, like Tertullian, introduces them with the formula szcut scriptum 
est, or with the even more definite words Scriptura divina dicit. Methodius* (c. 311), who was 
bishop of Lycia, and afterwards of Tyre, quotes without reserve from Sirach, Wisdom, and 
Baruch, treating them all as ‘Scripture’. Hilary of Poitiers (d. 368) has a list of the books of the 
Old Testament in his Prol. ix Libr. Psalm.° in which only the Epistle of Jeremiah among the books 
of the Apocrypha is included, but at the end of this list he adds the words: ‘ Quibusdam autem 
visum est additis Tobia et Judith xxiv libros secundum numerum Graecorum literarum connume- 
rare’; nevertheless, he cites Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom as ‘ prophets’, an expression which seems 
to imply his belief in their canonicity. Philastrius of Brescia (d. 397) gives an account of the 
Scriptures in his De FHlaeres. \x, \xi, in which he says that only the canonical books, meaning 
thereby the books of the Hebrew Canon, should be read in church; in the same work (Ixxxviii) he 
says that the ‘ book of the Wisdom of Sirach’ is used by a heretical sect, but he quotes Wisdom 
as the work of a ‘prophet’. Rufinus (c. 410), in his Comm. in Symbol. Apostol., δὲ 36-38, gives 
a list of the Old Testament Scriptures comprised in the Hebrew Canon as those which ‘ the Fathers 
included in the Canon’ (ὃ 37); he then continues, in the next section: ‘ Nevertheless, it should be 
known that there are also other books which by men of old were called not “canonical” but 
“ecclesiastical ”, namely, Wisdom, which is called Solomon’s, and the other Wisdom, that of the son 
of Sirach’; he also includes other books in this category.° The important evidence of Jerome 
(d. 420) requires a little more detailed consideration. He was the first to make any thoroughgoing 
and successful attempt to differentiate between the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible and the 
books of the Apocrypha in the Christian Church ; his intercourse with Rabbis and his knowledge 
of the Bible in Hebrew were the means of equipping him in a special way for his biblical studies. 
Jerome was, moreover, the first to use the term ‘ Apocrypha’, in its present technical sense, in 
reference to the uncanonical books. In the Prologus Galeatus (the ‘Helmed Prologue’, with which 
he prefaces his translation of the books of Samuel and Kings), after enumerating the books of the 
Hebrew Canon, he says that every other book (referring, of course, to the Alexandrine Canon) is 
to be reckoned among the Apocrypha (‘ quidquid extra hos est, inter Apocrypha esse ponendum ’) ; 
and he goes on: ‘Therefore Wisdom, commonly entitled (The Wisdom) of Solomon, and the book 
of Jesus the son of Sirach, and Judith, and Tobit, and the Shepherd are not in the Canon.’ To the 
same effect are his words in the preface to his Commentary on the Salomonic books: ‘ Porro in eo 
libro qui a plerisque Sapzenta Salomonis inscribitur, et in Ecclesiastico, quam esse [651 filii Sirach 
nullus ignorat, calamo temperavi, tantummodo canonicas Scripturas vobis emendare desiderans et stu- 
dium meum certis magis quam dubiis commendare’; and, again, in the same preface he says : ‘ Sicut 
ergo Judith et Tobi et Macchabaeorum libros quidem legit Ecclesia, sed inter canonicas Scripturas 
non recipit, sic et haec duo volumina (i. e..Sirach and Wisdom) legat ad aedificationem plebis, 
non ad auctoritatem ecclesiasticorum dogmatum confirmandam.’ But in spite of what Jerome says 
here, he not infrequently quotes from the books of the Apocrypha with the same introductory 
formula which he uses when quoting from the books of the Hebrew Canon ; thus in his Commentary 
on Isaiah (ii. 3) he prefaces quotations from Sirach and Wisdom with ‘ sicut scriptum est ’.” 

Our next authority is Augustine (d. 430), whose authority over the Western Church was almost 
as great as that of Jerome. The following, from his De Doctr. Christiana, ii. 8, will show that he 
regarded the books of the Apocrypha generally as more authoritative than Jerome did. After 
enumerating the Old Testament books in the order—Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-4 Kings, 


ἢ This silence does not of itself necessarily mean that Irenaeus did not regard Sirach as Scripture; it is worth 
noting that some books of the Hebrew Canon are never quoted or even alluded to in the New Testament, viz. Esther, 
Canticles, Ecclesiastes. 

* He also mentions this book ina work of his which is now lost; see Eusebius, 27. £. v. 26. 8 Hartel’s edition. 

* Not to be confounded with the Methodius who, in conjunction with his brother Cyril, translated the Greek Bible 
into Slavonic in the ninth century, and preached the faith to the Slavs. 

® Migne, Padr. Lat. i. 241. 5. Ed. Migne, pp. 373 ff. 

7. It is worth noting that the books of Tobit and Judith were translated by Jerome from the Aramaic and incorpo- 
rated inthe Vulgate, but Wisdom, Sirach, the two books of the Maccabees, and Baruch as found in the Vulgate are not 
the work of Jerome, but are all ante-Hieronymian (cp. Swete, of. ciz., p. 103). 

302 


INTRODUCTION 


1,2 Chronicles, he goes on: ‘ Haec est historia quae sibimet annexa tempora continet atque ordinem 
rerum: sunt aliae tanquam ex diverso ordine quae neque huic ordini neque inter se connectuntur, 


 sicut est Job et Tobias et Esther et Judith et Machabaeorum libri duo et Esdrae duo, qui magis sub- 
} sequi videntur ordinatam illam historiam usque ad Regnorum vel Paralipomenon terminatam : 


deinde Prophetae in quibus David unus liber Psalmorum, et Salomonis tres, Proverbiorum, Cantica 
Canticorum, et Ecclesiastes. Nam illi duo libri unus qui Sapientia et alius qui Ecclesiasticus 
inscribitur de quadam similitudine Salomonis esse dicuntur, nam Iesus Sirach eos conscripsisse 


᾿ constantissime perhibetur qui tamen quoniam in auctoritatem recipi meruerunt inter propheticos 


numerandi sunt. Though he thus speaks with some reserve respecting Wisdom and Sirach 
he regards them as canonical, for at the end of his enumeration of the books of the Old and New 
Testaments he says: *In his omnibus libris timentes Deum et pietate mansueti quaerunt voluntatem 
Dei. In the Speculum Augustine deals in the same way with Sirach as with the canonical 
books. John Cassian (c. 450) cites Sirachii. 1 as Scripture in his De st. Caen. iv. 38.2. Innocent II, 
in a list of the Scriptural books in his Lp. ad Exsuperium,® reckons five books of Solomon (1.6. he 
includes Sirach and Wisdom); the pseudo-Gelasian list* includes Sirach and Wisdom, as 
well as Tobit, Judith, and 1, 2 Maccabees, among the canonical books. And, lastly, Cassiodorus 
(d. 570), in his enumeration of the books of the Bible (De zns¢. Div. litt. 14) also includes Sirach 
and Wisdom among the books of Solomon, and therefore regards them as canonical; so also Tobit, 
Judith, 1, 2 Esdras, 1, 2 Maccabees. 

It is unnecessary to give further evidence, for from this time onwards all the books of the 
Apocrypha are usually found in the Old Testament undistinguished from the other books. So that 
the evidence of the early Church, taken as a whole, is in the direction of looking favourably upon 
Sirach as being, at the very least, a book which was both edifying and instructive; never- 
theless, it is regarded as less authoritative than the books of the Hebrew Canon. 


4 δ 9. THE THEOLOGY OF THE BOOK. 


i. The Doctrine of God. Ben-Sira’s conception and teaching of the Almighty is very full; not 
only his orthodox belief, but still more his religious mind which so often expresses itself in his 
book, impelled him in the most natural way to refer very frequently to the Divine Personality, 
His attributes, and His relationship to men. First and foremost comes, of course, his teaching 
concerning the Unity of God, e.g. xiii. 21: 


From everlasting He ts the same ; 
and again in xxxvi. 5 (ἃ xxxiii. 5): 


That they may know, as we also know, 
That there is none other God but Thee. 


In the long section xliii. 1-26 Ben-Sira describes the divine activity in Nature, and he concludes 
(v. 27) with the words: 
The conclusion of the matter is: He is all.® 


The Greek (τὸ πᾶν ἐστιν αὐτός) might be thought to point to a pantheistic tendency, but the context 
makes it clear that all that Ben-Sira wishes to show is that God is to be discovered in all His works ; 
the very definite personality which he always imputes to God amply proves that he was entirely 
free from all pantheistic tendencies. This teaching of God as the All-God leads on naturally to 
that of God as the Creator of all; here Ben-Sira gets his main inspiration from the Psalms, see the 
fine passage xlii. 15—xliii. 33, and cp. also xxxix. 16 and xlii.21. In this last passage it is said that 
all created things are the products of the divine wisdom; this is further emphasized by the 
description of the a/l-knowledge of God in xlii. 18-25, see especially vv. 18, 19: 


For Jahveh possesseth all knowledge,’ 
And seeth what cometh unto eternity." 

Fle declareth what is past and what ts future, 
And revealeth the profoundest secrets. 


The eternity of God also frequently finds expression, e.g. xviii. 1 ff. : 


He that liveth for ever created all things together .. . 


* Chap. xxiii (ed. Weihrich). In the psewdo-Speculum almost every chapter of Sirach is quoted from. } 
? Ed. Petschenig. 5 Swete, of. czt., p. 211. * Ibid. 5 Tbid. 
* Cp. also xxxvi. 1: ‘Save us, Ὁ God of all.’ 7 These two lines are wanting in the Hebrew. 


393 


SIRACH 


and xxxvi. 17 (& 22): 


... That all the ends of the earth may know 
That Thou art the eternal God. 


Belonging to this cycle of conceptions is also the /Yoliness of God ; this is taught, e.g. in xxiii. 9: 


Accustom not thy mouth to an oath, 
Nor make a habit of the naming of the Holy One. 


See further iv. 14, xliii. 10, xlvii. 8, xlviii. 20. 

Another side to Ben-Sira’s doctrine of God is that in which he deals with the relationship of 
God towards Israel on the one hand, and towards the Gentiles on the other. The more usual Jewish 
view that God is the God of Israel only is taught, e.g. in xvii. 17: 


For every nation He appointed a ruler, 
But Israel is the Lord's portion ;* 


and the fact that the Wisdom of God belongs to Israel in a pre-eminent degree shows them to be — 
in a special sense His people ; see the whole passage xxiv. 8 ff., especially v. 12: 


And I [i.e. Wisdom] took root among an honoured people, 
In the portion of the Lord (and) of His inheritance.* 


Moreover, the whole section on the praise of Israel’s heroes of old (xliv—xlix) reveals the belief that 
Israel is a particularly favoured nation in the sight of God. On the other hand, Ben-Sira is not 
wholly particularistic ; he realizes that God is the God of all the world, and therefore he sometimes 
strikes a universalistic note, e.g. in xviii. 13, 14: 


The mercy of man ts (exercised upon) his own kin, 
But the mercy of God ts (extended) to all flesh, 
Reproving, and chastening, and teaching, 
And bringing them back as a shepherd his flock. 
He hath mercy on them that accept (His) chastening, 
And that diligently seek after His judgements.” 


The attributes of mercy and forgiveness here portrayed find very frequent utterance, and of course 
the same is true of the converse; God’s wrath strikes the wicked whether they be Jews or Gentiles. 
The doctrine of the divine Fatherhood also finds expression in our book. As Toy says, referring 
to the older view: ‘ The old Israelitish idea of the divine love was, so far as we can gather from the 
literature, a purely national one. Jahveh was the father (Hos. xi. 1) or the husband (Jer. ii. 1, iti. 4; 
Isa. Ixii. 5) of Israel. In the later psalms more individual relation is expressed ; Jahveh is said to 
pity them that fear Him asa father pities his children (Ps. ciii.13). Gradually the paternal relation 
as expressing most completely the combination of guidance and tenderness came to be employed 
as the representative of God’s relation to man’;* and he quotes several passages from the Apo- 
crypha, among them xxiii. 1 of our book: 


O Lord, Father, and God of my life,' 


which certainly witnesses to a real belief in the Fatherhood of God in regard to the individual. 

ii. The Law. ‘About half the passages in which the Law is mentioned in this book are 
wanting in the Hebrew; in those which are extant in Hebrew the usual word rendered νόμος in 
Greek is nnn, but in ix. 15 the Hebrew is certainly corrupt,! in xliv. 20 the word is myn (“ com- 
mandment ”), and in xlv. 17 it is paw (“judgement”). With three exceptions (ii. 16, xv. 1, xlix. 
4) νόμος is used without the article. In the Prologue it is used with the article three times, but in 
each case it is in reference to the threefold division of the Canon (6 νόμος, καὶ at προφητεῖαι, καὶ λοιπὰ 
τῶν βιβλίων). On the other hand, the concluding words in the Prologue are: ... ἐν νόμῳ βιωτεύειν. 
In xxxvi. (EV xxxiii.) 3 the article is almost necessary grammatically.’ Ben-Sira gives great 
prominence to the Law both in its ethical and ritual aspects, differing in this markedly from 
Proverbs, to which he is in other respects so much indebted ; and the stress which he lays on the 
importance of the Law, and legal observances generally, marks his book out as perhaps the most 
striking link we have between the older and the newer Judaism, that is to say, the Judaism of post- 


Ἐ eee in Hebrew. * The whole passage is wanting in Hebrew. 8 Judaism and Christianity, p. 83. 
But we should probably read » ΠῚ. δ Oesterley, Ecc/estasticus (Cambridge Bible), p. liii. 


304 


ὃ τ, ὅν “οὐ δ, a ee eee 


INTRODUCTION 


exilic times and Rabbinical Judaism. But he uses the word ‘Law’ in a wide sense; and herein, too, 
we are able to recognize the way in which the teaching of this book leads over in so many respects 
to the later Rabbinism, for what Schechter says regarding the meaning of the term ‘Law’ in 
Rabbinic literature applies also to its meaning in Sirach: ‘The term Law or Womos is not 
a correct rendering of the Hebrew word “ Torah”. The legalistic element, which might rightly be 
called the Law, represents only one side of the Torah. To the Jew the word Torah means a teaching 
or instruction of any kind. It may be either a general principle or a specific injunction, whether it 
be found in the Pentateuch or in the other parts of the Scriptures, or even outside the Canon. The 
juxtaposition in which Torah and Mitzvoth, “ teaching” and ‘‘commandments ”, are to be found in 
the Rabbinic literature implies already that the former means something more than merely the 
Law. . . . To use the modern phraseology, to the Rabbinic Jew Torah was both an institution and 
a faith.! Torah is, therefore, to be understood in both an extended and in a restricted sense 
according to the general purport of the passage in which the term occurs. 

We may note, then, first of all the general emphasis which Ben-Sira lays on the observance of 
the Law as being the prime duty of the people to whom Jahveh has given the Law; he says, for 
example, in ix. 15: 


With the intelligent let thy communing be, 
And all thy converse in the Law of the Most High. 


He teaches that there can be no honour for those who do not observe the Law: 
A despicable race is that which transgresseth the commandment (x. 19). 


The duty of seeking the Law, of believing it, and of meditating upon its precepts is insisted on in 
XXXii. 15-24: 
fle that seeketh out the Law shall gain her, 
But the hypocrite shall be snared thereby... . 
In all thy works guard thyself, 
For he that so doeth keepeth the commandment. 
He that observeth the Law guardeth himself, 
And he that trusteth in Jahveh shall not be brought to shame ; 


and see also xxxix. 1 ff. Ben-Sira urges men not to be ashamed of the Law (xlii. 2), and recalls 
how the nation’s great heroes in the past observed it and were enlightened by it, and taught it to 
others (see xliv. 20, xlv. 5, 17, xlvi. 14). The observance of the commandments of the Law is the 


_ one thing to be thought of at the approach of death (xxviii. 6). 


Since the Law was given by God it is, like Him, eternal, and this brings us to what is perhaps 
the most interesting part of Ben-Sira’s doctrine concerning the Law, namely, his identification of it 
with Wisdom ; for this implies the pre-existence of the Law, as well as its divine character (see 
further the section on Wisdom). This conception of the Law, which, as far as is known, is found 
here for the first time in Jewish literature, became later on, with one exception (viz. the doctrine of 
the unity of God), the most important dogma of Rabbinical Judaism.? But the way in which the 
identification of Wisdom with the Law is taken for granted in Sirach makes it clear that 
Ben-Sira was not expressing a new truth, but one which had already received general acceptance. 
He says, for example, in xv. 1: 


For he that feareth the Lord doeth this 
[i.e. seeks Wisdom, which is the subject of the preceding verses], 
And he that taketh hold of the Law findeth her [1. 6. Wisdom]. 
Again, the Law and Wisdom are used synonymously in xxxiv. (& xxxi.) 8: 


Without deceit shall the Law be fulfilled, 
And Wisdom ts perfect in a mouth that ts faithful. 


So also in xxi. 11: 


Fe that keepeth the Law controlleth his natural tendency,° 
And the fear of the Lord ἐς the consummation of Wisdont. 


1 Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, p. 117 f. 
* See the authors’ book Zhe Religion and Worship of the Synagogue (2nd ed.), pp. 161-177. 
* See the note on this in the commentary. 
1105 305 Χ 


SIRACH 


This identification is further implied by ‘the fear of the Lord’ being both the true observance of 
the Law as well as the ‘beginning’ of Wisdom ; both thoughts occur a number of times in the book. 
But the most direct assertion of the identity of the two is found in xxiv. 23, where it is said: 


All these things [i.e. things concerning Wisdom which are mentioned in the preceding verses] are — 
the book of the covenant of God Most High, 
The Law which Moses commanded (as) an heritage for the assemblies of Jacob. 


The same is taught in xix. 20: 


All wisdom is the fear of the Lord, 
And all wisdom is the fulfilling of the Law. 


Ben-Sira taught, as we have seen, that the Law was eternal, a doctrine which is further illus- 
trated by the way in which he identifies the Law with Wisdom, which is also eternal (see next 
section); the special point of interest in this connexion is that the doctrine of the existence of the 
Law before the Creation—a thoroughly Rabbinical doctrine—is seen to have been taught long 
before Christian times. As an example of the Rabbinical teaching reference may be made to the 
Midrash Bereshith Rabéba viii, where it is said that the Torah is two thousand years older than the 
Creation; and in the first chapter (in the comment on Gen. i. 1) of the same Midrash it is said: 
‘Six things preceded the creation of the world; among them were such as were themselves truly 
created, and such as were decided upon before the Creation; the Torah and the throne of glory 
were truly created.’ 

Another important point concerning the Law is Ben-Sira’s teaching on the spirit in which legal 
ordinances should be observed. ‘It might seem doubtful’, says Toy, ‘ whether the introduction of 
the finished Law was an unmixed good from the ethical point of view. The code was largely 
ritualistic; it fixed men’s minds on ceremonial details which it in some cases put into the same 
category and on the same level with moral duties. Would there not hence result a dimming of the 
moral sense and a confusion of moral distinctions? The ethical attitude of aman who could regard 
a failure in the routine of sacrifice as not less blameworthy than an act of theft cannot be called 
a lofty one. If such had been the general effect of the ritual law we should have to pronounce it 
an evil. But in point of fact the result was different. What may be called the natural debasing 
tendency of a ritual was counteracted by other influences, by the ethical elements of the Law itself, 
and by the general moral progress of the community. The great legal schools which grew up in the 
second century, if we may judge by the sayings of the teachers which have come down to us, did 
not fail to discriminate between the outward and the inward, the ceremonial and the moral ; and the ‘ 
conception of sin corresponded to the idea of the ethical standard.’!_ Now the teaching of Ben-Sira 
on the spirit in which the sacrifices prescribed in the Law are to be observed is a striking illustration 
of what is here so truly said: in xxxiv. 18, 19 (ἃ xxxi. 21-23) he urges: 


The sacrifice of the unrighteous man is a mocking offering, 
And unacceptable are the oblations of the godless. 

The Most High hath no pleasure in the offerings of the ungodly, 
Neither doth He forgive sins for a multitude of sacrifices. 


And again, a few verses later on, he says : 


He who washeth after (contact with) a dead body and toucheth it again, 
What hath he gained by his bathing ? 

Soa man fasting for his sins 
And again doing the same— 

Who will listen to his prayer ? : 
And what hath he gained by his humiliation ? 


Such words offer an elo 
the Law. 


iii, Zhe Teaching on Wisdom. 
The divine character of Wisdom is graphically brought out in xxiv. 3-5: 


7 came forth from the mouth of the Most Fligh (cp. i. 1), 
And as a mist 7 covered the earth Ὁ 


quent proof of Ben-Sira’s spiritual conception concerning the observance of 


* Judaism and Christianity, p. 186. 
306 


INTRODUCTION 


In the high places did I fix my abode, 
And my throne was in the pillar of cloud. 
Alone [ compassed the circuit of heaven, 
And in the depth of the abyss 7 walked. 


That Wisdom took her part in the creation of the world comes out clearly in the two following 
passages : 
Before them all |i.e. the heavens and the earth] was Wisdom created (i. 4) ; 


from the words which follow a little later on Ben-Sira evidently conceived of Wisdom having been 
created in preparation for the work of Creation which was to come, for he continues in verse Ὁ: 


He Himself created her, and saw, and numbered her ; 
And poured her out upon all His works . . (ὦ 


The existence of Wisdom before the creation of the world is again, and more definitely, stated in 
XXiV. 94: 


Fe created me from the beginning, before the world, 


This vivid personification of Wisdom is based on Proverbs, where the same thought finds expression 
in viii. 22, 23: 
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, 
Before His works of old. 
7 was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, 


Or ever the earth was. (See the whole passage, Prov..viii. 22-31.) 


Ν 
The intimate relationship between Wisdom and the Almighty naturally involves the eternity of 


Wisdom, a truth set forth in the opening words of our book: 


All Wisdom cometh from the Lora, 
And ts with Him for ever. 


The same is implied in xxiv. οὐ: 
The memorial of me shall never cease.” 


the personification of Wisdom is illustrated in another way when it is said that she takes up her 
abode among men, and invites them to come and dwell with her: 


With faithful men is she, and she hath been established from eternity, 
And with their seed shall she continue (i. 15). 

Come unto me, ye that desire me, 
And be ye filled with my produce ; 

For my memorial ts sweeter than honey, 
And the possession of me than the honey-comb (xxiv. 19, 20). 


It is characteristic of Ben-Sira’s attitude in desiring to show the superiority of the wisdom of Israel 
over that of the Greeks that he should represent Wisdom as having sought a resting-place among 
the nations of the world, but that Israel alone was worthy of her, and that among them, therefore, 
God bids her abide ;* he says in xxiv. 7, 8 f., 12: 


With all these [i.e. every people and nation] / sought a resting-place, 
And (said): In whose inheritance shall I lodge? 
Then the Creator of all things gave me commandment, 
And He that created me fixed my dwelling-place (for me) ; 
And He said: Let thy dwelling-place be in Jacob, 
And in Israel take up thine inheritance... . 
And 7 took root among an honoured people, 
In the portion of the Lord (and) of His inheritance. 


1p. Ps. civ. 24: O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! 
In wisdom hast Thou made them all. 
Prov. iii. 19: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth ; 


By understanding He established the heavens. 
2. So the Syriac; the Greek and Latin read, ‘ Unto eternity I shall not fail.’ 
* So the Syriac ; the Greek text is probably corrupt. ᾿ 
‘ Cp. with this the somewhat similar case of the Law, which, according to the later teaching of the Rabbis, was 
originally intended by God to be a revelation of Himself and of His will to all nations, but that Israel was the only 
nation that accepted it (see Oesterley and Box, of. ci¢., p. 164). 


397 


SIRACH 


The thought of Wisdom dwelling among men is already taught in Proverbs (e.g. viii. 31, 34 ff), but 
Ben-Sira elaborates it, and in such a passage as that just quoted treats it with great poetical beauty. 

Further, it is characteristic, not only of the Wisdom of Ben-Sira, but also of the Wisdom- 
Literature generally, that the term Wisdom is never used in the sense of pure knowledge ; in its 
essence it connoted originally the faculty of distinguishing between what is good and what is bad, 
or, perhaps more accurately (in so far as earlier times are concerned), between what is advantageous 
-and what is harmful. But in any case, regarding the nature of Wisdom, it is true to say that in the 
Jewish conception it had primarily a religious content from the beginning; that is to say, that it 
was in its origin essentially a divine attribute, the possession of which made man in some measure 
like God. In comparatively early times it must have come to this, that to be able to differentiate 
between good and evil, i.e. the exercise of the moral consciousness, enabled ‘man to stand in a closer 
relationship to God than the mere external observance, however assiduously carried out, of 
a ceremonial law; this, at any rate, would have been the essence of the teaching of the prophets. 
It is in following such teaching that Ben-Sira inculcates the truth that the way to lead a wise life 
is to live according to the divine commandments; in contemplating the wisdom of God, as set 
forth in the commandments of God, and acting accordingly, man makes his human wisdom 
approximate to the divine, and worldly, practical wisdom, in its many and various forms, is 
thus of the same kind, only less in degree, as divine wisdom. It is thus easy to see, one may 
remark in passing, that the identification between the Law and Wisdom, referred to in the previous 
section, was inevitable. ‘Human wisdom comes from the communion between the mind of man 
and the mind of God. The unity of the divine and the human attributes (implicitly contained in 
the book) appears to involve the conception that the divine wisdom fills and controls all things, 
including man’s mind, and thus manifests itself in human thought ;’? this is true, but it needs to 
be emphasized that Ben-Sira’s strong insistence on human free-will makes it a matter of man’s 
choice whether his mind is filled with divine wisdom or something else. 

Wisdom is, therefore, in the first place, of a religious nature. How essential an element this 
was in Ben-Sira’s conception of Wisdom will have been seen by what was said above as to the 
origin of Wisdom, namely, that it was an emanation from the Deity. This truth is further 
emphasized by the @ctam, common to all the books of the Wisdom-Literature in one form or 
another, that : 


ule 


The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom (i. 14). 


Though Ben-Sira takes this thought over from earlier sages, he nevertheless makes it thoroughly 
his own, and elaborates it in such sayings as: 


The crown of Wisdom ts the fear of the Lord (i. 18) ; 
To fear the Lord is the root of Wisdom (i. 20). 


But besides this specifically religious content, Wisdom has, according to Ben-Sira, another 
element in its nature. While the knowledge of God may be said to describe its most exalted 
characteristic, it has also a less exalted, but extremely useful, further characteristic in that it 
connotes knowledge of the world ; not that this would imply a non-religious element in Wisdom, 
for the man with knowledge of the world has acquired this lower form of Wisdom, too, by his 
observance of the divine commandments; so that it need cause no surprise to find that it is this 
latter element in the nature of Wisdom to which Ben-Sira devotes most attention in his book. Nor 
is this an unnatural thing when it is remembered that the writer, having none but the vaguest ideas 
about a life hereafter, is mainly concerned with the affairs of this life. So he says of Wisdom that: 


They that love her love life (iv. 12); 
and again: 
The wisdom of the poor man lifteth up his head, 
And causeth him to sit among princes (xi. 1). 


The large number of precepts which Ben-Sira offers as to general conduct of life are the utterances 
of a sage whose whole life has been spent in the acquisition of Wisdom ; they form part, at least, of 
the result of his labours in her service; and the contribution which he has to offer his fellow- 
creatures is to teach them what in very large measure is worldly wisdom. These moral precepts 
differ widely, of course, from divine wisdom, but, as we have seen, both emanate from the same ἢ 
source, and both are ultimately to be traced back to the Giver of all good things. 


1 Toy, in ZB, ii. 1175. 
308 


SIRACH 


So lasting is the power of Wisdom among those who truly possess her, that the possession is 
regarded as hereditary : 


Tf he trust me, he shall possess me, 
And his posterity shall hold me fast (iv. 16, see also i. 15). 


Yet even he who possesses Wisdom may lose his treasure by sinning, so it is said: 


Tf he turn away (from me), [ will forsake him, 
And will deliver him over to the spoilers (iv. 19). 


The only truly blessed are they who persistently follow after Wisdom (xiv. 20-27) ; yet for this 
leisure is required ; the ordinary occupations and callings of men are all good and necessary, but 
none are to be compared to that in which a man devotes himself wholly to the seeking out of the 
Wisdom of the ancients, which is none other than the fear of God and the Law of the Most High 
(see the whole of xxxviii. 24—xxxix. IT). 


iv. The Doctrine of Sin. The great problem of the existence of sin had, of course, exercised 
the minds of men for ages before the time of Ben-Sira. How was one to reconcile the facts of daily 
experience with the belief in an all-righteous, all-powerful God, who governed the world? ‘The 
ancient mythical religion had certainly connected physical evil with Adam’s sin; but when, after the 
Exile, the individual, as contrasted with the nation, became more prominently an object of 
consideration, difficulties doubtless began to appear to which the answer of the old theology was 
felt to be incomplete.’! A suggested explanation of the difficulty is expressed in Ps. xxxvii, where 
it is said that the destruction of the wicked comes suddenly, while he is in the midst of his 
prosperity (vv. 35, 36); and again, in the same psalm the Psalmist seeks to explain the difficulty by 
contrasting the ‘latter end’ of the righteous and the wicked respectively : 


Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: 
For the latter end of that man is peace. 
As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together ; 
The latter end of the wicked shall be cut off (vv. 37, 38). 


In neither case was there any real solution of the problem. Later thinkers were impelled to offer 
another explanation ; so, for example, the writer who explained that everything had been made for 
its own purpose: 
The Lord hath made everything for its own end: 
Vea, even the wicked for the day of evil (Prov. xvi. 4). 


Ben-Sira was on safer ground when, in re-echoing earlier teaching, he said: 
He that seeketh God will receive discipline (xxxii.[xxxv.]14), 


i.e. any misfortune which befalls the righteous is looked upon as a discipline, and is, therefore, in reality 
for his benefit. None of these attempted solutions could, however, have been regarded as satisfactory, 
for they did not account for the divine acquiescence in the prosperity of the wicked, however much 
they might satisfy men as to the necessity of adversity for the righteous. In one passage Ben-Sira 
does strike out a somewhat original line of thought in seeking a solution of the mystery, though 
within the limits of the present life; a wicked man may, he says in effect, enjoy prosperity all his 
life, but so terrible may God cause his last hours to be that all his former enjoyment of life becomes 
wholly obliterated, and thus the apparent contradiction between the facts of life and the divine 
justice is harmonized ; his words are : 


For it is easy in Jahveh’s sight 
At the end to requite a man according to his deeds. 
An evil time causeth forgetfulness of delights, 
And the last end of a man will tell of him. 
Pronounce no man happy before his death ; 
For by his latter end a man shall be known (xi. 26-28). 


This attempted solution, if it does nothing else, witnesses at any rate to the very earnest desire 
to try and explain a grave difficulty ; and if, as a matter of fact, no advance is made in our book 
towards a satisfactory solution of what must have constituted a cruel mystery to the God-fearing of 


1 Tennant, in the Journal of Theological Studies, ii, p. 209. 
310 


INTRODUCTION 


It is owing to this practical nature of Wisdom that Ben-Sira insists on its being not only 
possessed, but also exhibited among men, so he says: 


Hidden wisdom and concealed treasure, 
What profit is there in either ? 
Better is the man that hideth his folly 
Than aman that hideth his wisdom (xx. 30, 31). 


To those who are desirous of acquiring Wisdom, Ben-Sira gives a piece of advice which well 
illustrates what has already been said above as to the religious element in every form of Wisdom: 


Tf thou desire Wisdom, keep the commandments, 
And the Lord will give her freely unto thee (i. 26). 


That Wisdom is the gift of God is again declared to be the case in i. το: 
Without measure doth He grant her to them that love Him. 


Wisdom is thus the free gift of God; but this does not mean to say that man has not his part to 
play in order to enjoy this free gift; he has a discipline to go through which is irksome, and which 
will test the sincerity of the seeker: 


But I will walk with him in disguise, 
And at first I will try him with temptations. 
Fear and dread will 7 bring upon him, 
And I will torment him with chastisements (iv. 17). 


Wisdom will also make great demands upon those that would be her servants ; it is a hard 
course of instruction through which they must go: 


... Bring thy feet into her fetters, 
And thy neck into her chain ; 
Bow down thy shoulder, and bear her, 
And chafe not under her bonds (vi. 24, 25). 


But if Wisdom can only be acquired by earnest and sustained effort, if to possess her requires 
concentrated zeal and self-denial, the reward of those who persist is great in proportion, In 
a beautiful passage Ben-Sira describes this great reward : 


For at length thou wilt find her rest, 
And she shall be turned for thee into gladness. 
And her fetters shall become a stay of strength for thee, 
And her bonds for robes of glory. 
An ornament of gold is her yoke, 
And her fetters a cord of blue. 
Thou shalt array thee with her (as with) robes of glory, 
And crown thee with her (as with) a crown of beauty (vi. 28-31). 


Clearly such a reward cannot be for the many; only the best types of men are able to obtain her ; 
so Ben-Sira says: 
For Wisdom is according to her name, 
And to most men she ἐς not manifest (vi. 22). 


Indeed, Ben-Sira holds that humanity is divided into two categories, the wise and the foolish, or 


the good and the evil—to him the two terms are respectively synonymous ; Wisdom’s attitude to 
each is thus expressed : 


As a prison-house is Wisdom to a fool, 
And the knowledge of the wise as coals of fire. 

As chains on (their) feet is instruction to the foolish, 
And as manacles on their right hand. 

As a golden ornament ts instruction to the wise, 
And as a bracelet upon their right arm (xxi. 18-21). 


399 τ 


INTRODUCTION 


those days, it cannot cause surprise; with their lack of knowledge concerning the general laws upon 
which society is based and by which it exists, with their absolute ignorance concerning the laws of 
nature, with their very hazy conceptions concerning a fuller spiritual life hereafterJit was wholly 
impossible for the ancient Hebrew thinkers to frame any really satisfactory working theory whereby_ 
| to harmonize the seeming contradiction between belief in the existence of an almighty, just God 
-and the facts of human experience. “Nevertheless, Ben-Sira had very definite ideas upon the 
existence of sin and its universal prevalence among men; he had also clearly thought and taught 
much about the nature and essence of sin, and the special importance of his book in connexion 
with this subject is that it is the only non-apocalyptic writing which unquestionably reflects light 
upon the Palestinian thought of its time concerning the introduction of sin and death into the 
world. ‘It is a unique link’, says Dr. Tennant, ‘ between the Old Testament and the ancient 
Rabbinism. It is also important as a guide to the views of the time from the fact that its author, 
though perhaps conscious of the inadequacy of his inherited theology to solve all the problems and 
difficulties which presented themselves to an educated mind, allows himself but little liberty of 
thought.’ 1 

With regard to the origin of sin, Ben-Sira’s treatment is highly instructive, for it reveals the 

difficulty in which he found himself involved as soon as he began to grapple with the subject. 
_ He mentions altogether three theories regarding the origin of sin; one of these he combats as 

erroneous. The first is that the existence of sin is due to God; this is the theory which he combats, 
though he does not seem to realize the difficulty in which he involves himself in doing so. The 
passage in which this is dealt with is xv. 11-20, where Ben-Sira replies to those who trace back the 
origin of sin to God ; he says: 


Say not: ‘ From God is my transgression, 
For that which He hateth made He not. 
Say not: ‘(It is) He that made me to stumble, 
For there ts no need of evil men. 
Evil and abomination doth the Lord hate, 
And He doth not let it come nigh to them that fear Him (xv. 11-13). 


He says further in the course of his argument (and here his teaching on human free-will comes 
strongly to the fore): 
God created man from the beginning, 
And placed him in the hand of his Veser. 
[f thou (so) desirest, thou canst keep the commandment, 
And (tt 15) wisdom to do His good pleasure. 
Poured out before thee (are) fire and water, 
Stretch forth thine hand unto that which thou desirest. 
Life and death (are) before man, 
That which he desireth shall be given to him... . 
He commanded no man to sin, 
Nor gave strength to men of lies (xv. 14-20). 


With regard to the word Veser it may be noted in passing that in its primary meaning it 
denotes ‘form’ or ‘framing’, hence what is formed or framed in the mind, and it therefore comes 
to mean ‘imagination’ or ‘purpose’. It is used in a good sense in Isa. xxvi. 3, 1 Chron. xxix. 18 ; 
on the other hand, in Gen. vi. 5, viii. 21 it is used of the evil imagination. In later times there 
arose the doctrine of a ‘good’ Yeser as opposed to the ‘evil’ Veser, two opposing tendencies 
which, it was taught, were constituent elements in man’s spiritual nature. Prof. Schechter says: 
“The more conspicuous figure of the two Vesers is that of the evil Yeser. Indeed, it is not impos- 
sible that the expression good Yeser, as the antithesis of the evil Yeser, is a creation of later date.’ ? 
It is, therefore, probable that Ben-Sira, when making use of the expression in the passage just 
quoted, had the evil Veser, or ‘tendency’, in mind ; at any rate, the context shows that even if the 
word was used in a neutral sense it was at least potentially the evil Veser to which he referred ; but 
as this tendency or inclination to evil was part of man’s nature it was created by God, so that 
Ben-Sira shows himself to have been in danger of falling, by implication, into the very error which 
he combats in the previously quoted passage (xv. 11-13) ; indeed, further on in his book he comes 
perilously near to a direct assertion that God created evil; see xxxili. (ἃ xXxxvi.) 13-15, XXXvil. 3. 


1 Of. cit., p. 207. 2 Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, p. 243. 
311 
Ὁ) 


SIRACH 


So that, at least by implication, Ben-Sira might well be convicted of imputing the origin of evil to 


God, though he refrains from doing so explicitly.t  _ i 
A second theory which Ben-Sira brings forward is expressed in xxv. 24: 


From a woman did sin originate [lit. is the beginning of sin], 
And because of her we all must die. 


Dr. Tennant, in writing on this verse, says: ‘It has to be borne in mind that when, in the 
second clause of the verse, the writer passes to the thought of death, to the relation of Eve’s sin to 
our universal mortality, a causal connexion is distinctly asserted. The use of ¢ehillah |‘ beginning’] 
in the former clause does not perhaps in itself preclude the thought of such connexion, in the case 
of sin, having presented itself to Ben-Sira’s mind, but it certainly does not suggest any such con- 
nexion. . . . If Ben-Sira intended to imply that Eve’s transgression was the cause or origin of — 
human sinfulness he was venturing further than was his wont beyond the letter of the Scriptural 
narrative which he had in mind, and was already in possession of a much deeper view of the first 
transgression than is to be met with in Jewish literature until we come to St. Paul’s Epistles, the 
Slavonic book of Enoch, and 4 (2) Esdras.’ In any case, this second theory of Ben-Sira’s only 
traces the history of sin from the time that it existed in humanity without following it further back? — 

Finally, a third theory, though not expressed in definite form, can with much probability be 
shown to have been in the mind of Ben-Sira. In xxi. 27, 28 it is said: 


When the fool curseth his adversary [\it. Satan], 
He curseth his own soul; 

The whisperer defileth his own soul, 
And is hated wheresoever he sojourneth.* 


This is a difficult passage, but it seems clear that by the words ‘The whisperer defileth his own 
soul’ Ben-Sira meant to express the truth that the evil in man is of his own making; it is also 
evident that the words are intended to be an illustration of the truth enunciated in the preceding 
couplet. Whatever is meant by ‘adversary’—whether ‘Satan’ in the sense of the devil, or an 
adversary in its ordinary meaning—the words which follow (‘ He curseth his own soul’) show that 
what Ben-Sira intends to teach is that the ‘adversary’ is synonymous with the ungodly man’s own 
self; or, as Hart explains it, ‘not Satan, but the man himself is responsible for his sin. ° The 
verse, as Cheyne has pointed out, can be illustrated by Ps. xxxvi. 1 (R.V. marg.): ‘ Transgression 
saith to the wicked within his heart ...’° To explain the words by saying that when a man curses 
somebody else who is his enemy he curses himself, i.e. that the curse recoils upon his own head, 
would not only be contrary to the ideas of the times, but would also be out of harmony with the 
words which follow. The Syriac translator evidently saw the difficulty of making ‘the adversary ’ 
refer to somebody other than ‘the fool’, but not perceiving the point of the words he put in 
a negative, thus giving a different turn to the whole, and rendered : ‘ When the fool curseth him f 
who sinned zo¢ against him, he curseth his own soul.’ The gist of the passage may then be taken i 
to be that man is his own ‘Satan’; in other words, that the origin of sin is to be sought in man 
himself. This may be illustrated by another passage : 


What ts brighter than the sun? Vet this faileth; 
And (how much more) man who (hath) the inclination of flesh and blood !" (xvii. 31). 


Dr. Tennant paraphrases the Greek thus: ‘ Even the sun darkens itself—the brightest thing in the 
world; how much more, then, frail man!’ He says, further, in connexion with this verse, that if 


' Some later Rabbis had no hesitation in directly asserting what Ben-Sira here implies; in the Midrash Bereshith 
Rabba xxvii it is definitely stated that God created the evil Vesey; and in Qiddushin 30 ὁ (T. B.) the following words 
are put into the mouth of the Almighty: ‘I created the evil Yeser; I created for him [i.e. for man, in order to overcome 


the evil Veser| the Law as a means of healing. If ye occupy yourselves with the Law, ye will not fall into the 
power of it.’ 
* Op. cit., pp. 210, 211. 

Sat is interesting to note that in a later, but pre-Christian, book the writer believes in the existence of sin before 
the creation of the human race; in the ‘ Book of the Parables’ (1 Enoch Ixix. 6), in reference to the evil angels, it is 


said: eae the third was named Gadreel; he it is who showed the children of men all the blows of death, and he led 
astray Eve...’ 


* The Hebrew of these verses is not extant. 

° Op. cit., p. 154. 2 5 The Expositor, series xi, p. 346. 
_ _ | The Hebrew is not extant; the first clause of the above represents both the Syriac and the Greek; the second 
is based upon the Greek and the Syriac; the Greek runs: ‘And an evil man will think on flesh and blood. See the 
critical and exegetical notes in the commentary on this verse. 


312 


INTRODUCTION 


Ben-Sira offers any excuse for man’s depravity ‘it is that of his natural and essential frailty, referred 
to in such passages as xvii. 30-32, but never traced to an external cause’! Difficult as the verse is, 
it may be concluded that its meaning illustrated Ben-Sira’s teaching in the previously considered 
_|passage that the origin of sin is to be sought in man.* That this belief was held in certain Jewish 
circles may be gathered from the following words which occur in 1 Enoch xcviii. 4: ‘I have sworn 
unto you, ye sinners, as a mountain has not become a slave, And a hill does not become the handmaid 
of a woman, Even so sin hath not been sent upon the earth, But man of himself hath created it, And 
under a great curse shall they fall who commit it.’ ὃ 

The three passages discussed suggest, therefore, a belief that sin originates within man, and is of 
his own making, irrespective of any external agency; but there are other passages which point 
distinctly to a belief that sin zs external to man; see, for example, xxi. 2, xxvii. 10. 

So that Ben-Sira’s teaching on the origin of sin may be summed up in the following way: He 
‘implies, though he does not definitely assert it, that the creation of sin is due to God; yet in one 
passage of considerable importance he strongly combats this theory. He teaches, further, that so 
far as the human race is concerned the origin of sin is to be sought in the fall of Eve; but he does 
not attempt to trace its history further back; this, however, was from his point of view unnecessary 
if, in accordance with his third theory, sin originates in each individual; nevertheless, he involves 
himself in a contradiction here in saying that because of Eve’s sin all men must die. In addition to 
this, however, there is the further inconsistency regarding his third theory, for while teaching that sin 
originates within man, he speaks of sin as something external to man. These contradictory thoughts 
bring into clear relief Ben-Sira’s inability to formulate a consistent and logical doctrine as to the 
vorigin of sin; and in this he but shows himself to be a forerunner of the Rabbis, from whose writings 
‘it can be seen that later thinkers were involved in precisely the same inconsistencies as soon as they 
attempted to construct a working theory on the subject. 

But the theoretical difficulties in which Ben-Sira was involved did not in any way detract from 
his deep realization of the existence and universal prevalence of sin; he witnesses to this in many 
passages, as may be seen by a reference to the following passages among many others: iv. 26, vii. 8, 
Vili. 5, xxiii. 4-6. 

v. Lhe Doctrine of the Future Life. Inthe main Ben-Sira’s belief concerning the Hereafter 
was that of the normal teaching of the Psalms; such passages, for example, as Ps. vi. 5 (‘For in 
death there is no remembrance of Thee: In Sheol who shall give Thee thanks ?’), and cxx. 17, 18, 
evi. 2, cp. Isa. xxxviii. 18, 19, are clearly the pattern on which he bases his teaching in xvii. 27, 28: 


For what pleasure hath God in all that perish in Hades, 
In place of those who live and give Him praise ? 
Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead as from one that ts not, 
(But) he that liveth and is in health praiseth the Lord. 


Although death, as a rule, marks the end of all things and is usually connected with corruption 
(x. τι, XVii. 32, xxviii. 6), yet Ben-Sira does not speak of it as necessarily a cause of terror; indeed, 
| under certain circumstances, it is preferable to life; he says, e.g., in xli. 2: 


Flail! Death, how welcome ts thy decree 

To the luckless man, and that lacketh strength, 
That stumbleth and trippeth at everything, 

That ts broken, and hath lost hope. 


See also xxxii. 11, xxx. 17, xl. 28. On the other hand, death is terrible to him who is in prosperity 
and in the enjoyment of health (xl. 1). Sometimes death is spoken of as a punishment (vii. 17, 
xl. 9, 10); but there is nowhere any mention of punishment after death. The only sense in which, 
according to Ben-Sira, a man can be said to ‘live’ after death was by means of his wisdom which 
he had acquired in his lifetime: 


Flis understanding many do praise, 
And never shall his name be blotted out: 
ΠΣ memory shall not cease, 
And his name shall live from generation to generation (xXxix. 9). 
PROP CLE. Ρ. 212. 

_7 On the question as to whether the evil Vesey is external to man or not there is much division in Rabbinical 
writings ; see Schechter’s very instructive chapters xiv, xv, xvi in Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology. Further useful 
information on the Jewish doctrine of sin will be found in chap. viii (‘ The Doctrine of Divine Retribution in Rabbinical 
Literature’) of the same writer’s Studies in Judaism (First Series). 

° Charles, 1 Enoch?, p. 242. 


1105 Bil) : 


SIRACH 


Or, again, in the following fine passage (xli. 11-13): 


Vanity is man (concerning) his body, 
But the name of the pious shall not be cut off: 

Be in fear for thy name, for that abideth longer for thee 
Than thousands of precious treasures. 

Life's goods last for limited days, 
But the reward of a name for days without number. 


In some few instances there seem to be the beginnings of what might naturally have developed 
into a somewhat fuller conception of life hereafter, the adumbration of a belief in something more 
than a mere shadowy existence beyond the grave. The instances are those in which the dead are 
said to ‘rest’, an idea very different from that of death being corruption and the end of all things, 
which is the more usual one in our book. The conception of the dead ‘resting’ must involve some 
sort of a belief beyond that of the bare existence of the spirit in the future state; thus, in XXil τὴ 


Ben-Sira says: = 
Weep gently for the dead, for he hath found rest (cp. also xxix. 17, xxxviii. 23). 


It is of particular interest to note, in view of the development of ideas concerning the future 
life which took place during the second century B.C., that in at least two instances the Greek show 
an advance upon the corresponding Hebrew conception ; in vii. 17 the Hebrew has: 


Humble (thy) pride greatly, 
For the expectation of mai 1s worms. 


For this the Greek has : 


Humble thy soul greatly, 
For the punishment of the ungodly man is fire and the worm." 


The other passage is xviii. 11, but for the details of this recourse must be had to the notes in the 
commentary. 


δ το. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


CHIEF EDITIONS OF THE TEXT :-- 
(a) OF THE HEBREW FRAGMENTS: Schechter, Eccleséasticus xxxix. 1§-xl. 8 in The Expositor, July, 1896; 
Cowley-Neubauer, The original Hebrew of a portion of Ecclestasticus (xxxix. 15-xlix. 11) together with the early 
versions, and an English translation and introduction (Oxford, 1897) (cited as ‘Cowley-Neub.’); Halévy edited the | 
same text in Rev. Sém. v. 148, 193, 383; I. Lévi, L’Eccléstastégue, Part I (containing ΧΧΧΙΧ. 15-xlix. 11) (Paris, 1898); 
Part II (containing all the rest of the recovered Hebrew text) (Paris, 1901): a very full and valuable text, translation, 
and commentary ; Schechter (edition of xlix. 12-1. 22) in /QA, x. 197; Schechter and Taylor, The Wisdom of Ben-Sira— 
(containing text οἱ parts of ili—xvi, Xxx—Xxxxill, xxxv-xxxviil, xlix—li, with commentary, notes, introduction, &c.) (Cambridge, — 
1899) (cited as WBS); Halévy edited xlix. 12-1. 22 in the Kev. Sém. vii. 214-220; G. Margoliouth published, with notes, 
text of xxxi. 12-31 and xxxvi. 22—xxxvii. 26 in ΧΟ Δ᾽, xii. 1-33 ; Schechter published 4 further fragment of Ben-Sira — 
(containing ἵν. 23-V. 13, xxv. 8-xxvi. 2) in 70 Δ), xii. 456-465; Elkan Adler edited and published Some missing fragments 
of Ben-Sira (containing vii. 29-xii. 1) in /QR, xii. 466-480; Lévi published Dewx nouveaux manuscrits hébreux de 
4 Ecclésiastique (containing a new text of xxxvi. 24-xxxviii, 1, and a series of selections, vi. 18, 19, xxviii. 35, vii. I, 4am 
6, 17, 20, 21, 23, 25) in the Revue des Etudes Jutves (RE/), xi. 1-30; finally Gaster edited and published 4 new 
Fragment of Ben-Sira (containing xviii. 31-33, xix. I-2, xx. 5-7, xxvii. 19, 22, 24, 26, and xx. 13) in /QA, xti. 688-702. 
Facsimiles of the fragments hitherto recovered of the Hebrew text (of Ecclesiasticus) were published by the Oxford ani 
Cambridge Presses in 1901. Editions of the complete (Hebrew) text (so far as recovered) have been published b 
Knabenbauer (Paris, 1902), with a valuable commentary, Peters (Freiburg, 1902), Strack (Leipzig, 1903); Lévi, Zhe 
Hebrew text of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, with brief notes and a selected glossary (Leyden, 1904, in Semmztic Study 
Series) : Peters, Ecclestasticus Hebraice (pointed Hebrew text and Latin translation on opposite pages; Freiburg, 1905) 
and Smend, Die Weisheit des Jesus Sivach, containing critically reconstructed Hebrew text, German translation covering — 
ona book (based on critical text), an elaborate commentary and index (Greek, Syriac, Hebrew): 3 vols., Berlin, 
FS, | 

(6) OF THE ANCIENT VERSIONS. Important editions of the Greek text by Fritzsche (Zibrz Apocryphi Veterts — 
Testamenti Graece, Leipzic, 1871); Holmes and Parsons (Oxford, 1827) ; Swete, Zhe Old Testament in Greek, vol. ie | 
(Cambridge, 1891) ; of Codex 248 (with a valuable textual commentary and prolegomena) by J. H. A. Hart (Zccleséasticus 
im Greek, Cambridge, 1909). Of the Syriac text (Peshitta): Lagarde, Lzbri Veteris Testamenti Apocrypht Syriace 
(Leipzig, 1871) 3 Ceriani, Translatio Syra Pescito Vet, Test. ex codice Ambrosiano (Milan, 1876-1883); of the Syro- — 
Hexaplar, Ceriani, Codex Syro-Hexaplaris Ambrosianus photolithographice editus (Milan, 1874): of the Old Latin, the 
various editions of the Vulgate ; text of Codex Amiatinus, by Lagarde, in his WZztte‘lungen I (1884); of the Ethiopic, 


7 ce - - - - 
See the references to ‘ fire’ and ‘worm’ given in the exegetical notes on this verse. 


ou 


|Peters (cited above). 
COMMENTARIES AND CRITICAL DISCUSSIONS :— 


INTRODUCTION 


)Dillmann, Bzblia Vet. Test. Aethiopice, v (1894): see further the introductions in the commentaries of Smend and 


| (a) COMMENTARIES: Fritzsche, Die Weishett Jesus Strach’s erklart und tibersetzt (Leipzig, 1859) ; Edersheim in 
Wace’s Apocrypha, vol. ii (London, 1888); Ryssel in Kautzsch’s A pokryphen, vol. i (Tiibingen, 1900); Oesterley in 


the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (1912); the commentaries of Knabenbauer, Peters, Lévi, and Smend 


_|referred to above. 


(6) CRITICAL AND GENERAL Discussions: Herkenne, De Veteris Latini Ecclestastici, δια. (Leipzig, 1899) ; 


}Peters, Die sahidisch-koptische Uebersetzung des Buches Ecclesiasticus (Freiburg, 1898): A. Fuchs, Texthritische 
Untersuchungen zum hebraischen Ekklesiastikus (Freiburg, 1907); Perles, Votes critiques surle texte del’ Ecclésiastique 


jin REJ, xxxv. 48-64; Schechter and Taylor in WBS; Taylor, The Wisdom of Ben-Sira in JOR, xv. 440-474 and 
_ |604-626 (valuable for criticism of text); Gfrérer, PAz/o, ii. 18-52 (Stuttgart, 1831); Cheyne, /od and Solomon, pp. 179-198 
_|(London, 1887) ; Drummond, PAzlo Judaeus, i, pp. 144-155 (London, 1888); 1). 5. Margoliouth, dz Essay on the Place 
of Ecclestasticus in Semitic Literature (Oxford, 1890); and (by the same) 7he Language and Metre of Ecclestasticus 


| Fragments see Schiirer, G/V’”, iii. 223]. 


in The Expositor (1890), pp. 295-320, 381-391 [on the literature of the controversy about the genuineness of the Hebrew 
; Ὁ iil Passages from Sirach, translated [into German] and explained, are included 

}in the volume (of the series Dze Schriften des Alten Testaments) entitled We7shert, by P. Volz (Gottingen, 1911). See 
also the articles Sivach in HDB (by Nestle), in /Z (by I. Lévi), and the articles Aecles¢asticus and Sirach in EB (by 


| Toy), with the literature cited. For a full bibliography see Schirer, G/V’°, iii. pp. 219-228 (brought up to 1909) ; in the 
| ET of Schiirer, H/P (1891), vol. v, pp. 27-30 (necessarily far from complete). 


® = The Hebrew text. 
3° 12" ῃ- 390 = The respective MSS. of the Hebrew 
text. 
12: 19 = These symbols are used occasionally to 
} distinguish doublets in the text. 
(ἃ = The Greek Version. 
A = Codex Alexandrinus. 
NS = Codex Sinaiticus. 
S*= The uncorrected text of Cod. Sinaiticus. 
X¢-2 = The first seventh-century corrector of δὲ, 
B = Cod. Vaticanus. 
B2-> = The second and third zzstaurator of Β.1 
B= The third zzstaurator of B4 
C = Cod. Ephraemi Rescriptus. 
V = Cod. Venetus Gr. I. 
55 = Cod. Vat. Reg. Gr. 1.? 
68 = Cod. Venetus Gr. v. 
70 = Cod. Monae. Gr. 551. 
106 = Cod. Ferrarensis 187. 
155 = Cod. Hagensis Meerman II (Bodleian). 
157 = Cod. Basiliensis B vi. 23. 
248 = Cod. Vat. 346. 
253 = Cod. Vat. 336. 
254 = Cod. Vat. 337. 
296 = Cod. Vat. Palatino-Heidelbergensis 337. 
307 = Cod. Monac. Gr. 129. 
308 = Unknown; quoted by Holmes and Parsons. 
| £ = The Old Latin Version. 
Cod. Am. = Cod. Amiatinus. 
Cod. Sang. = Cod. Sangermanensis. 
| G®=Cod. B. of the Greek Version. 
S = The Syriac Version. 


Eth = The Ethiopic Version. 
Ar = The Arabic Version. 


' Swete, Zhe Old Testament in Greek, i, Ὁ. xix. 


Sand $*= doublets in Sare sometimes so indicated. 


co 
ι 


SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS. 


Arm = The Armenian Version. 
Boh = The Bohairic Version. 
Sah = The Sahidic Version. 
Slav = The Slavonic Version. 
Syro-Hex = The Syro-Hexaplar. 


A. V. = Authorized Version. 

8. H. = Biblical Hebrew. 

EB = Encyclopaedia Biblica. 

4.17. = English Translation. 

£V = English Version. 

G/JV = Geschichte des jiidischen Volkes im Zeitalter 

Jesu Christi (Schiirer). 

HDB = Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible. 

H/P = History of the Jewish People in time of Christ 
(Schirer) E.T. 

I/A = International Journal of Apocrypha. 

JE = Jewish Encyclopaedia. 

JOR = Jewish Quarterly Review. 

RE-J = Revue des Etudes Juives. 

NH = Neo-Hebrew. 

PBH = Post-Biblical Hebrew. 

PEFO = Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly State- 
ment. 

Δ. V. = Revised Version. 

7. B. = Talmud Babli. 

7. 7. = Talmud Jerushalmi. 

WBS = The Wisdom of Ben-Sira (ed. by Schechter and 
Taylor). 

ZATW = Zeitschrift fiir die alttestamentliche Wissen- 
schaft. 

ZDMG = Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlindischen 
Gesellschaft. 


2 Swete, Zutroduction to the O.T. in Greek, p. 158 (1900). 


10 


SIRACH 


PROLOGUE * 


SINCE many things and great have been delivered unto us through the Law and the Prophets 
and the others who followed after them—for which things’ sake we must give Israel the praise of 
instruction and wisdom—and as not only must the readers themselves become adept, but also the 
lovers of learning must be able to profit them which are without both by speaking and writing ; 
my grandfather Jesus, having given himself much to the reading of the Law and the Prophets and 
the other books of our fathers, and having acquired considerable familiarity therein, was induced 
also himself to take a part in writing somewhat pertaining to instruction and wisdom, in order 
that those who are lovers of learning and instructed in” these things “might make so much the 
more progress® by a manner of life (lived) 4in accordance with the Law*. Ye are entreated, 
therefore, to make your perusal with favour and attention, and to be indulgent, if in any parts of 
what we have laboured to interpret we may seem to fail in some of the phrases, For things 


a For the spurious Prologue found in cod. 248, in the Complutensian text and in the ‘Synopsis of Holy 
Scripture’, falsely attributed to St. Athanasius, see Edersheim (in Wace), p. 25; an English translation of tt 1s grven 
in the A. V. before that of the genuine Prologue. Wpodoyss BA: xp. σιραχ C: om. [Zhe whole is omitted in «ὃ 
Eth and in 157 248, which have the spurious Prologue | b Reading ἐνηχοι : Syro-Hex δ 8 A V 254 &c. for 
ἐνοχο BC c-¢ Reading with B πολλῳ paddov ἐπιπροσθωσιν: δὲ ett (= Syro-Hex) προσθησουσιν d-d Reading 


1. the Law... after them. The threefold division of the Hebrew Canon is here explicitly mentioned for the 
first time; it is noticeable, however, that the third division is referred to in a somewhat vague way (as again below), 
namely,as ‘those that followed after them’, ‘the other books of our fathers’, and ‘the rest of the books’. It is clear that — 
a third division was already in existence by the side of the Law and the Prophets; but the indefinite way in which it — 
is referred to suggests that this third collection had not yet been delimited, and that it may still have been incomplete. — 
The tripartite division of the Canon is also clearly indicated in Luke xxiv. 44, ‘all things ... which are written in the — 
Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms concerning Me’; but this isthe only passage in the N. T. which makes 
explicit mention of it. See further Ryle, Zhe Canon of the O. T., passim; Buhl, Canon and Text of the O. T.; and 
Box, Short Introduction to the Lit, of the O.T., p. 4. The expression ‘ followed after them’ may imply chronological — 
succession. 

3. instruction and wisdom. Perhaps the order of cod. 253 ‘ wisdom and instruction’ (= 4D) ΠΏΞΠ) may be 
more original ; the foundation and first principle of true life is the moral culture implied by the term ‘wisdom’ (= the — 
fear of the Lord), of which instruction, or discipline, is the specific application. Israel is worthy of praise because it 
has made the Law, which was graciously bestowed upon it by God, a means of imparting wisdom, and a means of — 
discipline, to itself. a 

readers ... lovers of learning. Both terms refer to one and the same class; perhaps, as Smend suggests, 
primarily teachers of the Law (i.e. Scribes) are meant ; for ‘reader’= scribe (ἀναγνώστης = IBID) cf. 1 Esdras (3 Ezra) 
viii. 8, 9, 19, ix. 39, 42, 49 (these correspond to Ezra vii. 11, xii. 21, Neh. viii. 1, 4,9). 

4. them which are without. i.e. either those that are ‘in the land of their sojourning’ (see below), or the laity; 
the latter, perhaps, suits the context better, as the original writer, Ben-Sira, wrote for the Palestinians, not for τς 1 
Diaspora (so Smend). 

_by speaking and writing. Oral instruction was, of course, one of the most important departments of thea 
Scribes’ activity ; the reference to writing in this connexion is interesting; doubtless other works besides Sirach were 
produced by members of the scribal class which were not embodied in the Canon; a specimen of such has recently come 
to light in the Aramaic version of the ‘ Sayings of Ahikar’ from the papyri of Elephantiné,—a work which reminds one of 
the W isdom Literature ; the Book of Tobit may also be thought of in this connexion. The literary activity of the earlier 
scribes, as well as the later, is also implied in a number of references in the Rabbinical literature ; see Strack, Evmlertung” 
in den Talmud (4th ed.), pp. 12 ff. 

8. instructed in these things. For the reading see critical note. 

9. a manner of life (lived) in accordance with the Law. This expresses the practical aim which governed all 
the activities of the teachers of the Law; a good comment on this point may be read in Josephus (Contra Apion. il. 
§ 8): ‘ But, as for our people, if any do but ask one of them concerning our laws, he will tell all more readily than his 
own name, and this because of our learning them at once, as soon as we could understand anything, and because they ~ 
were, as it were, graven upon our souls’; cp. also Philo ap. Eusebius, Praep. Evangel. viii. 7 (Migne); the expression - 
ἔννομος βίωσις may be illustrated by Bios νόμιμος, which occurs in 4 Macc. vil. 15. ἢ 

11. to fail in some of the phrases, For things originally spoken... The younger Sirach is acutely con- 


316 


SURACH 11,2 


joriginally spoken in Hebrew have not the same force in them when they are translated into 
another tongue: and not only these, but the Law itself, and the Prophecies, and the rest of the 
‘| books, have no small difference when they are spoken in their original form. Now®, in the 
eight and thirtieth year under king Euergetes, having come into Egypt and continued there, 
ΠῚ found opportunity! for no small instruction. I, therefore, deemed it most necessary myself to 
| devote some zeal and ‘ love-labour’ to (the task of) interpreting this book ; devoting, indeed, 
} much sleepless care and skill in the interval in order, having brought’ the book to an end, to 
') publish it for them also who in the land of their sojourning desire to be lovers of learning, being 
already prepared in respect of their moral culture to live "by the Law®. i 


(a) 1. 1-10. The Origin of Wisdom (= 4+4 distichs), 


| All wisdom cometh from the Lord, 

} And is with Him for ever. 

_| The sand of the seas, and the drops of rain, 

And the days of eternity—who can number (them) ἢ 


| wrth B evvopov: but N*V ex vopov: 70 253 εν νομῳ © Son*V: yap BAC f Reading ἀφορμὴν with 2354 and 
two other cursives: apopoov BX AC & Reading ayayovra with δὰ “ἃ A C (8* ayayovras) and some cursives : 


| ayorra B b-h εν νομῳ SB: evvopws A C*V 253 Syro-Hex 


| scious of the difficulties which beset the translation of one language into another; he is thinking not so much of the 
| original sense and meaning as of the wording of the Hebrew text, which he feels that he renders inadequately. The 
) reference to the Greek translation of the Bible which follows is interesting; the Siracide wrote at a time when the 
- work of translating the Scriptures into Greek was still unfinished, and he feels at perfect liberty to criticise it freely. 
The expression ‘in Hebrew’ (Ἑβραϊστί) occurs here for the first time. 

4 12. when they are translated. The Greek word here used (μετάγω) occurs nowhere else in this sense, according to 
- Smend. 

13. not only these. ‘ These’ refers to the present work. For the character of the Greek translation of Ben-Sira 
see Introd. § 4 (end). : 

14. in the eight and thirtieth year. The rest of the Prologue states the translator’s reasons for undertaking his 
| work. The date refers to the year in which the younger Sirach actually came into Egypt, probably the thirty-eighth 
᾿ Tegnal year of Euergetes IJ, viz. 132 B.C. ; for a different view see Introd. § 6, iib. : 

and continued there. The Greek word used (cvyypovicas) seems to imply that he continued there till the end 
of the reign of Euergetes (‘synchronize’), i.e. 117-116 B.C.; the Prologue was, therefore, in all probability written 
between the years 132-116 B.C. Fora full discussion of the question of date see Introd. § 6, ii Ὁ. ; 

16. Ifound opportunity for no small instruction. The alternative reading ἀφόμοιον (see critical note), which has 
the weight of manuscript evidence in its favour, is difficult to interpret. The word means ‘unlikeness’, ‘difference’, and, 
if read, the sentence would run: ‘I found no small difference of culture,’ namely, between the Palestinian and Egyptian 
Jews, with a depreciatory reference to the latter; but the context negatives such a meaning. ‘The Latin understands 
ἀφόμοιον as equivalent to ἀφομοίωμα, ‘copy’ or ‘book’, cp. A. V. ‘a book of no small learning’, R. V. ‘a copy affording 
no small instruction’; but it is best to adopt, with Smend, the reading ἀφορμήν, in spite of inferior attestation. This 
affords an excellent sense which harmonizes admirably with the context ; the younger Sirach found large opportunities 
in Egypt for instruction in the wisdom of the Scribes. As in later times, the synagogues of the Egyptian Diaspora 
were the centres where such instruction was given, cp. Philo, Vita Mos. ii. 168: ‘ For what are the Jewish prayer- 
houses in the cities other than places of instruction, and wisdom, caution, moderation, and righteousness, in piety and 
holiness, in short, in every virtue which recognizes and accepts both human and divine goodness?’ In another passage 
Philo (De Seen. ii. 282) says: ‘ The listeners sit in perfect order and absolute stillness, eagerly drinking in most 
excellent doctrines. For here one of the most experienced puts forth the most perfect and most useful teaching by 
which human life can be adorned in the most beautiful way.’ 

17. love-labour. φιλοπονίαν, R. V. ‘ travail’. 

18. sleepless care. ἀγρυπνία, cp. xxxi. I (Ct xxxiv. 1), xxxviii. 26 ff. 

in the interval. i.e., as suggested above, in the interval between the years 132-116 B.C. _ } 

19. for them also ... sojourning. i.e. for those abroad in the Dispersion. The word παροικία is used of a sojourn 

in a strange land, as in Acts xiii. 17, 1 Pet. i. 17; so also the verb and adjective, e.g. Luke xxiv, 18, Acts vil. 6, 1 Pet. 


ii. 11, &c., and frequently in the Septuagint and in Philo, 


I.1—IV.1o. The general theme of this section is Wisdom regarded as the fear of God in its various relations. 
The subsections are indicated by (a), (6), (c), &c. 


(a) I. 1-10. 
I. 1. wisdom. See Introd. § 9, iii. 
cometh from the Lord. Cp. Jas.i. 5. rae 
22, 25, 


) 


And is with Him for ever. % ‘et cum illo fuit semper et est ante aevum’, Cp. Job xii. 13, Prov. vill. 


30, Wisd. vii. 26, John i. 1. 2. “i He 
2. The sand of the seas. Cp. Gen. xxxii. 12, 1 Sam. xiii. 5, Ps. Ixxvili. 27. 
the drops of rain. Cp. Job xxxvi. 27 (Sept.). 
the days of eternity. δον 9" in the O. T.= ‘the days of old’ (cp. e.g. Isa. Ixiii. 9), but according to the later 


317 


STIRACH A. 2-10 


G& 3 The height of the heaven, and the breadth of the earth, 
And the deep*,—who can trace (them) out? 
4 Before them all was Wisdom created, 
And prudent insight from everlasting.” 
6 The root of Wisdom, to whom hath it been revealed ? 
© And her subtle thoughts, who hath known them Ὁ 
8 ©One there is‘, greatly to be feared’, 
The Lord§ sitting upon His throne ; 
9 He himself created her, and saw, and numbered her, 
And poured her out upon all His works ; 
10 Upon all flesh »in measure ἢ, : 
But without measure doth He grant her to them that love Him. 


a+ ‘and wisdom’ G&, >S2X b 248 Syro-Hex % Sah+v. 5: ‘The source of Wisdom is the word of God 
in the heights, and her ways are eternal commandments’ ¢¢>Arm 4 Several cursives (not 248) Syro-Hex 
% Sah add the following doublet (=v. 7): ‘To whom hath the understanding of Wisdom been manifested, and 
who hath realized the wealth of her experience?’ 9-θ ‘One (there is) who hath dominion over all her treasures 
§ Ar f + who is wise’ (ἃ & (ἃ (exc. B) places this in the following clause h-h 1} 21. ‘according to His 
gift’ i Two cursives (not 248) Syro-Hex* + ‘The love of the Lord is glorious wisdom ; He imparts it to those 


usage the expression means (cp. xxiv. 9) the time eternal to come. In Rabbinical literature Diy (ρον) is generally 


used of this world or the next, cp. e.g. Chudlin 440 (T. B.): N37 diy ma nbvy (‘this world and the world to come’); 
though this is not always so; in Berakhoth ix. 5 (Mishnah), for example, the word is used in reference to the 
eternal past. 

who can number. Cp. τ΄. 9. 

3. The height of the heaven. Cp. Ps. ciii. 11. 
the breadth of the earth. Cp. Ps. xix. 4. 
the deep. ἄβυσσος = DINN, the subterranean waters ; cp. the phrase, ‘the waters under the earth’ (Deut. v. 8). 

‘It must be remembered that to the Hebrews the earth was not a large globe, revolving through space round the sun, 
but a relatively small flat surface, in shape approximately round, supported partly, as it seemed, by the encircling sea 
out of which it rose, but resting more particularly upon a huge abyss of waters underneath... . (Driver, Genesis, p. 8). 
Cf. the Greek ’Qxeavés. 
who can trace (them) out. Cp. xviii. 8, Rom. xi. 33. 
4. Before them all... Wisdom is identified with the Law both by Ben-Sira (see i. 26, xv. I, xxi. 11, XXiv. 23, 
xxxiv. 8). and by the Rabbis; cp., in view of this, the Midrash Bereshith Rabba, ὃ 8, where among the comments on 
Gen. i. 26 it is said: ‘According to R. Simeon ben Laqish the Torah was in existence 2000 years before the creation of 
the world’; the same 15 said in the Midrash Peszg/a 109 a. Cp. Prov. vill. 22-30. 
prudent insight. σύνεσις φρονήσεως ; in Job xxviii. 20 σύνεσις (= 7)°3) is also used as a synonym for Wisdom. 
The addition of φρονήσεως here seems unnecessary (but cp. Prov. viii.12); $‘And firm faithfulness from of old’, 
reading perhaps ΠΡ} δὲ (‘faithfulness’), for which @ apparently read 73)3N (‘ understanding ’). After this v. a number ~ 
of cursives, including 248, add v. 5, see crit. note; with it cp. Wisd. ix. 17, Bar. ili. 11,12. The verse is a later 
insertion, added probably to explain how it was that Wisdom existed before all things; Hart (p. 285, note) thinks” 
it is a Pharisaic doublet to v. 4. 

6. root. The source, not the origin, of Wisdom, cp. v. 20 and Job xix. 28. a 

her subtle thoughts. The Greek word occurs again in xlii. 18, where the corresponding Hebrew is DYO 
in reference to hidden thoughts of the heart ; the exact form is not used in the O.T., but Ὁ) ἽΝ occurs in Prov. xiv. 18 
of ‘prudent men’. This clause is wanting in Arm. On the doublet to this verse (= v. 7) see critical note. 

8. One there is. Cp. xliii, 29; the words ‘To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ (v.14, Prov. ix. 10, 

xxvill, 28, Ps, cxi, 10) must be understood in the light of this τ᾿. ἢ wisdom and awe-inspiring might are correlative ideas. 
(cp. Smend 77 Joc.). ἡ 
The Lord. See critical note. 
sitting upon... Cp. Ps. xlvii. 8 (9 in Hebr.), Is. vi. 1. 

9. saw. Cp. Prov. vill. 22, 1 Cor. ii. 7. 
numbered. Cp. v. 2, Job xxviii 27. # adds ‘ et mensus est’. | 
poured her out... ἐξέχεεν, cp. Acts ii. 17 ff. (Joel ii. 28 ff.), where the same word is used of the pouring-out of | 

the Spirit upon all flesh. In Lerakhoth 58 ὁ (T.B.) occur the words: ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the | 
Universe, who hast imparted of Thy wisdom to flesh and blood.’ In Wisd. i. 4-7 the Holy Spirit is identified with — 
Wisdom ; this is also the case in Rabbinical literature, e.g. in the Midrash Bereshith Rabba (ὃ xxxv, to Gen. xxxviil. — 
26) itis said that the Holy Spirit was present in the judgement-hall of Solomon when he displayed his wisdom; the — 
teference given is to 1 Kings iii. 27. : 
on Upon all flesh... That Gentile rulers were believed to have some share of Wisdom is seen from Prov, viii. 
15, 16. : 
in measure. κατὰ τὴν δύσιν αὐτοῦ, cp. xxxii. τὸ (= G& xxxv. 12), =ININDD; and with the whéle 7. cp. Prov. iia 
13-17, as illustrating the richness and pleasantness of the gift of Wisdom. + 
to them that love Him. i.e. the Jewish people ; a particularistic note, characteristic of the book generally ; in 
the later Rabbinical literature this is, of course, still more emphasized; see e. g. Qiddushin 49 ὁ (T. B.), where it is” 
said: ‘Ten measures of Wisdom came down from heaven, and nine of them fell to the lot of the Holy Land’ (quoted | 


318 


| 
+H 


ΞΕ ΘΗ f11=17 


(ὁ) 1. 11-20. The Fear of the Lord ἐξ the true Wisdom (= 3+2+2+2+1 distichs). 


| The fear of the Lord is glory and exultation, 


And ¥ gladness, and a crown of rejoicing*. 
The fear of,the Lord delighteth the heart, 
kk And giveth gladness**, and joy, and !length of days}. 
Whoso feareth the Lord, it shall go well with him at the last 
And-:in the day of his death he shall ™be blessed™. 


) 


| «To fear® the Lord® is the beginning of Wisdom, 


And with the faithful ?was she created” in the womb4, 


| With faithful men is she, and she hath been established from eternity® ; 


tAnd with their seed shall she continue. 


| To fear the Lord is the fullness* of Wisdom, 


And she satiateth men with ‘her fruits. 
She filleth all her house with “pleasant things”, 
And her garners with her produce®*. 


to whom He appears, in order that they may behold Him’; 3» adds this after v. 11. k-k C ‘giveth gladness, 


| and joy, and length of days’, added from v. 12» kKk-kk > 253 S$ Syro-Hex 1-l ‘eternal life’; /wo cursives 


(not 248) Syro-Hex*+ ‘The fear of the Lord is a gift from the Lord, for it sets [men] upon paths of love’ 
m-m ‘find grace’ B Ἀπὸ ὁ The fear of’ CS God B p> 4-4 of their mother’ S 8-8 So 3; 
the text of & is probably corrupt; ἸΏ, conjecturally emended, according to Smend, ‘Among faithful men hath 
she been established (& “nested herself”) from eternity ἡ t-t So probably ® ; the rendering of G, ‘shall she be 
had in trust,’ zs due 10 a misunderstanding of the force of jaxN, which was most likely the word used in the Hebrew. 
% adds another verse which is a combination of vv. 11, 12 ἃ ‘beginning’ $ v +‘the multitude of’ $ 


| w-w wisdom’ %, ‘from generations (of old)’ & x ‘treasures’ #; + ‘And both [i.e. the fear of the Lord and 


in JZ, xii. 535 a). For the addition to this v. see critical note. The first clause of this addition (ἀγάπησις κυρίου ἔνδοξος 
copia) is quoted in the anthology of Antonius and Maximus (see Hart, p. 364). ; 

(ὁ) I. 11-20. 

11. The fear of the Lord. As frequently in the O.T., this connotes in the Wisdom of Ben-Sira true piety; the 
Law has for its object the instilling of fear in the hearts of the Israelites (cp. Deut. iv. 10, ‘Assemble Me the people, 
and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live upon the earth’), and 
therefore the observance of the Law, which is the manifestation of divine Wisdom, is the visible proof that the fear of 
the Lord is in the heart of a man (cp. Ps. cxi. 10). 

is. i.e. brings with it. 
exultation. καύχημα, cp. x. 22 (Grk.). 
a crown of rejoicing. Cp. v. 18, vi. 31, xv. 6, Prov. iv. 9. 
12. delighteth the heart. Cp. Prov. xxvii. 9 (Sept.). 
length of days. Cp. Deut. vi. 2; it is characteristic of the book (the same holds good of Prov., see e.g. ill. 2, 
16, iv. 10, x. 27, 30) that attention is concentrated on this life; the rendering of 3, ‘ eternal life,’ shows Christian 
influence. For the addition to this τ΄. see critical note. 

13. at the last. ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτων ; the reference is to the end of life in this world, cp. S ‘at the last of his days’; in 11]. 

26, where the same expression occurs, the Hebr. equivalent is NINN ; see also xxxviii. 20, Prov. v.11, Wisd. ili. 17. 
he shall be blessed. Cp. 1 Chron. xix. 28, ‘And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour’; 
the reading of B, ‘he shall find grace,’ is due apparently to Christian influence. 

14. To fear the Lord. Cp. Ps. cxi.10, Prov. i. 7, ix. 10,\xxviii. 28. 

the beginning. ἀρχή (= WN) means either the starting-point of a thing, as 6. 5. in xv. 14, or the most important 
part of something, as e.g. in xxix. 21, xxxix. 26, or the essence of a thing, i.e. its best part, as in xi. 3; in the passage 
before us the meaning is that the fear of the Lord is the starting-point as well as the essence of true Wisdom. 

the faithful. D22NI7 (cp. ΚΝ ΝΣ Ps. ci.6) = ΡΥ Π, ‘the righteous’ (cp. Job xvil. 9). 

was she created in the womb. The later Jewish doctrine of the Veser tod (‘the bias towards good’) was 
based on passages like this, cp. Gen. viii. 21. An interesting passage occurs in Nedavim 32 ὁ (T.B.), where, in discuss- 
ing the parable in Eccles. ix. 14, 15, it is said that the poor wise man who by his wisdom delivered the city means the 
Yeser tob, ‘for he delivered the city through his wisdom, namely, repentance and good works’ (see Weber, /iidische 
Theologie, p. 217); Wisdom is thus identified with the Yeser ob, which is implanted in man when he is created (see 
the Midrash, Bemidbar Rabba, § 22). 

15. See critical note. For this τ. and its addition, as found in #, see Herkenne, pp. 46-49. a. 

With faithful men... Smend, on the basis of S$, supposes with much probability that the original Hebrew ran:. 


npn ΟῚ» xno was Dy (‘Among men of truth hath she been established for ever,’ i.e. from of old). 


shall she continue. So critical note. Cp. iv. 16, xxiv. 7-49. ᾿ Ἂ 

16. satiateth. μεθύσκει, lit. ‘intoxicates’, cp. xxxii. 13 (= (ἃ xxxv. 13), Ps. xvi. 11. xxil. 7 (Sept.). 
her fruits. Cp. Prov. viii. 19, xi. 30. : τὲ 

17. She filleth all her house... Cp. Prov. ix.1-6. For the addition to this τ΄. see critical note. 


319 


me 


ει 


SURACH 1 τθ. 25 


18 The crownY of Wisdom is the fear of the Lord, 
2 And increaseth peace and *life and health*’. 

19 She is a strong staff and a glorious stay”, 
And “everlasting honour to® them that hold her fast. 

20 To fear the Lord is “πε root of Wisdom4, ¥ 
And her branches are length of days’. 


(c) 1. 22-30. Wisdom is shown forth by the exercise of patience, self-control, and humility | 
(= 3+3+3+2 distichs). 
22 *»Unrighteous wrath” cannot be justified, 
For the wrath? of his anger (will prove) his ruin. 
23 He that is patient ‘controlleth himself? until the (proper) time, 
And afterwards joy springeth up for him. 
24 He suppresseth his words until the (proper) time, 
And (then) shall the lips of many® tell forth his understanding. 
25 In the treasures of Wisdom (there are) wise proverbs’ ; 
But godliness is an abomination to sinners®. 


Wisdom | are gifts of God unto peace’ 70 248 ¥ ‘beginning’ S z-2z.So S$; (ἃ iit. ‘ Making peace and 
health of cure to flourish’; + ‘He increaseth glorying to them that love him’ 248 a-a yea ‘life eternal’ (awvos 
foracews) »-b So $; BNAC read: ‘ He both saw and numbered her (> 248 253 Syro-Hex Sah); he rained . 
down skill and knowledge of understanding ’ c-c @& if, ‘exalted the honour of’ d-d<eternal life’ S τς 
€70 248 253 Syro-Hex* add with slight variations Ὁ. 21: ‘The fear of the Lord driveth away sins ; and he who 
abideth therein will avert all wrath’; + ‘In the treasures of Wisdom is understanding and reverence of 
knowledge ; but Wisdom is a curse to sinners’ S$ 
ἃ & has in place of vv. 22-27 twelve distichs which differ almost entirely from & ; if they were translated from 
Hebrew, which vs probable, they belong to a later recension of ®) and not to the original form ; they run as follows :-— 


Blessed is the man who meditateth therein, Hear me, ye who fear God, 

For Wisdom is better to him than all treasures. Hearken unto, and mark, my words! 
Blessed is the man who draweth nigh thereto, He who will inherit life, 

And who occupieth himself with her commandments. As an eternal heritage and a great joy— 
She prepareth (for) him an eternal crown, Hearken unto all my words and do them, 

And eternal righteousness among the holy ones. And thou shalt be inscribed in the book of life. 
He rejoiceth over her, and she rejoiceth over him, Love the fear of the Lord, 

And she rejecteth him not to all eternity. | And stablish thine heart therein, so shalt thou have 
The angels of God rejoice over him, naught to fear. 

And tell forth all the glory of the Lord. Draw nigh unto her, and be not weary, 
This whole book is full of life, So shalt thou find life for thy spirit; 

Blessed is the man who hearkeneth thereunto and | And when thou drawest nigh, 


doeth according unto it! | Do it as a hero and as a mighty one. 


The text of & in these vv. ts largely corrupt b-b« A wrathful man’ 70 248 253 Syro-Hex ¢ So N*iL; 
all other Gk. MSS. including 8°-* read ‘sway ’ d-d So V 248 253 ave€era (=H); (ἃ ἀνθεξεται, ‘endures’ ; 
the sense is much the same tn etther case e ‘of faithful (men)’ BC f plur. in 8 70 248 253 S Syro-Hex; 


18. The crown of wisdom. Cp. xxv. 6, Prov. xii. 4, xvi. 31, xvil.6. For the addition to this v. see critical note. 

19. See critical note. The rendering of & is a partial repetition of v. 9, and is evidently out of place here. 

20. Just as the fear of the Lord is the root, i.e. the very essence of Wisdom, so does it also bring forth the most 
desirable fruit, viz. prolonged life. Again the thought of reward hereafter for a godly life is quite absent. For the 
addition to this v. (= v. 21) see critical note. 

(c) I. 22-30. 

22. The abruptness with which this and the following vv. are introduced suggests that possibly something has fallen 
out between this and the preceding section. This appears the more probable on account of the form of S and the 
state of the text of & (see critical note, and cp. further Herkenne 77 oc.). Further, the later addition of v. 21 points 
to the desire of a glossator to smooth over the roughness of the passage. i 

wrath. Reading ὀργή with N* (= ΤΌ iracundia), cp. xlv. 19, instead of ῥοπή of all other MSS. of &. 

23. until the (proper) time. i.e. until the time is past during which the exercise of self-control was called forth. 


up neete up. ἀναδώσει, a word used in the Bible elsewhere only in Acts xxiii. 33, of a letter being delivered to 
a ruler. 


24. the lips of many... Cp. xxxix. 9. ih ke 
25. godliness. Θεοσέβεια, ‘the fear of God’ = Wisdom. The word does not occur elsewhere in this book. In 
Job xxviii. 28 °278 NS is translated Θεοσέβεια in the Sept., cp. Prov.i.29. For the identification between the fear of 
God and Wisdom cp. Pirge Adoth iii. 26: ‘ No wisdom, no fear (of God) ; no fear (of God), no wisdom.’ 
320 


SIRACH 1. 26—2. 3 


πὸ 26 If thou desire Wisdom, keep the commandments}, 
And the Lord will give her freely unto thee. 
27 For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction, 
And faith and meekness are ‘well-pleasing unto Him?*, 
28 My son}, disobey ποῖ ἢ the fear of the Lord”, 
And approach it not with a double heart. 
29 Be not a hypocrite in °the sight of °men, 
And take good heed to thy lips. 
30 Exalt not thyself lest thou fall, 
And bring disgrace upon thyself?, 
And the Lord reveal* thy hidden (thoughts), 
And cast thee down in the midst of the assembly, 
Because thou camest not? unto the fear of the Lord, 
And thy heart was full of deceit®. 


(4) 11. 1-6. On Faithfulness to God and Resignation to His Will (= 343 distichs). 


2 1 *My son, when thou comest *to serve” the Lord, 
Prepare® thy soul for temptation. 
2 °4Set thy heart aright* and endure firmly. 
And ‘be not fearful’ in time of calamity®, 
3 Cleave unto Him§, and let Him? not go}, 
3 kThat thou mayst be wise in thy ways*. 


im & Ὁ. 25 follows v. 20 & Plur. in 70 253 Syro-Hex ®, otherwise sing. h«justice’ # ἰἰ71.. ‘His good 
pleasure ’ k + ‘and He filleth His treasures (therewith) ’ & 1So$ τὰ ‘be not unbelieving (in)’ x & 
n+ ‘when thou art in need’ 70 248 253 Syro-Hex 0-0 So 253 S Syro-Hex £; & ‘in the mouths of’ (reading 
‘pa cnstead of 9323) —-P Lit. ‘thy soul’ 4 +‘all’ 70 248 253 Syro-Hex r+ ‘in truth’ 248 253 Syro-Hex; 
‘[Because thou didst draw nigh] unto the Lord with evil intent’ (maligne) &% 8*ouile and deceit’ # 
2248 mserls the title : “Concerning endurance’ b-b ἐν the fear of’ 3; ad servitutem dei & ¢* Thou wilt 
deliver’ 3 d-d« Humble thy heart’ # ee - 5 Hf G Lt. ‘haste not’ &*God’ 3 hh So ὦ; 
‘depart not (from Him)’ & ither’ 3; 7 & the reference ts to Wisdom \-k So S$; ‘That thou mayst be 
increased’ (x* ‘and it shall be increased’) ‘at thy latter end’ @&; ‘That thy life may increase at the last’ 3 
e 
26. If thou desire... Cp. Jas. i. 5; also Berakhoth 58 ὁ (T.B.): ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of 
the Universe, who hast imparted of Thy Wisdom to flesh and blood.’ The v. before us offers a good example of the 
combination of grace and free-will. 
27. ... is wisdom and instruction. Cp. Prov. xv. 33, which must have been in the mind of Ben-Sira here. 
faith and meekness. Cop. xlv. 4, where the same words occur together, and the Hebr. is ΠῚ) 73728. On the 
meaning of ‘faith’ see Lightfoot’s admirable note in his Ga/atians, pp. 154 ff. 
28. a double heart. Cp. Ps. xii. 3, 30) ap) and Jas. i. 8, iv. 8, ἀνὴρ δίψυχος ; see also 1 Enoch xci. 4 (ed. Charles): 
“Draw not nigh to uprightness with a double heart, and associate not with those of a double heart.’ 
29. Be not a hypocrite. Cp. xxxii. ((ὰ xxxv.) 15, xxxiii. (Gt xxxvi.) 2. 
30. Exalt not thyself... Cp. Evwbin 13.a(T.B.): ‘ He who humbles himself, him will God exalt; he who exalts 
himself, him will God humble.’ 
in the midst of the assembly. Cp. iv. 7, vii. 7, xxiii. 24, xli. 18, xlii. 11; Prov. v. 14. 
full of deceit. Cp. xix. 26. 
(4) 11. 1-6. 
II. 1. 248 has as title to this section Περὶ πομονῆς. 
My son. In the Wisdom-Literature this is the regular mode of address to pupils; cp. vil.3; Prov. ii. 1, iii. 1, &c., &c. 
The plural is also used at times; cp. xxxix. 13 ; Prov. iv. I. 
Prepare thy soul... Cp. xliv. 20d; Prov. iii. 11, 12 ; Heb. xii. 7,13; and especially Jas. i. 2-4, 12-15. 
2. Set thy heart aright. Cp.xxxvii.15; Ps. Ixxiii. (Sept. Ixxvii.) 8 = Hebr. ab (some MSS. P37) ὅ3π. 
endure firmly. καρτέρησον, cp. Job ii. 9 μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις, where the Hebr. has ἼΓΊΞΓΞ ΡΠ TTY (‘Dost 
thou still hold fast thine integrity ἢ); cp. Heb. xi. 27. a 
be not fearful. μὴ σπεύσῃς; cp. 1 Sam. xxviil. 21 καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι ἔσπευσεν σφόδρα, where the Hebr. has NIM) 


- IND Spams (‘and she saw that he was greatly afraid’); cp. Prov. xxviii. 20. The meaning, therefore, is not : ‘ Haste 
not (i.e. to forsake the Lord) in the time of calamity ’ (Ryssel), but that he is not to be afraid however much outward 
circumstances may be against him as a result of serving the Lord. Z 
.. calamity. ἐπαγωγή, lit. ‘that which is brought upon’ a man by God; the word is often used in the book (&), 
lil. 28, v. 8, x. 13, xxili. 11, &c. This is one form of temptation, or ‘trying’, for which a man must prepare his soul. 

3. Cleave unto Him. Cp. Deut. x. 20 πρὸς αὐτὸν κολληθήσῃ, Hebr. pain 13, 
let Him not go. Cp. Prov. iv.13; Cant. iii. 4. 
. That thou mayst... It is probable that both & and S have retained parts of the original, which was very 
likely a quotation from Prov. xix. 20, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.’ 
ν 321 


SIRAGH 2. 4-12 


4 Accept! whatsoever is brought upon thee, 

™ And be patient in disease and poverty™. 
5 For gold is proved in the fire, 

And men acceptable [to God] in "the furnace of” affliction®. 
6 Put thy trust in God?, and He will help thee, 

4And hope in Him, and He will make straight thy ways‘. 


AMR 


(6) 11. 7-11. The Blessedness of those who fear the Lord (= 3+3 distichs). 


» "9Ye that fear the Lord, wait for His mercy ; 
And turn not aside, lest ye fall. 
8 Ye that fear the Lord, put your trust in Him, 
*He will not withhold your reward’. 
9 Ye that fear the Lord, hope for * His benefits’, 
And for eternal gladness and mercy*. 
10 Look at the generations of old and see, 
Who ever trusted in the Lord, and was put to shame? 
Or who did abide in His fear, and was forsaken ? 
Or who did call upon Him, and "He did not hear him"? : 
11 For compassionate and merciful is the Lord”, 
*And He forgiveth sins, and saveth in time of affliction*. 


me 


(f) 11. 12-14. A threefold woe against the faithless (= 3 distichs) 


12 Woe unto fearfulY hearts and unto “faint hands?, 
And unto the sinner that goeth two ways. 


1 4 ‘readily’ 70 248 253 Syro-Hex ™-™So §; (τ ΔΛ ‘And in the changes of thy humiliation be enduring’; ‘Be | 
enduring in pain and be patient in humiliation’ %™>C © Z7/.* humiliation’; + ‘in sickness and in poverty 
put thy trust in Him’ δ᾽ 6:8 253 Syro-Hex Pp So $2; ‘Him’ G, ‘the Lord’ 253 a-4.So 253 ὃ Syro-Hex; 
+‘ Observe the fear of Him, and grow old therein’ % «8. 248 has the order of this and the two following vv. thus: 
8,9,7 So S$; ‘And your reward shall not fail’ ἃ 8-8 So $; ‘good things’ G&; ‘Him’ # t + ‘for an 
eternal gift with joy is His recompense’ N¢-# 253 Syro-Hex ; +‘ Ye that fear the Lord, love Him, and your hearts 
shall be enlightened’ # απὸ So $; ‘He despiscdhim’ &H% W +4 ‘longsuffering and of great pity’ δὲ 5.8 70 248 
253 Syro-Hex 4-*‘ And heareth in time of affliction, and heareth all them that do His will’ $; ‘ And forgiveth in 
time of affliction the sins of all them that seek Him in truth’ % y ‘double’ Syro-Hex % z-Z ‘ abominable 


4. Accept... The reference is to adversity of any kind which Providence sees well to send, cp. Job ii. 10, Jas. 1. 2. 
be patient... Cp.v.11; Job vi.11; Jas. v.7,8. @ (see critical note) lit. ‘in the changes of thy humiliation’. 
5. gold is proved. Cp. Is. xlviii. 10; Prov. xvii. 3, xxvii. 21; Wisd. 111. 6; Jas. i. 12; 1 Pet. i. 7. 
men acceptable. i.e. because they have been tried and purified, cp. Prov. iii. 10. 
6. The v. is an adaptation of Ps. xxxvii. 3, 5, cp. Prov. iii. 5, 6. 
He will help thee. Cp. Ps. xl. 17, xlvi. 1. 
hope in Him. Cp. Ps. Ixxi. 5. 
He will make straight... Cp. Prov. iii. 6. 
(e) 11. 7-11. 
7. wait for... Cp. Judith viii. 17. 
And turn not... Cp. iv. 19. 
ὃ, He will not withhold ... Cp. Lev. xix. 13; Tob. iv. 14. 
9. eternal gladness. Cp. Is. xxxv. 10, li. 11, Ixi. 7. : 
10. aes the generations of old. Cp. Ps. xxii. 4, 5; it is, of course, to the Scriptures that Ben-Sira is referring 
ls pupils. 
. and was put to shame. Cp. Ps. xxxvii. 25. Apparently Ben-Sira recognized that the Book of Job did not 
record history. 
7 oud He did not hearhim. The rendering of $ seems to correspond better with the first part of this clause, see 
crit. note. 
11, compassionate and merciful. Cp. Exod. xxxiv. 6 (Sept.); Ps. ciii, 8, exlv. 8. 
forgiveth sins. Cp. Ps. ciii. 3, 4. . 
and saveth... The compassion and mercy of God saves them from the result of sin. 
(7) 11. 12-14. 
12. fearful hearts. Cp. xxii. 18 ; Deut. xx. 8; 2 Chron. xiii. 7. 
faint hands. Cp. xxv. 23; Job iv. 3; Is. xxxv. 3: 
that goeth two ways. Cp. 1 Kings xviii. 21; Prov. xxiii. 6, 18; Jas. i. 8, iv. 8; see note on i. 25. 
322 


ΘΕ ΘΗ Ὁ, το, ΠῚ 


& 13 *Woe unto the faint heart, for it believeth not?, 
Therefore shall it not be sheltered. 
14 Woe unto you that have lost your endurance}, 
And what will ye do when the Lord visiteth you ? 


(g) 11. 15-18. The Characteristics of those who fear the Lord (= 3 +2 distichs). 


15 °They that fear the Lord ¢will not *be disobedient to® His words4, 
And they that love Him will keep His ways**. 
16 They that fear the Lord will seek His good pleasure, 
And they that love Him will be filled with (His)" Law. 
17 They that fear the Lord will make ready their hearts, 
iAnd will humble* their souls before Him:: 
18 1[ Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, 
And not into the hands of men ;’]! 
For as is His majesty, so also is His mercy, 
| 3 » And as is His name, so also are His works*. 


(2) 111. 1-16. On Filial Duty and its Reward (= 7 x 2+1 distichs). 


3 1 *Hearken, ye children, to the judgement of your father*, 
L κα And do thereafter, that ye may be saved”. 


lips and harmful hands’ 3» a-a ‘Woe unto the heart that believeth not’ S$; +‘in God’ # b 4+who have 
left the right ways and have turned unto evil ways’ # ce > 253 d-d‘ will seek His good pleasure’ A ; 
‘will not be unfaithful to God’ #  ee‘hate’S  f*commandments’ Nc e-s‘willlearn’ 3  bexpressed 
msi i+ But he that forsaketh Him destroyeth his own soul’ S$; + ‘They that fear the Lord will keep His 
commandments, and will be patient until His visitation’ #; + ‘saying’ 253; ‘sanctify’ # 1» Φ ™‘God’ 
2453 nn So $ only, >: ©; + ‘He that feareth God will increase possessions, and his seed shall be blessed 
after him’ S$. That the words in the text are original is probable, for they occur in ®, though they have got mis- 
placed in the extant form of the Hebrew, coming there after vi. 17 

a-a So 253 S Syro-Hex 1; ‘ Hear me your father, O my children’ G@; the Aldine text reads κριμα for epov, and 
40 adds κρισιν after rexva, 10 this 35 prefixes: <The children of Wisdom are assemblies of the just; their race is 
obedience and love’ b-b S ‘that ye may live the life which is eternal’ 


13. the faint heart. Cp. 111. 26. 
for it believeth not... Cp. Is. vii. 9. 
14. endurance. If the equivalent Hebr. was A)PN, as in xvii. 24, xli. 2d, the word should be, rather, ‘ hope’ or 
‘expectation’ ; cp. also xvi. 13, 22. 
visiteth. ἐπισκέπτηται, a play on σκεπασθήσεται in the preceding τ΄. 
(g) 11. 15-18. 
15. will not be disobedient... Cp. xvi. 21; Ps. cv. 28, cvii. 11. DN“ TON WMNDIND, cp. xxxix. 31 (Hebr.). 
His ways. Cp. Ps. xviii. 21, xxv. 4. 

16. will be filled with (His) Law. Cp. Pzrge Aboth iv. 14: ‘Have little business, and be busied in the Law (Torah), 
and be lowly in spirit unto every man; and if thou idlest from the Law, thou wilt have idlers many against thee; and 
if thou labourest in the Law, He [i.e. God] hath much reward to give unto thee. Taylor, in his edition of Pixge Adoth, 
Ῥ. 69, quotes from Sanhedrin 103 a (T.B.): ‘ Whosoever starves himself for the sake of words of Torah in this world, 
the Holy One, blessed be He, will satiate him in the world to come.’ 

17. will humble. Cp. iii. 18, vii. 17, xviil. 21. . , ; 

18. The first two lines of this v. are probably not part of the original; their contents have no connexion either with 
what precedes or follows; its omission by S is significant. Cp. 2 Sam. xxiv. 14, of which it is an inexact quotation. 

For as is His majesty... These words must be read in connexion with 174. 
And asis... See critical note. 


(A) Il]. 1-16. ae 

III. 1. The words prefixed by % (see critical note) are, as can be seen by their Latin form, of Hebrew origin 
(Breitschneider, Herkenne, Smend), though they probably do not represent part of the original Hebrew book, but 
belong rather to the secondary recension of this, see Introd. § 3 (c); the words in Hrun: ‘ Filii sapientiae ecclesia 
lustorum, et natio illorum oboedientia et dilectio.’ 


Hearken, ye children... 3% have evidently retained the more correct reading here, see critical note. 
judgement. = ΘΕ (not j"), the right, or that which is due, cp. Deut. xvill. 3, xxi. 17; Jer. xxxui. 7. ; 
ΓΝ that ye may be saved. ἵνα σωθῆτε, not in the Christian sense (as paraphrased by §, see critical note), but in 


reference to prosperity in this world (cp. Deut. v. 16); σώζεσθαι is often used in the Sept. as the equivalent of the Hebr. 
MM (73), e.g. Gen. xlvii. 25; Ps. xxix. 4; Prov. xv. 28; Ezek. xxxiii. 12 (see Sept. in each case). 

323 
a —m7 tn 


εὖ 


SIRACH 3. 2-12 


& 2 For the Lord hath given the father glory as touching the children, 
And hath established the judgement of the mother as touching the 508“. 
3 “He that honoureth his father *maketh atonement for sins®4, 
4 And as one that layeth up treasure is he that honoureth his mother. 
s He that honoureth his father shall have joy of his children’, 
And what time he prayeth he shall be heard. 
6 He that giveth glory to his father shall have length of days, 
2 And he that "giveth rest to® his mother! shall receive reward from God®. 
253 7 *He that feareth the Lord honoureth his father*, 
1And serveth his parents as masters'. 
®* 8 My son", in word and in deed honour thy father™, 
That "every blessing may overtake thee. 
9 The blessing of a father establisheth °(his) seed °, 
But the curse of a mother rooteth up the °° young plant”. 
το Glorify not thyself in the dishonour of thy father, 
For that is no glory to thee?. 
11 A man’s glory is the glory of his father, 
PP And he that dishonoureth? his mother ‘multiplieth sin™??. 
& 12 My son’, thelp thy father in his old age’, 
ΕΝ And “grieve him* not "all the days of his™ life* ; 


¢ ‘her children’ 9 d-d‘ He that loveth God obtaineth (forgiveness) for sins, and will keep himself from them ; 
in the day of prayer he will be heard’ 3} e-e ‘his sins are forgiven’ 3 ΤῈ repeats v. 4 here 8-8 So 3; 
‘He that obeyeth the Lord giveth rest to his mother’ (τ h-h So 9; ‘honoureth’ $ i +‘from anguish’ 
70 253 Syro-Hex Καὶ So 70 248 253 Syro-Hex 1; »Ὦ ἃ 9 -ι» l>G m + ‘and mother’ 
70 248 u-n (7, ‘all blessings’; + ‘from him’ (6. she father) Gr, +‘from them’ (7.6. the parents) 248 253 
0-0 15 //, ‘a root’; ‘habitations’ $; ‘the houses of children’ & 00-00 ‘foundations’ & P+ mpos ατιμιαν (doublet 
fo ev ατιμια in the first clause, cp. 248) & ip-pp ‘And a mother in dishonour is a reproach to her children’ & 
4 Reading mbpD instead of bboy (= ἃ 3) tr ΔΛ ‘(it is) increasing sin’ 5.» (ἃ t-t So &, which, as 
the context shows, ts preferable here to ® 5. (‘ Be strong in the honour of thy father’) tt-tt Reading \nasyn 
(= &) for ;iryn (= 3; ‘forsake him’) u-u ‘as Jong as he liveth’ (ἃ uu ‘thy’ #9 3 V jo 248 


2. hath given the father glory... i.e. He has commanded the children to honour their parents, cp. Exod. xx. 12; 
Deut. ν. 16; Matt. xv. 4; Mark vil.10; Eph. vi. 2. Cp. the explanatory paraphrase of Sah: ‘For the Lord gave the 
father more honour than the sons’ (Smend). 

the judgement of the mother. The mother’s ‘right’, or ‘due’, must be equally respected with that of the father, 
cp. Prov. i. 8, vi. 20. 

.3. maketh atonement for sins. We are met here with the beginnings of the development (especially in one 
direction) of the Jewish doctrines of atonement and mediation, which assumed great prominence in later times. The 
honouring of father and mother was the fulfilling of a #z¢/zvah, or ‘commandment’, of the Law, which being a meri- 
torious act, effected atonement. The observance of the Torah, or Law, became, as time went on, to an ever-increasing | 
extent the main basis of practical religion among the Jews; cp. Pivge Aédoth ii. 8: ‘He who has gotten to himself 
words of Torah has gotten to himself the life of the world to come’; vi. 1: ‘It clothes him with meekness and fear, 
and fits him to become righteous, pious, upright, and faithful; and removes him from sin, and brings him towards the 
side of merit’; vi. 7: ‘Great is Torah, which gives life to those who practise it in this world and in the world to come’; 
and see the whole of vi (Pereq R. Meir). One of the most striking expressions of this honouring of the father is to be 
seen in the custom of a son praying publicly in the synagogue on the anniversary (‘ Jahrzeit’) of a father’s death; see 
further Oesterley and Box, Zhe Religion and Worship of the Synagogue (2nd ed.), pp. 369, 434. 

4. as one that layeth up treasure. ὡς ὁ ἀποθησαυρίζων ; this form only occurs in the Bible elsewhere in 1 Tim. vi. 
19, where it is used of making provision for the life to come. 

5. shall have joy. Cp. Prov. xxiii. 24, 25 (Sept.). 

6. he that giveth rest to his mother. Cp.v.1; 28 2) is all that is left of this v. in ®- 

7. And serveth... δουλεύσει implies the service of a slave; some Rabbis interpreted the Law to mean that the son 
was in the position of a slave to his father; cp. Exod. xxi.7; Neh. v.5. It was even taught by some Rabbis that 
a father had the right to exercise the power of life and death over a son, on the basis of such passages as Gen. xxii; 
Judg. xi. 39; 2 Kings xxiii. 10. 

his parents. ἐν τοῖς γεννήσασιν αὐτοῦ; as Smend points out, the ἐν may represent DE Cp. Hebr. of x. 18, xxiv. 22, 
and 1 Sam. iv. 9 2 7. ᾷ 

8. in word and in deed... Cp. Matt. xxi. 28-31; Luke xxiv. 9. 

9. The blessing of a father. Cp. Deut. xxxiii. 1; Prov. xi.11; Test. Twelve Patr., Issachar v. 6: ‘Our father Jacob 
blessed ine with blessings of the earth and of first-fruits.’ 

the curse of a mother. Cp. Jer. vi. 5; Zeph. ii. 4. 
the young plant. Dj in this particular sense occurs elsewhere only in Job xiv. 9, 
το. in the dishonour of thy father. i.e. when a son does not honour his father. _ 

11. And he that dishonoureth... Cp. Prov. xv. 20, xxiii. 22, xxx. fe 

12. all the days of his life. See crit. note on next v. 


324 


STIRAGH Ὁ 12-20 


13 And even if his understanding fail, be considerate with him, 
And dishonour him not Yall the days of his life’. 
14 Benevolence to a father shall not be blotted out, 
And as a substitute for sins it shall be firmly planted®. 
15 In the day of affliction it shall be remembered ‘to thy credit’, 
It shall obliterate thine iniquities as heat (disperseth) hoar-frost. 
16 *As one that acteth presumptuously* is he that despiseth his father, 
And as one that provoketh his Creator is he that cursethY his mother. 


(ἢ) 111. 17-25. On the Need of Humility in all things (= 3+3+1+4+1 distichs), 
17 My son, when thou art in prosperity walk humbly, 
And thou wilt be loved more than him that giveth gifts. 
18 Humble thyself #in all greatness’, 
And thou wilt find mercy in the sight of God* 
20 For many are the mercies of God, 
And to the humble He revealeth His secret. 


v-v So 315 S$; ‘(when thou art) in all thy strength’ & w So ®mg. S$; ‘it shall be added to build thee up’ (ἃ 
s-x Reading War for MDD y Reading >>p% 2-2 Reading ΠΟΥῚΣ S33 (Smend) for doy mba Ὁ 
aye.a 248 35 Syro-Hex add, with slight variations : ‘Many are exalted and esteemed ; but the mysteries (of God) 


13. all the days of his life. The rendering of &, ἐν πάσῃ ἰσχύι σου, suggests in Ὁ yon baa, which is perhaps more 
satisfactory than the repetition of ‘all the days of his life’, see v. 12. 

14. Benevolence to a father. Lit. ‘ righteousness (ΠΡῚΝ) (shown) to a father’; as is clear from the rendering of (τ 
(ἐλεημοσύνη) ΠΡῚΝ has here the technical sense of ‘almsgiving’, i.e. righteousness far excellence ; it is interesting to note 
that the word is used in this specific sense as early as the time of Ben-Sira. In Matt. vi. 12 ‘righteousness’ and 
‘alms’ are used synonymously. Cp. further Swthah 590 (T. B.): ‘Greater is he that ‘giveth alms (P78 nyy, 
lit. “that doeth righteousness ”’) than (he who offers) all sacrifices’ (quoted by Weber, /#dische Theologie, p. 285). 

shall not be blotted out. # is stronger than (τ (‘shall not be forgotten’). This v. offers another instance of 
the teaching of the efficacy of works, for the fulfilling of this #¢/zvah is reckoned as merit. The good deed is written 
down in God’s book and therefore cannot be blotted out. 

as a substitute for sins. The son's righteous act in succouring his aged father is written down to his credit, and 
thus counterbalances his sins; cp. Qiddushin 40 6 (T. B.), where it is said that a man is judged ‘according to that 
which balances’, i.e. according as to whether the weight of sins or of good deeds weighs heavier ; cp. also Baba bathra 
10a (T. B.): ‘Almsgiving is a powerful mediator between the Israelites and their Father in heaven ; it brings the time 
of redemption nigh.’ 

shall be firmly planted. i.e. set fast, cf. Eccles. xii. 11. With & (see critical note) cp. Jer. i. 10, ‘ to build and 
to plant.’ 

15. In the day of... τ ‘In the day of thy affliction it shall remember thee’, which obscures the sense of the v., 
viz. that when affliction comes, as the result of sin, it will be mitigated, because his good deeds will be remembered to 
his benefit; #z¢zvofh are meritorious. 

to thy credit. Lit. ‘to thee’. 
It shall obliterate... ‘It’ refers to the benevolence shown to the father ; & inexactly, ‘ As fair weather (acts) 
upon ice, so shall thy sins melt away.’ 

16. As one that acteth presumptuously. (& ‘is as a blasphemer’ suggests ἢ) (= S) in #; the verb #73 (piel) 
is used of blaspheming God, cp. Num. xv. 30, 2 Kings xix. 6 = Is. xxxvii. 6 ; so, too, in Rabbinical literature, e. g. in 
Shabbath 75 a "ΞΥΣ = ‘one who blasphemes God’ (Levy, Chaldiisches Worterbuch, s. v.). 

he that despiseth. 2 (= 3); ὅτ ‘he that forsaketh’, reading INY, cp. τ΄. 12 above (crit. note). 
And as one that provoketh... (so also 33) has interchanged the verbs: ‘ And he that provoketh his mother 
is cursed of the Lord’; cp. Lev. xx.9; Deut. xxvii. 16. 

[2.11]. 17/—2)5. 

17. when thou art in prosperity. Lit. ‘in thy wealth’ (Jnwy3), which G& read as wy ‘thy works’, or 
‘business’. ; 

walk humbly. # has s>nnn, which (ἃ (‘go on with’) misinterpreted owing to the mistake referred to in the last note. 

more than him that giveth gifts. (τ ‘of an acceptable man’ is explanatory but misses the point of the 
comparison (}2) in (-Ξ- 3); cp. & ‘super hominum gloriam’. The meaning of the v. is that the rich man who is 
humble in spite of his wealth is loved more than the rich man who is proud, even though he dispenses charity. 

18. Humble thyself in... Cp. Matt. xx. 26, 27; Phil. il. 3; 1 Pet. v. 5. (ἃ paraphrases: ‘ The greater thou art, 
humble thyself the more.’ $ ‘ Make thyself small (= 38 lit.) in (the face of) all that is great in this world’; this agrees 
with the unamended text of 18, which Smend rightly regards as a later form. The piel of Dy!) (‘make thyself small’, 
i.e. ‘humble thyself’) occurs elsewhere only in xxxil. (@ xxxv.) ὃ and Eccles, xii. 3. 

mercy. G ‘grace’; cp. Prov. 111. 34. 
God. & ‘the Lord’. 
For v. 19 see critical note. 

20. For many are... ( ‘For great is the potency of the Lord’; it is certainly possible that τ represents here 
amore original text than W, for it corresponds better with the second clause of the v. whether we follow & or 32 there. 
5 He revealeth His secret. Cp. critical note on v. 18. @& ‘he is glorified’. With ® cp. Amos iil. 7; Ps. xxv. 14; 

TOV. ili, 32. 


325 


Dp 


SIRACH 3. 21-27 


κα Seek not (to understand) what is too wonderful* for thee, 
And search not out that which is hid from thee. 
22 Meditate upon that which thou must grasp, — 
And be not occupied with that which is hid”. 
23 Have naught to do with that which is beyond thee, 
For more hath been shown to thee than thou canst understand. 
24 For many are the conceits of the sons of men, 
And evil imaginations lead astray. _ ἢ : 
25 4Where (there is) no apple of the eye, light is lacking, 
And where (there is) no knowledge wisdom is wanting 4, 


(7) Ill. 26-28. Retribution on the Sinner (= 3 distichs). 


26 ®A stubborn heart shall fare ill at its latter end, 
But he that loveth good things shall be led by them®’. 
27 (As for) the stubborn heart, its griefs shall be increased, 
And the profane’ man heapeth iniquity upon iniquity. 


are revealed to the lowly’ (=v. 19), cp. 7. 20 ® b-b Quoted in Hagigah 77 ¢ (11) (T. J.): ‘that which is 
too difficult for thee why shouldst thou know? That which is deeper than Sheol why shouldst thou search out?’ 


Cp. also Hagigah 13 (T. B.) © Reading xbpi for msdn (Smend) ‘too hard’ & d-d (χα L omit this v., but 
it is preserved, with slight variations, ly 70 248 253 % Syro-Hex*; 7m ® zt zs placed after Ὁ. 24 8-e & wth the 
exception of 8° 248 253 transposes the order of these clauses; 3 L=® f +a stubborn heart shall be grieved 
at the last’ &® & Reading Shan Sor Shinn h-h Following Smends emendation of the text based 


21. that which is hid from thee. & ‘the things which are above thy strength’. This and the following v. are 
quoted freely in Hagigah 13a (T.B.) thus: ‘For so it is written in the book of Ben-Sira, Inquire not concerning that 
which is too high for thee, and seek not out that which is hidden from thee; but meditate upon that which thou canst 
grasp, and be not occupied with that which is hid.’ So, too, in Hagigah 77 ¢ (T. J.) : ‘Rabbi Lezer (said) in the name 
of Bar-Sira, Why wilt thou know what is too high for thee, and why wilt thou search out what is deeper than Sheol? 
Meditate upon that which thou canst grasp, and be not occupied with that which is hid.’ In the Midrash Bereshith 
Rabéa, § viii (on Gen. i. 26), it is said in reference to Job xx. 4, 5 that the Torah alone knows what happened before the 
creation of the world when man was placed upon the earth, so that it is not for us to inquire about these things; then 
it continues: ‘ Rabbi Eleazar said in the name of Ben-Sira, Inquire not concerning that which is too great for thee, and 
search not out that which is beyond thy strength, seek not to understand what is too high for thee, nor (desire) to 
know what 1s hidden from thee. Meditate upon that which thou canst grasp, and be not occupied with that which 
is hid.’ For the thought cf. 2 Esdras iv. 

22. that which thou canst grasp. (& ‘the things that have been commanded thee’; the reference is to the 
commandments of the Law, cp. Pzrge Adoth ii. 18: ‘ Be diligent to learn the Law.’ 

And be not occupied with. (τ ‘for thou hast no need of’, a bad rendering of # which means lit. ‘and have no 
business (PY) with’; for the Hebr. word cp. xi. 10, xxxviii. 24. 
that which is hid. Cp. Deut. xxix. 29. For the #7 NNNNDII cp. xiii. 19, xlviii. 25. 
23. Have naught todo with. (τ ‘Be not over busy’ (μὴ περιεγάζου, cp. 2 Thess. iii. 11), cp. xli. 22. 
that which is beyond thee. (τ, quite mistaking the point of 38, ‘in thy superfluous works.’ 
For more hath been... Cp. 1 Cor. ii. 9, quoted from Is, Ixiv. 4, Ixv. 16 a. 

24. For many are... (τ ‘For the conceit of many hath led them astray’; the reference is no doubt to the 
philosophic speculations of the Greeks. The Hebr. word for ‘conceit’ ([2iMWY) here is a late one, and occurs elsewhere 
only in Ps. cxlvi. 4, where it means ‘purposes’. The corresponding Aramaic word, which is frequently used in the 
Targums, always has a bad sense, e.g. Targ. Is. xli. 29; Jer. xvili. 12, Here the meaning seems to be ‘ speculation’, 


in a bad sense; cp. 248 which adds ‘vain’, and possibly represents, as Hart suggests, an original )7 (‘evil’), read PO 
(‘vain’); cp. 3» of next clause. 


_And evil imaginations... @& ‘And evil surmising hath caused their judgement to slip’; # ‘Et in vanitate 
detinuit sensus illorum’. 


t us The words in & refer to the teaching of Greek philosophers which led away from the Law. 
25. See critical note. 

Where (there is) no. . 
(7) ILI. 26-28. ἡ 
26. A stubborn heart. 7222), lit. ‘a heavy heart’; the same expression occurs in Exod. vii. 14, of Pharaoh. 

But he that loveth... (τ ‘And he that loveth danger shall perish therein’. % adds: ‘Cor ingrediens duas vias 

non habebit successus, et pravus corde (97 pravicordius) in illis scandalizabitur.’ 

27. Shall be increased. (τ ‘shall be laden’, a free rendering of 3ῆ. 


the profane man. (τ ‘the sinner.’ The meaning of the v. is that just as troubles accumulate for one who is 
obstinate and will not understand, so do the sins of the ungodly man accumulate. 


326 


- i.e, just as a blind man cannot see, so a fool cannot acquire knowledge. 


SIRACH 3. 28—4. 


Or 


‘ 28 (As for) "the wound of the scorner, there is no healing for it’, 
For an evil growth* is his plant"™!. 


(2) III. 29-31. Reward for the Righteous (= 1 +2 distichs). 
29 A wise heart understandeth the proverbs of the wise, 
And the ear that listeneth to wisdom rejoiceth™. 
30 A flaming fire doth water quench, 
|> So doth almsgiving atone for sin. 
31 He that doeth good, it shall meet him on his ways, 
And when he tottereth he shall find a stay. 


(ἢ) IV. 1-10. On right behaviour towards the Poor and the Oppressed (= 2+2+2+4+243 distichs). 


4 1*My son, ’defraud not> the poor of his sustenance’, 

And grieve not “the eyes of him that is bitter in (his) soul4. 
2 °Despise not‘ the needy soul, 

And vex not the heart® of the oppressed. 
3 Hurt not the feelings: of the afflicted, 

And withhold not a gift *from the poor. 


on Oc; ® as 1! stands reads: ‘Run not to heal the wound of the scorner, for there is no healing for him’ 


i + ‘his ways shall be rooted out’ (τ (C 70 248 253) Syro-Hex k Zz. ‘plant’ 14 ‘and he shall not be 
known’ (ἃ (248) 3» Syro-Hex m + Sapiens cor et intelligibile abstinebit se a peccatis, et in operibus iustitiae 
successus habebit’ # 

a, inserts the title: ‘Concerning almsgiving and the poor’ b-b So & ©; H S ‘mock not’; possibly for 
sybn should be read yr3n (=), cp. Ezek. xvi. 27 ¢ Lit. ‘life’; ‘alms’ & d-d Reading wb) WN ‘Dy instead 
of WEI 1D) Ὁ» WEI & In ® the clauses of vv. 2-4 have got misplaced fCp. 3» ne despexeris (Gk py λυπησης) 
& Reading dyan, the text is mutilated h Zit. ‘bowels’ (Ὁ) i £7, ‘inward parts’ (35) k-k Reading 


28. See critical note. (τ ‘ (For) the calamity of the proud there is no healing, for a plant of wickedness hath taken 
root in him.’ 


(2) 111. 29-31. ; 
29. A wise heart. Spoken of in reference to God in Job ix. 4 (22? 03M); cp. Prov. x. 8, xvi. 21. @& ‘The heart of 
the prudent’ (cp. Eccles. viii. 5) is due toa misunderstanding. The expression is used in a different sense in Job xxxvii, 24. 

the proverbs of the wise. (ἃ ‘a parable’. ΩΣ is used in the sense of ‘ parable’ in Ezek. xvii. 2, xxi. 5, xxiv. 3. 

And the ear that... Cp. Prov. ii. 2, xv. 31, xx. 12. @& ‘And the ear of a listener is the desire of a wise man’; 
cp. Prov. xxiii. 15. 

30. A flaming fire... With the general thought of the τ΄. cp. Prov. xvi.6; Dan. iv. 27; and see notes on v. 14 above. 

So doth almsgiving atone... Cp. Baba Bathra τὸ a (T. B.), where a saying is preserved of Rabbi Aqiba to 
the effect that benevolence (= almsgiving) saves from the torments of hell (quoted by Bacher, dgada der Tannaiten, 
i, p. 295). 

of He that doeth good... i.e. he that shows kindness in its manifold expression will be rewarded. (& ‘ He that 
requiteth good turns is mindful of the things (that come) after’; this paraphrase in so far gives the sense of # that it 
refers to ‘the things that come after’, i.e. the reward for doing good. 

And when he tottereth. Lit. ‘And in the time of his shaking’; τ ‘in the time of his falling’ gives the sense of #. 

(ἢ IV. 1-10. 
IV. τ. defraud not. See critical note. With (τ (μὴ ἀποστερήσῃς) cp. Mark x.19; 1 Cor. vi. 8; Jas. v. 4. 

his sustenance. Cp. xxix.21; Prov. xxvii. 27; Luke xii. 16. 

grieve not. (& μὴ παρελκύσης, lit. ‘defer not’, cp. τ. 3, xxix. 8; the word does not occur in the Bible elsewhere 
excepting in Ps. cxix. 5 (Symmachus), though ἔλκω, ἑλκύω often occur in the Sept.; cp. John vi. 44, &c. for ἑλκύω, and 
Acts xxi. 30, Jas. ii. 6 for ἔλκω. For the Hebr. ΦΝΊΠΤΟΝ cp. Ps. Ixxxvili. Io. 

the eyes of... & ‘the needy eyes’. 

2. See critical note. 

Despise not. (& μὴ λυπήσῃς, cp. Job xxxi. 39. The Hebr. root ΠῚΞ means lit. ‘to puff at’, cf. Ps. x. 5, implying 
contempt. In later usage it comes to connote the state brought about by being despised ; cp. Shabdath 127 ὁ (T. B.) 
wad snaa imad eal ‘He went to his house with downcast soul.’ 

the needy soul. (τ ‘a hungry soul’, which is explanatory. 

vex not. (τ ‘provoke not’ (μὴ παροργίσῃς) ; cp. Gen. xxvi. 35 (Sept.). i ‘non exasperes pauperem’. 

the heart of the oppressed. @ ‘a man in his distress’.. With # D'y?) (lit. ‘ bowels’) cp. Lam. i. 20, il. 11. 

3. Hurt not... @ ‘Toa heart that is provoked add not more trouble’. The root IN2 is used of causing both 
physical (e.g. Ezek. xxviii. 24) and mental (6. g. Ezek. xiii. 22) pain. 
the feelings. The two words used here and in v. 2 for the inner emotions (*¥!) only used in the construct. piur. 
with suffixes, and 2) occur together in Is. xvi. 11. 


927 


Fe ὼ 


lure 
ΠΩ 


SIRACH 4. 4-10 


4 Despise not the supplication of the poor’, 
4 And turn not away from the afflicted soul”. 
5 ™From him that asketh turn not thine eye away™”, 
And give him none occasion® to curse thee ; 
6 When in anguish of soul the broken-hearted? crieth’, 
He that created him’ heareth his plaint. 
7 *Make thyself beloved in the assembly®*, 
And to the ruler" “of the city’" bow thy head. 
8 Incline thine ear to the afflicted’, 
And return his salutation* in meekness. 
9 Deliver the oppressed from his oppressors, 
yAnd let not thy spirit hate¥ “just judgement”. 
10 Be as a father to orphans, 
And in place of a husband *to widows*; 


Then God will call thee ‘son’, 
And will be gracious to thee, ’and deliver thee from the Pit?. 


yaDND for 52DNd 1-1 Reading μ᾿ mibxw man bs (Smend) N-ll > Sah mm > 9 n + ‘because 
of wrath’ 39 253 Syro-Hex* 0 Lit. ‘place’ P Zi. ‘bitter of spirit’ 4‘curseth’ & S$ tr Reading 
wy (=& S$) for ys (‘his Rock ἢ 8-3 248 3. follow ® S here t 4 ‘of the poor Ὑ; u‘elder’ Ν 6.8 ζ., 
uu-uu > Of Vv +‘without causing (him) pain’ 70 248 253 33: Syro-Hex w +et redde debitum tuum H, cf. 
next clause x Lit. ‘peace’ ban (=) 0) mre oP) by; Gr, which ts more logical, pn ολιγοψυχησης (= ΡΠ by). 
2-2 when thou judgest’ @& (cf. Hiniudicando) 4-®‘ unto their mother’ @ —4a-aa ‘ willlove thee’ G@& ‘more 


4. Despise not... @ ‘Reject not a supplant in his affliction’, a free rendering. 
And turn not away ... (ἃ ‘ And turn not away thy face from a poor man,’ cp. Ps. xxii. 25 (Hebr.), Prov. xxviii. 25; 


Tob. iv. 7 ; in Pzrge Aboth i. 2 ‘the bestowal of kindnesses ἡ (oDn nid") is called one of the three things on which 
the world is stayed. 

5. From him... Cp. Prov. xxviii. 27; a saying of Rabbi Aqiba, preserved in Baba Bathra τὸ a (T. B.), runs: 
‘By charity wealth is to be made a means of salvation; God, the Father of both the rich and the poor, wants the one 
to help the other, and thus to make the world a household of love’ (quoted in JZ, iii. 668 a); and cp. Zest. Twelve 
Patr., Issachar iii. 8: ‘For on all the poor and oppressed I bestowed the good things of the earth in the singleness 
of my heart’ (ed. Charles). 

And give him... Cp. Prov. xxviii. 27. That such a curse was believed to entail evil consequences is seen from 
the words of the next verse, ‘He that created him...’ ‘Talmudic literature betrays a belief amounting to down- 
right superstition, in the mere power of the word (Bevakhoth 19 a, 56a; cp. ZDMG, xlii. 588). Not only is a curse 
uttered by a scholar unfailing in its effect, even if undeserved (J/akkoth 11a), but one should not regard lightiy even 
the curse uttered by an ignorant man (Megi//ah 15 a)’ (JE, iv. 390 a). 

6. When in anguish... (τ ‘ For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul’, a free rendering. 

He that created him. See critical note. In Deut. xxxii. 37 W¥ (‘Rock’) is used as a divine name, and rendered 
Θεύς in the Sept.; cp. 2 Sam. xxili. 3; Ps. xviii. (xvii.) 3, 32, 47; in many of the Psalms, especially the later ones, 18 is 
used for ‘God’ as One who is a refuge of His people. The rendering of & here, however (ὁ ποιήσας αὐτόν), makes it 
probable that it read 981); S has 7°73 (‘his Creator’). 

7. Make thyself beloved. i.e. by giving alms to those in need; for the phrase cp. xx. 13. 


the ruler of the city. The ‘ruler’ in ® in JO’ =<‘Sultan’. S reads ‘rulers...’; there was no single ruler in 


Jerusalem, but a Gerousia, or assembly of great ones, which became known later on as the Sanhedrin. 
ὃ. Incline thine ear. Cp. Ps. xvii. 6; Jer. xi. 8. 


And return... Cp. Gen. xli. 16., G, ‘And answer him with peaceable words,’ is a misunderstanding of the 
Hebrew form of salutation: ‘Peace’ (D2). 
9. Deliver the oppressed... Cp. Ps. Ixxxii. 3, 4. 
And let not... See critical note. @& ‘And be not faint-hearted in giving judgement’, cp. Jas. ii. 9, and see 
Amos ν. 10, 15. 
10. Beasa father... Cp. Job xxix. 16, xxxi. 18; Ps. Ixviii. 5; Is. i. 17. 
to widows. Cp. Deut. xxiv. 17-21; Jas. i. 27. 
Then God will call... Cp. Job xxxi. 18. 
And will be gracious... @ ‘And He shall love thee more than thy mother doth’; Smend explains the words 


“more than thy mother doth’ in & as due to a desire to beautify the text on the basis of such passages as Is. xlix. 15, 
Ixvi. 13. For 38 cp. li. 2; Job xxxiii. 18, 24, 30; Ps. ciii. 4; Is. xxviii. 17. 

_ The care of the fatherless and widows was reckoned by the Rabbis among the 0% Dn mba, lit. ‘practice of 
kindnesses’, which is constantly urged upon men in Rabbinical: writings, e.g. in the T. B. Wedarim 396, 404, 
Kethuboth 50a, Sanhedrin 19 6; cp. also the following words in the Apocalypse of Peter, ὃ 15: - - - οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ 
πλουτοῦντες καὶ TH πλούτῳ αὐτῶν πεπο:ιθύτες καὶ μὴ ἐλεήσαντες ὀρφανοὺς καὶ χήρας, ἀλλ᾽ ἀμελήσαντες τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ, and 


cp. Apocalypse of Paul, ὃ 35. 


328 


oon 


SIRACH 4. 11-17 


(a) IV. 11-19. The Reward of those who seek Wisdom (= 1+2+2+14242+41 distichs). 


11 Wisdom instructeth her sons, 
And enlighteneth® all who give heed to her. 
12 They that love her love life, 
And they that seek her ®shall obtain grace from the Lord”. 
13 They that take hold of her shall find glory »’from the Lord», 
And they shall abide in the blessing of the Lord. 
14 They that serve her serve the Holy One, 
¢And God loveth them that love her®. 
15 He that hearkeneth unto me shall judge‘ (in) truth®, 
And he that giveth ear unto me shall dwell in my innermost chamber'. 
16 “If he trust® me’, he shall possess* me}, 
And his posterity™ "shall hold me? fast”. 
17 But I will walk with him in disguise?, 
And at first 4I* will try him with temptations‘. 
*Fear and dread will It bring upon him®’, 
And I will torment him with chastisements, 


than thy mother doth’ ἃ; >S 4So 3; ®=G ‘taketh hold of’ b-b Cp. 3}. complectebuntur placorem eius 


(complebuntur placore illius) ; ‘shall be filled with joy’ & bb-bb > & c-¢ Reading MANND ὩΠῚΝ ὈΝῚ (=&) 
dau; Smend suggests j3Y’ =‘ shall abide’, which forms a better parallel to the next clause ΘΝ; (ἃ appa- 
rently read MWAN = ‘peoples’, as τι Num. xxv. 15 f Reading V]N2 1102; cp. 1 Kings xx. 30 8-8 > 
h Reading with 8 A C ἐμπιστευση i So 96 only; ‘her’ (ἃ 3» k Lit. ‘he shall inherit’, reading with ~» A C 
κατακληρονομησει 1 Ὸ 3 only; ‘her’ & Syro-Hex m L727. ‘generations’; % ‘on behalf of all the generations 
of the world’ nn 1 11. ‘ shall be (p/ur.) in possession’; S$ ‘he shall receive’ Ὁ So S only; ‘her’ Gh 
p L277. ‘in making myself a stranger’, cp. Gr διεστραμμενως = ‘ tortuously’; 253 Syro-Hex % ‘with (in) temptation’ 
94 >G; eligit eum # Y So S; ® erroncously ‘he’ 3 > t So S only; ‘her’ GL ἃ +ad proba- 
IV. 11—VI. 17. This division falls into seven subsections. It further develops the general theme of Wisdom, 
but the subject-matter is somewhat miscellaneous. 

(a) 1V. 11-19. 

11. instructeth. (& ‘exalteth’; cp. Prov. iv. 8, and Pivye Adoth vi. 1, where it is said of the Law: ‘It magnifieth 
him and exalteth him over all things.’ % ‘vitam inspirat’, Clement of Alex. ἐνεφυσίωσε;; perhaps & had originally 
ἐνεψύχωσε (Ryssel). 

her sons. Cp. Luke vii. 35 and Matt. xi. 19 (R. V. marg.); i.e. those whom Wisdom has begotten spiritually, 
cp. Gal. iv. 19. 

enlighteneth. (τ ‘taketh hold of’; # may have originally read TNN (= 5) instead of TYN (Smend); cp. 
Ps. xix. 9, Cxix. 130. 

who give heed to her. Cp. 2 Chron. xxvi.6; Ezra viii. 15; Neh. xiii. 7; Dan. ix. 23; @‘whoseek her’, & 
adds: ‘Et praeibit in via iustitiae ’. 

12. They that love... (ἃ ‘ He that loveth ...’; cp. Prov. viii.17, from which this verse is taken, and see Prov. iii. 
18, vili. 35 ; Wisd. vii. 11 ff., vill. 16; Jas. 111. 17. 

they that seek her. Cp. Prov. xi. 27. 32 ΠΦΡΞ, but (ἃ οἱ ὀρθρίζοντες πρὸς αὐτήν suggests MINWID. Cp. xxxii. 
14, Eccles. vi. 36. 

shall obtain grace. See critical note. Cp. Prov. xviii. 22, where the Sept. renders ΠΝ (‘grace’) ἱλαρότης 
(synonym for εὐφροσύνη). 

13. They that take hold of her... Cp. Prov. iii. 18. 

shall find glory. 30 ‘shall inherit life’, cp. v. 12. 

they shall abide... (ἃ ‘And where he (or she) entereth, the Lord will bless’. The Hebr. 73M has the mean- 
ing ‘to enter in’, as well as ‘to abide’, in Neo-Hebrew. For the thought of this clause cp. Gen. xxxix. 5 (Peters). 

14. serve the Holy One. Lit. ‘the servers of the Holy One’ (w7P ‘N7W); the term M17) ‘NW is used of the 
Levitical priests, cp. Deut. x. 8, xvii. 12, xxi. 5; Job vi. 10; Jer. xxxiii. 21; see also Joshua i. 9,13, ii.17. For ‘the Holy 
One’ cp. xxiii. 9, xliii. 10, xlvii. 8, xlviii. 20; Bar. iv. 22, v. 5; in later Jewish literature this term is that most frequently 
used when speaking of God; it is, as a rule, followed by the words NIM 7)72 (‘ Blessed be He’); cp. Mark xiv. 61, 
where ὁ εὐλογητός is used as a name of God. 


And God loveth... See critical note. 
15. unto me. (ἃ ‘unto her’, so also in the next clause, oblique instead of direct narration. 
shall judge (in) truth. See critical notes. Cp. Is. xlii. 3 (Hebr.). Smend understands NN (‘truth’) in the sense 
of ‘safety’, and refers to 2 Kings xx. 19, which offers a good parallel to the next clause. 
shall dwellin my... Cp. Prov. viii. 3ff., ix.1. ὑπ ‘shall dwell securely’, cp. xiv. 24 ff., li. 19; Deut. xxxiii. 14; 
Prov. i. 33; Is. xxxii. 18. 
16. The omission of this verse in 38 is probably an oversight. See the critical notes. 
And his posterity... Cp. i. 15. 
17. See critical notes. 
Iwill walk... Cp. vi. 24, 25, 28; Prov. viii. 34. 
__ Fear and dread... This is an interpolation in ¢&; the oblique narration of (τ is altered above in order to agree 
with the rest of the verse: 


1105 329 a 


lure 
wy 


τη ἴῃς 
ΠΝ 


SIRACH 4. 17-25 


Until his heart is filled"* with me, 
vAnd I try him with my ordinances*. 
(Then) will I lead him on again‘’, 
And will reveal to him my secrets. 


19 “If he turn away (from me), I will forsake* him™, 


And will deliver him over to the spoilers. 


(6) IV. 20-28. Practical Precepts on Right-doing (= 3+2+2+2 distichs). 


20 My son, observe ‘times and seasons’, and beware of? evil, 


And be not ashamed® concerning thy soul. 


21 For there is a shame? that bringeth sin, 


And there is a shame (that bringeth) honour and favour. 


22 Respect no man to thine own detriment’, 


And be not ashamed‘, to thine own stumbling®. 


23 Withhold not speech in due season®, 


h And hide not‘ thy wisdom”. 


24 For Wisdom is known ‘through utterance’, 


And understanding by the word of the tongue. 


25 Speak not against the truth’, 


m And be humble towards God™. 


tionem & uu G& ἐνπιστευση, ‘he trust’, 7s perhaps to be preferred (= ἡ δ) for xd») vv > ὦ (zs a gloss 
on 17d), cp. & donec temtet illum in cogitationibus illius et credat animae illius vy @+‘and she will gladden 
him’; $2 > with ® w-w ® has a variant to this clause: ‘If he turn away from (following) after me, I will 
cast him off’ (=S) x Reading, following &, wwnwon for ww (Smend) y-y Reading, with Schechter, 
pon ny (cp. Eccles. iii. 1) for pom ny 2 Liv. ‘be afraid of’  4+‘to speak the truth’ H; seev.25 ἢ Reading 
nwa (=) for news due to the following ΤΙΝΙ c-e Μὴ} ‘ Lift not up thy face (¢echnical term for showing 
consideration) against thy soul’ ἃ Reading wran bx (= &) for Swon by = ‘stumble not’, due 20 the following 
powand e Lit. plur. ἘΣ ‘a word’ & Reading \nY1 = ‘in its time’, for ndyys = ‘in eternity’, i.e. 
“constantly ’ hh >G, ut preserved in 40 248 253 Syro-Hex ©, which add ev καλλονὴ; +in decore eius % 
iH ‘shut not up’ Kk δι. ‘by word’; Syro-Hex & ‘by the mouth’ 1So& SL; ‘God’ 33: nox, 
‘truth’, should probably be read instead of xn =‘ God’, cp. the next clause m-m ‘ And be ashamed of thine 


AndItry him... See crit. note; (ἃ has oblique narration as in the rest of the verse. 
With the whole verse cp. Matt. vii.14; Heb. xii. 11. 
18. (Then) willIlead... % ‘Et firmabit illum’; the Hebr. word (WN) has the meaning of ‘strengthen ’ in xxv. 23. 
And will reveal... Cp. xxxix. 3,7; Job xi.6; Dan. ii. 21,22. 2 adds: ‘Et thesaurizabit super illum scientiam 
et intellectum iustitiae.’ 
19. ...tothe spoilers. (h lit. ‘into the hands of his falls’, cp. Ps. lxiii. 11 (Sept.); % ‘in manus inimici sui’. 


(2) IV. 20-28. 
20. times and seasons. (τ ‘the opportunity ’, cp. xxvii. 12. 
And be not ashamed... i.e. Do nothing, by becoming entangled in anything evil, which will cause you to be 
ashamed of yourself. ‘ Soul’ here = ‘thyself’, according to the frequent use of 232 in the O.T. 
21. This verse is added to Prov. xxvi. 11 in the Septuagint. 
a shame that bringeth sin... Cp. xx. 22f., xli. 16. 
a shame (that bringeth) honour... Cp. xxix. 14, xli.17 ff; 2 Cor. vii. To. 
22. See critical notes. 
Respect no man... An instance of the wrong kind of shame (cp. v. 9); a man must not be ashamed to offend 


gues if a right course of action necessitates it; in such a case it is to his own detriment if he spares the feelings 
of others. 


And be not ashamed... If the precept given in the last clause be neglected, the result will be ‘thine own 
stumbling’, i.e. it will lead to sin. 
23. Withhold not speech... To do so would be another example of false shame. 


in due season. (& ἐν καιρῷ σωτηρίας ; Cp. vill. 9... ἐν καιρῷ χρείας δοῦναι ἀπόκρισιν. Perhaps in the verse before us 


(in Gt) χρείας should be read instead of σωτηρίας. Smend ingeniously suggests that a copyist misread XPIAC instead of 


CPIAG, the usual abbreviation for σωτηρίας. Cp. Eccles. iii. 7, ‘...a time to keep silence, a time to speak’; cp. Prov. χν. 23. 
And hide not... See critical note. Cp. xx. 31, xli. 15. 
_ 24. Wisdom is known... For Wisdom from another point of view cp. Pirge Adoth iii. 20: ‘A fence to Wisdom 
is silence,’ a saying of Rabbi Aqiba. 
And understanding by... Cp. Proy. xvi. 1». adds: ‘Et firmamentum in operibus iustitiae.’ 


25. the truth. Cp. Saz/edvin i. 18 a (T. J.), where it is said that ‘Emeth’ (‘Truth’) is the name of God; and cp. 
John xiv. 6, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ 
And be humble... See critical note. 


33° 


ΘΕ (ΘΕ 45 °56—55 1 


26 Be not ashamed to confess" (thy) sins, 

And stand not against the stream. 
27 Prostrate not thy soul in the sight of a fool, 

=2 And accept not the person of one that is mighty""®. 
28 Strive for the right? until death, 

And the Lord will fight for thee?. 


(c) IV. 29—V. 3. Further precepts for everyday life (= 3 +3 distichs). 


29 Be not boastful’ with thy tongue’, 
(Nor) slack and negligent in thy work. 

8° 30 Be not like a lion’ in thy home, 

And "tyrannous and terrible® towards thy servants’. 

31 Let not thy hand be stretched out™ to take*, 

yAnd closed? #at the time of giving back*’. 
5 x Trust not in thy wealth”, 

And say not, ‘I have power®.’ 


own ignorance’ (τ; ‘And keep thyself from thine own foolishness’ S$" Zz. ‘to turn from’ — "0 Reading, 
on the basis of &, Sey 5 wn by © ® inserts viii. 14 here, but in a different form from Gx, see note below 
P‘truh’Ga@s; L=¥® 430 inserts here v. t4,b TNC.2 55 70 157 248 254 θρασυς (= S); ΝΈΑ 155 
ταχυς (= & Syro-Hex) ‘hasty’; BC τραχυς ‘rough’ ~— 8‘ hearing’ §*; ‘words’ δ ιἃ S$ t SoS (= & 17); 
‘dog’ (=S8) uw SoW*(=S, cf. 3» evertens domesticos tuos et opprimens subiectos tibi) ; Gt φαντασιοκοπων, 
‘suspicious’; 32“ ‘reckless’ (tnantd, for which Smend would read nam ‘terrifying’; the hithpael form is not 
found in Biblical Hebrew). Vv So O°, reading ἼΩΝ (= G&L); H* ‘in thy work’ (=S) So Wo (=G); HA 
open” (= 9) x SoM’ (=GS); WE 11. ‘to lift up’ y-y So HS 2 So HA Aap; WS mp, ‘ gathered 
up’ (= 2) a-a ‘in the midst of giving’ (= 5); # ad dandum b Zit. ‘strength’ Ces ζωὴν 70 248 


26. to confess (thy) sins. The root 2” is that from which the later Jewish word for ‘repentance’ comes, viz. 
Teshubah. In the O.T. this word does not occur, no noun being used for ‘repentance’; the idea is expressed by 
the verb 2, ‘to turn,’ i.e. from a wrong course. Ben-Sira’s teaching on repentance is the same as that of the O. T.; 
the first step is confession of sins (cp. Lev. v. 5, Num. v. 7) and self-abasement in the sight of God (cp. 1 Kings xxi. 29). 
The later Rabbinical doctrine teaches that the act of repentance (the technical term is NWN Avy ‘to do repentance’) 
is Jer se meritorious ; cp. the Midrash Bereshith Rabba xxii, and on the whole subject see Weber, /iiaische Theologie, 
pp. 261 ff., and Schechter, Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, pp. 313-343- 

In Rabbinical writings the confession of sins (the technical term is ‘ Widdui’) is often insisted upon; 6. 5. Rabbi 
Aqiba in Chagigah 15 a (T. B.), says: ‘As vessels of gold or of glass, when broken, can be restored by undergoing 
the process of melting, so does the disciple of the Torah, after having sinned, find the way of recovering his state of 
purity by repentance.’ In Sanhedrin 14 a (T. B.) it is said that he who assumes a high public office after the 
confession of his sins in the past is ‘made a new creature, free from sin like a child’ (_/£, ii. 2802). 

And stand not... Fritzsche takes these words in the sense of ‘Swim not against the current of a river’, i.e. 
Do not attempt the impossible; but the meaning seems to be that one might as well try and stop the current of 
a river as seek to hide sins, i.e. from God. 

27. Prostrate not thysoul... @& ‘Lay not thyself down (lit. ‘‘spread not thyself out”) fora fool to tread upon’; i.e. 
do not place yourself at the disposal of afool. The Hebr. word translated ‘ prostrate’, like the Greek equivalent, is used 
of spreading out sackcloth (see Is. lviii. 5, Hebr. and Sept.); so, too, in the Targums, e.g. in the Jerusalem Targum to 
Deut. xxxiv. 6 of spreading a bed. According to Smend, the word is also used of a slave who throws himself down before 
his master in order that the latter may step upon his slave in getting into the saddle. 

. accept not... Cp. Jas. ii. 1. The ignoring of either of the prohibitions contained in these two clauses brings 
shame. 

28. Strive. The Hebr. M¥y'n should perhaps be read D¥Y'T (Smend), or OSYNA (Schechter) ; the latter means lit. 
‘Show proof of’ = ‘strive for’. 

will fight. A different word in ® from the foregoing. 

(c) IV. 29—V. 3. 

29. boastful. See critical note. Cp. Jas. i. 19. 

(Nor) slack... Cp. Prov. xviil. 9. 

30. thy home. Cp. xi. 34 for this use of NI. 

And tyrannous... See critical note. 

31. Let not thy hand... Cp. Acts xx.35. This v. is apparently cited in Dédache iv. 5; cf. Introd. ὃ 7 (a). 

V.1. Trust notin. Lit. ‘Lean not upon.’ @ ‘Set not thy heart upon,’ the Greek word means lit. ‘to be intent 
upon’ something ; cp. Ps. Ixii. 10. With 38 cp. xv. 4; Luke xil.15 ; 1 Tim. vi. 17. 

wealth. ΟΠ is used primarily of physical strength, but also frequently of wealth, Is. vili. 4, x. 14, xxx. 6, &c. 


I have power. Lit. ‘There is to the “god” (by) of my hand’. For the phrase cp. Gen. xxx. 29; Deut. xxviii. 325 
Prov. iii.27; Neh.v. 5; Mic. ii. 1; by must be taken here in the sense of ‘might’ or ‘power’. (τ αὐτάρκη μοί ἐστιν, 


‘T have sufficient,’ does not quite give the meaning of , which refers to the sense of power which the possession of 
wealth inspires, not to the boast of possessing much, 
331 Z 2 


SIRACH δ᾽ 2-9 


3) 2>Trust not in thy wealth, 
°To walk after the desire of thy soul*”. 
[Go not after (the desire) of thine heart and of thine eyes, 
To walk in the desires of thy soul4.] 
3 Say not, ‘ Who shall have power over me?’® 
For Jahveh is an avenger ‘of the persecuted’. 


(4) V.4-8. The Wickedness of tempting God (= 2+1+2+1 distichs). 


#4 Wo 4 Say not, ‘I have sinned, Sbut what ‘happened unto me?’ 
For Jahveh is longsuffering”. 
5 Count not upon forgiveness, 
That thou shouldst add sin to sin. 
6 * And say not, ‘ His mercies are great}, 
mHe will forgive the multitude of mine iniquities ’™* ; 
For mercy and wrath are with Him, 
And His indignation abideth upon the ungodly. 
7 Delay not to turn unto Him, 
And put (it) not off from day to day ; 
For suddenly doth His wrath come forth*, 
And in the time® of vengeance thou shalt perish. 
ἘΝ 8 Trust not in unrighteous gains, 
For they shall profit (thee) nothing in the day of wrath. 


(6) V.g—VI. 1. On the Need of Straightforwardness in Speech (= 2+1+1+1+2+2 distichs). 


2B 9 Winnow not with every wind, 
P And walk not in every path?4. 


(=Syro-Hex); + Nihil enim proderit in tempore vindictae et obductionis, % cp. v. 7 b-b >& ceo>S 
d Reading Wwe for Ayn (‘evil’) e Several Grk. cursives Syro-Hex + ‘ Because of my works’ ff Several 
Grk. cursives read cov τὴν vBpw (=Syro-Hex 3) &-s ®* ‘What will He do unto me ?—Nothing !’ hou 
μὴ σε avn 70 248 i Ἔλυπηρον 70 248 (=H) kk >$ 1-1¢ Jahveh is merciful’ 354: m-m ὁ And He 
will blot out all mine iniquities’ 394} n 4 And if thou rememberest not thou shalt be destroyed δὲ 9:8 248 
0% ‘day’ pp So WS, the text of A cs corrupt: ‘Turn the way of the stream’, cp. iv. 26 qa - Thus 


2. Trust not... This and the next clause are doublets based on vv. 1 a,2 0; they are rightly omitted in &. 
To walk in the desires... Cp. Job xxxi. 7. 
3. Who shall have... Cp. Ps. xii. 4. 

of the persecuted. (ἃ ‘of thee’. Cp. Eccles. iii. 15, where almost the identical Hebrew of clause (4) occurs. 
(4) V. 4-8. 
4. Ihave sinned... Cp. Eccles. viii. 1; Ps. liii.12. This verse is quoted in Chagigah 16a (T. B.). 

For Jahveh is longsuffering. With this rejoinder contrast the teaching of later sages, who, in accordance with a 
more developed belief concerning the hereafter, taught that retribution awaited the ungodly in the next world; cp. 
e.g. I Enoch li. 2. 

5. Count not. Lit. ‘ trust not’, (τ ‘be not without fear’. This verse and v. 6 are quoted by Nissim ben Jacob (first 
half of eleventh century) in his Sepher Ma‘asiyoth; also by Sa‘adya (d. 942) (Smend). 

forgiveness. Cp. Ps. cxxx. 4. (ἃ ‘atonement’. 

That thou shouldst ... i.e. Do not think that because sins are forgiven you can therefore continue to commit 
sins. See further the note on xvi. 14. 

6. H* & place the first two clauses of this verse before v. 5, the former repeats them here. 

He will forgive. (ἃ ἐξιλάσεται, ‘ He will be pacified.’ 

For mercy... ‘This clause occurs again in xvi. 11; cp. the teaching of the books of Hosea and Amos in which 
the divine characteristics of mercy and wrath are respectively taught, with special emphasis. 

7. This verse is quoted in Shabdath 153 a (T. B.). 

Delay not... For the thought cp. Ps. cxix. 60, but the Hebr. word is different. 

And put (it) not off. i.e. the turning = repentance ; see note on iv. 26. 

from day today. For the phrase cp. 1 Chron. xvi. 23; Ps. xcvi. 2; Esther iii. 7 (Hebr.). 

suddenly doth... Cp. Lev.x.2; Num. xvi. 35; Is. li. 5 ; Mark xiii. 36. 

in the time of vengeance... Cp. xviii. 24; for ‘the day of vengeance’ cp. Is. xxiv. 8, Ixi. 2, Ixiii. 4; Prov. vi. 34. 
ὃ, Trust not. (ἃ μὴ ἔπεχε. 

unrighteous gains. Cp. Prov. x. 2; Ezek.vii.19; Matt. xiii. 22; Mark iv. 19; Luke xvi. 11. 

For they shall profit... Cp. Prov. xi. 14. 

in the day of wrath. G‘...of calamity’; cp. ii.2 and 1 Enoch Isiii. 10, ‘Our souls are satisfied with the 

mammon of unrighteousness, but this does not prevent us from descending into the flame of the pain of Sheol.’ 

(e) V. 9—VI. 1. 
9. The addition of &, ἄς. (see critical note), is from vi. 1c. 


99. 


7 wo 


ΘΙ ΘΗ τὸ Ὁ. 2 


10 Be steadfast concerning "that which thou knowest', 


And let thy speech® be one. 


11 Be swift* to hear®’, 


12 


13 


14 


15 
I 


2 


“But with patience make reply”. 
If it lie in thy power answer thy neighbour; 
And if not, —* thy hand upon thy mouth !¥ 
Glory and dishonour come through speaking’, 
And the tongue of a man *is his fall*. 
Be not called ‘ Double-tongued ’, 
And slander not with thy tongue ; 
For shame hath been created for the thief, 
>And sore reproach for” the double-tongued*. 
Deal not corruptly either in a small or a great matter ; 
And be not an enemy in place of a friend, 
4(For then) wouldst thou get an evil name, and reproach, and shame?; 
So it is with an evil man who is double-tongued. 


(f) VI. 2-4. A Warning against lustful passions (= 3 distichs). 


®Be not a slave to thy passions®, 
Lest they* consume £thy strength "like a bull® ; 


(doth) the double-tongued sinner’ @& Syro-Hex ; +Sic enim peccator probatur in duplici lingua 3» rr “thy 
word’ 7° 8‘words’ ®° = t ‘firm’ BS, cp. v. τὸ α38“ Le. ‘with a good hearing’ (see no/es below); +go0d 
70 248 Syro-Hex. v + ‘and let thy life bé in truth’ 7o 248 3» W-w © has: 43239 ΓΟ AY JANI 
x ° mserts ‘place’; & ‘let... be...’ y + Ne capiaris in verbo indisciplinato et confundaris ¥, cp. v. 14 
zone that babbleth’ #H° 2-8‘ bringeth him into security,’ ev¢dendly a corruption BM; + ‘evil’ ® b-b Reading, 
with Smend: by ayn mam © +susurratori autem odium et inimicitia et contumelia & d-d Reading, with 


~ 


Smend: wry wp) m|An yn ow e-e /7¢, ‘Fall not into the hand of thy soul’; ‘Deliver not thyself... . 3 
Ἔν’ & Reading yan for nayn (Smend) bhSo Sk; >B 


Io. steadfast. Cp. Ps. cxii. 8; Is. xxvi. 3. 
let thy speech... i.e. be consistent in what you say. 
11. Be swift to hear. Smend thinks that 385 (lit. ‘Be steadfast with a good hearing’) means ‘ Be attentive during 
a good lecture’, or the like. #4, however, contains the right text ; cp. Jas. i. 19. 
with patience. Cp. Eccles. vii. 8, 1 Pet. iii. 15. Perhaps ΠῚ ΤῚΝ has here the sense of ‘deliberation’. 
make reply. With the Hebr. phrase DAND AWN cp. Ezra v. 11; Dan. iil. 16. 
12. If it lie in thy power. Lit. ‘if there is with thee’; (τ adds σύνεσις for clearness’ sake; cp. Job xxxvill. 32. 
thy hand... Cp. Job xxi. 5, xxix. 2; Prov. xxx. 32. 
13. Glory anddishonour. Cp. Prov. xviii. 21. 
come through. Lit. ‘(are) in the hand of’; cp. Prov. xviii. 21, ‘...in the hand (or, power) of the tongue.’ 
speaking. The Hebr. word (ND3, 703) means properly ‘to speak rashly’, or ‘unadvisedly’, in the O. T.; cp. 
Lev. v. 4; Ps. cvi. 33; Prov. xii. 18. The root is a rare one, it occurs again in ix. 17; in Neo-Hebrew the noun means 
simply ‘utterance’ in a neutral sense (Smend), as in ix. 18. ͵ 
And the tongue... Cp. Matt. xii. 37, Jas. iii. 2 ff, and Adodah Zara 116 (Τ. Β.): ‘... their tongue causeth 
them to stumble’ ( Peters, quoting Bacher). 
14. In 38 the first two clauses of the verse come also after iv. 29. ᾿ at 
Double-tongued. Lit. ‘master of two (tongues)’; & ‘a whisperer’; cp. iv. 28, xxviii. 13 ; Prov. xvi. 28; 2 Cor. xii. 20; 
oe quotes Baba meztia 48a (T. B.): ‘... who doth not speak one thing with his mouth and another with his 
eart.’ 
slander not. Cp. Ps. xv. 3; & ‘lie not in wait’, cp. Prov. xii. 13; # ‘ (ne) capiaris et confundaris’, cp. v. 12. 
hath been created. Cp. Prov. xii. 13, xviii. 7. & ‘there is’. 
the thief. The reference is to him who, through slander, has stolen the good name of another. 
the double-tongued. See above. 
15. Deal not corruptly. & ‘ Be not ignorant (concerning)’; a misunderstanding of 30. Ἶ 
VI. 1. (For then) wouldst thou... & ‘For an evil name inheriteth shame and reproach’, ἃ free rendering. 
get. Wit. “inherit”: 

(f) VI. 2-4. . 

2. Be not... (ἃ ‘Exalt not thyself in the counsel of thy soul’, which is difficult to account for excepting on the 
supposition that the point of # was misunderstood. For the phrase 1° bas (‘to fall into the hand of’) cp. Judges xv. 18; 
2Sam.xxiv.14. In xxxvii.7 & also renders 1° as βουλή (‘counsel’), The reference, as the context shows, is to impure 
passions. 5 : 

Lest they consume... (ἃ gives no sense: ‘ That thy soul be not torn in pieces like a bull >; ® as it stands is 
corrupt (see critical note). The original meaning was probably that lustful passions, if not resisted, consume a man's 


339 


SIRACH 6.°3=11 


®* 3 Thy leaves will they? eat up, and thy fruits will they? destroy, 
4 And they® will leave thee as ἃ dried-up tree. 
For® fierce passion destroyeth its possessor, 


And* &maketh him’ the scorn” of his enemy. 


(g) VI. 5-17. Concerning true and false Friendship (=2+3+2+2+3+41 distichs). 


5 * Gentle speech* multiplieth friends’, 
And “kindly words™ "those that give greeting”. 

6 Let those °that are at peace with thee® be many, 
But thy confidant” one in a thousand. 

7 If thou makest a friend “test him4, 
And be not in haste to trust him. ἢ 

8 For there is a friend (who is so) according to occasion, 
And continueth not in the day oft affliction ; 

9 *And there is a friend that turneth to an enemy*, 
"And he revealeth strife to thy reproach". 

το And there is a friend who is a table-friend, 
But he Yis not to be found” in the day of affliction’. 

11 *When thou art in prosperity he will be like thee*, 

«τ y And will lord it over thy servants’. 


4 Srag. in Q © >G but + yap 253 f Reading bya Sor mya if + “quickly ’ 70 8-8 Reading wn 
foroxen bLit.‘joy’ %kG& dit «A sweet throat’ 1 + ‘et mitigat inimicos’ (cp. Prov. χν. 1) 3 =™™m Lit. 
‘lips of grace’; ‘the lips of the righteous’ $; lingua eucharis 30 nn Reading nw ‘sya; ‘peaceful greet- 
ing’ $; in bono homine abundat & °° ‘that greet thee’ S$ Ρ Zz/. ‘the master of thy secret’; consiliarius sit 
tibi#® 4-9 Zz#. ‘acquire him by testing’ =? G+ ‘thy’ ss >N* S (homototeleuton), hab ἃ: t+ BS “en- 
mity’; AC &.=%® Et est amicus qui odium et rixam et convicia denudabit % —_Y-v ‘will not continue’ 
Gy, cp.v.8b,12b ‘thy affliction’ @& ΧΟΧ Amicus si permanserit fixus, erit tibi quasi coaequalis # y-y ‘And 


strength; impure desire is aptly compared to a bull, because of the havoc it causes. The repetition of ψυχή is a mistake 
for ἰσχύς (=5yn). With the whole verse cp. Job xxxi. 9-12. 

3. The metaphor is now changed, and the man who does not control his passions is compared to a sapless tree. 
{τ makes the man himself the subject, in # the lustful passion is the subject. Cp. Job xxxi, 12. 

leaves... fruits. Figurative for youth and offspring ; cp. Ps. cxvil. 3, cxxxil. 113 Is. xii. 18. 

a dried-up tree. Figurative for a man without posterity, a bitter thought to the Jew; cp. 1 Kings xvi. 3, xxl. 21; 
see also Ps. cxxviii. 3, 6 for a man’s delight in his children. For the picture of a tree used figuratively fora man see 
Ps. 1. 3, xxxvil. 35; Dan. iv. 1off. 

4. fierce passion. i.e. uncontrolled desire (cp. Is. ἵν]. 11); @&, ‘a wicked soul,’ apparently read NY for AY, and 
translated 5) literally. 

its possessor. 30 lit. ‘its master’; & τὸν κτησάμενον αὐτήν ; cp. Is. xxvi. 13; Prov. xvi. 22 (Sept.). 

the scorn. ἐπίχαρμα of & well brings out the idea of malignant delight. 

enemy. (x S$ ‘enemies’, probably correct. 

(g) VI. 5-17. 

5. Gentle speech. Cp. Cant. ii. 14; Prov. xvi. 21. 

kindly words. (τ ‘a fair-speaking tongue’, cp. Prov. xi. 16 (Sept.), xv. 1. (ἃ unnecessarily repeats the verb. 

those that give greeting. # lit. ‘those that ask peace’; @& ‘... courtesies’. 

6. This verse is quoted in the T. B. Jebamoth 636, Sanhedrin 1006. 

those that are... Cp. for the phrase Ps. xli. 10; Prov. xvi. 7; Rom. xii. 18. 

thy confidant. i.e. thy most intimate friend ; Gt ‘thy counsellor’, is too general, cp. Is. xl. 13; with ® cp. viii. 17. 

7. Ifthou makest. The Hebr. word (73P) means ‘to acquire’, and occurs often in Proverbs for acquiring wisdom. 

test him. Lit. ‘by testing’ (]1D33), cp. iv. 17. 

be not in haste. Cp. xix, 4. 

8. according to occasion. i.e. only in so far as it suits his own purpose. Cp. Pivge Adoth v. 22: ‘ All friendship 
(T7208) which depends on something, when the thing ceases, the friendship ceases; and such as does not depend on 
anything never ceases.’ 

9. revealeth... Cf. Prov. xxv. 9, 10, which offers an explanation of this clause. 

10. there is a friend... i.e. his friendship only lasts as long as he receives hospitality. The Hebrew word 
chabéy means primarily, as here and in the O.T. generally, a companion, but later on it came to mean a companion 
in studying the Law, and thus came to be synonymous with ‘scholar’. The word had, however, besides this the 
technical meaning of a member of a society or order (e.g. one who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees), whose aim 
was to observe in all strictness the laws of ‘clean’ and ‘ unclean’; in contrast to the chaéér was one who was not particular 
in the observance of these, viz. a ‘aw-ha’ares (= ‘one of the land’), i.e. one who knew not the Law, cp. John vii. 49. 

11. When thou artin... Cp. xii. 8,9; Prov. xi. 10, xix.6. In Shadbath 32a (T.B.) it is said: ‘At the door 
of the rich all are friends ; at the door of the poor there are none.’ 

he will be like thee. i.e. he will agree with you in everything. 


334 


SIRACH 6. 12-19 


12 2° Tf evil overtake thee” he will turn against thee’, 


>And will hide himself from thee°®. 


13 Separate thyself from thine enemies, 


And be on thy guard against thy friends. 


14 A faithful friend is a strong defence’, 


And ‘he that findeth him® findeth a treasure. 


i5 A faithful friend is beyond price, 


And his worth cannot be weighed. 


16 A faithful friend is a ‘bundle of life’, 


He that feareth God ‘ obtaineth him‘. 


17 £He that feareth the Lord directeth his friendship aright®, 


For as he is, so is his friend. 


(a) VI. 18-22. Wisdom is a joy to those who seek her, but harsh to the foolish (= 3 +3 distichs). 


& 18 ‘My son, receive* instruction from thy youth up’, 


1And even unto hoar hairs! ™shalt thou find wisdom™. 


Ἢ ἢ“ 19 Draw nigh unto her as one that plougheth and soweth", 


And wait for the abundance of her fruits. 


when thou art in adversity he will depart from thee’ 35. 9 z-z ‘Tf thou fall’ 9 a-a Si humiliaverit se 
contrate% Ρ S$ mserts: ‘He will depart’ ὃ +unanimem habebis amicitiam bonam i, rendered necessary by 


the misunderstanding of & in the first clause d Reading bay (iit. <tent’) for 378 (= &) e-e Reading \N¥) 


(=&) forssm ΓΙ Reading ww for DY EE SH h $+<And as his name so are his works’ 32 (=ii. 
18d 32) Sie) i inserts the title ; ‘De Doctrina Sapientiae ’ Kk Reading ἐπιδεξαι (= S$ 3) for επιλεξαι 


ll > m-m §9 also 18“ ; ‘... grace’ δὲ Syro-Hex n So (ἃ ; ‘and reapeth’ ® 9 


And will lord it... The reading of @& is, as the context shows (see v. 12), right. #) reads 7 NIN TnHy I), 
which should, on the basis of &, be emended to 173N’ 7'73y3), as the antithesis does not come until the next verse. 
The meaning is that this false friend seeks in all things to identify his actions with those of him whom he calls his friend. 

12. If evil overtake thee... Cp. Job xix. 19 (Hebr.); (ἃ ‘If thou be brought low’, cp. xxii. 26. 

And will hide himself... See the contrast to this in xxii. 23 ff. 

13. And be on thy guard... Cp. vv. 7, Io. ' 

14. defence. (ἃ σκέπη; cp. Exod. xxvi. 7 (Theod.), xxxv. 11 (Aq. Theod. Symm.) ; Job viii. 22 (Aq.), xxi. 28 (Theod.) ; 
where 5m is thus rendered. . 

atreasure. The word fi, lit. ‘wealth’, belongs especially to the Wisdom literature, cp. Prov. 1. 13, vi. 31, vill. 18, 

15. A faithful friend... Lit. ‘For a faithful friend there is no price’; & has for ‘ price’ ἀντάλλαγμα, lit. ‘exchange’, 
cp. xxvi. 14, and for the Hebr. 111 vii. 18. 

And his worth... Lit. ‘And there is no weight for his goodness’, (τ... τῆς καλλονῆς αὐτοῦ, Cp. Xxxiv. 23. 
Schechter (Studies in Judaism, second series, p. 93) quotes Pirge Aboth i. 6 (T.J.): ‘Let a man buy himself a friend 
who will eat and drink with him, who will study with him the written and the oral Law, and to whom he will entrust all 
his secrets...’ 

16. a‘ bundle of life’, DM WY; the meaning is that a man’s life is as safe in the hands of a faithful friend as his 
soul is in the bundle, or bag, of life. This latter expression occurs for the first time in 1 Sam. xxv. 29, where Abigail 
says to David: ‘And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be 
bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as from the 
hollow of a sling.’ Mr. S. A. Cook, in the /QA, xiv, pp. 413 ff., refers to this in the words: ‘Although Semitic examples 
of the belief of the external soul in its crude form appear to be exceedingly rare, the conception that a man’s life can be 
wrapped up in some external object on the safety of which his immunity depends, is one that readily lends itself to 
development and refinement. Thus David's soul is bound up with (i.e. in the care and custody of) Jahweh (1 Sam. 
xxv. 29), and, according to 2 Sam. xxi. 17;-the life of the nation is wrapped up in David, since the extinction of the 
“lamp of Israel” seems to entail that of the people.’ The phrase is still used in the liturgies of the Ashkenazic and 
Sephardic Jews. 


Schechter quotes the well-known Jewish saying from 7aanith i. 23a (T. J.): ‘Friendship or Death’ (of. c7¢., p. 93). 
He that feareth... i.e. a faithful friend is to be regarded as a gift from the Almighty. 
17. He that feareth... The accidental omission of this clause in 38 is due to the fact that the opening words 


were the same as those of the preceding clause les Nv). 
directeth... aright. εὐθυνεῖ, ‘maketh straight,’ cp. Isa. xl. 3; John 1. 23 ; Jas. ill. 4. 
For as he is... i.e. both are alike to him, his friend is as dear to him as he himself; cp. Matt. xix. 19: ‘Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ 
VI. 18—VIII. 7. The contents are again miscellaneous ; Wisdom is still the main theme. The division falls into 
fourteen subsections, 
(a) VI. 18-22. 
18. hoar hairs. Cp. xxv. 4. 
shalt thou find. The Hebr.3wn means rather ‘shalt thou attain’, cp. xxv. 3. 
19. the abundance of her fruits. ‘her good fruits’; with the clause cp. Jas. v. 7, 8. 


335 


1. Feb 
H* 
pp we 
ἴῃ. 


Hy 


SIRACH 6. 19-27 


For in cultivating her thou [needest to] toil? but for a little, 
For to-morrow shalt thou eat her fruits. 


20 How? harsh is she‘ to the fool’, 


And he that is lacking in understanding cannot abide in her. 


21 Upon him ‘she is like a burdensome stone’*, 


And he is not slow to cast her off. 


22 tRor Wisdom” is according to her name’, 


And to most men she is not manifest. 


(Ὁ) VI. 23-31. They who seek Wisdom shall receive a crown of joy (= 3+3+3 distichs). 


23 ἡ Hearken, my son, and receive my judgement, 


And refuse not my counsel ; 


24 And bring thy feet into her fetters, 


And thy neck into her chain”. 


25 Bow down thy shoulder, and bear her, 


And chafe not *under her bonds*. 


26 YDraw nigh unto her with all thy heart”, 


And keep her ways with thy whole power’. 


27 Inquire and search, seek and find®, 


And take hold of her, and let her not go; 


© Reading Soyn(= 3 &) for Nayn Ρ Lnserting a (= 9 &); ‘exceeding harsh’ G& 4‘ Wisdom "SL" plur. 
G&S 3 ‘like a mighty stone of trial’ (κα, reading ADD for NW; quasi lapidis virtus probatio# ὅτ ‘ Her name is 
like her teaching’ $ ἃ Reading, with Smend, m29N7 for ADVAN, and ST for ST w-w >, substituting instead 


Xxvii. 5, 6, dul {γι the marg. ἘΠῚ Reading, with Smend, mnybana (= Gk) for mnbdyanna ‘at her counsels’ y-¥ >® 
zSo 3; & ‘soul’ ἃ ‘thou shalt find’ $ Ὁ 4‘and joy’ ὥ e-e «And thou shalt rejoice in her (a/. thy) 
end’ $ ‘her net’ (9 plur.) © in protectionem fortitudinis et bases virtutis# ff> ‘ff Reading 


in cultivating her. Lit. ‘in her cultivation’. Wisdom is compared to land which, though productive, requires 
labour to be expended upon it before its fruits can be enjoyed. 

but for a little. Cp.xl.6. The reference, as the context shows, is not to the smallness of the labour, but to the 
short time during which one need labour, so soon does Wisdom reward those who seek her. 


to-morrow. Reading ann ; Peters may, however, be right in reading sid ‘quickly’ (= @&), but cp. Exod. viii. 
19; Is. xvil. 11. 
20. harsh. i.e. rough (U& τραχεῖα ; only B, wrongly, ταχεῖα). Wisdom is compared to a path, cp. iv. 17; Prov. 11. 9; 
and see the next clause, ‘... cannot abide in her.’ 


᾿ς the fool. byw is generally used of one who is morally bad, as well as deficient in understanding, cp. Prov. 1. 7, 
ὙΠῸ 22. ἘΙΝ: Ὁ; ΧΟ, 5. 
in understanding. Lit. ‘heart’; for the heart as the seat of the understanding cp. Prov. vi. 32, vii. 7, x. 13, ὅζε. 
cannot abide. Cp. xlix. 9 (Hebr.). 

21. Wisdom is now compared to a great weight which to the fool is so burdensome that he flings it from him, thus 

forfeiting all the benefits which a little perseverance would have obtained. 
a burdensome stone. Cp. Zech. xii. 3. 
22. For Wisdom... Lit. ‘For Wisdom—as her name so is she’, i.e. her name expresses her essence. 
manifest. Lit. ‘ plain’, as in Prov. viii. 9. 

(ὁ) VI. 23-31. 

23, judgement. γνώμην, i.e. estimate, or opinion, viz. of Wisdom; used only here in Sirach. With the whole verse 
cp. Proy. xix. 20. . 

24. And bring... Cp. v.20. 

25. Bow down... (& ‘ Put thy shoulder under her’; Wisdom is compared to a yoke; with this metaphor cp. Pirge 
Aboth iii. 8: ‘Whoso receives upon him the yoke of Torah (Law), they remove from him the yoke of royalty and the 
yoke of worldly care (8 777); and whoso breaks from him the yoke of Torah, they lay upon him the yoke of royalty 
and the yoke of worldly care’; Matt. xi. 29, 30: ‘Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me... for My yoke is 
easy, and My burden is light.’ 

_ chafe not... Lit. ‘loathe not’. Cp. Zrubin 54a (T.B.): ‘If thou bring thy neck under the yoke of Torah she 
will watch over thee’; for the identification between Wisdom and the Law see Introd. § 9 (iii). 

_ under her bonds. # ‘at her counsels’, cp. Prov. i. 5; but the context justifies the reading based on & (see 
critical note). Cp. the Midrash Dedarim Radbba tox. 1: ‘It is as if a lord said to his servants, “ Here is a golden 
chain (if thou doest my will), but if not, here are iron fetters”’; the reference is to the obeying of God’s will as 
revealed in the Law. 

26. The omission of this τ΄. in # is probably accidental; there is no reason to doubt its genuineness ; indeed the 
words of the next v., ‘Inquire and search,’ seem to demand a reference to the walking in her paths, 1. 6. the ways 
that lead to Wisdom. ἃ ὶ 

with all thy heart. ..with thy whole power. Cp. Deut. vi. 5. 

27. Inquire and search... (ἃ ‘Search (110. trace out) and seek, and she shall be made known unto thee’, a free 

rendering ; cp. Deut. xiii. 15 (Sept.). 
let her not go. Cp. Prov. iv. 13. 


336 


SIRACH 6. 28-37 


Ἐ25 28 For at length thou wilt find her rest”, 
¢And she shall be turned for thee into gladness’. 

29 And her fetters* shall become?® a stay of strength for thee®, 
fAnd her bonds“ for £robes of glory®. 

30 An ornament of gold is her yoke, 
And her fetters a cord of blue’. 

31 Thou shalt array thee with her (as with) robes of glory, 
And crown thee with her (as with) a crown of beauty. 


32 My son, if thou desirest it thou shalt be made wise, 

And if thou set thy heart (thereon), thou shalt learn prudence. 
33 If thou desire to hear, "thou shalt receive", 

iAnd ift thou incline* thine ear, thou shalt be wise. 
341Stand thou in the assembly™ of the elders, 

And whoso is wise, cleave unto him}. 
ἘΠ 35 Desire to hear every discourse™, 
And let not a wise proverb” escape thee. 
36 “Look for him who? is wise®, and seek him out earnestly, 

And let thy foot wear out this threshold". 
37 Meditate in the fear of the Most High’, 

sAnd think upon His commandments’ continually ; 

Then will He instruct ‘thine heart’, 
And He "will make thee wise" (in that) which thou desirest. 


out in Ἰἢ k ® imperative, but probably the mistake arose through the falling out of the preceding letters 


8-3 Reading Mn WIND (= 3 (1); she fext cs corrupt ὑπὸ ‘thy ways’ % u-u ‘ will teach thee’ S 


28. her rest. i.e. the rest which Wisdom finally gives to those who seek her. 


persevere Wisdom reveals herself as she really is. 
gladness. δ, lit. ‘luxury’, cp. Prov. xix. 10. 
29. astay of strength. TP 71)3)2, cp. Ps. Ixxxix.15 JND2 “32 (Smend). 


represents the original reading. 
robes of glory. Cp. 1. 11, where has ‘robes of glory’; & is to be preferred here (see critical note). 


30. her yoke. may, which & read mov (‘upon her’); cp. v. 25. 


as the Sept. of Num. xv. 38. 
31. a crown of beauty. Cp. Prov. iv. 9, xvi. 31; & ‘a crown of rejoicing’, cp. i. 11, xv. 6. 
(c) VI. 32-37. , 5 
32. if thou set thy heart (thereon). & ‘if-thou yield thy soul’. 
thou shalt learn prudence. Lit. ‘thou shalt be shrewd’. 


ANN DN (= &). 
34. Stand thou... Cp. viii. 9. 
in the assembly... Cp. xxxii. (& xxxv.) 3. 
cleave unto. Cp. xiii. 16 ὁ. 


Ps. cxix. 97 it has the sense of the ‘study’ of the Law. In Neo-Hebrew it means an edifying discourse. 
escape. Lit. ‘go forth’, cp. Gen. xliv. 4; Jer. x. 20 (Hebr.). : 
36. Look for him who is wise. ( ‘If thou seest a man of understanding *, a free rendering. 
seek him out earnestly. Cp. Job vii. 21. @ ‘Get thee betimes unto him’, cp. iv. 12. 
let thy foot... Cp. Prov. vili. 34 and Pzrge Aboth 1. 44. 
wear. For the Hebr. word pnw cp. Job xiv. 19. 


wy nN occurs, and perhaps that is what should be read here; the verb ‘ meditate’ suggests this. 
will He instruct. (& ‘establish’, reading }5” for 7.3". 


337 


(c) VI. 32-37. A reward awaits those who diligently seek Wisdom (= 2+3 +2 distichs). 


mmvdan (see v. 25). 8-8 ‘robes of gold’ 9; ‘a robe of life’ ®# = bh So &; she verb has fallen out in ® ; ‘thou 
shalt learn’ $3; + ‘understanding’ 70 248 253 Syro-Hex; +doctrinam & i So Ge 3; the words have fallen 


m So $; ‘multitude’ & mm && zzserts ‘godly’; +dei 3» 0G plur.; ‘the sayings of the wise’ 3 
0-0 ‘See who is wise ᾿ 3 P Reading ἡ for 7D 4-4 ‘ the steps of his doors’ & ™*God’ 3 


she shall be turned... To follow after Wisdom seems hard and grievous at first, cp. v7’. 24, 25, but to those who 


bonds. Cp. v.25"; G® οἱ κλάδοι (‘ branches)’ is a corruption; AC read οἱ κλοιοί (‘bonds’), which probably 


a cord of blue. nban bsnp, the same as in Num. xv. 38, lit. ‘twisted threads of blue’. (τ has the same rendering 


33. If thou desire. N1)N ON, written defectively as in Prov. i. 10; but possibly it is a scribal error for 


35. discourse. Cp. viii. 8, xi.8. Mw in the O.T. means a ‘complaint’, also ‘musing’ or a ‘meditation’; in 


37. the fear of the Most High. 4& ‘the ordinances of the Lord’. As Smend points out, Ben-Sira has δ ΠΝ) 
or bby NN, but never elsewhere dy NN, this being the only place where it occurs ; on the other hand, in XXXVili. 34 


And He will make thee wise... & renders freely: ‘And thy desire of wisdom shall be given unto thee.’ 


SUWACGE τίς, πε 


(d) VII. 1-2. An Exhortation to keep from Sin (= 2 distichs). 


#4 Ὡς 7 1 Do no evil’, and evil will not overtake thee ; 
2 Avoid iniquity, and it will turn from thee. 
19, 3 »*Sow not in the furrows of unrighteousness°, 
Lest thou reap it sevenfold. 


(ce) VIL. 4-7. An Exhortation to follow after Humility (= 2+3 distichs). 


ΔΉ. =. 4 Seek not dominion® from οὐ", 
Nor‘ a seat of honour from® the king. 
in’ 5 Justify not thyself in the sight of God», 
‘Nor display thy wisdom? before the king. 
ὯΔ 6 Seek not to be a judge, 
‘Lest thou be not able! ™to put down presumption”, 
2’ (And) lest thou be in fear in the presence of a mighty” man, 
And thou put a stumbling-block° in (the way of) thy uprightness. 
7 Sin not? against the assembly in the gate4, 
‘That it cast thee not down’ ‘among the multitude’. 


(f) VII. 8-10. A warning against a false doctrine of Atonement (= 3 distichs). 


8 *Do not wickedly continue in sin", 
For in respect of Yone (sin)” thou art not without guilt. 


ἃ +<to thyself” 4 D Ge znserts ‘ My son” (τεκνον) c-e Reading (after & 9) my wwrain yan bx, the 
text of 18 ts corrupt d* pre-eminence’ (ἃ e ‘from the Lord’ @&; ‘from man’ 3» f So Gr ; ® reads j2) 
& ‘like’ HS h Reading bs (=8) for bo ‘the Lord’; +quoniam agnitor cordis ipse est & i noli 
velle videri sapiens 3" K Reading DEW (=&) for byean; > wo 1-1 So (ἃ ; ‘If thou art not able’ HSL 
mm ‘to take away iniquities’’ & (= $ 3) n‘rich’ $ ° Lit. <a bribe’; ‘a blemish’ «Ὁ p-p Lt. ‘ Make 
not thyself evil’ 4 Reading yw for Sy spy (‘the gates of God ἢ r-r « And cast not thyself down’ & 
5:8 ‘in its judgements’ 3 tt $ Zt. ‘repeat not to sin sins’ u Reading ANN (Peters) for on vev. {the 
former (sins)’ 3 W ‘my gifts’ 70 253 Syro-Hex &% σοὶ Βα not grieved’ $ Y + ‘and tarry not to fulfil the 
commandment’ 9 2>S3GL ἃ Ψ has the title‘ De mendacio vitando ad amicum’ b “noli amare’ ( for 


(4) VII. 1-3. 

VII. 1. Smend gives references to the Midrashic literature in which this verse is quoted several times, viz. Wajjigra 
Rabba xxi. 190¢, Bemidbar Rabba xviii. 272d, Qoholeth Rabba v. 976. 

2. Avoid. Lit. ‘be far from’. 


3. Sow not... For the metaphor cp. Job iv. 8; Prov. xxii.8; Gal. vi. 8. 
sevenfold. Cp. xxxv. 11 (& xxxii. 13). 
(e) VII. 4-7. 
4. Seek not... The reason for the prohibition is not because these things are in themselves wrong, but because 


power becomes, for most men, a temptation to wrongdoing. 
dominion. For the Greek ἡγεμονία cp. x. 1a, 
5. Justify not thyself... Cp. Job ix. 20; Ps. xiii. 2; Eccles. vii. 16 ; Matt. xix. 20; Luke xviii. 11. 
Nor display thy wisdom. Lit. ‘be not wise’; €& μὴ σοφίζου, ‘ play not the wise man’, cp. & (see critical note). 
The form j2)2NN does not occur elsewhere in this sense ; Smend suggests D3nnn. 
6. Lest thou be not able. See critical note ; lit. ‘lest thou have not might’. 
to put down. Lit. ‘to make to cease’; ὑπ ‘to take away’. 

_ lest thou be in fear... (& ‘Lest haply thou fear the person of a mighty man,’ lit. ‘lest thou act cautiously’ 
(μή ποτε εὐλαβηθῇς), used in a bad sense here, viz. not doing his duty for fear of offending the ‘ mighty man’; cp. Lev. 
xIX. 15/3 Mic. vii. 3. 

uprightness. Cp. xlix. 3. 

7. Sin not against... This would be done either by acting unjustly in deference to the ‘ mighty man’, or else by 

taking a bribe; cp. 2 Sam. xix. 8; Amos v. 15. 

in the gate. Ww is rendered πόλις in the Sept. of Gen. xix. 1; Deut. xii. 12; Is. xlv. 1 and elsewhere; see 
also xxxi. (Uk xxxiv.) 24. 
That it cast thee not down... i.e. that the multitude cast thee not down. The words are probably to be taken 
In a figurative sense, cp. Prov. v. 14. 

(7) VII. 8-10. 

; 8. Do not wickedly ἐὰν Lit. ‘ Conspire not to repeat sin’; (τ ‘Bind not up sin twice’ (μὴ καταδεσμεύσῃς dis 
ἁμαρτίαν), cp. συνδεῖν in 1 Sam. xvili. 1, and συνδεσμός in 2 Kings xi. 14 (Hart). 
For in respect of... i.e. each individual sin deserves, and receives, punishment. 


338 


Ny 


ot 


SIRACH 7. 9-16 


g Say not, ‘He will look upon the multitude of my gifts, 


And when I offer (them) to the Most High God He will accept (them).’ 


το *Be not impatient* in thy prayer, 


And in righteousness be not behindhand’. 


(g) VII. 11-17. Various precepts for conduct of life (= 3 - 2 - 2 distichs). 


11 Despise no man (who is) in bitterness of spirit, 


Remember that? there is one who exalteth and humbleth. 


12 *Devise not” evil® against a brother, 


4Nor do the like? against a friend “ΟΥ̓ a neighbour withal®. 


13 Take no delight in lies of any! sort, 


For the outcome thereof will not be pleasant. 


14 Prate not® in the assembly of elders*, 


And repeat: not (thy) words in (thy) prayer. 


Παρ *Hate not! laborious work, 


™Nor husbandry, for it was ordained of God™*. 


16"®Number not thyself °among sinful men°", 


Remember that wrath? will not tarry. 


‘arare’) & ὁ SoS; ® ht. ‘violence’; ‘a lie’ & dd So (ἃ ; ® 11. ‘and thus’ e-8 > Τ᾿ Reading 53 for by 
£ $ ‘Hide not thy soul’, reading perhaps -ndn for on (Smend) 4 So (τ; WBlt.‘princes’(=S8) i ‘alter’ S$ 
kk >S 1 Reading yypn for ysn (Smend) m-m The text is in part corrupt nn ‘Love not thyself 
more than the men of thy people’ $ 0-0 Reading }\y ΩΣ for oy ΠῺΣ ν Reading ἸῺΝ (= & 8) for pray 


9. This verse has fallen out in 4]; in its place v.15 stands here. places v.10 before v. 9. 
Say not, ‘He will look upon’... Cp. xxxiv. 19; Prov. xxi. 27; on the false conception of atonement and 
satisfaction here combated cp. Is. i. 11-15. 
to. Be not impatient... As Smend points out, W¥PNN is an abbreviated form of ΠῚ ANP; for this phrase see 
Job xxi. 4; Prov. xiv. 29. (ἃ μὴ ὀλιγοψυχήσῃς, cp. iv. 9, Jas. i. 6, and the Midrash Dedbarim Rabba iil. 24: ‘ Pray and 
pray, again and again ; a time will come when thou wilt be answered’; see also Matt. xxi. 21, 22; Mark xi. 24. 
And in righteousness... i.e. almsgiving, cp. xxix. 8; (ἃ ‘ Neglect not to give alms’, cp. iil. 30. For almsgiving 
as the highest form of righteousness, as it is according to Rabbinical teaching, cp. Matt. vi. 1 ff. 
(g) VII. 11-17. 
11. Despise no man. (ἃ ‘ Laugh not a man to scorn’, free rendering. 
in bitterness of spirit. The more usual expression in the O.T. is ‘in bitterness of soul’ (= &), cp. Job iii. 20, 
vii. 11; Prov. xxxi. 6. The reference is to one suffering destitution who would be an object of scorn because his evil 
plight would be regarded as a visible sign of divine wrath for sin committed, cp. Is. lili. 34. ἢ 
there is one who... Cp. for this thought 1 Sam. ii. 7; Luke i. 52, 53. a : 
12. Devise not. Lit. ‘ plough not’, so &; cp. Prov.iii.29. WM means both ‘ to plough’ and ‘to devise’, cp. Prov. 
iii. 39, and for the metaphorical sense, as here, cp. Hos. x. 13 (Hebr.). 
a friend or a neighbour. J (‘friend’) is more intimate than 13N (‘companion’); on the latter see also note 
on vi. Io. 
13. Take no delight... Lit. ‘Delight not to lie any lie’. 
the outcome. 7M means usually ‘hope’ or ‘expectation’, but it occurs in the sense of ‘result’ or ‘ outcome’ 
several times in this book, cp. v7.17, xx. 2-6; Jobxi.20. (& misunderstands the clause in rendering: ‘ For the custom 
(lit. ‘continuance ’) thereof is not for good.’ 
14. Prate not. (& μὴ ἀδολέσχει (lit. ‘babble not ’), seems to bring out the meaning, cp. xxxil. (τ xxxv.) 9; Eccles. 
v. 2. The Hebr. word means simply ‘ to converse’, cp. xlii. 12. 
repeat not... Cp. Eccles. v. 1, and Matt. vi. 7, ‘And in praying use not vain repetitions.’ . 
15. Hate not... Lit. ‘ Hate not a warfare of work’, cp. Job vii. 1 (R. V. marg.); the verse shows that already in 
the time of Ben-Sira manual labour, the honourableness of which is often emphasized in Rabbinical writings, was held 
in high esteem; cp. Matt. xiii. 55, Mark vi. 3, and Pirge Adoth ii. 2: ‘Excellent is Torah study together with 
worldly business . . . all Torah without work (i.e. manual labour) must fail at length, and occasion iniquity’; this is a 
saying of Rabbi Gamaliel, a grandson of the great Gamaliel; he lived at the end of the first century A.D. Cp. also 
Qiddushin 99a (T.B.): ‘Whosoever doth not teach his son work, teacheth him to rob.’ 
husbandry. ΓΖ} in this sense occurs in Exod. i. 14; 1 Chron. xxvii. 26; the verb is used in Deut. xxi. 4; Ezek. 
Xxxvi. 9, 34; Eccles. v. 8. 
ordained. Lit. ‘apportioned ’, cp. xv. 9 ὁ (Hebr.). 
16,17. The order of these verses varies in the Greek MSS. 


16. Number not thyself. 72wnn by, the pronominal suffix used reflexively is not found in the canonical books of 
the O. T. (Smend), cp. v. 7, where another example occurs in JY'YN by (‘make not thyself evil’; in Pivge Aboth 


ii. 17 this is expressed JOSY 553 pwn wn by). An analogous usage is found in Arabic, according to Smend. 
among sinful men. ¢& ‘among the multitude of sinners’, cp. xvi. 6, xxi. 9. - 
wrath. The Hebr. word fy does not occur elsewhere ; possibly it is a corruption of 173y, cp. Prov. xxii. ὃ ὁ. 


In 10 there is a word-play in this clause : 13YN xd yay 5]. 
339 


SIRACH 7. 17-23 


ΔΈ" 17 Humble (thy) pride" greatly, 
For the expectation" of man is decay*. 
tHasten not to say, ‘ Violence’ ; 
Commit (thyself) unto God, and delight (in) His way*.| 


(hk) VII. 18-21. A man’s duties to a friend, a wife, and a servant (= 2 +2 distichs). 


#* τ Change not a friend for money, 
Nor a natural" brother for gold of Ophir. 
19 Reject not’ a wise™ wife ; 
And a well-favoured (wife) is above pearls. 
AW 20 *Maltreat not Ya servant that serveth truly’, 
Nor a hireling* who giveth his life (for thee). 
21 A wise slave love* as thyself, 
And withhold not from him (his) freedom. 


(1) VII. 22-25. A man’s duties to his cattle and to his children (= 2+2 distichs). 


%#®* 22 Hast thou cattle”, look (to them)° thyself", 
And if they are® profitable, keep them‘. 
38. ® 23 €Hast thou sons, correct them, 
» And give them wives? in their youth?. 


a‘soul’ & 3; ‘spirit’ 3» r “punishment” & s Zz. ‘worms’ ; ‘for worms’ #¢ tt >& 5 3; 
the text ts corrupt u Reading thn for nbn Vv ‘Forgo not’ (μη αστοχει) (ἃ ; ‘Exchange not’ 9 (cp. τ. 26) ; 
‘Depart not from’ & w>$; +‘and good’ &; & adds quam sortitus es in timore dei (cp. xxvi. 3) 
x# has the title ‘De bono servo’ y-y ‘a trusty servant’ #° z Reading Ww for “ΣΦ (‘the hirer } 
aZ has 3In (cp. Deut. xxxiii. 3, @ mew Neo-Hebr. word); πὰ Wo b Zit. ‘a beast’ © Or ‘to it’ 
d Lz. ‘with thine eyes’ (9 Or ‘it is’ 8 (Ofe Site? 5.3 has the title ‘De filiis’ h-h« And bow down 


τ ἩϊταθῖΘ. -- Gp igloo 
decay. (i ‘fire and the worm’, cp. Job xxv. 6, Mark ix. 48. A development of thought regarding the Hereafter 
had taken place in the intervening period between the time when Ben-Sira wrote his book and the grandson translated 
it, hence the addition in & ; cp. with the latter 1 Enoch xlvi. 3 (The Book of Parables, ¢. 94-64 B.C.): ‘... Darkness 
will be their dwelling, and worms their bed...’; and 1 Enoch xcviii. 3 (¢c. 134-95 B.C.): ‘... and in shame and in 
slaughter and in great destitution will their spirits be cast into the furnace of fire.’ 
In Pirge Aboth iv. 7 this verse is quoted thus: ‘ Rabbi Levitas of jabneh said, Be exceedingly lowly of spirit, for 
the hope of man is the worm.’ 
Hasten not... These two additional clauses are certainly not original. 
Commit (thyself) unto... Cp. Ps. xxii. 9, xxxvii. 5 (Hebr.) ; Prov. xvi. 3. 
(Δ) VII. 18-21. 
18. for money. & advapdpov (‘a thing indifferent ’),a mistake for διαφύρου (‘ profit’). 
a natural brother. The reading mn NN is that suggested by Néldeke (ZA ΖΗ, xx. 85). The word occurs in 
the Targ. of Pseudo-Jonathan and in the ‘ Fragment’ Targ. to Gen. xlix. 5 in the sense of ‘twin’, and seems preferable 


to the ties as it stands "on MN; but Schechter thinks that the latter is correct, and compares it with the Rabbinical 
term 2) OWN, ‘which means the trespass-offering of one who is in dowé¢ whether he has committed an act that has to 


be atoned for by a sin-offering ; bn AN would then mean a doubtful, questionable friend, an indifferent friend.’ The 
meaning of the verse would then be that a friend is so valuable a possession that even the semblance of one should not 
be exchanged for gold. 
gold of Ophir. Cp. 1 Kings ix. 28 ; Job xxii. 24, xxviii, 16. 
19. a well-favoured (wife). For the expression [7 210 (‘well-fayoured’), cp. Nahumiii. 4 (Smend) ; & ‘her grace’. 
pearls. The exact signification of D'25 is uncertain, whether ‘pearls’, ‘corals’, or ‘rubies’, cp. Job xxviii. 18 ; 
Prov. xxxi. 10, and R. V. marg. ᾿ 
20. who giveth... i.e. who devotes his whole life to thy service, cp. ix. 246; 11. 203 Deut. xxiv. 14. 
21. And withhold not... In reference to the law according to which servants were to be granted their freedom 
after six years of service, cp. Exod. xxi. 2 ; Deut. xv. 12-15; Lev. xxv. 39-43; Jer. xxxiv. 8-18. 
(ἢ VII. 22-25. 
22. cattle. Lit. ‘a beast’; Smend suggests that a riding-horse is meant, cp. Neh. ii. 12, 1 i 
eet a b ἘΠ: 4, which seems 
probable. Cp. Prov. xxvii. 23 ff., of flocks and herds generally. fi ea 
profitable. Lit. ‘ reliable’. 
keep. Lit. ‘let it stand firm’, i.e. do not part with them. 
23. correct them. Cp. xxx. 1-3, 13; Prov. xxii. 26, xxiii. 13. 
ane give them wives ... Schechter (Studies, 2nd series, p. 96) refers to Qiddushin 30 ὁ, where it says that 
the chief duties of a father towards his son consist in ‘instructing him in the Torah, bringing him into wedlock, and 


9: 


‘D 


SURACEH! “2437 


1:24 Hast thou daughters*, keep! their bodies, 


And show them not a pleasant countenance. 


) 25 Marry thy daughter, and sorrow will depart [from thy house], 


But bestow her upon a man of understanding”. 


(7) VII. 26-28. A man’s duty to his wife and to his parents (= 14+ 2 distichs). 


26 Hast thou a wife, “abhor her ποῖ, 


But trust not thyself to one that hateth (thee). 


| 27 Honour thy father with thy whole heart, 


And forget not thy mother who bare thee in pangs‘. 


| 28 44Remember that "of them thou wast born’, 


And how canst thou recompense them for what they have done for thee”? 


(k) VII. 29-31. A man’s duties to God and to His ministers (= 2+ distichs). 


29 *Fear Godt with all thy heart, 


And reverence His priests. 


| 3° With all thy strength’ love’ Him that made thee, 


And forsake not His ministers. 


91 *Glorify God* and honour the priest, 


And give (them) their portion as it is commanded (thee) ; 
~The food” of the trespass-offering, and the heave-offering of the hand**, 
The sacrifices of righteousness, and the offerings 7of holy things. 


their neck from their youth’ & (= 3) i >39° by mistake k sons’ 39° 1< give heed to’ & ἴῃ. + καὶ 
μισουμενὼ (Nea μισουση σε) μὴ εμπιστευσὴης σεαυτὸν Gr, cp. v. 26b n + ‘after thy mind’ (ἃ 0-0 ‘cast her not 
out’ (ἃ; ‘forsake her not’ S$ pmpP>R aa >S wh has she title ‘De parentibus’ rr “if they had not 
been thou hadst not been’ $(=%) 58ξῈ has the title ‘De timore dei et honore sacerdotum’ __t ‘the Lord’ & 
" soul’ (τ Vv ‘heart’ “ὁ w ‘honour’ $ x-x Fear the Lord’ (ἃ xx-xx renders this clause tn vartous 
ways Υ (π' am apxns (B®> NA azapxny) 2-t > Ge 


teaching him a handicraft’. The point of the admonition is that fathers should, by marrying their sons while 
young, save them from temptation. ᾿ With the rendering of & (see critical note) cp. the interpolated passage xxx. 12 a. 
24. And show them not... Lit. ‘And cause not thy face to shine unto them’; see XXvi. 10-12, xlil. 10, ΤΙΣ 
25. Marry thy daughter... Lit. ‘Let thy daughter go out, and sorrow will go out’. Marriages were arranged 
by the fathers ; daughters had no say in the choice of their husbands. 

But bestow her upon... The Hebr. word 73? in this sense occurs elsewhere in the Bible only in Gen. xxx. 20. In 
the Midrash Pesig¢a 49a, it is said that a man should give up all he has (i.e. for the purpose of offering an 
adequate marriage-settlement) in order to marry his daughter to a learned man; and it goes on to say that if the 
daughter of a learned man marries one of the ‘am-/a’ares (‘the people of the land’, who were unlearned), the 
marriage would be a failure. 

(7) VII. 26-28. 
26. abhor her not. The reference is to Lev. xxi. 7, 14. 


But trust not... See critical note on the preceding verse. ; 
27. The omission of this verse and the next in #9 is probably due to the fact that vv. 27 and 29 both began with 


the same words 55 38 (‘ with all thy heart’). ; pha. 
Honour. Lit. ‘give glory to’; cp. Exod. xx. 12, Deut. v. 16, where the Sept. uses τιμάω, instead of δοξάζω, 
as here. 

28. how canst thou recompense. Cp. the saying of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (middle of second century A.D.) : ‘ Be 
careful of the honour due to your mother; let the lamp be lit in its place, the table be set in its place, the couch 
be spread in its place’ (T. B. Kethuboth 103 a, quoted in 72), ix. 99 2). 

for what they have done for thee. (ἃ καθὼς αὐτοὶ σοί. 

(4) VII. 29-31. a) 

29. reverence. Lit. ‘regard as holy’; Gk θαύμαζε, cp. xxxvill. 3. res A M 

30. And forsake not... Cp. Lev. ii. 3, vi. 16, vii. 7, 9, 34; Num. v. 9, xvill. 8-19; Deut. xii. 19, xviil. I-5. 

31. their portion. Cp. Lev. vi. 14-18. - ' ἮΜΕΝ 

The food of the... Cp. Num. xv. 20 ἢ, Lev. v.6; & ‘the first-fruits and the trespass-offering ᾿. 
the heave-offering of the hand. Cp. Exod. xxix. 27; Lev. vii. 32; Deut. xviii. 3; G& lit. ‘the gift of the shoulders’. 
sacrifices of righteousness. Cp. Deut. xxxiii.19; the M3!) (‘meal-offering’) is most likely meant, it is called 
“a thing most holy’ in Lev. ii. 3, 10. τ SUN 
the offerings of holy things. Cp. Num. xviii. 5-11; τ ‘the first-fruits of holy things’. 
341 


SIRACH τ Ὁ 


ῳ 


(2) VIL. 32-36. A man’s duties to the poor, to his departed friends, to mourners, and to the sick 
(= 1+ 3+1 distichs). 


w* _42 “Also to the poor stretch out thy hand’, 

That the blessing may be perfected. age 

33 A gift is acceptable” in the sight of every man living, 
© And also from the dead withhold not kindness‘. 4 

34 Withdraw not thyself from them that weep*, ῃ 
And mourn with them that mourn. 

35 Forget not ‘to visit the sick’, 
For thou wilt be loved for that. 

36 In all thy doings* remember thy last end, 
Then wilt thou never do corruptly. 


5 


(m) VIII. 1-3. A caution against quarrelling with the powerful, the rich, and the boastful 
(= 341 distichs). 


8 1 *Contend not with a mighty man, ᾿. 

Lest thou fall into his hands?. g 

2 Strive not against ‘the man that is rich‘, Ἷ 
Lest he weigh thy price?, °and thou be destroyed®. 

For gold‘ hath made many reckless, 

And wealth hath led astray the hearts of princes. 

3 Quarrel not with a loud-mouthed man, 
And put not wood on fire. 


_a-a The text is somewhat mutilated Ὁ Reading jn (iit. ‘a grace’) for jn; ‘Grace isa gift...’ $ cH, has 
the title ‘De defunctis’ d 71. ‘mercy’ ® + in conrogatione (2 reference to the funeral feast) & 


ff Reading axy2 7pr for ἈΠΙΝ 25 (‘thy heart from a friend ἢ δ ‘words’ (ἃ 
a has the title De non litigando’ b + the double¢: ‘That thou needest not to turn against his heart, 


contend not with a man that is mightier than thou’ ® c-e ‘the possessor of gold’ 9 4 Reading sbpun ᾿ 
(Smend) for Ἴ2 ee >SGHL f+4‘and silver’ 3» ®- an untutored man’ (ἃ h-h Reading 


(2) VII. 32-36. 


32. Also to the poor... The reference is to sharing with the poor, &c., the tithe of every third year, cp. Deut. 
xiv. 28, 29. 
35: And also from the dead... The reference is to offerings for (or to?) the dead; cp. Deut. xxvi.14; Hos. ix. 4; 


Jer.xvi.7; Tob.iv.17. (τ seeks to tone down the point of # by rendering: ‘And for a dead man keep not back 
grace’; cp. xxx. 18 (Greek). 

34. mourn... Cp. xxii. 11. 

35. to visit the sick. This has always been regarded as a paramount duty among the Jews; the technical 
name for the visitation of the sick used in Rabbinical literature is Biggur Cholim. Schechter (of. czt., p. 99 f.) 
says: ‘It is clear from certain injunctions in the Talmud in connexion with this duty, that it included, in case of 
need, also nursing, and sweeping the room (Peas iii. 9, Talm. J.). His friends also prayed for the patient, and it 
was part of their duty to remind him to make a will and to confess his sins, “for all those who were about to die 
had to confess their sins.” They had also the belief that a confession, which concluded with a prayer for the 
forgiveness of sins, might bring about his recovery’; cp. Jas. v. 13-16. In the modern Jewish Liturgy there is a special 
Office for the visitation of the sick; see the Jewish Authorized Daily Prayer Book (ed. Singer), pp. 314-317. 

36. remember thy last end, Then... Cp. Pirge Adoth iii.1: ‘Consider three things, and thou wilt not come 
into the hands of transgression: know whence thou art come, and whither thou art going, and before whom thou 
wilt have to plead thy cause, and make thy reckoning.’ 

do corruptly. For the verb NNW cp. xxx. ii; Dan. ii. 9. 

(m) VIII. 1-3. 

VIII. 1. Lest. Onthe Hebr. nnd here, see Smend 27 Joc. 

2. Strive not. Lit. ‘ devise not’, cp. Prov. xiv. 22. a 

Lest he weigh thy price. i.e. lest he offer a larger bribe than thou art able to pay. (ἃ ‘Lest haply he 
overweigh thee’. 

reckless. Lit. ‘boastful’, i.e. the possession of much wealth has made men reckless in giving bribes. Ὁ 
(τ renders, ‘And gold hath destroyed many.’ 


And wealth... (ἃ ‘ And turned aside the hearts of kings’. 
3. aloud-mouthed man. Lit. ‘a man of tongue’, cp. ix. 18, xxv. 20; Jas. iii. 8. 
And put not... Cp. xxviii. 8-12; Prov. xv. 1, xxvi. 20, 21; Jas. ill. 5,6; in the Psalms of Solomon xii. 2 the 


tongue of a malicious man is compared to ‘fire in a threshing-floor that burns up the straw’. @ has ‘and heap 
not’ (μὴ ἐπιστοιβάσῃς) ; for the word cp. Lev. i. 12 (Sept.). 


342 


SIRACH 8. 4-9 


(x) VIII. 4-7. A warning against associating with a foolish man; the need of having respect for 
the penitent, the aged, and the departed (= 1 +3 distichs). 


‘ 4 Associate not with a #foolish man, 
Lest he despise *(thy) sound (words). 
5 Reproach not a man who repenteth, 
Remember that we are all guilty’. 
6 Dishonour not* a man that is old, 
For !we shall be numbered among the aged!. 
4 Rejoice not over one that is dead, 
Remember that we shall all be gathered™ (to our fathers). 


(a) VIII. 8-9. Ax exhortation to learn from the wise and the aged (= 2+ 2 distichs). 


8 Neglect not the discourse of the wise, 
And busy thyself with proverbs ; 
For therefrom™ wilt thou learn instruction®, 
That thou mayst stand? in the presence of princes%. 
9 Reject not the tradition’ of the aged, 
Which they heard® from their fathers ; 
For therefrom wilt thou receive' instruction", 
That thou mayst (be able to) return answer in time of need. 


Ὁ Π3) for D293 (‘princes’) i ‘sinners’ S$; ‘worthy of punishment’ & k «Laugh not at’ $ Cl Reading 
Dp 02; Smend emends the text DdpPNd i212 (‘from among ourselves some will grow old Ἢ; ‘remember 
that... 3 m‘die’@%  2‘Fromthem’@ ‘wisdom’ Ρ +‘at ease’ G&Y;+‘ readily’ 248 Syro- 
Hex ; +sine querella % 4 ‘creat men’ Gk t Reading nyyow1; ‘the discourse’ & 8 ‘learned’ Ge 
ὁ ‘learn’ (ἃ ἃ ‘understanding’ & 

() VIL. 4-7. 


4. (thy) sound (words). The emendation of the text (see critical note) is that suggested by Matthes and 
Dyserink (ZA ΤῊΝ, iii. 163); cp. xi. 21; Prov. iv. 25, xxiv. 26. The rendering of & πρόγονοι is probably based on the 
corrupt Hebr. text. 

5. a man who repenteth. Lit. ‘a man who turns from transgression’. Cp. Baba mezia iv. τὸ (T. J.): ‘When 
aman repenteth say not to him, “ Remember thy former sins.”’ 

6. Dishonour not... Cp. Pirge Aboth iv. 28: ‘He who learneth from the aged, to whom is he like? ΤῸ one who 
eateth ripened grapes, and drinketh old wine.’ 

7. Rejoice not... Lit. ‘boast not’, i.e. because thou art still living, while another is dead. 

we shall all be gathered... Cp. Gen. xxv. 8; Judges 11, 10; 2 Kings xxii. 20; Job xxvii. 19. 

VIII. 8—X. 29. This division contains thirteen subsections ; the contents are miscellaneous, consisting mainly of 
rules about conduct towards many classes of persons. 

(a) VIII. 8-9. 

8. the discourse. For ΠΙ cp. vi. 35. 
busy thyself. This form of the Hebr. word does not occur elsewhere, and its meaning here is uncertain ; 
Hart suggests w7, following $, which in Hebr. means ‘to seek out’, and has become the technical term for 
studying the Scriptures, ἄς. ; cp. Beth ha-Midrash, ‘the house of study,’ in li. 23. 

That thou mayst stand... Cp. xxxviii. 3, xlvii. 1; (τ ‘minister’, cp. Prov. xxii. 29. 

9. Reject not. onnn 5x, cp. vii. 19; τ μὴ ἀστόχει (‘miss not’), as in vii. 19. 

the aged. Cp. v. 6, vi. 34, xxv. 4, xxxil. (G@ xxxv.) 13. ; 

Which they heard from... The reference is to the Oral Tradition, technically known as 5 oyay main 
(lit. ‘ The Law which is according to the mouth’) in Rabbinical literature, cp. Ps. xliv. i. The following passage, from the 
preface to the Vad ha-chazagah (‘the Strong Hand’) of Maimonides, shows the traditional belief of the Jews regarding 
this subject: ‘All the commandments which were given to Moses on Sinai were given with their interpretation ; 
for it is said, And I will give thee the tables of stone, and the Torah (“‘ Law’), and the Mitzvah (‘‘ Command- 
ment”), Exod.. xxiv. 12; Zora: that is, the Written Law; 772 σναλ : that is, its interpretation. He commanded 
us to observe the Zorah in accordance with (AD by, lit. ‘‘according to the mouth of”) the A7/z¢zvah. And this 
Mitzvah is called the Oral Law. Moses, our teacher, wrote down the whole Law with his own hand before he 
died ...; the Mitzvah, that is, the interpretation of the Law, he did not write down; but he commanded it 
(73 AS) to the elders and to Joshua and to the rest of Israel ; for it is written, “ All the words which I have com- 
manded you, these shall ye observe and do” (Deut. xii. 28). And therefore this is called “ Oral Tradition’? (ΠῚ Π 
np byawy),? Cp. Pirge Aboth i. 1: ‘Moses received the Torah from Sinai, and he delivered it to Joshua, and Joshua 
to the elders (Joshua xxiv. 31; Judges ii. 7), and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets delivered it to the 
men of the Great Synagogue.’ 

343 


SIRACH 58. 10-16 


(ὁ) VIII. 10-11. The danger of consorting with sinners (= 2 distichs). 


#* 10¥Kindle not’ the coals* of the wicked’, 
Lest thou be burned with the flame of his fire. ᾿ 
11 ¥Be not enraged because of the scorner, | 
That he should use* thy mouth* as an ambush, 


(c) VIII. 12-13. Warnings against lending and standing surety (= 2 distichs). 


12 Lend not to a man that is mightier than thou, 
And if thou lend, (thou art) as one that loseth. 7 
13 Be not surety for one who is more excellent® than thou”, 
And if thou become surety (thou art)‘ as one that payeth. 


(4) VIII. 14-19. Warnings against having dealings with various types of evil men 
(= 1+2+2+43 distichs). 


14 Go not to law with a judge, 
For he will judge according to his good pleasure. 
15 Go not *in the way® with a cruel‘ man, 
Lest thou be overwhelmed with misfortune: 
For he will go straight before his face, 
And through his foolishness thou wilt perish. 
16 Do not obstinately gainsay a wrathful‘ man, 
And ride not* with him through the desert’. 
For blood is as nothing in his eyes, 
And where there is no helper, he will destroy thee. 


yv-v ‘Be not a companion of him who is wholly bad’ $ W Reading nsn 5x (= &) for ndyn_ 5x (‘rush not’) 
x Reading nbn for noma «YL has the title ‘De vitandis malis’ Ζ Zzt.‘set’ ἃ Reading ppd (= &) for spd 
b-b ‘above thy power’ @& ‘stronger’ $ 4 ‘take thought’ G@; ‘thou art become’ $ ee SoS; >® 
f ‘rash’? ὅτ; ‘hard’ 9 (dt. ‘ heavy’) 8 ποιήσει Gt, a mistake for mopevera b-h μη ποιησης paxny Ck, reading 
nyo wyn ON for myprynds  i¢an unrighteous’ $ k “strive not’ $ 1 Reading 129103 (= (ἃ 8) for 7773 


(6) VIII. 10-11. 
το. Kindle not. See critical note; cp. 15. ix. 17 (18 in E.V.). 
the flame... Cp.xlv.19. With the clause cp. the Mishna, Ado¢h ii. 10: ‘Warm thyself at the fire of the 
wise ; but beware of their coal qndnaa “yn ΠῚ ΠῚ), that thou burn not thyself (7)3n νου). - 
11. Be not enraged. Mt in Aramaic and Syriac means ‘to set in movement’, ‘to become excited’ (Smend) — 
and this seems to be the meaning here (cp. Gt μὴ eéavaortys). In Hebr. the cognate word MM means ‘to move 


away’; it only occurs twice in the O.T. (Exod. xxviii. 28, xxix. 21), each time in the Niph‘al voice; but in later 
Hebrew it is common, occurring frequently in the Targums. 
scorner. Cp. Ps.i. 1; (ἃ ‘an injurious man’, or ‘one who is insolent’, cp. 1 Tim. i. 13. 
That he should... (ἃ ‘Lest he lie in wait as an ambush for thy mouth’. The meaning of the verse is that 
a man should not lose his temper before a scorner (i.e. one who scoffs at religion), because by doing so he gives 
his case away ; the scorner gains the advantage through the intemperate speech of the other. 
(c) VIII. 12-13. 
12. Lend not... Cp. Prov. xxii. 7. 
13. Benot surety... Cp. xxix. 14-20; Prov. vi. 1, 2, xi. 15, xvii. 18, xxii. 26, 27. 
more excellent. i.e. of higher social standing, cp. Esther vi. 6 ; see also Gen. xlix. 3 (Hebr.). 
(4) VIII. 14-10. 
14. This verse occurs in a somewhat different form after iv. 27: ‘ Sit not with an unjust judge in order that thou 
judge not with him according to his good pleasure’ (= $ here). 


For he will judge... (ἃ ‘For according to his honour will they give judgement for him’. 
15. acruelman. Cp. Job xli. 2 (Hebr.). 


Lest thou be overwhelmed... Lit. ‘Lest thou bear thyself down with thy evil’. (ἃ ἵνα μὴ καταβαρύνηται κατὰ 


σοῦ (‘ Lest he be aggrieved against thee’), which Smend, on the basis of 38, emends thus: ἵνα μὴ βαρύνῃ τὰ κακά σου 
(‘Lest thy evils bear thee down’). 


For he will go... 1.6. he will follow his bent blindly, irrespective of consequences. 
thou wilt perish. Lit. ‘thou wilt be swept away’. 


Ἔ 16. Do not obstinately gainsay. Lit. ‘ Harden not thy forehead’, cp. Prov. vii. 13, xvi. 29, xxii. 24; Is. xlviii. 4; 
EZeK 11}. 77. 


a wrathful man. Lit. ‘a master of wrath’ (FN bya), 
nothing. Lit. ‘a lightly-esteemed thing’ (bp), cp. Deut. xxv. 3; Prov. xi. 9; Is. 111. 5, xvi. 14. 
344 


SIRACH 8. 17—9. 5 


17 Take no counsel with a fool, 

For he will not be able ™to keep thy secret”, 
18™Do no secret thing before a stranger”, 

For thou knowest not what he will ultimately°® do (therewith). 
19 Reveal not ?thy heart” to every man, 

And “drive not away® from thee prosperity. 


(e) IX. 1-9. Of conduct towards women (= 2+2+2+4+3+42 distichs). 


J τ *Be not jealous of the wife of thy bosom”, 
°Lest she learn® 4malice4 against thee. 
2 °Give ποῖ" thyself unto a woman, 
*So as to let her trample down thy manhood’. 
3 Meet not’ "8 strange woman?, 
Lest thou fall into her nets‘. 
4 jWith a female singer) ‘have no converse‘, 
Lest thou be taken in her snares. 
5 On a maiden fix not thy gaze, 
1Lest thou be entrapped in penalties with her’. 


m-M ‘to conceal the matter’ (ἃ mu »» Ὁ ο» (ἃ P-P ‘what is in thy heart’ $ α-α Reading 
msn by, for which Smend suggests ny dx (‘that he drive not away ’) 

ai gnserts the title ‘De mulieribus’ b-b SoG: >S c-e So 35 ΡΠ {D: (ἃ μηδὲ διδαξης : WH ne ostendat 
(ΞΞ μη δειξῃ) Ad So 39 AYA; (ἵ παιδείαν πονηραν (so 85) =? ΠΡ ΠΡ (Ὁ conflation ; but Peters reads 50) e-e So 


G&S: ® wopn dx (dittography) ; read jnn by £-£.So % pnw dy naand (‘To cause her to tread upon thy 
high places δ cp. Hab. iii. 19); ἐπιβηναι αὑτὴν emt τὴν ἰσχυν σου Gr; “ΤῸ give her power over all that thou hast’ $ 
ὅτε by ΡΠ by ΕΞ) h-b at nw 8; [μη ὑπαντα] γυναικι εταιριζομενῃ (τ 110 - ἼΣΟΠ ip JynoNn by my py 
:mmypda (read mmipbn for the last word or mmdpna) z.e. ‘Consort not with a courtesan lest thou be caught in her 
flatteries or in her snares’ (Abpr in NH = ‘snare ’, ‘stumbling-block’: 2.7. >ivon). The line ts a doublet and 
variant on 4a 1} ἸῺ nym oy (pont N32) καὶ Read non dx (from variant in preceding line) = $ 
and (Ὁ) G& (un ενδελεχιζε): so Smend: ® text Won ὃν = ‘do not sleep’ 1-1 So ® (variant) 1. 6. reading 
mmbpna sadn 1D (see note +i above): “Lest haply thou be caught by her attempts’ & = ® (vardanf): 10 text 
DNA WW 15 = ‘Lest they (m.) burn thee with their mouths’ (sz /) 7s hardly possible. 9. «Lest she destroy 
thee with her utterances’ (Smend keeps the reading mmpba of ® variant = ? ‘with her punishments’: cp. xmpd = 
‘punishment’, ‘ disorder’, ‘defect’) 11 ® = G (Ht. ‘in her fines’: ΟΝ) = ‘fine ’, ‘indemnity’): ‘Lest thou be 


2 


mulcted in her dowry doubly’ S, zz/ertreting after Deut. xxii. 29 


17. Take no counsel. Cp. ix. 14 (Hebr.). 
18. secret thing ...stranger. 14 ,.. Ἵν, evidently intended for a word-play; 1 (‘secret thing’) does not occur 
elsewhere in the Bible, but it is used in the Targums. 
what he will...do. Lit. ‘ what he will bring forth’, i.e. what mischief he will do with the secret that has been 


confided to him. For the more general use of ab cp. Prov. xxvii. 1. 

19. every man. Lit. ‘ all flesh’. 

drive not away. i.e. If a man publishes his private concerns to all the world he will suffer for it. 

(e) ΙΧ. 1-9. 

1X. 1. Be not jealous... The Rabbis, as Edersheim points out, often warn against groundless jealousy. Ben-Sira 
here gives a good reason for avoiding it—it may promote the realization of the thing feared. For the subject cp. 
Num. v. 14. For the expression ‘ wife of thy bosom’ cp. Deut. xiii. 6. 

2. Give not thyself unto a woman. On the other hand, a man ought not to go to the other extreme, and be 
over-trustful. 

So as to let her trample down thy manhood. Lit. ‘to cause her to tread upon thy high places’; cp. for the 
expression Hab. iii. 19. (ἃ ‘that she should set her foot upon thy strength’. The term ‘high places’ in such 
connexions appears to have lost its original significance, and to have acquired the meaning ‘strength’ or the like: 
50 S renders the word in xlvi. 9; and the LXX (ισχυς) and Ongelos render similarly in Deut. xxxii. 13. The man who 
is ruled over by his wife is held up to pity and scorn as no man in several passages in the Talmud (see Edersheim 
on the verse). 

3. Meet not a strange woman. # has ‘draw not nigh’. ‘Strange woman’, as in Proverbs (cp. ii. 16, vii. 5) = 
courtesan. For the doublet in 38 at the end of this verse see critical note. 
5. fixnot thy gaze. Cp. Matt. v. 28. F 

Lest thou be entrapped in penalties with her. Or ‘lest thou be caught in her punishments’. The verb might 
also be rendered ‘lest thou come to fall’ (in the penalties inflicted on her account). Perhaps ‘penalties on her 
account’ would be a better rendering. Such cases involved a fine of 50 shekels, and an indissoluble marriage 
according to Deut. xxii. 28-29. 


1105 345 Aa 


SIRACH 9. 6-9 


w* 6 Give not thyself unto the harlot, 
mT est thou lose™ “thine inheritance”. 
σι ($3) 7°?Look not round about thee? 4in the streets of a city", 
τ And wander not about in the broad places thereof". 
8. 8 st Hide thine eye from a lovely woman, 
"And gaze not" upon beauty which is not thine; _ 
‘By the comeliness’ of a woman many “have been ruined”, 
* And this way* ¥ passion’ flameth “like fire. 
9 **With a married woman® sit not at table?, 
¢And [mingle not] wine in her company° ; 
Lest thou incline “thine heart? towards her, 
*And in thy blood® *[descendest]* to the Pit. 


m-m $0 G& wa μὴ απολεσῃς: so S = TANN 15 (cp. Prov. xxix. 3); # ion 15 (‘Lest thine inheritance remove : cf. 
Num. xxxvi. 7). Peters keeps 30M and explains it as an Aramaism fr. 1D) = ‘to take away ’—‘ Lest she take 
away’, &c. u-n So # = G&; S ‘the inheritance of money’ °® here ts very corrupt P-P So Ge μὴ 
περιβλεπου = (?) pain dx (so Pelers, Smend): ® Saonnd = & (ΟΣ) 9-4 So & = Sy wi (so Smend : 
Peters ΓΊΝΩ): BH PRY AN W. (corrupt) TT Gk καὶ ev ras epnuas (N* pupas: Eth ‘streets’) αὑτῆς μη 
mare = mnIINI ΘΟ) ὈΝῚ (read MMM for last word, with Smend). & ‘And thou shalt be inscribed in the 
book of sins’ (? reading ΠῚ ΠΣ now): ® Ana ans nowy (corrupt) [33 may be rendered: ‘to be treated with 
contumely in the sight of thine eyes and to be amazed behind her house’ | 8 vv. 8-9 (partly) are cited in 
Sanhedrin (T.B.) 100 ὁ, Febamoth 63 6 as follows : 

in nexn pry odyn (= 8a) 
:anayna tabdn wp (= 4b or 3b) 
(v.1. nbya Syx) πον wn dx (= 9a) 
:72v1 δὴ ANY Pond (= 9b) 
Aw O39 7S) WW ANNI ὁ (= 8c) 
rn b> Dyn 
1: Hide thine eyes from a lovely woman, 
Lest thou be caught in her snares; 
Turn not aside to her, 
To mingle wine and strong drink with her: 


For through the comeliness of a beautiful woman many have been ruined, 

And “all her slain are a mighty host’ (Prov. vii. 26) 
[3 has a double recension of ver. 9, one before and one after ver. 8] ὑπὸ py poyn = & (υφθαλμον) : Talmud 
(Jp) + σου (δ 5:8 C 106 157 254 Sah: cp. Hfaciem tuam = 8) u-u 35. pan ὈΝῚ = (ἃ καὶ μη xatapavOave = 3S 
v-v Reading win (for Tyr of 38) = (ἃ ev καλλει: so 3» (70 248 Syro-Hex ev yap x. = S and Talim.) wow So 
38 wnnwn: Ge ἐπλανηθησαν : S ‘have perished’ x-x So ® jd) = Ge καὶ εκ τουτου : >S y-y text ‘her 
lovers’ M3AN: read AIAN = ‘love’ =G: ‘her love’ ὥ 2-2 So G& = 9 (reading WS2): 33 wi ‘in the fire’ 
a-a 10 ΠΣ py (16. nbya): %* ‘With the mistress of a house’ (= npy3) S* = & pera ὑπανδρου γυναικος b-b fit, 
‘stretch not out thine elbow’ (reading 7byx un 5x = S$} ‘prop not thine elbow Ἢ: so the doublet in 248 και μη 
κατακλιθῃς ex ἀαγκαλων per avtns (so Clem. Alex. with em ayxwva for ex aykadov) : Θ᾽ (paraphrasing) ‘multiply not 


talking ᾿ς (ἃ μὴ καθου το συνολον : 18 εχ  “ ἀο not taste’ Dyon by csc Reading 7” Dy Joon by = δὲ (which has 
‘old wine’): cp. the Talm. citation: G& ‘And revel not (καὶ μὴ συμβολοκοπησῃς) with her at the wine’: S? ‘ Nor 


shalt thou protract conversations with her’ (wth the variant Jwion for 7DION): 18 text maw wy 290 by [ΞΞΞ by 
“ν᾿ my sipn, ze. ‘And imbibe not strong drink in her company’: /hzs may underlie G&) ἀ-ἃ So 35 (ab) 5: 
also Clem. Alex. ἡ καρδια and &: ( ἡ ψυχὴ σου e-e 39. OID Gk καὶ τῳ πνευματι (Gul Clem. Alex. aati: so S* 

6. Lest thou lose thine inheritance. Cp. Prov. xxix. 3 (‘he that keepeth company with harlots wasteth his _ 
substance’): cp. also Prov. v. 10, vi. 26. 

Gee ποι round about thee in the streets... A warning against giving opportunities to the courtesan: 
cp. FTov. vil. . 

uv. 8-9 cited in the Talmud. See critical note. 

8. ... many have been ruined. Cp. Prov. vi. 26. 

this way passion (/i/. love) flameth like fire. Cp. Job xxxi. 12 (sinful passion compared to fire). 

9. With a married woman sit not at table. Lit. ‘ stretch not out thine elbow’ (corrected Hebr. text : see critical 
note). 30 has ‘do not eat’ (contrast 94, which refers to drinking in her company—eating and drinking form, perhaps, — 
a designed contrast). The verse is a general warning against undue familiarity. The married woman is the subject 
of the verse; but the reference is not intended to exclude her husband. Married women were often present with — 
their husbands at banquets given to guests—such occasions are dangerous, says Ben-Sira. Cp. Pirge Aboth i. 3 
(a saying of Jose b. Jochanan): ‘ Prolong not converse with a woman’ (and Taylor’s note): cp. also John iv. 27, and, ἢ 
in our book, vii. 28. 

And [mingle not] wine in her company. Or ‘and imbibe not strong drink in her company’ (see critical note). | 
Lest thou incline thine heart towards her. Or ‘lest thine heart incline towards her’. Cp. Prov. vii. 25. 


346 


SIRACH 9. τοῖς 


(f) IX. 10-16. Precepts regarding friends and others (= 2+2+3 +43 distichs). 
το Forsake not ‘an‘ old friend, 
For the new 8[is not his equivalent 78. 
New wine is a new friend; 
»But when old—then thou mayst drink it! 


τι Envy not ‘the ungodly mani, 
For thou knowest not what Jhis destiny shall be’. 

12 *Take no pleasure* !in the arrogant man that prospereth', 
Remember that ™he shall not escape unpunished™ "till death”. 


13 Keep far from the man that hath power to kill, 
°And so thou needest have no terror® Pof death’s terrors”. 
4But when‘ thou comest nigh (him) ‘commit no fault’, 
Lest he take away *thy life’. 
Know that thou marchest amid snares, 
And walkest tupon nets‘. 


14 As far as thou canst "associate with" thy neighbour, 
And converse with the wise. 

15 *Y With” *the intelligent* let Ythy communing’ be, 
And all thy converse “in the Law of the Most High’. 


(4+ ‘guilty ’): S° “condemned to death’: so L) σου Cf Reading NON: so (?) Ge ολισθησῃς and 3: Ὦ text non 
(repeated by mistake from previous clause) ΠΕΡ So 38 (ἃ : ‘thy’ 3 ἔτ (ἃ οὐκ ἐστιν εφισος αὐτω = 15 ANT ND 
(so read with Peters, §c.): &% ‘doth not attain unto him’: ®,,.. Ἴἢ (parily illegible) h-h 35 sy9nwn ans yw 
“it. ‘But when old—afterwards thou mayst drink it’: (NWN = 33nwM ‘mater lectionis’): Ge ἐὰν παλαιωθῃ per 


εὐφροσυνης (? reading MIN for ANN: so Levt) πίεσαι αὐτὸν (35 evades the difficulty of ®) i ® yw wna (ἃ δοξαν 
apaptodou (3 = 32) 3-3, So ® (dz. ‘ what his day [shall be]’): (ἃ τι ἐσται (so N* A = 3: 70 248 τις ἐστιν: 
106 τι ἐστιν: 55 254 τι τεξεται) ἡ καταστροφὴ αὐτου: 96 ‘what his end shall be’ K-k So G& (un evdoxnons) = 


ayin 5x (so read with Peters): ® illegible for this word (Levi reads s3pn = 3; Smend an3n) 1-1 dyn 2 
(6. ny adj. cp. Ps. cxxiv. 5): G& ev evdoxras (B Sah ευδοκιᾳ for evodia) ἀσεβων = 32 m-m # 7p) xb = & ov μη 
δικαιωθωσιν nn ( ews adov = ND ἽΝ (correct ἸΏ ny 10 Ἵν with & and 83) τ ῷ o-o So 38: ‘And thou shalt 
have no suspicion’ (kav ov py [ΞΞ by] υὑποπτευσῃςῚ Ok P-P So ® (cp. Job xv. 21): φοβον θανατου Ek a-a So ® 
DN1 = S: εαν & rr owen xd: G& μὴ (ὃΞΞ by) πλημμελησῃς: +7NDwI S ‘make not thy breath guilty’ 
(2) from line 13 ἃ which 3 omits) ss now? 38: τὴν Cony cov & ὑπὸ 3 nwa Sy: G& ‘upon the battlements 
of a city’ (em ἐπαλξεων πολεως) =? VY NWN by (Hart, comparing Jer. xxvii. (1.) 15 Hebr. and LXX): & may, 
however, depend upon a variant nywWsy (understood as = ‘strong places’ instead of ‘ nets’): Pefers proposes NWS 
(‘pinnacles’: cp. Zech. iv. 7) 8 39 may zw Syr. sense (cp. Eccles. i. 13, iii. ro = ‘be occupied’, ‘busied with’) : 
Hlart renders (Hebr. sense) ‘answer kindly’: (ἃ oroyaoa (= ‘have regard for’, ‘seek after’: cp. 2 Mace. xiv. 8) 


Yuer. 15 follows 16 in & w-w So H=S: -Ἑ και (Κα x-8 9 $93) = G ovrerwy: ‘him that feareth God’ $ 
y-¥ ® FIV = Ek o διαλογισμὸς σου (# “M=‘ reckoning’ zw B.H.: here ‘interchange of thought’, ‘communing’: 
cp. Xxvii. 5-6) 2-2 So (ἃ (and 55. corrected text): ἸΏ ἘΓ)} (read * ΤΠ) 


And in thy blood [descendest] to the Pit. For the expression ‘in thy blood’ (lit. ‘with blood’) cp. 1 Kings 
ii. 9 (‘bring his grey hairs down to the grave with blood’). The reference is to the vengeance of the husband, 
who slays the adulterer. Cp. Prov. vii. 26, 27 (esp. 27 a, ‘her house is the way to Sheol’). ‘The Pit’ = Sheol, as 
often elsewhere. 


(f) IX. 10-16. The subject-matter is rather varied, ranging from friends (v. 10) to warnings as to the attitude 
to be adopted towards prosperous godlessness (vv. 11-12), and the tyrant (v.13), and precepts regarding the value 
of good companionship (vv. 14-16). 

Io. Forsake not an old friend. The Alphabet of Ben-Sira has a similar admonition: ‘ An old friend repudiate not.’ 

11. Envy not. In the sense of desiring to be like him: cp. xlv. 18; Prov. ili. 31, xxiv. I, 

his destiny. Lit. ‘his day’, i.e. the day of his death (& ‘his overthrow’). 
i 12. Take no pleasure in the arrogant... till death. According to Ben-Sira’s view the overthrow of the godless 
man who prospers for a time is certain: cp. xvi. 6-12 (also 13), xxi. 10, xl. 15 ff. 

13. Keep far from the man that hath power to kill. Avoid contact with tyrants: cp. Prov. xvi. 14, xx. 2. 

have no terror of death’s terrors. For the terror of death cp. Job iii. 25, xv. 21, &c. (phrase). 
...thou marchest amid snares, and walkest upon nets. Cp. Job xviii. 8, 9 (‘...he walketh upon the 
toils’, &c.). For @& see critical note. 

vv. 14-16: an admonition to associate only with wise and pious men. 

14. associate with thy neighbour. The meaning is not quite certain (see critical note). Smend renders: 
“advise (erate) thy neighbour’: teach and instruct others, but be careful, above all, to learn thyself of the wise. 

converse with the wise. On the other hand, the wise have as little as possible to do with the ungodly ; 
Cp. Vili. 17, xi. 9, xii. 13 ff., xiii. 17, &c. 
347 Aaz 


SIRACH = 9F 16-1076 


®* 16 Let men of rectitude be *the companions of thy board*; ¢ 
And in the fear of God be thy boast. 3 


(g) IX.17—X. 5. The value of God-fearing wisdom as exemplified in rulers (= 2+3+42 distichs). 


17 By the cunning-handed °a shapely work is devised", 
4Eyen so4 one who ruleth over his people (must be) ®wise in discernment *. 
18 A man (full) of tongue is dangerous ‘in the city’, 
®And he that is hasty in speech? is detested. 
10 τ *iA wise governor? Jinstructeth) his people ; 
And the rule of one that is discerning ‘is well-ordered*. 
2 As is the governor ! of a people, so are his officers ; 
And as is the head of a city, ™so™ are its inhabitants. 
3%A reckless king™ ruineth °his people®, 
But a city becometh populous through ?the prudence of its princes?. 
4 4The rule over the world is in the hands of God, 
And at the right time He setteth over it one that is worthy’. 
5 “In the hand of God is *the rule of every man”, 
And He investeth *the commander® with his dignity. 


(Δ) X.6-18. Pride in rulers ruins whole nations (= 2+4+2+1+4+1 distichs). 


6 tRequite not [evil to] thy neighbour‘ for any wrong, 
«And walk not in the way of pride”. 


a-a 38 yond ya = (ἃ οἱ συνδειπνοι σου (so S ‘eaters at thy table’) b-b ® om wana: Gk εν χειρι σεχνιτων: 
S ‘By the wisdom of the judge’ (= } nana) CC epyor ἐπαινεσθησεται (=? ΠΝ Nav»): ‘the city is established’ 
S$ (=? yn avy): 32 wy ἼΦΠ' =? ‘uprightness is preserved’ so Peters. Perhaps “> wm should be read 
(ay might easily be corrupted to WY as in $: and rv’ ἐς an easy correction of N3w in G&: WY = ‘something 
shaped or formed’). Smend keeps ® which he renders: ‘a work of art’ (wh, cp. W" 1 Kings vi. 35) ‘is mastered’ 
d-d 72. ‘and’ ( = &) e-e Cp, S ‘wise and prudent’ (=?703 Don: so read here with Peters) copos ev λογῳ 
αὐτου &. 30 fex/ NOI DIN (wrongly attaching ΠΝ tov. 18) = ‘wise of (?) speech’ (AMA from NDA = NOI ; cp. Veo- 
Hebr. w= ‘vain speech’). G?=® ff Reading wyr for Wi=S: cp. G& ὅ-ὸ 1 ἹΠῚΒ Sy nvm (part. NWD, 


op. Syr. mop by 29 = ‘to speak hastily, unadvisedly ᾽) = @& καὶ o προπετὴς ev λογῷ αὐτοῦ hD pr. tit. ‘de 
iudicibus’ 1 Dy oa (read DIN for Dy = & 8) 7:1 0)" ® (read ἽΝ = & S) kk 39 ΠΟ (read 
ΤΠ) = (ἃ reraypery: S ‘settleth his city’ L1G tov Aaov αὐτου (buf NC-2 248 &c. Syro-Hex H> αὐτου = 3η 5) 


m-m So 38 ()3) = S$: G& παντες (= 53) (vv. 2 and 3 tr. tn ®) n-n ® yyqp ἼΟ = G& βασιλεὺς amadevtos : * An 
unrighteous king’ 9 0-0 Sod: = oy: BH Wy pe 9 AMY = S: (ἃ δυναστων (= On) a Vu. 4 and 5 27. 
in τον SoGS(= Ww or Ws) Bes 7TH 53 nbn: § ‘power of all’ (omztting 733): ‘ prosperitas 
(read “ potestas””) hominis’ 1 = ®: Peters nnbyn: evoda (? for e£ovora) avdpos ἃ 5-330 Ppt) = (ἃ ypappareos 
(traditional rendering of ppd: the Targums render same word by ‘scribe’ [δ 55] 7 Gen. xlix. 10) tt by 
yd yn oven : & ‘Be not wroth with thy neighbour’ (μη μηνιασῃς [ al. μηνισῃς | = ἢ VON by) τῳ πλησιον: S ‘ Offend 
not thy friend’ [>S & yn = ‘evil’ of Q: probably added to produce word-play with yd] uu So H= 2: & 


16. Let men of rectitude be the companions of thy board. Cf. vi. 19. 

(g) IX. 17—X. 5. 

17. By the cunning-handed ... wise in discernment. In spite of the uncertainty of the text (see critical notes) 
the general sense is clear; just as the skill of the trained adept produces a perfect piece of work, so insight (or ? wise 
speech) enables the wise man (or ruler) to govern his people successfully. 

X. 1. A wise governor...well-ordered. Cp. Prov. xx. 8. The word rendered ‘ governor’ =lit. ‘judge’, ‘ magis- 


trate’; here it is applied to rulers (cp. vii. 6, # and @&): cp. also verses 2 and 24 of this chapter, and xli. 18. 
Instructeth’ has the idea of moral discipline. 


.. 32: As is the governor... his officers. Cp. Prov. xxix. 12. The Hebrew word rendered ‘ officers’ = lit. 
interpreters ’, i.e. those who represent the ruler and interpret his will to the people. 
3. A reckless king. Lit. ‘a king broken loose’ (viz. from all restraints) : cp. Exod. xxxii. 23 (‘the people . - - 
broken loose’). 
4. The rule...of God. -. Setteth over it one that is worthy. Cp. Dan. ii. 21. ‘One that is worthy,’ i.e. a worthy 
ruler: such good heathen kings as Cyrus are in the writer’s mind, probably. 
5. In the hand of God is the rule of every man. Or (pointing 133) of every man of power: i.e. the power of rulers 


comes from God. Cp. Wisd. vi. 1 ff. (ἃ has ‘ success’ (so Peters reads): the success which enables a man to secure 
power and rule well comes from God. 


(ἀ) X. 6-18. 
6. Requite not... Or # may be rendered: ‘in the case of every wrong requite not,’ &c. Lévi renders: 


348 


SIRACH 10. 7-12 


7 ‘Pride is hateful to the Lord and to men, 
’ And before both oppression is an offence™. 
8 Sovereignty is transferred from nation to nation 
*On account of the violence of pride*. 
9 How should he that is dust and ashes vaunt himself’, 
“He whose entrails rot (even) during his life? ? 
» 10°A suspicion (?) of disease defieth (?) the physician*— 
>To-day a king», and to-morrow Che shall fall°! 
τι When a man dieth he inheriteth 
4Worm and maggot, lice and creeping things". 
12 The beginning of pride is °when a man becometh shameless’®, 
And this heart’ departeth from his Maker. 


(freely) και pn πρασσε μηδεν ev epyors vBpews | $ adds the doublet, perhaps translated from a Hebr.variant of the verse, ‘from 
all sins and lying depart, and walk not in a lofty spirit’ (reading “nvn_for ΝΠ) | VY Pr. ‘for’ S 9 w-wpAwn) 
py by = GP καὶ εξ ἀμφοτερων πλημμελησει αδικα (dul for last two words δι 70 248 πλημμελεια adixcas): et 
exsecrabilis omnis iniquitas gentium 30 =? pny Sy S35 ΠΝ: S = ® with +) (Puy Syy) x-x So 15 oon 53 
MINI: δια αδικιας καὶ υβρεις καὶ χρηματα (ἴ = S ‘Because of sins and pride and Mammon’: +diversos dolos 
L ΞΞ και διαφορα (cp. vii. 18, xlii. 5 = N19) y +‘there is not a.more wicked thing than a covetous 
man: for such an one setteth his own soul to sale’ 7ο 248 & (so A.V. = φιλαργυρου μεν yap ovdev avopwrepov 
ovTos yap και τὴν €auTOU ψυχην εἐκπρακτον ποίει: x nihil est iniquius quam amare pecuniam hic enim animam suam 
venalem habet—a catechetical addition ; see Hart) zt Reading (with one correction of 38) 1 DM Ὁ Π2 AWN: 
(τ ‘ Because in life I (or they) have cast away his bowels’, ore ev Con eppupa (so B: dut 248 ἅς. eppupar) τα ενδοσθια 
αὐτου: proiecit ©: Syro-Hex εξουδενωσε (Pa correction): ® text has DW which yields no satisfactory sense: emend 
to DY from DO = ‘to rot’. & (correct text: see Lévi, Peters) ‘whose sides and bowels worms creep through 
during his life ’ aa Text very dificult. ἸῊ xD ay Adm pow = & ‘A long disease the physician mocketh’ 
(μακρον appwornpa σκωπτει (C σκοπτει, Sah σκοπει, 248 &c. κοπτει, 254 ἄς. ἐκκοπτει) ἰατρὸς (δ᾽ δᾶ ιατρον) 3» has 
a doublet: omnis potentatus brevis vita (= Δ}. 27.}). Languor prolixior (= μακραν) gravat medicum. Brevem 
(= μικρον) languorem praecidit medicus [/ere ‘gravat medicum’ = 35 Nay WAY: and “ praecidit” = κοπτει or 
ἐκκοπτει, suggesting a vartant ἌΝ ΤΙ ‘cuts short’ ]. pow ἦι xviii. 32 = ‘much’ (‘much luxury’ ΔΨ pow): but in 
Job iv. 12, xxvi. 14 2/=“a little’ (‘the whisper of’): 90 7 Meo-Hebr. (suspicion of a thing, ‘particle’): the meaning 
of WAS» ts also uncertain (? gleam, provoke, grieve, defy): # méght mean: ‘a long disease provokes (grieves, 
defies) the physician’: ov ‘there is a suspicion of disease—the physician is alarmed ’—or as rendered above in 
text b-b So 30 = (ἃ (-Ἐ καὶ) : ¥ ‘walking’ (qnv for ἼΡ : ‘ walking to-day and dead to-morrow’) eH 
bya: τελευτησει = S d-d So ® wr) DD aydiny ΠῚ : Gk epmera και θηρια και σκωληκας (σκωληκας =nydyn mon: 
ἐρπετα = Φ 1: & may not be in original order): S ‘and his worm before him creepeth’ (= wn 17293 ony) 
[Jn Neo- Hebr. 22 pl. 0°33 = ‘vermin’ or ‘lice Ἴ e-e 358 νὴ} DIN = (ἃ ἀνθρωπου αφισταμενου απὸ Κυριου (free 
rendering : YY¥2 = Hof. part of ny) ff Reading 125 with & and $: Ὦ 2 [3 renders the whole verse: ‘The 


“ 
‘Quelle que soit la faute ne punis pas ton prochain.’ The sentiment (cp. Lev. xix. 277 seems hardly in place here, 
the sudden introduction of ‘neighbour’ having no apparent justification from the context. For this line the doublet 


in 3(see critical note) gives: ‘from all sins and lying keep far away’ (= ?PN7 WN) ΝῺ bn), which yields a satis- 
factory sense and harmonizes with the context. It may well represent a variant (and superior) Hebrew reading. 
The connexion would then be: from all sins and lying keep away, but especially avoid the sin of pride. 

7. And before both. Lit. ‘and from both of them’, i.e. in the opinion of both God and men: (3 = 1905). 
‘Oppression’ is not only an offence against men (in their social life), but also an offence against God. 

8. Sovereignty is transferred from nation to nation. i.e. nations decline and fall (for reasons adduced in 86). 

On account of the violence ‘of pride. The versions (see critical note) add a further reason—greed of money. 
Of this, however, there is no trace in 38, and it may be due to later revision. God will not allow pride in nations to 
go unpunished ; much less in the case of individual men (cp. xvi. 11). There is probably an allusion to the transfer 
of the sovereignty of Syria from the Ptolemies to the Seleucidae, which was consummated by the victories of 
Antiochus III (a comparatively recent event when Ben-Sira presumably wrote). Ben-Sira, however, makes the 
principle one of universal application, and, perhaps, hints that the sovereignty of the Seleucidae is not likely to be 
more permanent than that of other oppressive world-powers. 

9-11 have probably some contemporary historical incident in view: Smend suggests that it was the death of one of 
the Ptolemies; perhaps Ptolemy IV (died 204 B.c.). According to Dio Cassius, this monarch died of a painful 
disease (νόσῳ χαλεπῇ μεταλλάττει τὸν βίον). 

g....he that is dust and ashes. Cp. Gen. xviii. 27 (cp. 4150 xvii. 32 and x1. 3 of our book). ; 

lo. a suspicion of disease... The logical gaps in the verse seem to be due to rapid description (adopted for 
graphic effect)—a sudden and (seemingly) trifling ailment defies the physician : the next day all is over. 

_ It. When a man dieth... worm... Cp. Is. xiv. 11. Cp. also vil. 17 of our book. 


ate The beginning. According to Smend the word so rendered denotes (like NWN) the essence or chief part 
of a thing. 


349 


SIRACH 10. 13-19 


13 £For sin is the rallying-place of insolence®, 
h And its source overfloweth with depravity>. 
For this cause ‘hath God stricken such an one marvellously’, 
And smitten him to the uttermost. 
14 JThe throne of the proud! God overthroweth, 
k And setteth* the humble in their place}. 
16 ™The roots of the proud™ God "sweepeth away", 
°And extirpateth them to the foundations of the earth°. 
17 ?He teareth them out of the earth? 4and rooteth them up", 
And extinguisheth their memory "from among men’. 
18 Insolence *was not the heritage of man‘, 
ΝΟΥ savage wrath* (apportioned) to the earth-born. 


7) X. 19-25. Honour to whom honour is due (= 2+2+2+4+1 distichs). 
9-25 


19 An honourable race is what? The race of men! 
*An honourable race is that which feareth God. 


beginning of the sins of men is their pride, and their deeds (=\nwyn) make foolish their heart ’ | s-8 So ®: 
ἀρχὴ ὑπερηφανίας ( for It Mp: S ‘the source of sin is pride’ = αρχη apaprias ὑπερηφανια the reading of 248 
Syro-Hex and Chrysostom b-h §o 35. Ayr ya APD: καὶ ὁ κρατων αὐτῆς εξομβρησει βδελυγμα Ge: ‘and 
fornication is the source of both’ $ (mt offen in Biblical Hebrew of sins of unchastity): & apparenily read 


mp) for mp1 (so Levz) Hi Reading yi onds ΜΒ πὶ with Smend (so Peters substantially): παρεδοξασεν 
(=w»ban) Κύριος ras enaywyas (=n) &: ‘God separated (=? nba) their conflicts’ $: % has y33 obs 125 xd 
(‘God filled his heart with a stroke’: 325 xbp corrupt) 71 So = 3. : θρονους apyovrav & ΚαῈ 30 IW 7.6. aw) 
1G adds two lines (=v. 15): pitas εθνων εξετιλεν ο Κυριος και εφυτευσεν ταπεινοὺς αντ αὐτῶν = 


ods spy ΝΣ (Ὁ) “py (15 a) 
:pnnAn ayy yor (15 b) 


(15 a) ‘The roots of the proud God plucketh up, 
(15 b) And planteth the humble in their place’: so &. 


Here 15a ts a doublet of τό ἃ; and 15b a doublet of τ (with slight variants). Smend and Lévi (but not 
Peters) regard the verse, however, as original, and as omitted in 3 accidentally (by homoroteleuton) man 
ἘΝ} napy ‘ The traces of the nations’ (read ὮΝ “Ipy with Peters): S = D1 Napy ‘ The traces of the proud’ (so 
Smend): G& xopas εθνων = 38 (cp. xvi. 3 NApy = roros) n-n  NYDY = ‘stoppeth up’: Fraenkel proposed NDND 
(Is. xiv. 23) or DSDND or DDND (zndicated also in MS. of ®): (ἃ κατεστρεψεν: S Py (S suggests Py DNA py 
DTN, fi 15a above) °° ®ypyp yas ἽΝ ava = ‘And their root (? root-offshoots) He cutteth down to the 
earth’: but (ἃ και amwXecev avtas ews θεμελίων γῆς = YAS ypap Ty Ὁ (cp. Amos ix. 3), which ws preferable (the 
first word of 2nd distich should be a verb on analogy of previous verses: hence DWI ἐς preferable). % ‘And 
destroyed from tke earth their memory’ (cf. 17 b) p-p Reading (ANd) OND (cp. xlviii. 15: so Lév7, Smend): 
39 (yx) ond) = ‘and He scoureth them from’, &c. (cp. Ezek. xxvi. 4): e&npavev εξ αὐτῶν (A νοι and some 
cursives e&npev avtous) (τ 4-4 DWN 3Ὲ ; καὶ ἀπωλεσεν avrovs (ἃ ; ‘He destroyeth them and uprooteth them and 
sweepeth them away’ ὦ m So S (ΞΞ- ΔΝ or Winn) 32 paNd = G& (dut repetition of this word cannot be 


right) SSG οὐκ εκτισται avOpwros = wind pons xd (so read) = 3: BY MV xb (‘doth not befit’) 
STAN ny) 38: οὐδὲ opyn θυμου & u-u Lines Ὁ and c omitted in ® by homoroteleuton. Gk omeppa εντιμον ποῖον ; 


13. For sin is the rallying-place (m\p1) of insolence, And its source (77)p2) overfloweth with depravity. 
* Insolence’, i.e. aggressive wrongdoing — sinning with a high hand, contemptuous ‘both of God and men—finds its 
source or reservoir in sin, which also pours forth every form of depravity. The words rendered ‘ rallying-place’ and 
‘source’ occur together (as synonyms) in xliii. 20= ‘pond’: but text doubtful ; see critical note there. 
such an one [lit. ‘him’]...him. i.e. the proud and arrogant sinner. 
14. The throne of the proud... Cp. 1 Sam. ii. 7f.; Luke i. 52. 
15. For this verse see critical note. 

_16. The roots of the proud God sweepeth away (v./. ‘rooteth out’). Cp. Ps. xliv. 2 (3): ‘With Thy hand thou 
didst root up nations and plant them in’ (corrected text). In 164 (‘extirpateth them,’ &c.) there may be an allusion to 
Sodom. Cp. Ezek. xvi. 49. 

17. extinguisheth their memory. The worst punishment of all: cp. xxviii. 23; Deut. xxxii. 26. 
18. was not the heritage. Or ‘ was not ordained’. ᾿ 
the earth-born. Lit. ‘born of a woman’, i.e. mortal: cp. Job xiv. 1. 
(2) X. 19-25. 
19. An honourable race is what?... Mankind may attain to honour or dishonour, in accordance with their 
relation to God. 


35° 


& 


ΘΙ ΘῊ 10. 19-27, 


A despicable race is what? The race of men™! 
vA despicable race is that which transgresseth the commandment’. 
20 Among brethren their head is honoured, 
And he that feareth God “among his own people’. 
22 beSojourner and stranger, alien and poor man°— 
Their glory is the fear of God. 
23 A poor man that hath understanding is not to be despised, 
Nor is any man of violence* to be honoured. 
24 °Prince®, ruler and governor are honoured, 
‘But none is greater than he that feareth (οα΄. 
25 ®Nobles will serve a servant that hath understandings, 
+ And a wise man will not complain®. 


(7) X. 26-29. The wrong and the right kind of self-esteem (= 2 - 2 distichs). 


26 ‘Play not the wise man‘ when thou doest thy business, 
jAnd glorify not thyselfi in the time of thy need. 

27 Better is he that worketh and hath wealth in abundance}, 
Than he that glorifieth himself 1and lacketh sustenance!. 


(dt Syro-Hex Eth > ποιὸν 5) ot φοβουμενοι (254 ο poBoupevos) Tov κυριον : = maby Na asa) vai (so S+‘the 
honourable race is that which observeth the commandment’): for c @& has oneppa ατιμὸν ποιον; σπερμὰα ἀνθρωπου 
= wand yr eA mbps yr (so 8) vv 50 38. ΞΞ ὁ: & σπερμα ατιμον ποιον 3 (but Syro-Hex Eth > ποιὸν ἢ 
οἱ παραβαινοντες evrodas ἃ-ἃ (τ ἐν οφθαλμοις avrov = YI (so Peters) : $= 900 (so Lé2), 2.6. ( is more 
honourable) than he’: Smend emends ΩΝ b Some cursives Complut.+(=v. 21) προσληψεως (248 προ 
ληξεως) apyn φοβος κυριου exBorns δὲ ἀρχὴ (exBody δὲ apyns 248) και (» 248) σκληρισμος και ὑυπερηφανια---α summary im 
gnomic form of verses 7-25 (Hart) ὁτὸ So 38: Gk πλουσιος και evdu€os kat πτωχος = WI) FID) WY (for An 73 
w91°133): “Sojourner who is poor and troubled’ ἀπά defective ὉΓ2Π] WN 92 (Smend): Adler DW] WS b5 
“every one that is exalted’ (so Lév7, with some reserve): (τ avdpa apaprwdov: 35. ‘ the godless rich’ (reading Wy 
Sor x) cp. 39 (virum peccatorem divitem) 5:38 defect. Ge μεγισταν καὶ = 33 (50 read with Smend and Strack): 


Adler, Peters) "WW S=G f1So 38 = (ἃ (+ αὐτων): S ‘And there is none who is greater than he that 
honoureth (= 7329) the God-fearer’ (+7139 ?@ variant from line above) ὅτ So Ge οἰκετῃ cop ελευθεροι 
λειτουργησουσιν = ὙἼΖ᾽ ON ysin say (so Smend, Peters) = $: ® [tay omn Seno Jay b-h καὶ ἀνὴρ 


ἐπιστήμων ov γογγύσει = ἸΣ ΝΠ" xd pon word (so read with Peters); $ ‘And a wise man when he is corrected will 
not complain’ = G+ πεπαιδευμενος (so 70 248 Syro-Hex: cp. 3). [38 has for both distichs : 
on Sen say 
:yoxm xd [pan tan 
i.e. ‘A slave that hath understanding is exalted ; 
And a slave that is wise will not murmur’ | 
HSo% oonnn x= & μὴ σοφιζου: © noli te extollere = μη δοξαζου (b): S ‘ Be not slack’ (3 ΠΠΠ ἢ for Dnnn) 
[3 transposes verbs in a and Ὁ] Ji So ἢ (ἃ S: Het noli cunctari (verb transposed from (a)) Καὶ 38 
PT AN = S: (ἃ ἐργαζομενος και περισσευων ev πασιν (so N* V 70 248 Syro-Hex # = Sah) = 9S (with $3 for 
1): B εν πασιν ἡ περιπατῶν 15 not original 1Ὶ Reading jd ADM (so Lev, Smend, §c.): (ἃ καὶ ἀπορων ἀρτων 


20. Among brethren their head is honoured, And he that feareth God... A comparison is implied. Just as 
among a people (brethren) the leader is honoured, so the God-fearer is honourable among men. ‘ Brother’ often = 
fellow-member of the same community or nation (cp. vii. 12). The alternative rendering (see critical note) is ‘but 
he who feareth-God is more honourable than he’. 

[For v. 21/see critical note.] < ᾿ 

22. Sojourner and stranger, alien and poor man... The reference is, perhaps, to poor Jews living in heathen 
lands (so Smend). (ἃ (‘The rich man, the honourable and the poor’) makes the statement more general. All classes 
alike, whatever their condition, find their highest glory in the fear of God. : i‘ F 

23. A poor man that hath understanding. i.e. a poor man who is pious, since piety (fear of God) is the only 
true source of wisdom according to Ben-Sira. Poverty and piety are often synonymous in the Psalms. 

any man of violence. Even though he be rich. S$ (‘the godless rich’) expresses this distinctly. 

25. Nobles will serve a servant that hath understanding. Cp. Prov. xvii. 2 f. Character overcomes all the 
artificial barriers of social conventions. 

(7) X. 26-20. 

26. Play not the wise man. i.e. do not make a show of superior wisdom—do thy work quictly and honourably ; 
do not pose as being superior to thy work (for then the work will suffer). Such superior wisdom is an excuse for idleness. 

And glorify not thyself... Viz-as to what thou mightst have done. The fact remains that all that thou 
couldst have done has not availed to keep off want. eee: 

27. Better is he that worketh... The man who goes quietly about his work, and ‘does’ it, is infinitely 
Superior to one who merely talks and boasts ; cp. Prov. xii. 9. 

And lacketh sustenance. i.e. through his own idleness. 


301 


ΘΙ ΘΗ 595 las 


ΠΕΒΈΨΕΓ ΝΗ εν. 


®* 28 My son, glorify thy soul in humility, : 
m And give it discretion™ "such as befitteth it®. " 

29 °?Who will justify him that condemneth himself? ? 73 

And who will honour him that dishonoureth “himself? £3 


(a) X. 30—XI.1. Wisdom rather than mere wealth brings honour (= 3 distichs). 


30 There is a poor man that is honoured on account of his wisdom, 
* And there ist he that is honoured on account of his wealth. 
31 He that is honoured (in his poverty)—how much more in his wealth’! 
And he that is despicable in his wealth—how much more ‘(in his poverty)"! 
11] τ The wisdom of the poor man lifteth up "his head”, 
And causeth him to sit among princes. 


(6) ΧΙ. 2-13. Warnings against hasty judgements (= 2+2+2+3+2+14+43 distichs). 


2 Praise no man for his beauty”, 
And abhor no man “for his appearance”. 

3 *Of no account* among flying things is the bee, 
But her fruit is Ysupreme among products’. 


(= 2 pnd apm) Prov. xii. g): dud 3 = ΣΝ m-m (ἴ καὶ dos αὐτῃ τιμὴν = ὮΝ mb im) (8 = Dyn: (ἃ τιμὴν chosen 

Sor its sound-resemblance ? see Smend): B....0 95 in (Ryssed 3 ap) 12") n-n 30 ΠΣ NBD (a late cdiom : cp. 
XXXViil, 17) ο δ pr. ‘My son’ P-P ® has VIPS) 1D WI wad: EG τὸν ayapravorra εἰς τὴν Ψυχην avrov τις 
δικαιωσει ; 9-9 WI: G την Conv αὐτου (? mistake for τὴν uxnv avrov) rr wy: G και πλουσιος (2 for καὶ 
ἐστιν os): & suggests WW Ww (also read Wy Ww: so Hart) 8-8 (ἃ ὁ δὲ δοξαζομενος (but N* Syro-Hex >6e: 
so & in Cod. Am.) (AC 248 ἄς. 0 δεδοξασμενος) ev πτωχειᾳ και ev πλουτῳ ποσαχως; ἴῆ NIN ywya 735) (= ‘one 
honoured—in his wealth how much more!’ dz/--3m>72 after 7323: so Smend, Peters ὑπὸ 4 4md32 (so Smend, 
Peters): & ev πτωχειᾳ [318 adds an explanatory doublet: 


sny saan nvya ἸΠῚ ΡΣ sana 
any adp2 ἸΠῚΡῚΣ vipa adpan | 


uu So HS: Ce κεφαλὴν (+avrou NAC &c. Syro-Hex % = 39) v-v So @ &: S ‘that is beautiful in his 
appearance’ ww So G = 17903 (38 “3 yi3) = ‘hateful in appearance’ [cf. xiii. 22]: but omit aI with & 
Levi, Peters, ἄς.) xx 35 bbe = S: & puxpa (3+ yap pr.) y-¥H MIN Wi: G& ‘the chief of sweetmeats’ 


; ge ΒΙΌΣΙΙΥ thy soul (i.e. thyself) in humility. In humility, not in pride and self-assertion, shall true honour 
be found. 
give it discretion ... i.e. cultivate sound sober sense in thyself, such as is worthy of thee. The implication 

seems to be that a proper self-respect is desirable. 

29. Who will justify ... Want of proper self-esteem, undue self-depreciation, are here condemned. 

X. 30—XIV. 19. A series of warnings in connexion with various contingencies of life. This division contains 
eleven subsections. 

(a) X. 30—XI. 1. 
30. that is honoured. Even while he is still poor. The lives of many of the Rabbis would illustrate the truth of 
this remark. 

31. He that is honoured (in his poverty)... i.e. wealth enhances the honour of the wise, and poverty the 
degradation of the foolish. 
_ XI. 1. The wisdom of the poor man... princes. In both Talmuds and in the Midrashim clause ὁ of this verse 
is quoted in combination with Prov. iv. 8 as from Ben-Sira: ‘In the book of Ben-Sira it is written: ‘“ Exalt her and 
she shall lift thee up (Prov. iv. 8) and set thee among princes.”’ (So 7. 7. Berakhoth vii. 2; cp. T. Δ. Berakhoth 


48 a, &c.) 
(4) XI. 2-13. 
2. Praiseno man... A warning against being misled by external appearance ; cp. 1 Sam. xvi. 7. 
3. Ofno account... The bee is an excellent example to point the moral. 


352 


SIRACH 11. 4-10 


‘ 42Mock not the dress of the wretched’, 
“And scoff ποι" Pat those whose day is bitter”: 
For wondrous are °the works of Jahveh*, 
And His operation is hid ?from man‘, 
5 Many °downtrodden® have sat ‘upon a throne’, 
s And those who were never thought of? have worn "a crown". 
6 Many exalted have suffered ‘great’ abasement, 
And also honourable Jbeen delivered up’. 


7 Before thou hast examined ‘blame ποῖ; 
Investigate first, and afterwards !rebuke'. 

8 ™ Answer not a word before thou hear, 
And in the midst of a discourse" speak not. 

9 °Ina matter where thou art not affected°, Penter not into strife?, 
4And with the quarrels of the arrogant meddle not’. 


το My son, ‘why multiply thy business (unduly)? ? 
sBut if thou so doest thou shalt not go unpunished *. 


(apyn yAvkuoparev): 3 as) before ΤΠ 17:2 So 3ὴ (TAN AYYD meght = ‘at him that is clothed with destruction’) 
(ἃ ‘Glory not in the putting on of raiment’ (ev περιβολῃ ἱματιων μὴ Kavynon = Sbann bx 23 noya): $= 
a-a Sy ® Ddpn bxy: ὁ ‘ And exalt not thyself’ (éaking bp in NH sense = 5Soynpn dy) b-b So 18 oy 02: 
& ev nuepa δοξης [S$ ‘And do not despise the man whose throat is bitter’] c-¢ So HG: S ‘the secrets of Ged’ 
d-d So® = 3: (ἃ ἐν ἀνθρωποις (= ΠΝ) e-e So ® Ὁ Ν) 3) (ait. ‘crushed ones 4) = S$: (ἃ τυραννοι = 09") 
££ So ® = S (seat of kingship): G& ἐπὶ ἐδαφους (Pcorruption or correction of ent duppov = 3, in throno). 8- So 
5 - “ny 35 by ὧν ba) (& has singular ‘And one who was never thought of’, &c.): Q corrupt: ἘῺΝ wy ad by dan: 
correct to ὃν Ὀ3) as above: so Lévi: Peters τὸν bay: Smend ody, h-bh So ® = G: S ‘ clothing of honour’ 
Hi ® ἽΝ = (ἃ: S ‘together’ (M+7M awn) a variant: IM = 8) 1.110 WIN: (ἃ παρεδοθησαν εἰς χειρας 
eraipov : S ‘were brought low from their honour’ k-k 39 abon bx = ‘distort not’ (sc. 2 the judgement): & 
μεμψῃ: % ‘associate not thyself’ (qninwn Nd) 1Ὶ So & = 35 (ANN 477. of ἢ) = ‘rebuke’ ἐπι NH: if, only 
here: if yin could be read the sense would be ‘be angry’; cp. Prov. xix. 3): 3 make ‘ marriage’ τι 15 pr. ‘ My 
son’ n-n 35 AMY (cp. vi. 35): Gt Aoyor = nw: so 9 0-0 AIyy jpN2 = ‘ When thou hast no concern 
(care)’: (ἃ περι mpayparos ov οὐκ ἐστιν σοι χρεια (but NAC 248 &C. > xpeta): Syro-Hex περι mpayparos ov ἐστιν σοι 
aurws (cp. 3» de ea re quae te non molestat) = ? GIL (= 38): S (corrected text) = ΠΝ NI p-e Reading 
annn bx (for ® anxn bx) = & (cf. viii. 2): so 9 a-a. So ® omrpn Sx DT AID: GE καὶ ev κρίσει apaproov μὴ 
συνεδρευε = 10 (εν κρισει = 373 rightly) : S ‘And in the midst of sinners multiply not thine exactions ’ mr 
Tpey Asan and (pwy = poy): G py περι πολλα ἐστωσαν αι πράξεις σου: S = 38 (cnlerpreting Twy as from pyy) 
<8 Reading npn xd naan ox) =‘ But if thou multipliest it thou shalt not go unpunished’ = G&: ® xd mand yyy 


4. Mock not the dress of the wretched. Or ‘at him that is clothed with destruction’ (less probable). For ‘dress 

of the wretched’ cp. Is. Ixi. 3 (read ‘garment of mourning’); and for ‘those whose day is bitter’ cp. Amos viii. 1o 
(‘a bitter day’). As Edersheim remarks, great importance was attached by the Rabbis to dress. A saying attributed to 
Ben-Sira (in Derek eves zuta, towards end) runs: ‘The adornment (splendour) of God is man ; the adornment of man 
is his dress.’ It does not, of course, follow from this that a man would be estimated entirely by his dress, though Ben-Sira 
here enters a warning against conduct which may indicate the presence of such a tendency in certain quarters. 
_ For wondrous are the works of Jahveh... God can (and often does) upset man’s estimates by reversing 
in wonderful ways the conditions that determine a man’s place in society. ‘God may send sudden reversal in 
punishment of our pride, or else the prosperity of which we boasted may be only apparent and temporary: wv. 5 and 
6 carry out this idea’ (Edersheim). 

5. downtrodden. Lit. ‘crushed’ = humble, lowly: cp. Is. lvii. 15. (ἃ reverses the sense of 5@ (‘ Many rulers 
have sat down upon the ground’). For the sentiment cp. Ps. cxiil. 7. 

vu. 7-9. A warning against hasty action in regard to things heard. 

7. blame not. The Hebrew word (see crit. note) perhaps = ‘pervert not’ (sc. the judgement): i.e. be not 
prejudiced. (ἃ renders ‘ blame not’ (so Lévi). 

8. Answer not...speak not. For the sentiment of the verse cp. Prov. xvill. 13; it is also expressed in Pzrge Aboth 
v.10: ‘Seven things are in a clod, and seven in a wise man. (The wise man)... doth not interrupt the words of his 
companion, and is not hasty to reply...’ Cf. also Baba Bathra 98> (cited by Edersheim): ‘interrupt not in the 
middle of a discourse’ (in a quotation from ‘ the book of Ben-Sira’). 

9. And with the quarrels of the arrogant meddle not. By the ‘arrogant’ are meant high-handed (pre- 
sumptuous) sinners: the wise man will not trouble himself about the quarrels of such among themselves; he will 
confine himself to matters that concern the pious. 

vu. 10-13. Warnings against hastiness in action. ᾿ 
1ο. My son, why (i.e. do not) multiply ... In 10 ὁ an alternative rendering to ‘thou shalt not go unpunished’ 


353 


SIRACH 11. 10-16 


39} tIf thou runnest thou shalt not attaint, 
"And if thou seekest thou shalt not find". i 
11 There is one that toileth and laboureth Yand runneth’, .: 
w And is so much the more™ behind. 
12 * There is (another) that is weak and wandering in misery*, 
YLacking in strength and abounding in frailty ; 
z And the eye of Jahveh watcheth him for good’, 
“And He shaketh him up out of the stinking dust*. 
13 He lifteth up his head and exalteth him?, 
So that many may marvel at him®. 


(c) XI. 14-28. AU things are in the hands of God (= 1[+3)+1+34+341+24+2+2 distichs). 


14 Good and evil, life and death, 
4Poverty and wealth come from Jahveh*. 
15 ®[ Wisdom and insight “πα discernment ‘of the Law’ 
Come from Jahveh: 
‘Lovet and upright ways 
Come from Jahveh. 
16 Folly and darkness have been formed for sinners; 
8 And as for evil-doers—evil abideth with thems°.] 


mp2 = ‘ But he that hasteneth to multiply shall not go unpunished’ = S (Lev? renders mp3 ‘ succeed  Ξξξ N53? 27 
Aram.) tt Reading yan xd yan OX = &: 3) has yin wd prin xd ox 1a = 9 wu So ® S: (ἃ ‘And 
thou shalt not escape by fleeing’ (και ov μη expuyns διαδρας = ? odin xd ponn an) (Peters). [Thus according to ἃ 
the two lines would run: 


yan xd γ᾽ ox | 
:pben xd xn ont] 


v-V So 38 : (ἃ καὶ σπευδων Wow 8 15 93) = G& καὶ τόσῳ μαλλον x-x 35 ban TaN) WEA (® MS. places bn 
al beginning of next stichos): WO = WH iv. 29: (ἃ (freely) ἐστιν νωθρὸς και προσδεομενος αντιληψεῶς (νωθρος = 
wry iv. 29: προσ. αντι. = Pa doublet of voTepoy wyxve = MD DN of next line): S ‘There is that toileth and | 
laboureth (= v. 11 a) and is lacking in body ’ (= ἢ & adove) ΣΟΥ ® defective: ....8 10 22 ἼΡΠ (read 
wis am nn: Peters mds Jor last wrd=G: $= in reading δ spn and for rest of line=& | 
2-t So (τ (Ν 248 &c. have sing. o opOarpos... = LSB: v./. οφθαλμοι): S ‘The word of the Lord shall be good 
upon him’ 4". So 30: G weakens ‘stinking dust’ 20 εκ ταπεινώσεως αὐτου: 85 fo ‘from dust and ashes’ _ bb So 
38: 248 ἄς. Syro-Hex amo συντριβης : other Codd. >: 5. Ξε Ὦ © 248 Syro-Hex + θεωρησαντες dd So 35 = 
@&: % ‘Rich and poor are equal before God ’ ©-e yy. 15-16 are omitted in NAB, but are attested in 248 ἄς. 3» 
Syr Ar as well as ἸΏ : they are regarded as original by Peters, but are rejected by Smend (who also thinks they do 
not form part of & in τὶς original form). Schlatter regards them (together with v. 17) as a glossator’s addition to 
the text of & (so Ryssel). ee-ee So Gr καὶ γνωσις νομου = AMIN PIM (so Peters): YIII Pan: S=GB ff So 
G& = 9 (wan) = 773M (so read): BRON —_-&-E & “ And evil shall wax old with them that glory therein ’ (τοις δὲ 


ἴδε thou shalt not succeed’ (see crit. note).. Lévi compares the French proverb : ‘ Qui trop embrasse mal étreint” Cp. 
also Pirge Aboth iv. 14: ‘ Have little business (PDY as here) and be busied in Torah.’ The idea expressed in our verse 
is that over-eagerness in business matters defeats its own ends. 
If thou runnest (for text cp. crit. note) : developing the thought of 10 a, ὁ. 
11. There is one that toileth... Cp. Qoh. ix. 11; Prov. xi. 24, xxi. 5 (toileth . . . runneth to amass riches). ' 
12. And He shaketh him up out of... Cp. 1 Sam. ii. 8; Ps. cxiii. 7-8. 
13. So that many may marvel athim. Cp. Is. lii. 14. 
(c) XI. 14-28. 
14. Good and evil. i.e. good fortune and misfortune: cp. xxxiv. 24-5 (and notes) ; also Is. xlvii.7. God creates 
welfare and caiamity.) 
Come from Jahveh. “ὁ comments: ‘are equal before God.’ 
On wv. 15-16, which are considered secondary by Smend, see crit. note. They may be an addition due to later 
revision of the book (part of the secondary Hebrew recension: cf. Introd. § 3 e). 
_ 15. Wisdom, insight ere daalwe Note that ‘wisdom’ and ‘insight’ are equated with knowledge of the Law. This 
is characteristically scribal: the point of view is that of the doctors of the Law (cp. 1 Chron. xxv. ὃ [‘teacher’ and 
scholar’] and xxvii. 32 [‘a counsellor,a man of understanding, and a scribe']). The source of the passage is 
Dan. 11. 20-21 (Lévi). 
Love and upright ways. The fruit of a real knowledge of and devotion to the Law. 
16. Folly and darkness... The sinner, by his presumption in persisting in his evil ways, brings upon himself 


354 


STRACH 11. 17=21 


17 >The gift of Jahveh abideth for the righteous*, 
And His good pleasure is ever successful. 
» 18 There is that waxeth rich ‘from self-denial‘, 
JAnd this is his allotted reward): 
19 What time he saith: ‘I have found rest, 
And now !J will enjoy my goods’!— 
He knoweth not ™what lot shall befall™ ; 
He shall leave (them) to others and die. 


20 "My son®, °be steadfast® in thy task ?and think thereon?, 
And ‘grow old4 in thy work. 
21 ‘Marvel not at the doers of iniquity*— 
8Trust® in Jahveh and wait for * His light' ; 
For it is "easy" in Jahveh’s sight 
Suddenly—in a moment—*to make a poor man rich’. 


γαυριωσιν ἐπι κακιᾳ ovyynpa Kaka): ἢ has Ddy Ay A oy (Smend thinks a verb has fallen out of B= συγγηρᾳ : 
Pmwn foll. ayn: Peters restores DOY AYA AYA Ὁ 3 ΠῚ = (ἃ and §S). bh = G&: ® only partly legible 
9 9  Ρὴηνς. [ino (restore with Smend Wy pay ” yn) : δ = (ἃ (with the reading evhaBeow S°® for evo eBeow) 
47 ΤΉΝ ΠΣ ‘from humbling himself’ = (ἃ (free rendering) ‘by his wariness and pinching’ (amo προσοχῆς καὶ 
σφιγγιας αὐτου) : 86 “ from his poverty’ 7:1 8ὸ (ἃ καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ μερις tov μισθου αὐτου = DY pbn mn (so read with 
Lévt): Bway am ,,.. = ‘maketh his reward liable’ (‘ mortgageth it’): ὀπή the expression zs a strange one: 
S ‘There is whose wealth does not follow him’ *%#%S@#r. ‘And’ 1-1 & φαγομαι ex τῶν ἀγαθων pov = ® Ὁ: Ν 
(302) ὅτ ® here defective: Smend abn Dy) πῶ =‘ what sort of day’ (ov ‘what day’ =‘ how much day’) ‘shall 
pass?’ =k τις καιρος παρελεύσεται : Strack abn [mam] πὸ : Lev pbn mm nn: Peters ypn ΠΝ ΠΣ = ‘ what his (time)- 
limit shall be’: οὐ ῷ ‘what his end shall be’ n1 So HS: G> 0-0 S$ στηθι = ny (so read with Levi, 
Peters): ® illegible P-P Ge και ομιλει εν aury = AIAN 2) (so Adler, Lev): Smend yrna ἸΔῚ = und lass sie dir 
gefallen: Peers bana 12}: 9. ‘and thereon prop thyself’ 4- G& παλαιωθητι = 38 [jwpnn= $s ΤῸ Reading 
pe Sypa nnn bx = G&S (G& vocalized ‘DYB): Lévi yy yaa: Smend yr 2772: B defective 8&8 SoG moreve (τῳ 
κυριῳ) = [nd] ponn: S&S ‘wait for’ (13D) = ?anw = ‘look diligently (for) ’ tt SoS: G& τῳ πόνῳ σου 
(=? 4b for yd) u-u ® m3) = ‘a straightforward thing’, i.e. ‘something plain and easily compassed’: 
(ἃ κουῴφον = S vv So & S = b5 swynd (® MS. defective) 


an inevitable doom—he is plunged into folly and darkness which have been created for him by God (predestinated 
for him). 

evil abideth with them. Or ‘waxeth old with them’ (@): i.e. it becomes inveterate. 

17. The gift of Jahveh abideth. .. i.e. the good fortune that God bestows upon the righteous lasts—it is not 
transient like that of the wicked. 

His good pleasure. Jahveh’s goodwill always makes itself felt, and is seen in tangible evidences of it. 
[Schlatter regards v.17 as part of the gloss, which includes vv. 15-17 according to him.] According to Smend the 
divine gift to the pious consists in the triumphant vindication which they enjoy at the latter part of their lives. 

vv. 18-22. The subject of these verses is the old one of the prosperity of the wicked and the reward of the 
righteous (cp. e.g. Ps. Ixxiii). Here vv. 18-19 are concerned with the rich fool, to which vv. 20-21 form an antithesis, 
having for their subject the poor righteous man: v. 22 sums up in favour of the righteous. Riches carefully amassed 
elude their possessor when he proposes to enjoy them; while piety leads toa good end of life. 

18. from self-denial. Lit. ‘from afflicting himself’: (τ interprets well ‘by his wariness and pinching’. 

his allotted reward. The same person is, of course, referred to as in clause a (for reading see critical note). 

19. What time he saith... Cp. the parable of the rich fool (Luke xii. 16): also Ps, xlix. 10 (11) for the last 
line. The sentiment is common also in the Rabbinic literature: cp. e.g. Qoheleth rabba (on i. 4): ‘In this world 
one man builds a house and another inhabits it; one plants a garden and another eats the fruit thereof’ (cited 
by Edersheim). al 

20. My son. The form of address marked by the expression ‘my son’ introduces a new division, or a new 
paragraph. } ν ἘΔ 

be steadfast in thy task. i.e. in thy allotted task (pina: cp. for this use of PM, Exod. v. 14), which in 
the case of the righteous is the fulfilling and carrying out of God’s commands. (τ renders: ‘ Be steadfast in thy 
covenant with God.’) 

in thy work: of leading a God-fearing life. 

21. Marvel not. 1.6. at the success of his works so as to envy: cp. Prov. iii. 31 (‘Envy thou not the man of 
violence ’). Ἢ ἢ 

Trust in Jahveh and wait for His light. Cp. Is. lix. 9 (‘we wait for the light’); Jer. xiii. 16; Job ili. 9, &c. 
‘Light’ is a common metaphor for divine deliverance (so here). 


to make a poor man rich. As Edersheim remarks: ‘the moral of this verse can scarcely be considered 
> elevated’ 


355 


SIRAGCH. 1k 22=33 


i“ 22 The blessing of God is * the portion* of the righteous, 
y And at the right time¥ “his hope shall flourish’. 


Soh ee 


23 Say not: *‘ What is (yet) my desire*? 
» And what henceforth is left unto me? ?’ 
24 Say not: °‘I have enough’, 
4And what mischief can befall me*?’ 
25 °A day’s happiness maketh misfortune to be forgotten’, 
.fAnd a day’s misfortune maketh happiness to be forgotten’. 
&  268For it is easy in Jahveh’s sight 
At the end to requite a man according to his deeds®. 
Ὦ 27 "An evil time causeth forgetfulness of delights, 
: iAnd the last end of a man will tell of him’. 
28 ijPronounce no man happy before his death; 
k For by his latter end* a man shall be known). 


W vv, 22-26 omitted in 3 xx 5: Ger μισθῳ (= pia 2. ὁ. Nessentiae ; so Smend reads) ΣῪ ® nya: 
Gk και ev wpa ταχινῃ (Sah > ταχινῃ): 3 = B 2-2 32 NIDN npn: Gk ἀναθαλλει ευλογιαν αὐτου (? ευλογιαν corrupt 
Jor evodia = & processus iliius fructificet) a-a Ok τις ἐστιν μου xpea: 18 ’YAN Mwy D..... Read with Peters 


YYDN ΠῸ = Ge: 30 seems to embody an explanatory addition (tt makes the line too long : Smend’s restoration ts hardly 

Flebrew’ b-b 15 ὦ ay Any mn (correct Any fo ΤΙΝ with Ge): Ce καὶ τινα απὸ του νυν εσται μου τα ἀγαθα = 7719) 

2% ap” ΠΡ (Lev?) ὁ-ὸ (ἃ avrapky μοι εστιν = \Iv YT (so read with Peters) d-d 35 defect. ὧν FG G8 © 

Peters restores missing words D8 71: Smend Bis WN: GE καὶ te ἀπὸ του νυν κακωθησομαι ; (απο του vey? from 23d) 

e-e So BH: Gey ἡμέρᾳ ἀγαθων ἀαμνησια κακων Pf So 39: G καὶ ev ἡμερᾳ κακων ov μνησθησεται ayabov | 38 - NNN) 

poy mann DIN = 27 Ὁ im & (see note below): v. 27 in the form preserved in & seems to have been introduced as 

a doublet in ® and to have displaced v. 26; when this occurred tts first stichos was omitted owing to tts similarity 

with 25b. See further Peters ad loc.| s-s So Gk (ometted in ®): Peters restores: 
Muay PPS M52) 1D | 

:yqata o> awad nana : 

Peters plausibly explains the omission of vv, 22-26 in & as due to the similarity of 21 Ὁ, c and 26 (homozoteleuton). 

bh So 39: Ge κακωσις wpas ( AYA Ny) επιλησμονὴν ποιει tpupys: S ‘The evil of a day causeth forgetfulness 

of good’ (assimilated 10. 25 b) Hi So ® yby py DIN HD): (ἃ ( freely) καὶ ev συντελείᾳ avOpwrov ἀποκαλυψις epywv 

αὐτου: $ exactly = psy WAN DIN MINN (doublet tn ἸΏ added at end of Ὁ. 25): here mn zs a corruption of 

mnn, and this and DMN) are variants on 4\D) and 7) Fi So (ἃ = 1η5: H1= 8. The doublet (181) and 

the ortginal text (*) appear in ® side by side, thus: 


WANN ON DIN ἽΡΠΠ DWI) f 
DIN AWN’ InanNa 5 } cee 
733 Wan bx nip A>) _ 
vay to» ἸΠΛΊΠΝΣ 5} B= & 
Saadya (as cited in Cowley, iv, p. xxi) quotes ®? with slight variants (omitting 133 at end of line 1, and reading 
723n for 123° in Line 2) ἘΠῚ 39 yaa 3D which Ge, misunderstanding, renders καὶ ev texvots αὐτου: for NNN 


. The blessing of God... flourish. Cp. Prov. x. 22. 


vv. 23-28 : God’s retribution smooths away all inequalities at the last. 
i Εἰς What is (yet) my desire? i.e. what is there left for me to desire? (= 23 ὁ). 
25. A day’s happiness...a day’s misfortune... Developing the idea of 244. ‘ Past sufferings will be forgotten 


by the righteous when prosperity cometh, and the opposite will be the case with the wicked’ (Edersheim). For 
a day's happiness’ cp. xiv. 14 (‘a good day’). For the general sentiment cp. xviii. 24 f. 

26. itis easy... It is easy for God, because the retribution that comes at the last is final and complete. 
_ 27. the last end of a man will tell of him, The last circumstances of a man’s life will reveal whether he has 
lived his life on the whole well or badly. This appears to be one of the main convictions of Ben-Sira. 

28. Pronounce no man happy before his death. Cp. Pirge Aboth ii. 5 (ed. Taylor) : ‘ Trust not in thyself until 
the day of thy death ’ (a saying of Hillel). 
_. by his latter end a man shall be known. & has ‘in his children (by his posterity) a man shall be known’. 
Phe idea introduced by &’s interpretation is not present in the original form of the verse. It is, however, one of 
the developments natural to speculation on the subject. It implies that the misdeeds of a man will involve his 
children in punishment, and that, if he dies unpunished, retribution will yet assert itself in their punishment. It 
was a common notion among the Jews that the sins of parents resulted in physical or moral defects in children 
(cp. John ix. 2). It is noticeable that the idea of a future life is entirely absent from the passage. 


356 


SURACEH 11, 79.720 


(2) XI. 29-34. Beware of intercourse with strangers and bad characters (= 3 +142 distichs). 
ἢ 291Not every one is to be brought into ™the house™— 
»And how many are the wounds of a slanderer®! 


30 °As a decoy partridge in a cage®, so is the heart of the insolent (sinner), 
And as a spy that seeth ?the nakedness?!. 


=‘ posterity,’ cp. Ps. cviii. (cix.) 13 ; xxxvii. (xxxvili.) 37; Jer. xxxviii. (xxxi.) 17. Il pv, 29-30. These verses 


have a number of additional lines appended to them in ®, where they appear tn the following form : 
ma 5x wand vay 53 xb = 29a 
Sayq syyp ἸΔῚ ΠΙΟῚ = 290 
my ΝΟ 2529] = 29¢ ) citation from 
[At odo ona [5 Ξε ia 
mea as ads. nnx mya = 30a 
25nd Iw ΞΝῚΞ = 30b 
ΝΣ YW 139) MD = 30Cc 
mya (1. 525 2) Sasa sin 2059 = 30d 
ΕΞ. 53 [13] om = 30e 
(ον ννννν 550) 2 DWH NI = 30f 
asd mrad ana Sayin aw = 308 
:may AN Ὁ. ΟῚ = 30h 


Επ τ: 2: 


Here 29, ἃ ts a citation from Jer. ν. 27 (3G >): 298, Ὁ, 30a, and 30 ἢ Ξξ & vv. 29-30 and represent the 
genuine text of &. These lines are also attested in 8. Besides 3 also represents 30 c-f. (30 a, bin S$ = 30a, Ὁ 
in Ge: & thus preserves the two genuine clauses consecutively). In English 30a-h may be thus rendered : 
‘As an imprisoned bird in a cage (so) is a proud man’s heart’ (= 30 a). 
‘As a wolf that lieth in wait to tear’ (= 30b). 
‘ How many are the iniquities of the pillager!’ (= 30c). 
‘Like a dog that entereth every house (= 30 d) 
and stealeth (so) is every pillager’ (= 30 e). 
‘He cometh and maketh strife in all... ... ca ("3 Offi) = 
‘The slanderer lieth in wait like a bear at the house of the scoffers (= 30 9) 
and like a spy that seeth the nakedness’ (= 30h). 


A citation of the passage also occurs in T. δι Feb. 63 Ὁ, Sanh. 100b. 


73 7nd O34 ie 
yma (ἼΠ5) ΝΞ ban xd) = 79% 
(ν.1. Dan) San syys yn pan = 29 b. 
(ν.1. aay) Ay 3295 odaaA = 30h (1.6. 30 Ὁ in &). 
:nbmi yan ys = 328. 


The origin of the additional clauses in ἸΏ may be explained as follows : [29 c,d ts a citation from Jer. v. 27 ;| 30b 
7s a gloss developing 30a; 306 ὦ a doublet of 29 Ὁ, and 30 ἃ (down fo DIM) of 30 6) of 30a; 306 (yyIa b3 13) 
and 30 f a doublet of 31 b; and 30 g an expansion of 30 ἢ (ΞΞ 30bmG&) mm SoW: (ἃ ὦ τ ‘thy’ »™ So®: 
bay >y]yp 43971 (cn VBE EL. Ὀ51" = ‘ trafficker’: 37 = ‘slanderer NE (ἃ πολλὰ yap ra evedpa του δολιου (248 δια- 
βολουὴ = 55. : hence Peters reads Soy) ΖΝ 2 ΠῚ 0-0 35 2032 pnw Hyd: (ἃ περδιξ θηρευτὴς (dul 70 θηρευθεις 
= 3) ev καρταλλῳ = 3533 nny sp (so 8): Peters so reads. p-P H Ay = ‘nakedness’ (cp. Gen. xlil. 9, 12): 


(4) ΧΙ. 29-34. 

τ Not ee one is to be brought into the house. The citation in the Talmud (see critical note) runs: * Keep 
away many from the midst of thy house, and bring not every man into thy house.’ To be ‘ brought into the house’= 
to be placed on terms of intimate friendship; to be made a ‘ house-friend’. at ee: τὰ 

30. Asa decoy partridge in a cage. Lit. ‘as a partridge imprisoned in a cage’ (see critical note for text). The 
simile is drawn from the custom of employing a bird in a cage, provided with food, as a decoy, the cage being so 
arranged that other birds can enter, but, having once entered, cannot get out again: cf. Jer. v.27: ‘ As a decoy (cage) 
is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit.’ This verse from Jeremiah has been inserted in the text of ® 
(at end of v. 29) to illustrate our passage here, which, indeed, is based upon it. The point of the comparison is 
the apparent harmlessness of the lure which is so dangerous. ᾿ ᾿ ἃ 

the insolent (sinner). Lit. ‘the proud man’: ‘proud’ often = wicked, just as ‘meek’ often = pious in Om 
The heart of a sinner is as dangerous to know as a decoy bird is to other birds that come to it. _ 
as a spy that seeth the nakedness. The phrase is to be explained by the full phrase ‘spies to see the 


357 


STRA GH tai an= lets 


®* 31 The backbiter turneth® good into evil, 

And in thy loveliest qualities he putteth *a stain". 

32 *From a spark cometh much coal’, 
tAnda villain lieth in wait for blood’. 

33 Shrink from an evil man, for he begetteth evil— : 
Why "shouldst thou incur" a lasting blemish ? 

34 ’Let a stranger dwell with thee and he will estrange thy way of life, 
And alienate thee from thine own house’. 


(e) XII. 1-7. Against indiscriminate benevolence (= 3+3+1 distichs). 


12 τ “If thou do an act of kindness, know to whom thou doest it™, 
xThat thou mayst have hope of thy kindness*. 
2 Do acts of kindness to the righteous and find recompense ; 
If not from him, ¥from Jahveh’. 
3 “No (return of) kindness (cometh) to him that giveth satisfaction to the ungodly”, 
@Nor hath he done any act of benevolence*. 


tk interpreting) πτωσιν = 8: Talmud citation confirms & 4-4 ® 1) JDM’ = WH convertit insidiator: (ἃ pera- 
στρεφων evedpevet (S > f393) rr So G& μωμον = ὃ “DI (Lévz) or nm: 18 Wp: S ‘stumbling-block’ (= ? wp) 
s3 So 18 nbmi aay ys (emend fo HAIN): E& aro σπινθηρος πυρος (248 puxpas) πληθυνθησεται avOpaxia: 95. ‘From 
a little tow (‘tow’=? nnyo) a fire is kindled’ t-t So 39 = G: ὦ (freely) ‘So the man that is a sinner 
sheddeth blood like water ’ “πα So ®: xwn [nnd] Cc — nb” or > ym v-v ® has two forms of this 
v.: the first, which follows v. 33, runs: 


soa abn yend pain xb 
23 72a" 
ἃ e. ‘Cling not to a godless man lest he overturn thy way and turn thee from thy covenants’ (so 3): a@ second 
form follows xii. 1, and runs: 
Ines JAD PIN War war pw 
?.e. ‘from a corrupt (?) neighbour (be) thy way warned, for he will estrange thee to them that are dear to thee’. 
Prob. the Hebrew original of & underlies this: G& has ενοικισοὸν ἀλλότριον, και διαστρεψει σε εν ταραχαις Kat ἀπαλλο- 
τριωσει σε τῶν ἰδιων σου. Correct ἸΗ" (with Smend): 
7297 VM at wa 
: Jn’ 7722) 
This text prob. underlies & (see Smend). N31 has been corrupted into PII τη Br: pwns in 16" has prod. 
come in from τ. 31 W-W Qk ἐὰν ev ποιῃς γνωθι τινι movers = DON 905 yt Dyn ON (so read with Peters, 
Smend, §c.): Ὦ Don vob yan 31 oN = ‘If thou doest evil to the good, to whom wilt thou do good?’ ὦ ‘If 
thou doest good to the evil (= yn 2on ON) thou doest nothing’ (S supports G, and the evidence shows that in 


® yon 21 ON zs corrupi for yI WON ON) x-x So 38 : Ck καὶ ἐσται χαρις τοις ayabous σου which = (?) ΠῚ ὙΠ 
sna, ‘And thou shalt have kindness for thy kindness’ (so 5 inserting ‘not’): Smend so reads (ΠῚ for pn 
in ®) y-y So ®: (ἃ παρα ὑψιστου: 45 ‘from his Lord’ zt Reading YW md NID PS (B® has m0 which 


Schechter takes as an infin. of a verb. ΤΣ = ‘to bestow’ [cp. nN]; then render ‘No good cometh of bestowing 
upon him that is wicked)’: % ‘There is no good to him that honoureth (= 271295, cf. Prov. iii. 9) the wicked’: 


nakedness of the land’ (cp. Gen. xlii. 9, 12). A base and unscrupulous person, if admitted to intimacy, will use his 
opportunities of intimate knowledge merely for malicious purposes. 
31. The backbiter. This word (Heb. j17)) otherwise occurs only in Proverbs (xvi. 28, xviii. 8, xxvi. 20, 22). 
32. From a spark cometh much coal. The general sense is: Do not play with fire. 
lieth in wait for blood. Cp. Prov. i. 11. 
33. Shrink. (ἃ ‘take heed of’. 


an evil man .. . begetteth evil. Cp. Is. lix. 4. 
incur... blemish. Cp. xvili. 15, xx. 24, xxx. 31, xliv. 19, xvii. 20. 
(e) XII. 1-7. 
XII. 1. If thou do an act of kindness... Lit. ‘if thou do good’. This forms a sort of text for what follows. 
1. hope. sc. of a return for thy benevolence. 
2. Do acts of kindness to the righteous... This forms the complement of τ΄. 1. 
3. No (return of) kindness (cometh) to him... benevolence. i.e. acts of benevolence to the unworthy and 


358 


SIRACH 12: 4-10 


5 (2) Weapons of bread give him not”, 


¢Lest he attack thee with them®*. 


|; (4) *Twofold evil? shalt thou obtain® 


For all the good thou shalt have brought him’. 
For God also hateth them that are evil, 
£And to the ungodly He repayeth vengeance’. 


17(4) Give to the good "and withhold® from the evil ; 


‘Refresh? Jthe humble), and ‘give not* '!to the arrogant. 


(f) XII. 8—XIIIl. τ. Against trust in false friends (= 2+3+3+3+2+2+41 distichs) 


g A friend ™is not known™ in prosperity 


And an enemy is not hidden in adversity. 
"In a man’s prosperity even an enemy is friendly”, 
But in his adversity even a friend °holdeth aloof?. 


} to Never trust Pan enemy?, 


%For even as brass his wickedness rusteth®. 


Ge οὐκ ἐστιν ayaba τῳ ενδελεχιζοντι εἰς Kaka (= yw? ma : S may = yw my ; so Bacher, JQR, xii. 278) 
a-a So 35 nwy xb APIS Dn = (τ (faking ® as a rel. clause, ‘ And also to him who hath done no benevolence’): 
® ‘And he that doeth alms loseth it not’ ++ (vv. 4-7): shese verses are out of order in CG B® and 3 (they are 
numbered according to &’s reckoning): v.4 =v. 7 (a doublet) and should be eliminated: 5 a should follow 7 : 
thus the true order ἐς most nearly preserved in Ux, and ts 5 b-e, 6, 7 (= 4), 5a: Band 55 (bul 5e ἐς omitted in 
%) the order of the clauses is: 5. d,e, 5b, ο, 6,7, 5a (Goth Band S rightly omit 4). Lalso places 5a after 7 
(showing that this was ortginal order of &). b-b So 5 nn Sx ond 55: & ‘ Keep back his bread and give 
it not to him’ (εμποδισον τοὺς aprous αὐτου [N* > αὐτου: 248 Sah cov] καὶ μὴ dos αὐτῳ (Ee fook > as = bo, ‘ with- 
hold’): $ ‘ The instruments of thy warfare (= ? ἽΠΠΟΙ. 555) thou shalt not give him’ [ond %> is rendered by 
Schechter “weapons of war’; cp. Judges v. 8]  ¢¢ So ® pow Sap pa and (nnd = jp: cp. viii. 1, xi. το, xi. 33, 
xii, 12, XXX. 12: G wapn): G wa μὴ εν αὑτοις σε δυναστευσῃ (enexactly): S ‘Lest with them he war with thee’ 
d-d Q& διπλασία yap κακα = AY ὯΝ) 15, ‘a double portion of evil’: so S (G&+ yap) 910 S + ‘in the time of 
(thy) need’ (J>y¥ nya) : omet with & Hf So 35 = (ἃ (as av ποιησῃς αὐτῳ = pow youn): 2 >. 8τ- So®G: 
© ‘And upon the ungodly He bringeth His retribution’ b-h ® yo: Ge καὶ μὴ αντιλαβῃ (freely) 1- ®H pr, 
1.6. VPN, Hef. of WP, ‘to be cool’: G& ev ποίησον = S J 70 = & ταπεινῳ k-k So G&: S ‘ withhold’ 655): 
ae 2] wb = ἃ ασεβει m-m So 18 ya xo: = 3: (ἃ γνωσθησεται (δ: Syro-Hex : επιγνωσθησεται 253 30) = 322: 
the ordinary reading of & ts ἐκδικηθησεται = ἢ DPINY (or Ἴ5)) nn So 38; G& ‘Ina man’s prosperity his enemies 
are grieved’ (ev Aum) = 3 (+ yap) 0H INI: Ce διαχωρισθησεται = 55. (% agnitus est = διαγνωρισθησεται) 
PP SoB®S: G+ σου a-a So 38 whom in ΤΟΣ 5: 9 (‘ For even as brass is he that polluteth his comrade’) 
= wth sy'9 for yin = & ‘For like as the brass rusteth so is his wickedness’ (soura: ovrws ἡ πονηρια αὐτου : but S 


godless are not requited, and are not to be regarded as real benevolence. Cp. Midrash Qoh. rabba v. (Tanch. 
npn ὃ 1), where a proverb is attributed to Ben-Sira: ‘Do not good to the evil and evil shall not befall thee’ 
(Qoh. rabba adds : ‘and if thou doest good to the evil thou hast done evil’). These citations illustrate the idea which 
is worked out in our passage, viz. that doing good to the evil will produce positively evil results to the doer (cp. vv. 5 d,e 
below). @& has entirely misunderstood the verse. 

5. Twofold evil. The Hebrew expression here (D'2¥ 15) =lit.‘a double portion (of evil’): it recurs xviii. 32 
(), xlviii. 12 (38) ; cp. in Biblical Hebrew 2 Kings ii. 9 ; Zech. xii. 8. : ΐ 

6. For God also hateth them that are evil. Justifying the advice given in the previous verse. With the whole 
contrast Rom. xii. 19-21. 

7 (4). Give to the good and withhold from the evil. Cp. 7. 2. Baba Bathra 96: ‘when given to undeserving 
persons it [alms] is not a meritorious act receiving reward.’ 


(f) XII. 8—XIII. τ. ; : 

8. A friend is not known in prosperity... This opening verse provides the text for what follows. A true 
friend is difficult to determine. Two Hebrew words are used for ‘friend’ in what follows, viz. ITN, lit. ‘one who 
loves’, i.e. the true friend, and Ὁ) = a friendly acquaintance. : 

g. In a man’s prosperity ... Cp. Prov. xix. 4: ‘Wealth addeth many friendly acquaintances, but in the case 
of a poor man his friend separateth himself’ ; also v. 7. ᾿ J ϊ 

1ο. For even as brass his wickedness rusteth. Just as the metal is ever liable to rust, so the wickedness of the 
enemy is ever active and assuming new forms. For the figure cp. xxix. 10 and Jas. v. 3. 


359 


SIRACH 12. 11-15 


#4 11 Yea’, when he is obsequious™ ‘and walketh humbly‘, 

tTake caret "to have a fear of him": 

Be to him Yas one that brighteneth a mirror’ 
* And so (thou shalt) know how to be rid of rust*. - 

12 Let him not stand beside thee 

Lest he thrust thee aside and stand in thy place: 

Set him not at thy right hand 
Lest he seek thy seat— 

y And too late thou shalt comprehend’ my words, 
2 And sigh o’er my plea”! 


13 Who? pitieth* >the charmer that is stung”, 
Or any one that cometh nigh “ἃ ravening beast®? 
14 4So is he that associateth with an impious man®, 
¢And polluteth himself with his iniquities°’. 
15 £4So long as thou standest he doth not reveal himself, 
But if ‘thou fall‘ Jhe no longer restraineth himself/*. 
> ovrws and = 38 : ovrws due 10 a reviser). ry 75 pow oN (= YdwY, ‘is obedient, compliant’): G& ( freely) 
εαν ταπεινωθῃ 5-8 35 ΠΠὴ2 san: Gi και πορευηται συνκεκυφως (and go crouching 7 R.V.) = ᾧ (which adds soa: 
so Peters) t+? 35 {0 = (ἃ ἐπιστησον τὴν Ψψυχην σου u-u SoH: S=— (ἃ και φυλαξαι απ αὐτου V-V (ἃ ‘as one 
that hath wiped a mirror’ (ws expepayws εσοπτρον), cp. Syro-Hex ‘as a wiped off mirror: pommting 10 a reading 
‘xs: 18 15 nbdswo, ‘as one that revealeth a secret = S$ (nds here may = ‘brighten’: Smend compares Arab. δὰ = 
‘to polish bright’, of @ sword, silver, §c.) w® + Jnnvind ayo xy, ‘and he shall not find opportunity to 
harm thee’ (or ?‘to rust thee ’—Aram. sense): so 85 but (τ > (prob. a gloss) x-x 35 ‘ And know thou the end 
of jealousy’ (ANIP MANN yn) = S: but (τ (και γνωσῃ ore ove [buf Syro-Hex prob. righily > οὐκ] ets τέλος κατιωσεν) 
suggests axdn Jor ASIP: so read with Smend y-3 35 ywn sinnd) : Gr καὶ ex ecxaT@ επιγνωσῃ = 2: 106 
ευρησεις (cp. ΧΧΧΙ. [xxxiv. | 12) z-2 15 moNnn snmandy, it. ‘And sigh at my sighing’: (ἃ καὶ ἐπὶ των ρημάτων pov 
κατανυγησῃ (‘and be pricked with my sayings’, R.V.)’, $ ‘And wonder at my sayings’ (? reading TtOnn): ‘at my 
sayings’ (Cx 9) suggested by ‘my words’ of preceding line. a-a Reading in with & 2: 18 nv b-b So 35 = 
(ἃ επαοιδὸν οφιοδηκτον (Gx = 45) τὸ 39 jw nn (so xxxix. 30) “7. ‘beast of tooth’: G θηριοις d-d 35 
ἡ (1. was) nw Sy san jD: G οὕτως τὸν προσπορευόμενον avdpt αμαρτωλῳ (% gut comelatur) e-e ® ynnya ddan: 
Ck και συνῴφυρομενον ev ταις ἀμαρτιαις αὐτου : 2 > f+ ws ia ayan sy ay" x5, ‘he will not cease until a fire be 
kindled in him’= xxiii. 16 f(= (τ 23 b) ov μη παυσησαὶ ews av εκκαυσῃ mup (so 86 here): the insertion of this clause m 
® and S τς due to false reading 1} ΤΩΝ in 14a: in 8 τ has taken the place of 14b 8-8 ® has 4 stichot: 
yay xd soy ny ay (c) 3b abdamy xd Joy sa? we (a) 
r5abony xd (1. pron) ova px (4) :Toosmd bier xd Sian on (Ὁ) 
(a) ‘ When he cometh with thee, he doth not betray (7. reveal) himself, 
(b) And if thou fall he doth not fall to help thee ; 
(c) So long as thou standest he doth not show himself (as he is), 
(d) But if thou stumble he doth not restrain himself.’ 
S$ = (nearly) (a) and (b); (ἃ = (nearly) (c) and (d): prod. (a) and (Ὁ) are doublets (with an explanatory tendency’) 
of (c) and (a)—95 bam» (a) doublet of yey (c) and dian of wyaa (uwan) in (4), while qbrynd (2 7. day) dyB» (Ὁ) as 
a doublet of Saban» (4). Smend thinks $ at the end of (b) attests the reading babanr xd (S reads nova ΤῸΝ NYDN ) 
and concludes that the translator of ® had the 4 stichot before him which he reduced to 2, partly conforming fo ἃ. 
(ἃ (= (c) (d) of 38) represents the original text. h-h 35. yrpy ub ἼΩΝ ny ay: (ἃ wpay pera cov dtapever (= PTY 
_ 11, Yea, when he is obsequious (07 compliant)... Cp. Prov. xxvi. 24 f. (“he that hateth dissembleth with his 
lips’, &c.). When a friend is especially compliant and humble be on your guard ! 
_Be to him as one that brighteneth (/:¢. polisheth) a mirror... rid of rust. The danger of rust can be 
avoided in the case of the metal mirror by regular polishing ; so one can avoid the dangers arising from an enemy’s 
malice by constant watchfulness (being on one’s guard against, and not confiding in such). For the text see 


critical note. For the figure of the mirror cp. Jas. i. 23. 

13-18 (and xiii. 1) depict the consequences that follow neglect of the warning given in the previous part of the 
section. 

14. So is he that associateth with an impious man. i.e. a man who runs risks by associating on terms of 


friendship with sinners (impious) is equally undeserving of pity when dire consequences ensue, as the cases referred 
to in the previous verse. 


polluteth himself... The sinner is unclean and defiles all who come near him (Smend). 
15. So long as thou standest...restraineth himself. i.e. so long as one sustains one’s position the false friend 
360 


ΘΙ ΘΙ 19 τὸ 15. 2 


τό * With his lips 'an adversary speaketh sweetly!™, 

But in his heart he deviseth "deep pitfalls”. 

°Yea°, though an enemy ” weep with his eyes?, 

4When® he findeth opportunity he will not be satiated with blood. 
17 If misfortune have befallen thee "he is at hand’ ; 

*As though ready to help he seizeth the heel’. 
18 He shaketh tthe headt "and waveth the hand’, 

vyAnd with much whispering‘ *changeth® his countenance. 
ἢ 1 Whoso toucheth pitch, *it cleaveth to his hand*, 
And he that associateth with a scorner ¥will learn his way’. 


XIII. 2-13. Against dangerous and unequal association (a) with the rich, (b) with rulers 
3 δ S 7 \@) ) 
(= 2+14+24+24+24142+3+1 distichs). 
(a) vv. 2-8. 


27What is too heavy for thee *do not lift®, 
>And with one that is richer than thyself? associate ποῖ“. 


ἼΩΝ Joy ny): here Joy might be a mutilated Jy which would be a variant on Wy: then the orignal form would 
have been, perhaps, [3 nb] ὙΠ ny = ‘what time thou standest,’ &c. Smend reads yay xd Joyn ny oy: 
pray nd zs omitted by Ge, but its originality is guaranteed by the doublet τ." x. Hi Reading own = (ἃ (1 2.22) 
iw gabon wh: Ge ov μὴ καρτερησῃ K Qe pr. καὶ (but 254 ἄς. Syro-Hex 3» > with ® 3). 1] Reading 
ἫΝ pn = (ἃ (so Peters): S ‘an enemy giveth a sign’ (1199): 32 AMMEN (ὁ due 10 assimilation with xxvii. 23 Ὁ. 
m Bvb+ καὶ πολλα ψιθυρισει Kat epet σοι Kaa λεγων n-n 39 ΠΡῚΝ nw (cp. Ps. cxl. 11): (ἃ (freely) “to over- 
throw thee intoa pit’ (αναστρεψαι σε ets BoOpor) : ) ‘deep devices’ -o% ov = 3: & > p-P 38 yyy yp y3 
(if. not attested in any other passage) = & (‘cause tears to issue from their eyes’): (τ daxpucer 9-4 Ge pr. και 
(254 SC. > και) ΤΥ 30 ov “yoo: S ‘thou wilt find him there’; (ἃ evpnoets αὐτὸν exer mpotepov σου (or πρότερον 
σου exet) (Smend suggests that πρότερον σοὺ may have arisen from an uncorrected mistake in writing πτέρναν σου 
of next line) ε-8 JPY YEN? TOD ND = ‘Asa man that would help he seeketh reward’ (or ‘seeketh to 
supplant’): read with Smend wan’ for ΦΈΓΝ : (ἃ ὑποσχασει πτερναν σου t-t G+ αὐτου ἀπὸ 35) 9) p91: 
tr (tnexactly) και ἐπικροτήσει ταις χερσιν (Syro-Hex Ξ3, τῇ χειρι) αὐτου v-V® has vindn 2150) (read with Smend 
winds 3171) = $ ‘and whispering much’: (ἃ καὶ πολλα διαψιθυρισει Wow 35 Now = Aw" (cp. xiii. 25) x-x 35 
YW) pan (read 13, cp. 3): G μολυνθησεται (‘shall be defiled’ R.V.), 2a correction for κολληθησεται (248, @ Syro- 
Hex + ev avr) ΥῸΣ So ® y97 AWS: S ‘is clothed with his way’ = 1975 wady, cp. & induet superbiam (Smend 
reads "1 wd): G ομοιωθησεσαι αὐτῳ (Ss 1 mm; so Peters reads) 2% pr. tit. (before v. 1) de societate 
divitum superborum a-a G& μὴ ἀρῃς = NWN AD (AD sometimes = by, Just as mb = jp 2 later Hebrew: cp. 
Cant. viii. 4; Qoh. v. 5, vil. 16: another case of HD = bx occurs in ch. xxxii. (xxxv.) 4) b-b So WS: G xa 
ἰσχυροτερῳ σου kat πλουσιωτερῳ (double rendering) c-e 35. Aannn AD 


does not reveal his true character ; but he comes out in his true colours when misfortune befalls. @ gives a different 
turn to the sentence, but expresses a similar general meaning (cp. R. V.). 

16. With his lips . . . speaketh sweetly . . . deep pitfalls. i.e. when misfortune comes he professes to be 
sympathetic, but secretly plots further ruin for the victim: cp. Prov. xxvi. 24 f. (‘he that hateth dissembleth with his 
lips’). The Hebrew word rendered ‘pitfalls’ (ΠῚ 22) occurs only again in Ps. cxl. 11. The meaning ‘pitfall’ or 
‘pit’ (Jerome, on the Psalm, renders foveas) is guaranteed by our passage. 

Yea, though an enemy weep with his eyes... blood. Illustrate from Jer. xli. 6. The expression ‘he 
will not be satiated with blood’ is usually understood literally to mean that such an enemy will not be satisfied 
until the blood of the victim of misfortune has been actually shed. But Edersheim prefers to interpret the expression 
metaphorically (in conjunction with the following verse), as meaning that the false friend will not be satisfied with 
the mere coming of misfortune (= the shedding of blood), but will himself actively take part in making the ruin 
even more complete. 

17. he seizeth the heel. i.e. to trip thee up. He actively assists in making the overthrow complete. For text 
566 Critical note. 

18. He shaketh the head . . . changeth his countenance. His enmity now becomes open and undisguised. 

He shaketh the head. A gesture of contempt; cp. xiii. 7; Job xvi. 4: ‘with much whispering’, i.e. secretly 
preparing all manner of evil devices. ᾿ 

changeth his countenance. i.e. becomes openly hostile ; cp. xiii. 25 ; Qoh. 1. 8. 

(g) XIII. 2-13. ΠΗ 

2 What is too heavy for thee...richer than thyself associate not. i.e. such a proceeding is too difficult 
to carry out successfully. 


1105 361 Bb 


ce 


(3) 


38 Δ 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


SIRACH 13. 2-7 


What association can “jar and kettle? have in common 
a4\WWhen“4, if the one smite, the other is smashed “Ὁ 
The rich man ‘if he perpetrateth a wrong‘ 8plumeth himself®, 
While if a wrong is perpetrated upon a poor man "he must implore favour®. 
iIf thou art useful to him! he maketh a slave of thee, 
iBut if thou be brought low! ‘he is sparing of thee*. 
kk Tf thou possessest anything ** 'he will live with thee’, 
And will impoverish thee without a pang. 
™Hath he need of thee™? ™then he will deceive thee”, 
° And will smile upon thee® and raise thy hopes. 
» He will speak thee fair?, 
4And shame thee with his hospitality 4. 
*So long as it profiteth he will cajole thee, 
Twice (or) thrice he will . . . thee’; 


d-dy =D Sx 3) ἼΒ = (τ xurpa πρὸς λεβητα (S ‘the vessel of clay to the cauldron of brass ’) dd-dd So 19 
wx = Ψ quando: & > (S ‘which [knocks it and breaks it’ |=) e#® (9) +55 by ΩΝ canna ww 
‘or why should the rich associate with the poor’: G > (rightly as a gloss) ff Reading yy 10 correspond 
with ΤῊΝ in next clause (or MY): so (ἃ (ηδικησεν) and ξὁ β-Ὁ mon’= WMeo-Hebr. nimi, ‘to make oneself 
handsome, be vain (plume oneself)’: (τ προσενεβριμησατο (=? man): S ‘is unconcerned’ (Ν)2Π)|2) bhy 
ΤΠ: Ge καὶ προσδεηθησεται : S (misunderstanding W®) ‘he prays’ iW 3S avian ox = S: & cay χρησιμευσῃς 
(>) 34. So ® (pron ony): Ge καὶ cay vorenpons (=? ΝΠ ON: cp. Num. ix. 7): S ‘if thou art poor’ 


(ἃ and 3 may be free renderings of ®) καὶ 1) by Sony (= ‘he pitieth thee’): G karatenper σε = S 
(2 interpreting ®) kk-kk 9 bei ox: Ck eav exys = 75 eh ow (= 8): so read (with Peters, Smend) 1 So & 
συμβιώσεται σοι = DY TN (so read with Peters): Y= 35 ἽΝ wT Do” = 6c (accrdentally misplaced: so Peters) 
m-m 30 ἼΩΝ b (Δ 778) PAS: Ge χρείαν ἐσχηκε cov: S ‘while he does his will with thee’ nn 30 3 yon = 
?‘he will flatter thee’ (reading YON from YYW: cp. Aram. sense of verb) or ‘toy with thee’: Gk καὶ ἀποπλανήσει σε 
=p ΝῊ ΠῚ: so read with Peters: ‘he will seem to do thy will’ 0-0 32) 75 (1, ἽΠ}))) pmb, cp. Job xxix. 24 
(bs pnw) p-p Reading JOY YIIT Do” (= 5a BW): Ce Aadyoe σοι xara: Ge + καὶ ἐρεῖ τις ἡ χρεια σου, which 
Peters regards as an explanatory doublet (but Smend keeps). & ‘and will call thee a fortunate man’ (? paraphrase 
of ‘will speak thee fair’): 4 > a-a So Ge and $= ypboxna Jw (so read with Peters, Smend): ® > 
rT 35 
qa Sam Syy ἼΩΝ sy 
sqymy woe oye 


(9 prob. = ® substantially.) Gk ews ov αποκενωσῃ σε bis ἡ τρις, καὶ em ἐσχατῳ καταμωκήσεται σοι. Peters thinks the 
Hebrew text underlying (πὰ to have been: 
wow pioya wii awe oy 
27a Sma nna 


But this can hardly be right (ΓΛ ΤΙΝ fol. by j23\ next line). W® is essentially right: but the meaning of 78 15 
uncertain. Smend suggests that it may =a corresponding verb in Arab., which means ‘to deceive’ ss # 133) 


What association ... smashed ? i.e. the weaker is bound to go to the wall: when a collision takes place 
the earthen pot (12, cp. Num. xi. 8) is bound to be smashed by the brass cauldron (1D, cp. Ezek. xxiv. 3, 6). ‘The 
one Ἐπ᾿ οἵ πσοτϑο, the cauldron or kettle, ‘the other’ the earthen pot. The latter was also used for boiling purposes ; 
cp. Num. xi. 8. ; 

_3. The rich man... perpetrateth a wrong... ‘The folly of the whole thing, viewed from the standpoint of the 
rich, could scarcely be more graphically set forth than in this and the following verses’ (Edersheim). 

4. he maketh a slave of thee. The same expression (2 Ἵ3}) occurs in Jer. xxiii. 13, xxvi. 14, xxx. 8: lit. = he 
uses thee as an instrument for work. For the Hebrew word here for ‘to be useful’ (12) cp. Eccles. v. 10 (‘skill, 
success’). The original meaning is to be fit, suitable. 

he is sparing of thee. The Hebrew word here used = usually ‘to pity’ (‘he pitieth thee’). But here the 
meaning seems to be to neglect, leave alone: cp. Horace, Odes, i. 34. 1 ‘parcus deorum cultor et infrequens’ (& gives 
the meaning correctly—‘ he will forsake thee’). Cp. Pirge Aboth il. 3. 

5. without a pang. lit. ‘and it will not pain him’. 

7. wag his head at thee. In mockery and scorn; cp. xii. 18. 

362, 


SLRACH 13: 


NI 
| 
“ 


*And then’ he will see thee tand pass thee by‘, 
And wag his head at thee. 
3 Take care "that thou be not overbearing”, 
vAnd that thou be not crushed by senseless folly ¥. 


(ὁ) vv. 9-13. 


9 Doth a noble “draw near“? *keep at a distance*— 
yAnd so much the more¥ “will he cause thee to approach’. 
το *Do not thyself draw near*, lest thou be put at a distance ; 
And keep not (too) far away, lest *[thou be forgotten]. 

11 °Venture ποῖ “to be free? with him, 

And mistrust his much conversation. 
*For ‘by his conversation at large’ he is testing thee’, 

» And when he smileth at thee he is probing thee®®. 
τ ruthless one maketh peace, 
While plotting against the life of many’. 


(cp. Prov. viii. 10, Esther iv. 16): G pera ταῦτα t-t ® 72 ayn (cp. Prov. xiv. 16) Ge karadeuper σε (δὲ Karvwper 
oe = § ‘be hid from thee’) u-u® ἽΝ ann 5x (‘be not arrogant, overbearing, violent, overmuch’) : 
G& μη αποπλανηθῃς (248 &c. Syro-Hex +7 διανοιᾳ σου, 7. e. ‘be not deceived in thy mind, act foolishly *—an 
interpretation of 38}: % ‘be not given into his hands’ = ? 2 ann by. γτν W yo ON AN bx) ‘and 
be not like to them that lack intelligence’ (Schech/er): Gk καὶ pn ταπεινωθῃς ev εὐφροσυνῃ σου (248 &c. + καρδιας 
after εὐφροσυνῃ : but Sah & ev τῇ αφροσυνῃ = the original reading of &): the Hebr. text underlying G& τς prob. : 

yu ona Aan ox 


1.6. ‘and be not crushed by senseless folly’ (so read with Peters: Peters also reads in line 1: 4253 ΠῚ 5x: cp. 
Gi τῃ διανοίᾳ σου) w-w So ® IAP, ὦ ὁ. DP ( particip.): Ce προσκαλεσαμενοῦυ σε = sip: S=B 3-379 pina aN: 
(ἃ υποχωρων ywou, so $+ ‘from him’ ΣΤΥ ® 15. 9) (cp. xi. 11) = Ge καὶ room μαλλον : S ‘and at every time’ 
(jar 555) 2-2 So Q Ww = S: (ἃ προσκαλεσεται σε [ Peters adopts (απ in both clauses : ‘doth a noble invite thee 
“᾿ς will he invite thee’] aa So® anpnn Sx = 5: ἃ (/reely) ‘do not press (upon him),’ ἐμπιπτε 
b-b So G: wow, ‘be hated (detested)? = $: emend fo NWN = AIAN: cp. xiii. 9, τὸ 35, and Isa. xliv. 21 WIN 
(but lext doublful) e-¢ 35 ΠΟΣῚ by = & μὴ emexe (emexew ΞΞΊΠΩΞΙ, ν. 8.) ΧΠ| ΤΙ, XV; 4) ἀ-ὁ 3 wand, wes vend, 
‘to be free’ (Qal does not otherwise occur): (ἃ ἰσηγορεισθαι, ‘ to speak as an equal (with him)’: 3 ‘to speak’ (from 
context the word means ‘to speak freely’). Bevan (so Strack), however, suggests the pointing WBN. e-e These 

two lines are cited by Saadya (cp. Cowley-Neub., p. xxii) as follows : 

JMS ΠΟ my 22 "5 

ΣΤ ῬΠῚ > prvi 

‘ For with much talk will he try thee, 
And will laugh at thee and probe thee.’ 


ΤῊ 3 ΛΠ ΓΊ ΠΡ : G ex wodAns Aadzas (read NY for NW, so Sa‘ad.) ὅτ Reading 0» ( for ἸΏ ἸΔῈ) 1 (the Ὶ of 
n'y) = G πειρασει σε (cp. Sa'ad. M8 ND): so Smend: 85. = ® (‘for in the multitude of his speech there are 
trials ’) b-h So ® = Ge καὶ ws προσγελων εξετασε σε (248 ὅς. Syro-Hex τὰ κρυπτα cov instead of σε: 
fp) FD: 


Suing ym) ΥἽἼΣΝ 

avi swap oan war by Sony why 
G ανελεημων ο μὴ συντήρων λογους και ov μὴ φεισηται περι κακώσεως Και δεσμων (‘ unmerciful is he that keepeth not words ἢ 
and he will not spare injury and bonds’): $ ‘and he that is without pity exacts recompense (= pide for bv) 
and pitieth not the souls of many’. Zhus (τ omzts Stony xb and S ἼΦΡ Wp. Smend attaches bm ΝΟΥ Zo first Line 


vv. 9-13 contain a warning against incautious intercourse with highly-placed members of the governing class 
(princes, governors, and their entourage). In Pzrge Adoth ii. 3, a passage occurs which expresses similar sentiments 
(attributed to Rabban Gamaliel, son of Judah ha-Nasi): ‘Be cautious with (those in) authority, for they let not 
a man approach them but for their own purposes ; and they appear like friends when it is to their advantage, and 
stand not by a man in the hour of his need.’ ; : 

10. Do not thyself draw near... be forgotten. Avoid both extremes—pressing forward or holding back unduly. 

12, A ruthless (or cruel) one maketh peace, While plotting against the life of many. A rien Raa 

363 Bb2 


SIRACH 13. 13-19 


%* 13 Take heed jand be wary), 
k And go not about with men of violence*'. 


(1) XIII. 15-20. Like consorteth with like: what common bond can there be between rich and poor ζ 
(= 2+3+1 distichs). 

15 ™All flesh™ loveth "its kind®, 

° And every man his like®. 
16 P All flesh consorteth according to its kind?, 

And with his kind man “associateth*. 
17 What association™ can wolf have with lamb ? 

*Even so is the ungodly that consorteth with the righteous*. 
18 ‘What peace*t can the hyena have with the dog ἢ 

“Or what" peace rich with poor ἢ 
19 YFood* for the lion are the wild asses of the desert : 

Even so the pasture of the rich are the poor. 


and renders: ‘the tyrant employeth (iibt) cruelty and doth not pity, against the life of many he plotteth ’ (buf this 
1s highly doublful): Peters reads Yep Yep bom xD) Peale) In’ ΣῈ, ze. ‘the cruel one taunteth, and is without pity 
in his plotting’. A defler results oblained of οὐδ zs read (wrth 3) in line 1, and Stony by (2 an explanatory gloss 
on 97198) zs omitted ; then read: WP Wp DI wEI by ody jn) yan, ze. as rendered in text above ( for 
whe jn) cp. Lev. xxvi. 6, 1 Chron. xxii. 9) JH war AT: Ck καὶ πρόσεχε σφοδρως (248 4+ axovey = % auditui 
tuo): 46. ΞΞ 35 kK-k So 39: Ge ore μετα της mrwoews σου περιπατεις = span pwn Dy 33, ‘for thou goest with 
thine own fall’ (S ‘for with the ravishers thou walkest’). So Pefers reads 1 248 253 3 Amb + verses 
13. c and 14 (‘when thou hearest these things awake in thy sleep. 14 Love the Lord all thy life, and call upon 
Him for thy salvation’): for éext see Hart and Schlatter, p. τοδί. The verses are a late gloss m-m 7 
wan b> : Gk παν ζῷον nn ® 1)}2 = Ck τὸ opovoy ate (cp. v. 16, XXVil. 9) 0-0 So ® b 05370 NS DIN b>): 
Gi καὶ ras avOpwros τὸν πλησιον αὐτου. An echo of this line appears in a Talmud cttation (T. B. Baba gama 95b). 
Thirdly, in the Hagiographa; as tt ts written: ‘Every bird dwelleth according to its kind, and (so doth) man 
according to his like’ (> mod pax jn). Wore Talmud has 078 13 for ® DIN b-P Reading Sys ad sea 55 
= Gi masa σαρξ κατα yevos (Syro-Hex 254+ avrys: so & ad similem sibi) συνάγεται (307 cuvanrerar = 3. con- 
iungitur): 38 yx ava 53 po ($ = 39 with j2 for jy) 4τ-ἃ 39 sain’: @ sociabitur: (ἃ προσκολληθησεται 
ΤΟ θ᾽ 910) AND: (ἃ τι κοινωνὴησει 8-3 19 has two forms of this line, οἵα. : 
(1) pryd pes 9 
(2) ὌΝ vias Se Ων κι 

Gi ovrws ἁμαρτωλὸς προς εὐσεβὴ = Ἰὴ (1): Sand so the rich to the poor man’ Ξξ 3ῃἢ (2): read with Smend 
Sysco pyayd porn 15 (Ja = 15 a (1) ὁ Neo-Hebr.) Ὁ Reading mrbw wh mo = Ge: 32 (corrupt) “et wen (cp. WN 
= wy, 2 Sam. xiv. 19, Mic. vi. 10, Prov. xviii. 24) πὰ (τ καὶ τις =? IN (so Pelers reads): ἸΏ pw 
“whence δ᾽ vv SoM =S: (ἃ κυνηγια (a free rendering: but Peters reads WS = κυνηγια, Gen. xxv. 27) 


is drawn between the real character and the methods of the unscrupulous ruler. While pretending to make (or give) 
peace (i.e. to be full of active goodwill) he is secretly plotting murder. For the text see critical note. For a similar 
contrast cp. Ps. cxx. 7 (‘I am for peace; but when I speak they are for war’). @ runs: ‘ Merciless is he that 
keepeth not words (i.e. betrays confidences in free and incautious conversation), nor will he spare (sc. to inflict) 
injury or bonds’. 

13. Take heed. . . men of violence. For the second clause && (cp. $) has ‘ For thou goest about with thy fall’ 
(so Peters prefers to read): the expression is a figurative one (to have ruin as a companion in thy walk); cp. 
Job xxxi. 5; Prov. xiii. 20 (cp. also ix. 13 of our book). 

14. See critical notes. 


(A) XIII. 15-20. 
_ vv. 15-16. A reference is made to this passage in the Talmud (see critical notes for the citation). Our passage 
is ey as from the Hagzographa in conjunction with passages from the Law and the Prophets (see Edersheim, 
zn loc.). 

15. All flesh. (ἃ ‘Every living creature’. ‘Flesh’ has here a general sense, including the forms of animal life 
generally. Cp. Lev. xvii. 14 (‘the life of all flesh . . . the blood thereof’, &c.). 

kind ... like. Cp. xxvii. 9. The law of ‘like consorteth with like’ is ‘a universal law in the physical and moral 

world, as well as of society’. ‘Similis simili gaudet ; aequalis aequalem delectat’ (Edersheim). 

17. What association... wolf...lamb? Cp. Is. xi.6; Matt. x. 16. 

18. rich with poor. Throughout these terms connote ungodly and pious respectively. Cp. Ep. James ii. 6 
(‘ But ye have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you?’ &c.). 

19. the wild asses of the desert (or steppe). Cp. Job xxiv. 5, where the poor (as here) are compared to the wild 
asses in the desert. For the lion as a figurative expression for the rich cp. Ps. xxxiv. 10, xxxv. 17, lvili. 7; Zech. xi. 3. 


364 


SURNCH 159: 20-25 


_20”An abomination *to pride* is humility ; 


Even so an abomination to the rich are the poor. 


(ἡ) XILI. 21-23. The world’s treatment of rich and poor—a contrast (= 1+2+42 distichs). 


21 A rich man when he is shaken¥ “is supported by a friend’, 


“But the poor man® ’when he is shaken? is thrust away °by a friend®. 


_ 22 A rich man ‘speaketh4, and his helpers are many ; 


*And though his words be unseemly, they are pronounced lovely®. 
A poor man 'speaketh‘, and they jeer at him’; 
»Yea, though he speak with wisdom}, ‘there is no place for him‘. 


23 When the rich man !speakethJ, all *keep silence‘, 


And they extol his intelligence! to the clouds. 
When the poor man speaketh: ‘Who is this?’ say they ; 
And if ™he stumble™ "they will assist his overthrow®. 


(7) XIII. 24—XIV. 2. A Collection of Miscellaneous Proverbs (= τ +242 distichs). 


24 Wealth is good if it be without sin, 


And evil is poverty *which is due to presumption?. 


25 The heart” of a man changeth his countenance, 


Whether for good or for evil® 


Wy, 20 omitted by 9 x-x So 35 NI: (ἃ urepn pave ΣΥῸΣ So Ge σαλευομενος = 12,2) (so read): Mow: 9 Sfallsm 


2:2 (ἃ στηριζεται (= ἢ 19D or JOD: so read) ὑπο φιλων ; Hy JODI: SF ‘is cast into evil’ (yn) 8-ἃ 15 δ): 
G ramewos δὲ (N* 248 πτωχος de: “(τ prefers the synonym [ταπεινὸς] which more easily admits of a spiritual 
interpretation’ (£Hart)) b-b ® ow: (ἃ πεσων = S (contrast renderings 21 a) τὸ & ὑπὸ φιλων = yd 


(cp. v. 21a), so read: $ ‘from evil into evil’ = ἴὴΏ ν bx prow M4 Hamm = S$: G =o (tn clauses a and c 
the two terms must correspond—etther ‘speaketh’ or ‘falleth’ must be read in both: Ge expresses in both “ falleth’; 
% in both ‘speaketh’ ; ® i a ‘speaketh’, zw c ‘ falleth’) e-e So 15 PDIND PANID PAIN (Ὁ 5, part. Hof. of 
aya.common in Neo-Hebr. = ‘to be dark, ugly, repulsive, unseemly’ (cp. xl. 2): pDIND, part. Hof. of nD = Mit. 
‘they are made beautiful’: nove the pl. endings in). Schechter suggests reading }*2\M) = ‘they (his words) are 
veneered over’, as dase with precious metal, ‘and his hateful words are glozed over’ (/Zar/). (τ ἐλαλησεν ἀπορρητα 
και εδικαιωσαν αὐτὸν = ἢ PDN) Paya III (so Peters reads) ff SoS: How = ἃ 8-8 Reading (with 
Peters): ysw ya yay (ΛΔ “and they raise [cries] of’ ys, yx): S ‘they say to him’ yu: G& (freely) καὶ emertpnoav 
aro: # NW) Ὁ) ys bh ® yoy TI): Ge εφθεγξατο συνεσιν ii oypn PN1: (ἃ καὶ οὐκ εδοθὴ αὐτῷ rorros 
1} So 1η ( part.): & ἐλαλησεν k-k So ® wn3D9 (cp. Deut. xxvii. 9) = G: S ‘hearkened’ 1-1 τ sow ne: 
& (freely) cov λογον αὐτου: % ‘his favourers’ m-m 10 ὈΡΓ = & n-n 7 W|I OF Ὁ = (ἃ 

a-a Tit, ‘according to the mouth of presumption’ (It 15 by); NA 55 157 248 253 307 εν στοματι 
aceBous (= 9S Syro-Hex 1); BC 7ο 254 ἐν στόμασιν ευσεβους b3 ‘sins’ © 248 253 Syro-Hex + 
‘And a happy (ὦ. flourishing) heart maketh a face cheerful with delight’; gloss on the following clause. 


20. an abomination to the rich are the poor. Cp. Proy. xxix. 27 ὁ (‘he that is upright... is an abomination 
to the wicked ’). 

(ἢ XIII. 21-23. i. : : 

21. when he is shaken. i.e. come into a dangerous and unfortunate situation ; cp. Ps. xiii. 4 (5): ‘mine adversaries 
rejoice because I am moved’ (‘shaken’), xvi. 8, x. 6 ‘I shall not be moved’ (Hebr. DIBN 72 = LAX οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ, 
as here). Edersheim thinks the meaning need not be restricted to the decay of external fortunes, but may include 
a wider connotation. : 

22. A poor man speaketh...no place for him. Cp. Qoh. ix. 16: ‘The poor man’s wisdom is despised, and 
his words are not heard.’ For the expression ‘there is no place for him’ cp. iv. 5; Pirge Aédoth iv. 6 (ed. Taylor), 
“there is not a thing that has not its place’ (a saying of Ben Azzai, second century A.D.) ; cp. also Rom. xil. 19. Here 
the expression may mean: they refuse to hear him. 

23. all keep silence. From respect; cp. Job xxix. 9. 

extol ... tothe clouds. Cp. for the expression Job xx. 6. 

(jf) XIII. 24—XI1V. 2. : Ἦν 

24. Wealth... After having pointed out the consideration shown to the rich for the sake of their wealth, Ben-Sira 
goes on to say that riches Zer se are not bad, but, on the contrary, good when they do not bring sin in their train. — 

And evil is poverty... See critical note. Poverty is an evil when it is the result of wickedness; this is 
a poverty to be ashamed of. ἢ 5 ᾿ 

25. The heart of aman... i.e. the inward state of a man, not his outward circumstances, determines his happiness 

or otherwise, and this is reflected in the expression of his face ; cp. Prov. xv. 11; Eccles. viii. 1; Luke ix. 47. _ 
Whether for good... Inthe Midrash Bereshith Raléa to Gen. xxxi. 2 this verse is quoted verbatim, excepting that 
the DN)... ON of 18 is, in accordance with the later Hebrew usage, expressed by }93)... } 3. 


365 


SIRACH 13. 26—14. 5 


®* 26 The outcome? of a happy heart is a cheerful countenance, 
But solitude and meditation occasion toilsome thoughts. 
14 : Blessed is the man whose mouth doth not grieve him, 
®And (who) doth not mourn for the sorrow of his heart®. 
2 Blessed is the man whose soul doth not reproach‘ him, 
And whose hope hath not ceased. 


(2) XIV. 3-19. On the proper use of wealth (= 2+34+3[+1]+2+2+2+3+1 distichs). 


3 To him that is small of heart wealth is unfitting®, 
And wherefore! shouid the evil-eyed have gold * ? 

4 He that withholdeth from himself gathereth for another, 
And a stranger shall satiate himself with his goods. 

5 He that harmeth his own soul, to whom will he do good ? 
For! ™he hath no delight™ in his own goods. 


α Zz. ‘result’ e-e Reading 125 97 Sy maw x); the text of ® as tt stands cannot be right, it reads: AIAN xd) 
ΕΔ ps yy, ‘And his heart doth not desire judgement against him’: & ‘And (who) is not pricked at the heart 
(και ov κατενυγη) with sorrow for sin’; excepting for apaprias (= py) G& = ® as amended above ; ap. may be 
an explanatory addition. “6. reads: YD I SAN xj, ‘And judgement is not hid from his eyes’; »y% suggests 
a corruption of ὮΝ (= &), but ‘heart’ ἐς reguired fo correspond with ‘mouth’ in the first clause. Smend suggests 
the reading \ny 7 Sy ΤῸΝ wd), ‘And (who) doth not sigh for sorrow of his sin.’ Another possible form might be 


jaba 7 bya NDI, ‘And (who) doth not cause sorrow to enter into his heart’ (cp. Sanh. 100 b, 5952 xt Syn xd 
‘Let not sorrow enter into thine heart,’ quoted by Levy, i. 164) ; dby ἐς only used in the Po'el in the O. T., see 
Job xvi. 15 f Reading \napn (for npn), cp. Prov. xxv. ro: cp. 35 qui non habuit animi sui tristitiam 
& V 248 253 Syro-Hex + ‘in the Lord’ h Zrt. ‘not comely’, as & 1S repeat ‘not comely’; & zs 
more probably correct here, wa τι (= 7195) ΚΨ = ®: & ‘money’: S ‘mammon’ 177. ‘and’ 
m-m Reading ΓΤ (= S ΝΡ. and &) for ΠΥ ‘he shall not meet with’ (z.e. ‘will not retain possession of’) 


26. a happy heart. To be understood in accordance with v. 25. (ἃ ‘a heart that is in prosperity’; cp. xii. 8. 
But solitude... Mv’) δ᾽ (lit. ‘withdrawing and musing’) occur in the reverse order in 1 Kings xviii. 27, where 
Elijah says of Baal: ‘...for he is a god; either he is musing, or he is gone aside.’ The clause seems a little inappro- 
priate (possibly it expresses the thought of Eccles. xii. 12 : ‘Much study is a weariness to the flesh’), and Smend suggests 


as an emendation : ‘ Weary eyes (reading DY DWN for bpp nawnd) area sign of worry’; cp. xii. 9ff., xxv. 236. At 
any rate the words as they stand must be taken ina general sense, and not in reference to Ben-Sira’s own studies. & has: 
‘And the finding out of parables is a weariness of thinking,’ which, is not far from 38 ; the meaning of the words which 
is intended is to offer a contrast to what is said in the previous clause. 

XIV.1. whose mouth... Cp. xxv. 86; 1 Kingsi.6; Ps. xvii. 3, xxxix. 2, cxli. 3; Jas. iii. 2. (ἃ ‘that hath not slipped 
with his mouth’ is explanatory. 

And (who) doth not... See critical notes. 

2. whose soul doth not... Cp. 1 John ii. 19-22. 

(2) XIV. 3-19. 

3. small of heart. i.e. one who is grudging; cp. £‘viro cupido et tenaci’. (ἃ μικρολόγος, one who cavils about trifles. 

unfitting. Cp.xv.9; 3» ‘sine ratione’. 
And wherefore... See critical notes. 

_ the evil-eyed. i.e. envious, as G&; cp. xviii. 8, xxvili. 11e; Prov. xxiii. 6, xxviii. 22: it is equivalent to ΠΡ 
(‘jealousy’) in its bad sense. In Pirge Adoth v. 29 the ‘evil eye’ is contrasted with the ‘ good eye’ (cp. xiv. 10 below) ; 
in the same tractate (ii. 15) an ‘evil eye’ is reckoned among those things which ‘put a man out of the world’. The 
expression here is used with reference to the envy which the miser feels at seeing riches in the possession of others. 


Ga ἜΡΙΝ (ἃ χρήματα is ἃ free rendering ; cp. Job xxvii. 13, where the Sept. has the same word for the Hebr. 9D 
silver’). 

4. He that withholdeth .. ._ The reference is to the miser who denies himself many things in order to increase his 
hoard ; he is in reality only laying it up for others. 

astranger... Cp. Eccles. vi. 2; ὑπ ‘others’. 

_ _Satiate himself. The Hebr. root yy2 means lit. to be full to bursting; the verb does not occur in the O. T., but 
in Exod. ix. 9 a derivative is used for ‘blisters’ or ‘ boils’. 

5. He that harmeth... The reference is only to the miser; the ‘harm’ refers to the miser’s denying himself every 
enjoyment. 

366 


A 


x 


SIRACH “14: 6=13 


6 None is worse than him that is evil to his own soul, 


And the recompense of his evil is "in himself™. 


7° And even if he doeth good, Phe doeth it in forgetfulness?, 


And at the last “he showeth forth® his wickedness°. 


8 Evil is he that envieth® with his eye, 


Turning away his face and despising ment’, 


9 In the eye of the covetous" (too) small is his portion, 


But he that taketh his neighbour’s portion ‘destroyeth his own portion’. 


to ¥ The eye of the envious™ hasteth* after bread, 


And naught is on his table. 


¥[A good eye causeth bread to increase, 


And ‘A dry fountain sendeth forth water’ upon (his) table.]¥ 


a 11*My son, *if thou possessest aught, do well to thyself, 


»And prosper to the best of thy power?. 


12 ὁ Remember that death tarrieth not, 


Nor hath the decree of Sheol been told thee°. 


τ Before thou diest do good to him that loveth (thee), 


And 485 thou hast prospered‘, give to him. 


nn 777, ‘with him’ 0-0 > PP 248 ‘he doeth it not willingly’: & ignoranter et non volens facit 
4-4 3 ‘he will look upon’ elt) 870 248 + ‘to look’ t Zit. ‘souls’: & ‘his soul’ uSo (πα: 
® ‘of him that stumbleth’ zs a corruption: $ ‘of a fool’ 2s an allempt to improve upon ® (bvAD B, nda 5) 
*-¥ S ‘loseth his own soul’, so V 248 Syro-Hex: & ‘drieth up his soul’: % donec consumat arefaciens animam 
suam: Smend τς perhaps right in emending ® in accordance with these, reading YD WI" instead of pon ἼΣΝΟ 
ww Lit. ‘The eye of (him that hath) an evil eye’ (py yr py): G οφθαλμος πονηρος = AY py, which perhaps 
represents the original Χ (ἃ ‘(is) envious’ (= ® znexacily) TYG >: buts = 35 2 inserts the title 
‘Concerning well-doing, for death tarrieth not’ a-a The Babylonian Talmud has preserved the right reading 
here: ἴῃ 3 ‘ Serve thy soul, and if thou hast [i.e. possessest aught], do well to thyself’  &-b Zz. ‘ And according 
to the God [z.e. power] of thy hand, make thyself fat’: ‘he rendering of Gk, και mpooopas Κυριῳ ἀξιως πρόσαγε, betrays 


wenorance of the Hebrew tdiom here c-e In the Babylonian Talmud, Erubin 54a, this verse ts quoted thus : 
‘For in Sheol there is no delight, and death hath no tarrying; and if thou say, I will give rest to my sons, the 
decree of (¢/. in) Sheol who will declare (it) unto thee ?’ d-d 7, ‘according to the finding of thy hand’, 


6. None is worse... Cp. Prov. xi. 17. 
that isevilto... G ‘that is grudging to himself’; cp. Deut. xxviii. 54, 56 Sept. (Smend). 
isin himself. @& ‘is this’, i.e. being evil to his own soul, which does not fully bring out the force of ἘΠῚ 
7. The omission of this and the next verse in is perhaps only accidental ; % has v. 7, though probably it is freely 
rendered (‘And if by chance he doeth good, it is by mistake, and at the last he will see his wickedness’). The omission 
in # can be accounted for by the similar beginning of vv. 6 (Y7) and 8 (API); the beginning of v. 5 (!7) and the end 
of v. 6 (NYT) may also have tended to confuse things. 
in forgetfulness. i.e. not of set purpose. F 
And at the last... In spite of the apparent good done in forgetfulness, his true nature is sure to be revealed 
ultimately and seen of all the world. 
8. that envieth with his eye. Cp. v. 6, where & uses the same word (ὁ βασκαίνων). nS te ᾿ 
despising men. ὑπερορῶν ψυχάς. Smend would read ὑπερορῶν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ, as the verse is evidently intended to 
describe the harm done to the envious man himself; cp. the second clause in vv. 6, 7, 9, 10. 
9. In the eye οἵ... @& ‘A covetous man’s eye is not satisfied with his portion’. pert > 
destroyeth his own portion. See critical note. With & cp. Num. xi. 6, ‘... but now our soul is dried up,’ i.e. 
there is no more enjoyment of good things; and Ps. xxii. 15 (16 in Hebr.). 
Io. The eye of the envious. See critical note. } ‘ 
hasteth. The Hebr. root DY (cp. xxxi. [xxxiv.] 16) means to pounce greedily upon something, cp. 1 Sam. xiv. 32 
(Q°ri), xv. 19, xxv. 14 (probably corrupt) ; these are the only occurrences of the verb in the O.T.; the coll. noun OY 
“birds of prey’ occurs more often, Jer. xii. 9, &c. The picture is that of a bird of prey darting upon its spoil. 
And naught ison... @& καὶ ἐλλιπὴς ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης αὐτοῦ. Although the miser is ever grasping, he has naught 
to show for it. a : 
A good eye. For the expression cp. xxxv. 8 (=xxxi. 10); Prov. xxii.9; Pirge Aboth v. 29. [ Ε 
A dry fountain... This seems to be a quotation. The bracketed clauses are secondary according to Smend. 
11. See critical notes. 
do well to thyself. Cp. Ps. xlix. 18. 
12. the decree. )N, i.e. that which has been determined, cp. xi. 2. 
13. as thou hast prospered... Cp. Lev. v.11. 
367 


SIRACH 14. 14-21 


ἀνὰ οὐ ee rei ν 


ἮΝ 14." Βείτγαίῃ not from the joy of the present®, : 
i ‘And let not the portion of a good desire pass thee by’. ΒΕ 
ig 15 Wilt thou not leave thy wealth to another, 


And thy labour to them that cast the lot ? : 3 
16 Give and take; yea, indulge thy soul, ; 


Crubin 54a “For in Sheol there is no delight®. 
17 All flesh withereth® like a garment, a 
* And the eternal decree is: ‘Thou shalt surely die! 


18 As the leaf that groweth on a luxuriant tree, 
One fadeth, and another sprouteth ; 
iSo (are) the generations of flesh and blood, 
One dieth, and another flourisheth?' ; 
1g All his works will surely decay, 
And the labour of his hands followeth after him. 


(a) XIV. 20-27. The Blessedness of him who seeks Wisdom (= 4+ 4 distichs). 


20 Blessed (is) the man that meditateth* on’ Wisdom”, 
And that giveth heed™ to understanding, 
21 That directeth™ his heart upon her ways, 
And giveth heed unto her paths°® ; 
reading nywns for ΤΠ e-e Δι ‘Withdraw not (thyself) from the good things of a day’ Ht 35, which 
is corrupt, reads: ‘And upon the portion of a brother trespass not’: mN (‘brother’) zs @ corruption of TS 
(‘desire’); 390 (‘good’) should, according to G, be added ; for 3y in the sense as used in (πὰ cp. Jer. xiii. 24, 
Isa. xxix. 5. S >: @S + ‘And an evil desire, desire not’, a@ gloss, which, however, shows that & has preserved 
the correct rendering &-8 ® ‘ For in Sheol there is no seeking of delight (= @); but all (that is) fitting to do, 
do in the sight of God’ ; the addition τς due to the desire to tone down the flippant sentiment of the verse. & > the 
second clause, but has the addition bh Zit. ‘wears out’ ti Tn the Talmud, Erubin 54 a, these clauses are quoted 
thus: ‘the sons of men are like the herbs of the field, some flourish (7. ‘ sparkle’), others fade’ Jj Lit. 
‘ripeneth’. A¢ the end of the v. 253 Syro-Hex +‘ (It is) by the decree of the Lord’ Κ NCa 70 248 253 
μελετησει (= ), so S Syro-Hex: Gk (τελευτησει) ἦς corrupt Wat) Sin 1 # + Et in sensu suo cogitabit 
circumspectionem dei m Μὰ). ‘that hath respect’ n [7?. ‘setteth ἡ ° Reading ΤΊΣ) (= 8) 


14. See critical notes. 
15. Wilt thou not leave... Cp. Ps. xlix. 6-11, 17. Therefore why not enjoy it while you have it? 
to them that cast the lot. ‘In Palestine brothers divided their patrimony by lot as late as, and probably much 
Jater than, the second century’ (Baba Bathra τοῦ ὁ (T. B.); see JZ, viii. 188 a). 
16. indulge thy soul. Cp. Prov. xxix. 21. 
17. withereth like... Cp. Job xiil. 21; Ps. cii. 26 (Sept.); Is. 1. 9, li. 6. 
Thou shalt surely die. & ‘Thou shalt die the death’; cp. Gen. ii. 17 (Sept.), iii. 19. The Hebr. root Μὴ} occurs 
mainly in the poetical books of the O. T. i) 
18. As the leaf... The two first clauses of this verse are quoted in Erubin 54 a (see crit. notes above); cp. Is. : 
xxxiv. 4, xl. 6, 8; 1 Pet. i. 24. 
a luxuriant tree. @ ‘a thick tree’, cp. Deut. xii. 2, &c. | 
One fadeth... & ‘Some it sheddeth, and some it maketh to grow’. ! 
So (are) the... This and the next clause were inadvertently omitted in the text of #1; they are added inthe =| 
margin. 
flesh and blood. O71) WW2 (Ξ-Ξ- σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα, also in the order αἷμα καὶ σάρξ; cp. xvii. 31; Matt. xvi.17; 1 Cor. | 
xv. 50; Gal. 1. 16) does not occur in the O.T., but is frequent in Rabbinical writings ; ‘the writers use this form of speech | 
infinite times, and by it oppose mex to Goa’ (Lightfoot, Horae Hebr. et Talm. [Gandell’s ed.], ii. 234). | 
flourisheth. Lit. ‘ripens’, used of the ‘ripening grape’ in Is. xviii. 6; cp.1 Kingsxi.20. Q ‘is born’. In ® there { 
is added ΠΥ ΠΣ 13 (‘so is [their] latter end’); see Cowley in /QR, xii. 110. 
19. Allhis works... (& ‘ Every work rotteth and fadeth away’. 85, in order to tone down this rather pessimistic 
note, substitutes : ‘ All his works shall be proved before Him’ (i.e. God). 
_ will surely decay. Cp. Is. xl. 20, where this word (3) is used of a tree rotting, and Prov. x. 7, where it is used 
in reference to ‘the name of the wicked’. 
And the labour... Just as man perishes and is forgotten, so it is with his works (cp. Job xxi. 13; John xii. 19) ; 
contrast with this thought Rev. xiv. 13. @& ‘And the worker thereof shall depart with it’. 
XIV. 20—XVI. 23. The general theme of this division is Divine retribution. It contains six subsections. 
(a) XIV. 20-27. 
20. that meditateth. See critical note. Cp. vi. 37, 1. 28; Ps. cxix. 15, 23, 148. 
ene giveth heed... Cp. Ps. cxix. 117; G& ‘And that shall discourse by his understanding’; some cursives add 
‘holy things’. 


368 


ΘΑ ΘΗ 147 75.-- 1Ρ. 


ioe) 


22 Going forth after her like a spy, 
He looketh stealthily upon” her enterings-in“. 

23 [Blessed is he] that peereth into her window, 
And hearkeneth at her doors ; 

24 Who encampeth round about her house, 
And fixeth his pegs into her wall ; 

| 25*Who pitcheth® his tent *close beside her’, 
And dwelleth in a goodly dwelling ; 

26 And buildeth" his nest’ in her foliage, 
And lodgeth among her branches ; 

27 Seeking refuge from the heat in her shade, 
He dwelleth within her habitations. 


(ὁ) XV. 1-10. How Wisdom ts to be attained (= 2+2+2+2+42 distichs). 


1 For he that feareth the Lord doeth this, 
And he that taketh hold of the Law findeth her. 

2 And she will meet him as a mother, 
And as a youthful wife will she receive him ; 

3 And she will feed him with the bread of understanding, 
And will give him the waters of knowledge? to drink. 


P Reading by jor $3, which the sense demands 9 Cp. B εἰσοδοις : Gk otherwise οδοις TS > 8 Lit, 
*stretcheth out’ ὑπὸ δὴ. ‘upon her hand’ u Zit. ‘setteth’ Vv (τ ‘children’, mesreading 33p (΄ his nest’) 
as 93 ‘his children’ 

IGS > » Reading ANIN instead of ANYIN 


21. That directeth... Cp. xxi. 174, xvi, 20; Is. xlvii. 7. ὁπ ‘ He that considereth her ways in his heart te 
And giveth heed unto... (ἃ ‘And he shall take knowledge of her hidden things’; cp. iv. 18, vi. 22, xxxix. 3,7. 
Pirge Aboth vi. 1: *... and they reveal to him the secrets of the Torah.’ 
22. Going forth. .. He looketh stealthily. (ἃ renders both verbs in the imperative. 
likea spy. Cf.2Sam.x. 3. (ἃ ‘as one that tracketh’ (as ἰχνευτής), using the metaphor of a hunter. 
He looketh stealthily. Cp. Prov. viii. 34. @ ‘lieth in wait’, continuing the metaphor of a hunter. 
23. into her window. Cp. xxi. 23; Song of Songs ii. 9. 
at her doors. Cp. li. 19; Prov. viii. 34. 
24. encampeth. Cp. iv. 13,15.  ‘lodgeth’. 
his pegs. The same Hebr. word as in Judges vy. 26. 
25. And dwelleth... Cp. Prov. i. 33. 
26. his nest. See critical note. 
in her foliage. Cp. Ps. civ. 12. @ ‘under her shelter’. 
lodgeth among. & ‘shall rest under’. " ᾿ Γ 
27. Seeking refuge... & ‘ By her he shall be covered from heat (cp. Eccles. vii. 12), and shall lodge in her glory 
(cp. Is. iv. 5 f.). 
(6) XV. 1-10. i 
XV. 1. For. Wrongly omitted by &, since this and the following verses are connected with what has preceded; the 
way in which men should seek Wisdom is now followed by a description of the reception accorded to those who 
find her. 
doeth this. Referring to what has preceded. J LiF. 
he that taketh hold οἵ... 171M W5n; cp. Jer. ii. 8, where four offices are enumerated, among which this is one, 
, |* Viz. priests, lawyers, rulers, prophets; the second of these (‘handlers of the Law’) came to be technically known as the 
: Scribes (= ‘Sopherim’, cp. xxviii. 24-xxxix. 11); in the N. T. γραμματεῖς, and, more rarely, νομικοί (Matt. xxil. 35 ; 
Luke vii. 30, x. 25, xi. 45 ff., xiv. 3) or νομοδιδάσκαλοι (Luke v. 17; Acts v. 34; 1 Tim. i. 7); they were those who 
» occupied themselves with the study and teaching of the sacred Scriptures, and, above all, withthe Law. ὃ 
the Law. The most important point about Ben-Sira’s teaching regarding the Law is that he identifies it with 
Wisdom ; but the way in which this identification is taken for granted shows that Ben-Sira is not expressing a new truth, 
but one which in his time had already become generally accepted ; cp. the following passages: 1. 26, xix. 20, xxi. IT, 
XXIV. 23, xxxiv. (Gt xxxi.) 8. - 
findeth her. i.e. Wisdom; 72277) is more strictly ‘shall attain her’ or ‘overtake’, as in Judges xx. 43. 
2. ...asamother. The same comparison is used in reference to Jahveh in Is, xlix. 14, 15. ‘ 7 τ 
a youthful wife. See the same expression in Prov. ν. 18, ‘a young wife’; (τ γυνὴ παρθενείας, cp, Prov. Vil. 4, 55 
Jer. iii. 4; Joel i. 8 (see Sept. in each case) ; cp. also Wisd. vii. 8. 
will she receive him. With ® cp. 1 Chron. xii. 18. 
3. bread of understanding. Cp. Prov. ix. 5. Ae . ᾿ Ε ΙΝ ΤΣ ΕΙΣ 
waters of knowledge. ( ὕδωρ σοφίας. In the later Jewish literature the ‘water ’ and bread ' of the ome 
often referred to; e.g. in Shabéath 120 a (T. B.) the words of Is. iii. 1, ‘the whole stay of bread,’ are explained as 
referring to the Torah; in the Midrash Bereshith Rabba, § \xx (to Gen. xxviii. 20), it is said that the proselyte may find 
in Israel ‘the bread of the Torah’. In the Midrash S/ir Rabéa i. 4 it is said: ‘As water refreshes the body, so does 
the Torah refresh the soul.’ 
369 


SIRACH 15. 4-13 


4 And he that stayeth upon her will not fall, 
Nor shall he that trusteth in her be ashamed ; 
5 And she will exalt him above his neighbour, 3 
And will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly. ᾿᾽ 
6 Joy and gladness shall he find, ; 
And she will make him inherit an everlasting name. F 
7 °Ungodly men* shall not obtain her, ἢ 
And the arrogant shall not look upon her. 
8 Far from the mockers is she, 
And liars do not think of her. 
9 Praise’ is not seemly in the mouth of the wicked, 
For it hath not been apportioned *to him® by God. 
ro In the mouth of the wise praise is uttered, 
And the who is mighty‘ with her shall teach her. 


ἈΝ STO ἐὸν»... 


(c) XV. 11-20. On Free-will (= 2+1+%2+2+2+1 distichs). 


11 Say not: ‘ From God is my transgression,’ 
For that which He hateth made He not. 
12 Say not: ‘(It is) He that made me to stumble,’ 
For there is no need of evil men®. 
13 Evil and abomination doth the Lord hate, 
And £*He doth not let it come nigh to them®8 that fear Him. 


e-e Zit. ‘men of falsehood’ d$ ‘wisdom’ ee & > exc. 70 106 248 ff Zit. “he who ruleth’ 
5-α Zit. ‘men of violence’, cp. % ‘homines impii’ ge-ee Jf, ‘he doth not cause it to encounter them’ 


4. he that stayeth upon her. On the other hand, in Ps. xviii. 18 Jahveh is man’s stay. 
5. she will exalt him. Cp. δΖγφε Adoth vi. τ, where it is said: ‘And it [the Torah] magnifies him and exalts him 
over all things’; cp. also Sirach iv. 11. 
will open his mouth. In order that he may teach. 
in the midst of the assembly. Cp. xxi. 17; Prov. xxiv. 7. The reference is probably to those gathered together 
for instruction in the temple, for, as Friedlander has shown (Synagoge und Kirche in thren Anfangen), the synagogue 
did not exist in Palestine until the latter half of the second century B.C. 
6. {τ ‘Joy and a crown of gladness and an everlasting name shall he inherit’; for ‘crown’ cp. i. 9, vi. 31. 
an everlasting name. Cp. Is. ἵν]. 3, where, however, this is given by God. 
7. Ungodly men. & ‘Foolish men’. 38 NW ND, cp. Job xi. 11; Ps. xxvi. 4; £ homines stulti. 
the arrogant. (τ ‘liars’. 38 j)7? WN, cp. Jer. xliii. 2. 
8. the mockers. ‘pride’; cp. Eth ‘the proud’. The ‘mockers’ are the cynical free-thinkers to whom wisdom, 
as contained in the Law, is foolishness ; cp. xiv. 6. 
do not think of her. Cp. xxiv. 20. 
g. This and the next verse belong to what has preceded, but form, at the same time, an introduction to what follows. 
seemly. NN), cp. Ps. xxxili. 1, cxlvii. 1 (Smend). 
apportioned. & ‘sent’. Cp. # Quoniam a deo profecta est sapientia. 
10. In the mouth of... (τ ‘For praise shall be spoken in wisdom’. Cp, ii. 29; Prov. xi. 9. ; 
And he who is mighty... (ἃ καὶ ὁ κύριος εὐοδώσει αὐτόν, but, as the rendering of % shows (‘Et dominator dabit | 
eam illi’), this is a corruption of καὶ ὁ κυριεύων δώσει αὐτῷ, Which is much nearer to #; αὐτῷ must originally have been | 
αὐτήν. Cp. Matt. vii. 29. 


(ὦ XV. 11-20. Cp. with this passage James i. 13 f. | 
11. From God is my transgression. (τ ‘ Through the Lord I fell away’. ; 
that which He hateth made He not. & ‘ For thou shalt not do the things that He hateth’, a misunderstanding : 
of the point in #. The reference is probably to the Yeser ha-ra‘ (the ‘ Evil Tendency’) which, according to the text, Ι 
was evidently believed by some to have been created by God, a belief which is reflected in later Rabbinical writings, 
e.g. Qiddushin 306(T.B.): 51 (God) created an evil tendency ( Yeser ha-ra‘) ; 1 created for him (i.e. for man, in order 
to counteract this) the Law as a means of healing’; and in Bereshith Radda, § xxvii (to Gen. vi. 6), Rabbi Ibo explains 
the text to mean: ‘It repenteth Me for having created in him (i.e. in man) the evil tendency ; if I had not created it 
in him, he would not have rebelled against Me.’ In earlier days, too, it was believed that God was the cause of sin ; 
see 2 Sam. xxiv. 1; Jer. vi. 21; Ezek. iii. 20. 
12. Say not. ὍΝ j5, i.e. ‘By no means say ...’; cp. Is. xxxvi. 18 (Smend). 
stumble. τ ‘err’. 
evilmen. (τ ‘a sinful man’. With the whole verse cp. Job xxii. 2 ff. 
13. Evil and abomination. ‘every abomination’. 
He doth not let it come nigh. (τ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαπητόν should be emended to. . . ἀπαντητόν (Knabenbauer). 
14. God. (ἃ ‘ He himself’. 
created man... Since man was created by God he cannot have been bad from the beginning ; the teaching here 
implied seems to be that man became bad because he followed his evil inclination ; contrast, however, xxxiii. (G& xxxvi.) 


379 


3 


ΞἸΝΆΌΙΙ 16. 14—16, 3 


14 God created man from the beginning, 


» And placed? him in the hand of his Veser. 


15 If thou (so) desirest, thou canst keep the commandment, 


JAnd (it is) wisdom* to do His good pleasure’. 


16 Poured out before thee (are) fire and water, 


Stretch forth thine hand unto that which thou desirest. 


17 Life and death! (are) before man, 


That which he desireth shall be given to him. 


18 Sufficient is the wisdom of the Lord, 


- 


(He is) mighty in power, and seeth all things. 


19 And the eyes of God behold his works, 


And He knoweth every deed of man. 


20 He commanded no man to sin, 


Nor gave strength to men of lies™. 


(4) XVI. 1-5. The Curse of sinful Children (= 2+ 2+14+41 distichs). 


᾿ 18Desire not the sight” of unprofitable sons, 


And delight not in corrupt children ; 


2 Yea, and if they “are fruitful®, exult not because of them 


If they have no fear of the Lord. 


3 Trust not thou in their life, 


4Nor rely on their *end®?; 


δ ® cnserts the following gloss: ‘ And delivered him into the hand of him that spoileth him’; added for doctrinal 
purposes i Lit. ‘ gave’ Ji $ >: HS + ‘and if thou trust in him, of a truth (1. even) thou shalt live’ 
k Zit, ‘understanding ’ 1%, +‘good and evil’ τῇ 10 +/he gloss: ‘And He hath no mercy on him that 
committeth falsehood (/¢. doeth vanity), nor on him that revealeth secrets. S$ +‘And He said not to the sons of 
flesh that they should sin, and He hath no mercy on them that commit falsehood.’ 

ἃ Ψ has the title ‘Concerning ungodly children’ b Zit. ‘beauty’: G&S ‘ multitude’ ee (ἃ 9 
‘multiply ’ dd $ ‘ And trust not that there will be a good end for them’ e-e GBC ‘place’; NA V 55 155 
248 253 254 Syro-Hex Sah ‘multitude’; # + she gloss: ‘For there will not be for them a good end’; δὲ δ" 


+ orevakis yap πενθεῖ awpw και εξεῴνης αὐτων συντελειαν γνωσεται 


14,15. Yesev is here used in a neutral sense (almost equivalent to Free-will) in which lay the power of doing right or 
wrong ; the origin of evil is, therefore, in this passage, traced to man; cp. xxv. 24; Wisd. xii. 11; 4 Esdras iv. 29-31. 
A later scribe, realizing the difficulty which could be urged, that as the Creator of all things God must have created the 
Yeser with its tendency to evil as well as to good, added the gloss that God delivered man from his spoiler (i.e. Satan ; 
see critical note); cp. iv. 19. This later scribe, in his turn, however, did not realize that the difficulty still remained. 

Yeser. Cp. xxvii. 6, xxxvii. 3 : Gr διαβούλιον. 

15. If thou (so) desirest. In this and the two next verses the normal Jewish doctrine of Free-will is well 
illustrated ; it is characteristic of this that divine grace occupies a relatively subordinate position. 

the commandment. ΠῚ, i.e. any precept of the Law; the keeping (Nt’Y) of such is reckoned as of merit. Cp. 
x. 19, xxxii. (Gt xxxv.) 23, xxxvi. 12, xlv. 5; Prov. xix. 6; Eccles. viii. 5. 

And (it is) wisdom ... (ἃ ‘And faithfulness (it is) to do (His) good pleasure, cp. Frov. xii. 22; for ΠῚ Π 
(‘understanding’) it is perhaps better to read ΠΟΥ͂Ν (‘faithfulness’), following @& (and sce the addition of #, with 
which cp. Hab. ii. 4 ; see critical note); cp. % ‘Et in perpetuum fidem placitam facere ’. 

16. Poured out before thee. (ἃ ‘ He hath set before thee’. ; 

fire and water. Corresponding to ‘life and death’ in v. 17 ; opposing elements ; cp. Light and darkness = 

Good and evil. For the synonym ‘ Fire’ for ‘Good’, applied to God, cp. Deut. iv. 24. : 
17. Life and death. With the addition of & (see critical note) cp. Deut. xxx. 15,19 ; see also Jer. xxi. 8. 
18. Sufficient is... i.e. God knows what each man chooses, cp. xlii. 17. (τ ‘Great is...’ 

(He is) mighty in power. i.e. It lies within His power to punish those who choose the evil, and to reward those 
who choose the good. 

and seeth all things. Cp. Ps. xxxill. 13-15. ; ΟΣ i 

19. And the eyes of God... (ἃ ‘And His eyes are upon them that fear Him’, cp. Ps. xxxiil. 18, xxxiv. 16. 

And He knoweth every deed... Cp. Pirge Aboth iv. 31: ‘ He is the framer, and He the creator, and He the 
discoverer ...’; cp. Ps. xxxili. 15. 

20. tosin. & ‘to be ungodly’ (ἀσεβεῖν). 


nor gave strength... (ἃ ‘And He gave no man licence to sin’. For the addition in ® see critical note. 
(d) XVI. 1-5. 
XVI. 1. Desirenot... Cp. xlii. 12. 


sight. && ‘multitude’, anticipating v. 2. 
unprofitable sons. Lit. ‘ vain youths’. Cp. Philemon ΤΙ. 
. 2. Ifthey have... @ ‘Except the fear of the Lord be with them’. f 
3. Trust not thou... For the reason that it may suddenly come to an end cp. Job xxiv. 24. ; 
on their end. For the Hebr. word PY in the unusual sense of ‘end’ cp. Ps. cxix. 33, 112. Possibly the word is 
to be understood in the sense of ‘ gain’, as in Ps. xix. 11 (12 in Hebr.) ; Prov. xxil. 4. 


371 


* 


SIRACH 16. 3-12 


For better is one! than a thousand§, ‘ 
And to die childless than "(to have)" a presumptuous posterity. 
4 From one that" feareth the Lord a city is peopled, 
But through a race of treacherous men it is desolated’. 
5 Many things like these mine eye hath seen, 
And mightier things than these mine ear hath heard. 


(ce) XVI. 6-14. God's righteous wrath against the Wicked (=1+2+24+14+2+ 2{ + 2] distichs). 


6 In the assembly of the wicked a fire is kindled, 
And in an apostate nation doth wrath burn. 
» He forgave not the princes* of old, 
1Who revolted ™! in their might. 
8 He spared not "the place where Lot sojourned”, 
Who were arrogant in their pride ; 
9 Nor did He spare the nation accursed°, 
Dispossessed because of their sin?. 
το Thus (did it happen) to the six hundred thousand footmen, 
Who were destroyed in the arrogancy of their heart‘. 
11 Yea, and if there be one who is stiff-necked, 
A marvel it would be were he not punished. 
For mercy and wrath are with Him, 
He forgiveth and pardoneth, but ‘upon the wicked He causeth His wrath to rest’. 
12 As great as His mercy (is), so is His chastisement®: 
(Each) man doth He judge according to his works. 


f 248 + ‘righteous’; N¢* + ‘doing the will of the Lord’. (= #38): # + timens deum SNCA Ὁ 
‘transgressors’: 70 + ‘sinners’: 3» + filii impii hh® + ‘one that hath many unprofitable children 
and than’ hh # + ‘is childless (but)’ i248 + ‘quickly’ k (κα ‘giants’ 1-1 κα ‘who filled 
the world’ πὶ # + ‘of yore’ nn $ ‘the inhabitants of the city of Lot’ one + ‘the nation 
of Canaan’ pea +All these things did He do to the hard-hearted nations, nor was He appeased 
by the multitude of His holy ones’ 455 70 248 + ‘Chastising, showing mercy, smiting, healing, 


the Lord guarded them in mercy and in discipline’ tr $ ‘punisheth sins” ® G& + ‘great’ 


4. that feareth the Lord. (ἃ ‘that hath understanding’; S$ ‘that feareth God’. To have understanding and to 
fear the Lord are synonymous terms in the Wisdom-Literature, cp. i. 14; Prov. i. 7, ix. 10; Ps. cxi. 10. 
But through... Cp. Gen. xix. 24, 25. τ΄ But a race of wicked men shall be made desolate ’, misunderstanding 
the point of 38. 4 
5. mightier things than... These are enumerated in the verses that follow. 
(e) XVI. 6-14. 
6. a fire is kindled. Cp. Num. xvi. 35 for the thought, but probably the reference is not specifically to this as 
in the enumeration of events in the succeeding verses the chronological ordcr is followed. 
an apostate nation. The same phrase in Is. x. 6. 
7. He forgave not. (& ‘ He was not pacified towards ’. 
the princes of old. S ‘the ancient kings’; & follows the Sept. of Gen. vi. 4, ‘the giants’ of old time; cp. 
Num. xxi. 21-31; Wisd. xiv. 6; Judith xvi. 7; Bar. iii. 26 ff.; 3 Macc. ii. 4; Enoch vil. 2, ix. 9; Jubilees v. i. 
Who revolted... 3 Qui destructi sunt confidentes suae virtuti. 
8. He spared not... Cp. Gen. xix. 14. 
the place . . . sojourned. ord 9 as in Job xviii. 19, 97332; not as & 3S. 
Who were arrogant... Cp. Ezek. xvi. 49; 3 Macc. ii. 5 (Smend). & ‘Whom He abhorred for their pride’. 
9. spare. (ἃ SU ‘pity’. 
the nation accursed. i.e. Canaan, as N¢.4 explains correctly in an addition. @ ‘the people of perdition’. 
1o. to the six hundred thousand ... Cp. xlvi. 8, and see Num. ix. 21 ; it is improbable, as the context shows, 
that the reference is to Exod. xii. 37, as Ryssel thinks. 
destroyed. Lit. ‘taken away’; τ" gathered together ’. 


in the arrogancy of... For the Hebrew cp. Deut. i. 43; S$ ‘because of their murmuring’ (cp. Num. xiv. 
12). @ ‘in the hardness ...’, cp. v. 11. 


11. stiffmecked. Cp. Exod. xxxii. 9, xxxili. 3, 5, and for @& Neh. vii. 51. 
A marvel. DM; the noun (Aramaic) occurs, outside our book, only in Dan. iii. 32, 33, vi. 28. 


For mercy and wrath ... The same clause as v. 6c (1Η &). 

He forgiveth ... (ἃ for the whole clause, ‘He is mighty to forgive (δυνάστης ἐξιλασμῶν, cp. Ps. Ixxxvi. 5, 
cxxx. 4), and poureth out wrath,’ 

but upon the wicked... The same clause as τ΄. 6 ( (18 &). 


372 


SERACH 16) 13=19 


13 The sinner shall not escape with his spoil, 
And He will not suffer the desiret of the righteous to fail for ever. 
14 Every one that doeth righteousness shall receive his reward, 
And every man shall find" (his reward) before Him, according to his works. 
15 [71 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh who knew Him not, 
Whose works were manifest under the heavens; 
16 His mercies are seen by all His creation, 
And His light and His darkness“ hath He apportioned unto the children of men.]* 


(f) XVI. 17-23. Man's insignificance in the sight of God (= 2+3+3+1 distichs). 


17 Say not: ‘I am hidden from God, 
And in the height who will remember me ? 
I shall not be noticed* among so illustrious a people, 
And what is my soul among the mass of the spirits Yof all the children of men’ ?’ 
18 Behold the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, 
And the deep, and the earth? ; 
το °When He treadeth upon them they stand firm, 
And when He visiteth them they tremble*. 
>Yea, the bottoms of the mountains, and the foundations of the world, 
When He? looketh upon them they tremble greatly. 


(ἃ 3 ‘patience’ u Reading (after & 33) Ny for NS YY G& > (exc. 106 248): SAr = B®: the two cursives 


vary only shghtly from ® W Reading (after the curstves 106 248 and 55) \awn tnstead of nw (‘ His blessing’) 
x B C ‘remembered ’ δ. & > 240 248106 © + ‘and all that in them is’ a-a B ‘when He 
visiteth them they are shaken’ Ὁ 248 znserts: ‘The whole world was made, and existeth, by His will’ 


© 70 248 ‘the Lord’ 

12. according to his works. Cp. xv. 19, and Pzrge Aédoth ili. 24: ‘ The world is judged by grace ; and everything 
is according to work.’ 

13. the desire. Cp. Prov. x. 24, xi. 23 ; Ps. cxii. 10; Smend, on the basis of xliv. 10 (Hebr.), emends to ‘hope 
(mpn for nin). 

for ever. Omitted in &. 

14. Every one that ... to his works. (τ ‘He will make room for every work of mercy; each man shall find 
according to his works’. Concerning the efficacy of works, see 11]. 14, 31, xi. 27, xvii. 22, xxix. 9, xxxi. 9, Io, &c.; 
the Hebr. phrase ΠΡῚΝ ΠΟ is the technical one for fulfilling the commandments of the Law (J/7¢zvoth) ; Ben-Sira 
frequently lays stress on the need of this, though occasionally he finds it necessary to utter a note of warning, e.g. 
in v. 5, 6, where he combats the belief that any number of sins can be committed provided that a sufficient number 
of good works are done to atone for them (cp. xxxiv. 26 [xxxi. 31]). The danger of works assuming a mechanical 
character became a more urgent one as time went on, see e.g. Matt. vii. 15, 273; it is seen clearly also in the later 
Rabbinical literature (for many examples see Weber, /édische Theologze, pp. 279 ff.), though passages in which the 
efficacy of works is balanced by teaching on the need of grace are not wanting. 

before Him. i.e. in His (God’s) sight. 

15,16. These verses are probably not original, but they must have got into the text at an early period, as they are found 
in the Syriac and Arabic versions, as well as in two Greek cursives. They belong to the secondary recension of 38. 

15. The Lord hardened ... Cp. Exod. ix. 12 ff. 

under the heavens. Cp. Exod. v. 2, xvii. 14; Deut. xxv. 19, xxix. 19 ; Job xli. 3. 


16. the children of men. (ἃ τῷ ἀδαμάντι, a corruption for τῷ a6 ip (DIN?). 


(f) XVI. 17-23. 

17. lam hidden from God. Cp. Ps. exxxix. 7-12. 

noticed. Lit. ‘known ’, i.e. recognized. 

among the mass... (ἃ ‘ina boundless creation’; Sa‘adya, who quotes this verse (Smend), omits ‘ of all the 
children of men’, which overloads the clause, and is evidently not original. 

18, 19. The whole-hearted acknowledgement of the divine glory and power contained in these verses cannot be 
intended to be spoken by the sceptic, in whose mouth they would sound strange ; it is clear, on the other hand, that 
vv. 20-22 belong to the same speaker as v.17. It would seem that vv. 18,19 have got out of place; they would 
come more appropriately after v. 23, where, after having rebuked the sceptic’s way of thinking, Ben-Sira utters his own 
oc of faith. 

. the heavens of the heavens. Cp. Deut.x.14; 1 Kings viil. 27; 3 Mace. il. 15. 

Ἢ deep, and theearth. These, with the heavens, went to make up the universe, according to the ancient Hebrew 
conception. The ‘deep’ = Zehom (cp. Gen. vi. 11), i.e. the subterranean abyss of waters. 

19. treadeth. Lit. ‘cometh down’, cp. Ps. xviii. 8, civ. 32. 

And when He visiteth. IPD often has the sense of ‘punish’; cp. Is. x. 12; Jer. ix. 24 (Hebr.); with the 
whole verse cp. Zest. 72 Patriarchs, Levi iii. g: ‘When, therefore, the Lord looketh upon all creation, the heavens 
and the earth and the abysses are shaken.’ 

the bottoms of the mountains. Cp. Jonah ii. 6 (Hebr. 7); & ‘the mountains’. 

When He looketh... Cp. Ps. civ. 32; Nahum i. 5. 


979 


ΘΕ ΘΕ IG! 579 27 


20 ‘In truth, unto me He will not have respect ; 
And as for my ways, who will mark them ?°° 
21 If I sin, no eye beholdeth it, 
Or if I deal untruly in all secrecy, who will know it ? 
22 4My righteous dealing, who declareth it ? 
And what hope (is there) ? for the decree is distant *?#*’ 
23 They that lack understanding think these things, 
And the man of folly thinketh this. 


(a) XVI. 24-30. Wisdom as seen in Creation (= 2+2+2+2 distichs). 


24 Hearken ye unto me, and receive my wisdom, 

And set your heart upon my words. 
25 I will pour out my spirit’ by weight, 

And £by measure will I declare my knowledge. 
26 When God created His works from the beginning, 

After making them® He assigned them (their) portions’. 
27 He set in order His* works for ever, 

1And their authority unto their generations’. 

They hunger not, neither ™are they weak”, 
And they cease not from their works". 


ce αὶ 6:8 + And according as a man asketh, his eye shall see (his reward’): cp. v. 14 Ὁ. d-d$ > * Reading 
pn for pre (Smend) ®©70 τοῦ 248% +‘ And the trying of all things is not until the end’ £S ‘words’ 
5- § ‘in wisdom’ h-h ® ‘Concerning their life’: /Azs ἐς all that ts left of ® in the clause ; 11 1s wanting from 
here to xviti. 23 iS ‘laws’ ἘΝ 253 ‘their’ (= % i) 1179 106 248: ‘In His hand are their 
beginnings from generation to generation’ m-m So 8: G& ‘do they labour’: 70 106 248 +‘in His works’: 
§ ‘do they labour,’ + ‘nor are they weary’ n $ ‘strength’ 


20. In truth. In this and the two next verses the sceptic’s train of thought is continued from v. 17; he says, in effect, 
that neither evil actions nor righteous dealing matter since God is indifferent to both. @ misunderstands the point of 
the words, and renders: ‘And no heart shall think upon these things, and who shall conceive his ways Be 

21. IfIsin... It is difficult to make much out of (τ : ‘And a tempest which no man seeth [N° adds: * shall come 
upon him’, to make sense], and the more part of his works are among hidden things’; with the second clause cp. xliii. 32. 
Smend ingeniously emends the first clause thus: κἂν κακοποιῇ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ὄψεται ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς αὐτοῦ, but the unanimity of 
the Greek MSS. in reading καταιγίς points to an original misreading of 3. With the whole verse cp. xxiii. 18-20. 

22. who declareth it ? Since God Himself, according to the sceptic, does not see it (cp. vv. 20, 21), who is there to 
eines a man deals righteously? The sceptic is represented as not believing in the ministry of angels (cp. Job 
ἘΣ ΧΙ 23, 24). 

_ _ And what hope (is there)? (τ ‘Or who shall endure them?’ ὑπομενεῖ is probably a corruption of ὑπομονή (=MpPN 
in Job xiv. 19; Ps. ix. 19, Ixi. 5). 

for the decree is distant. i.e. the decreed reward for well-doing, or punishment for evil-doing, is, in any case, so 
far off that one need not be concerned with either. 


23. And the man of folly... τ paraphrastically: ‘And an unwise and erring man thinketh follies.’ Cp. Ps. xiv. 1 
(Sept. xiii. 1), 111. 1 (Sept. lii. 1). 


XVI. 24—XVIII. 29. Divine retribution further exemplified. This division contains seven subsections. 
(a) XVI. 24-30. 
24, 25. These verses form an introduction to this section, which deals with the wonders of Creation, in which the 
divine Wisdom is revealed. 
24. receive my wisdom. Cp. viii. 9. Soy means ‘insight’, or ‘good sense’; cp. Prov. iii. 4, xiii. 15,&c. (ἃ “learn 
knowledge’. ; 
set your heart. With G& πρόσεχε τῇ καρδίᾳ σου cp. Deut. xxxii. 46 (Sept.). 
25. I will pour out. The Hebr. root yl) is a late one, and occurs only elsewhere in the poetical books, Psalms, 
Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes ; cp. x. 13, 1. 27. 
by weight. Cp. xxi. 5, xxviii. 25. 
by measure. (τ ἐν ἀκριβείᾳ. 
will I declare my knowledge. Cp. Job x. 17, xxxii. 6. 
26. When God created. (ἃ ἐν κρίσει (a scribal error for κτίσει) Κυρίου. Cp. 1 Enoch ii. 1-3. 
...He assigned them... Cp. Gen. i. 20, 25; Ps. cxxxvi. 6-9. 
ὩΣ He set in order... Cp. Ps. civ. 24, 31. 
, their authority. τὰς ἀρχὰς αὐτῶν. Cp. Gen. i. 16, 18; Ps. οἰ]. 22; i.e. the sphere of their activity. Ryssel refers 
to Philo (De Monarch. 1. § 1,11. § 5 ff.), where the sun and the stars are designated ἄρχοντες. 
unto their generations. Cp. Ps. cxxxy. (cxxxvi.) 8 f. (Sept.). 
They hunger not... Cp. xliii. 10. 


374 


πὶ 28 
[29 


iz 


ἘΠῚ 
2 
3 
b4 
i. 
1b 


| 6a 
168 


ΘΕ (ΘΠ: 28— i, 


“I 


οἾΝ οἵ one thrusteth aside his neighbour®, 
They never disobey His word. 

And after this the Lord looked upon the earth, 
And Pfilled it with His good things?. 

With every living thing He filled‘ the earth ; 
‘And into it is their return’. 


(6) XVII. 1-14. God's gifts to man (=  -- 2- 4- 2 - 2 distichs). 


God®* created man? out of dust°, 
And turned him back thereunto. 
He granted them “a [fixed] number of days’, 
And gave them authority over all® things fon the earth‘. 
ΕΗ: clothed them with strength #like unto Himself#¢, 
And made them according to His own? image. 
He put the fear of them? upon all flesh, 
And * caused them to have power* over beasts and birds!. 
™With insight and understanding He filled their heart™, 
And taught™™ them good and evil. 
»He created for them” tongue, and eyes, and ears, 
And He gave® them a heart to understand, 


0-0 S ‘they hate not one another’ P-P S ‘blessed it with all its fruits’ 4S0 3; (τ ‘covered’ τὸ S$ ‘And 
gathered within it all His works’ 

a So Si: (ἃ ‘The Lord’ b S$ Adam ¢ So S$: © + ‘and made him after His image’ d-d So Si: 
(ἃ ‘days by number’: (ἃ % + ‘and a set time’ e So 70 $ tf Zit. ‘thereon’ s-€ & omits this clause 
here, but places itt before v. 2: %* By His wisdom He clothed them with strength and covered them with fear’ 
ee-88 Reading καθ᾽ εαυτὸν for καθ᾽ εαὐυτους hSonA iSo S$: GH ‘him’ k-k Cp. Bb: S>: 70 248 + 
‘in His likeness’ (7. e. like Him) 170 248 +: ‘ They (ze. men) received the use of five powers (7. ὁ. the five 
senses) of the Lord; but as a sixth He also accorded them the gift of understanding (νους), and as a seventh the 
Word (Aoyos), the interpreter of His (7. e. God’s) powers’ (= v. 5) * The order of the clauses here follows 3: 
G lacks logical sequence ; the order in & differs from both m-m $9 $: & ‘He filled them with skilfulness 
of insight’: % + ‘He created for them the understanding of the spirit, and filled their heart with reason’ 
mm So $: (ἃ ‘showed them’ on So 3: Gr διαβουλιον, the result of reading V8 instead of ΣΝ, the omission 


of ond (‘for them’) followed from this °$ Lit. ‘granted as their portion’ 


28. Not one thrusteth aside... i.e. the heavenly bodies have been ‘set in order’, they follow their course without 
interfering with one another; cp. Ps. civ. 19. 
They never disobey... Cp. Ps. cxlviii. 5, 6. 
29. And after this... Cp. Gen. i. 20-31. 
And filled it... Cp. Ps. civ. 24, 28. 
30. With every living thing. GG ψυχὴν (ΝΣ ψυχὴ) παντὸς ζῴου ; cp. Gen. 1. 21 ΠῚ ΠΠ wero, πᾶσαν Ψυχὴν ζῴων .. 
cp. also Gen. 1. 24. 
And into it... Cp. Gen. iii. 19; Ps. civ. 29; Eccles. xii. 7. 
(6) XVII. 1-14. 
XVII. 1. After speaking of the Creation generally, Ben-Sira now deals more specifically with man and God’s 
gifts to him. 
God created... Cp. Gen. ii. 7. 
And turned him back... Cp. Gen. 111. 19; Ps. cxlvi. 4. 
2. He granted them... Cp. Ps. xc. Io. 
And gave them authority. Cp. Gen. 1. 28; Ps. vill. 6-8. 
3. like unto Himself...according to His own image. Cp. Gen. 1. 26, 27. 
4. the fear of them... Cp. Gen. i. 28, ix. 2; Wisd. ix. 2. 
caused them... Cp. Gen. i. 26, 28; Ps. viii. 6-8. : 
5. See critical note', In reference to this insertion Grotius (quoted by Smend) says: ‘ Videtur ad marginem anno- 
tatum fuisse ab aliquo Stoicorum librorum lectore. Nam Stoici ad quinque sensus notissimos tres annumerabant 


alios, quorum hic omissum est τὸ σπερματικόν. The verse is, on the face of it, not original. 
6 ff. See critical notes. 
74a. With insight... Cp. Ps. viii. 5. 
76. ...good and evil. See, however, Gen. ii. 17, iii. 22. 
6a. He created. See critical note. 
6 ὁ. heart. As usually in the O. T., the seat of understanding. 


375 


ony 


SIRACH 17. 8-17 


85 ®To show them the majesty of His works, 
8c 4And that they might glory in His wondrous acts® ; 
*9 That they might evermore declare’ His glorious works’, 
ro And praise* His holy name. 7 
τι He set beforet them the covenant* ; 
The law of life "He gave them for a heritage”. “4 
12 He made an everlasting covenant with them, = 
And showed™ them His judgements. ἢ 
13 Their eyes beheld *His* glorious majesty, ᾿: 
yAnd their ear heard His” glorious voice’ ; : 
14 And He said unto them, *Beware of all unrighteousness* ; 
And He gave them commandment, to each man concerning his neighbour. 


νον. ἀν... Ss. 


(c) XVII. 15-24. God's recompense to those who serve Him (= 2{ +1]+2+ 2 distichs). 


15 Their ways Pare ever® before Him, 
They are not hid from His eyes°. 

17 ("For every nation He appointed a ruler, 
But Israel is the Lord’s portion®]. ἢ 


νῷ» 8: GL: ‘He set His eye (254 Syro-Hex ™s ‘fear’) upon their hearts’ a-a So, with some variation, 
N70 248 (as Ὁ. 9) DL * vv. g-10 are misplaced in & rr ὁ ‘the fear of Him in the world’ | 
8 70 248 ‘the elect shall praise ὴ t προεθηκεν (= 55) instead of προσεθηκεν (‘He added’) tt So S: G& ‘know- 
ledge’ u-u 3 ‘He taught them’: 248 +‘to perceive that they are mortal’ uu $ ‘made known unto” 
x-x So SL: > yyi> z ΟΝ ΟΝ 70 253 254 Syro-Hex Ar: BA &c. ‘their’ a-a ‘take heed 
and be not faithless’ b-b S ‘are manifest’ © +o 248+‘From their youth up every man (70 their 
way) was towards evil, neither were they able to make their hearts (to be) of flesh instead of stone” (= z. 16), 
cp. Ezek. ΧΙ 19 d4o 248 insert here: ‘At the separation of the peoples of the whole earth,’ cp. Gen. 
vi. 5, Vii. 21, Deut. xxxii. 8 € 70 248+‘ Whom (zc. Israel, the Lord’s portion) He brought up as His 
firstborn (cp. Exod. iv. 22) with severity, yet loving them, imparting to them the light of love, and He forsook them 


8 ὁ. the majesty. Cp. xviii. 4. 

8c. See critical note. 

9, 10. The order as given above is that of 3. 
11. He set before them. Cp. Deut. iv. 44. 

the covenant. (ἃ read 13'3 for ΠΥ. 

The law of life. i.e. the law which gives life, the Law of Moses; cp. xlv. 5 (ὉΠ 71N), Baruch iv. 1, and the 
Midrash Sifre 84a: ‘As water giveth life to the world, so do the words of Torah give life to the world’; and Pz7ye 
Aboth ii. 8: ‘He who hath gotten to himself words of Torah hath gotten to himself the life of the world to come.’ 
Ben-Sira is, of course, only referring to this life. 

12. made. Lit. ‘set up’ (ἔστησεν) ; cp. xliv. 18a; Ezek. xvi. 60. 

an everlasting covenant. Cp. Baruch iv. 1. 

13. Their eyes beheld... See Exod. xix. 16-20, xxiv. 16, 17. 

His glorious voice. Cp. xlv. 5; Is. xxx. 30; Rev. 1. 10, iv. 1. 

14. Beware of... A summary of all the prohibitory commandments of the Law, referring especially to that against 
worshipping other gods. 

He gave them commandment... This and the preceding clause sum up the ‘great commandments’ of the 
Law, love to God and one’s neighbour; cp. Matt. xxii. 36-40. 

(c) XVII. 15-24. 
15. Their ways are... Cp. Ps. xc. 8a; Is, xlix. 16. 

They are not hid... Cp. Ps. xc. 80. See critical note. 

17. See critical note for addition in 248. This verse (17) can hardly be original here. If genuine it has been mis- ~ | 
placed (it breaks the close logical connexion between vv. 15 and 19, which form 2 distichs). ἢ 

_ For every nation... portion. This verse is of importance as illustrating the Jewish doctrine of God both in 
His relationship to Israel and to the Gentiles. By their acceptance of the Law the Israelites became God's ‘ peculiar 
people’ (1730 DY; cp. Deut. xiv. 2, xxvi. 18; Ps. cxxxv. 4), and were therefore His particular care (cp. the Sept. of 
Deut. xxii. 8, 9, ‘But the Lord’s portion was His people Jacob, the lot of His inheritance was Israel’). On the other 
hand, since He was the God of all the world, His interest in other nations could not be denied (cp. the Midrash Sz/ve 40: 
‘God doth not provide for Israel alone, but for all men’); thus the belief arose that, while God reserved the Iszaelites 
for His special care, He deputed angels to look after, and champion, the cause of other races. _ It is said, e. g. in the Ι 
Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xi. 7, 8, that every nation has its own guardian angel who pleads the cause of the Ϊ 
nation under his protection before God. It is interesting to observe that in later times even the divine guardianship over { 
Israel was deputed to the archangel Michael; in Hagigah 120 (T. B.) he has the title of ‘Advocate of the Jews’; 
and in the Ya/kut Shimeoni, Bereshith 132, Michael is described as the prince over all the angels, because he is the ἢ 


guardian angel of the Israelite nation; he acts as Israel’s representative and patron in the presence of God, and he 
intercedes there on behalf of his people. 


For v. 18 see critical note. 


376 


SIRACH 17. 19-27 


τ 0 All their works ‘are [clear]* as the sun before Him, 


% And His eyes are continually upon their ways’. 
Ὁ Their iniquities are not hid from Him, 
| And all "their sins™ are [inscribed]: before the Lord*. 
2 The righteousness! of men™ "is to Him as a signet®, 
And the mercy°® of man He preserveth? as the apple of an eye’. 
3 Afterwards *He will rise up* and recompense them, 
And will visit® their deedst upon their own head". 
4 Nevertheless to them that repent doth He grant a return’, 
And *comforteth them that lose hope’*. 


(4) XVII. 25-32. An exhortation to turn to God and forsake sin (= 2+2+2+42 distichs). 


5%Turn unto the Lord, #and forsake sins ; 

Supplicate before (His) face, and (so) lessen offence. 

6 Turn unto the Most High, and turn away from iniquity’, 
And vehemently hate the abominable thing’. 

> |7 #For what pleasure hath God in all that perish* in Hades’, 
In place of those who live and give Him praise ? 


not’ (= v. 18) ff So Ψ (ht. ‘ manifest’): 3 ‘stand’: & > 8- $ ‘ And all their thoughts are manifest 
| before Him’ hh $ ‘the sins of men’ i So 3 only k 70 248 +‘ But the Lord, being merciful, knowing 

also (that they are made in) His own image, spared them, and forsook them not nor cast them off’ (= v. 21). 
ΠῚ 1 71}. ‘alms’ m3 ‘of all men’ nn % ‘is sealed and deposited with Him’ ο Lit, ‘grace’ 

| 2S ‘is preserved’ 4 70 248 + ‘granting (11. allotting) repentance to his sons and daughters’ ΤΟ S ‘shall 
| He reveal Himself’ 5.111. ‘render’ ὕ Lv. ‘retribution’: S‘debts’ %% + ‘and He will consign (11. turn) 
them to the lower parts of the earth’ v & ‘a way of righteousness’: S$ ‘repentance’ W-w % ‘will destroy 
all who cause hurt to the righteous’ x Zit. ‘endurance’: & + ‘and hath apportioned to them the lot of 
᾿ earuth ” Υ 39 has the title ‘Concerning conversion’: 248 ‘ Therefore turn’ 2-ὲ % ‘and ye shall turn from 
destruction ; turn from sin and cause not anger (unto the Lord)’ —_2 70 248 +‘For He Himself will lead (thee) 
out of darkness unto the light of salvation’ (/:/. ‘ health’) a-a & ‘who will praise the Most High in Hades’: 
3. has instead of v. 27: ‘and recognize the justice and judgements of God, and stand in the lot of the favour and 
prayer of the Most High ; walk in the places of the holy world with the living and with those who give thanks unto 
God. Abide not in the folly of the wicked; confess (God) before death’ » $ ‘the world’: 70 248 + ‘in heart’ 


19. All their works... Cp. xvi. 22; Eccles. viii. 9. 
And His eyes... Cp. xxiii. 19; Ps. xciv. 11. 

20. Their iniquities... Cp. Ps. xxxiii. 5, Ixix. 5. 
And all their sins... Cp. Jer. li. 5. 

22. righteousness. ἐλεημοσύνη (Ξε ΠΡῚΝ) ; almsgiving was reckoned as the greatest of the Δ DW (‘good 
works’), and therefore righteousness par excellence. S$ has NNN, i.e. a state of justification in the sight of God 
brought about by the accomplishment of good works. 

a signet. i.e. something which is especially precious; cp. xlix. 11; Job xiv. 17. 

mercy. For χάρις (= 10M) used in reference to a human virtue see xl. 17, and cp. xiv. 1, where 38 reads 10M ‘WN, 
lit. ‘men of mercy’, for the Greek ἄνδρας ἐνδόξους. 

He preserveth. i.e. He keeps in memory; cp. Acts x. 10: ‘Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for 
a memorial before God.’ 

the apple of aneye. Cp. Deut. xxxii. 10; Ps. xvii. 8; Prov. vii. 2; Zech. ii. 12. 

23. Afterwards... The reference here is to those mentioned in v. 20; the words of v. 22 are parenthetic, 

He will rise up. i.e, to judgement. 

and will visit. For by ‘IPD in this sense cp. Amos iii. 2, 14; Hos. i. 4, il. 15, ἅς. 

upon their own head. Cp. joel iil. (Hebr. iv.) 4, 7. ; 
_ 24. to them that repent... Cp. Shadbath 32 a (T. B.): ‘Repentance and works of charity are man’s 
Intercessors before the House of God’; and Yoma 86a: ‘Great is the power of repentance ; for it reaches up to 
_ the throne of God; it brings healing...’ 

areturn. i.e. to divine favour. 

that lose hope. Cp. Hebr. of Ezek. xxxvii. 11. 

(4) XVII. 25-32. 

25. Turn unto... Cp. Ps. xc. 3; Mal. iii. 7. : 

_ _Supplicate before (His) face. i.e. before the place in the temple where God’s presence was telieved to be, 
in the Holy of Holies. 
Offence. πρόσκομμα, cp. Rom. ix. 32, 333 1 Cor. viii. 9. 

26. ...the abominable thing. Cp. xv. 13. : : 

27. The thought is that God’s delight is in those who live and can therefore praise Him, not in those who go down 
to Hades and are cut off from communion with Him; the teaching here coincides with the normal teaching of the O.T. 
(some passages in the Psalms show, however, a great development), that God's interest in man is restricted to this 
world; cp. the next verse. 4 

-.. who live and give Him praise. Cp. Ps. cxvi. 2, cxx. 17,18; Is. xxxvili. 18, 19. 
1195 377 Ce 


Priaes 


SIRACH: 17. 28—18. 4 


28 Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead as from one that is not, 
(But) he that liveth and is in health praiseth the Lord*,, 
29 How great is the mercy of the Lord‘, 
And ® His‘ forgiveness unto® them that turn unto Him®. 
3° For it is not like this in man, 
Nor is (God’s) thought like the thoughts of the children of men*. 
31 What is brighter than the sun? Yet this faileth ; 
And (how much more) ‘man, who? (hath) the inclination* of flesh and blood! 
He looketh upon '!the hosts of heaven’, 
™ And on men™ who are dust and ashes. 


w 
nN 


(ce) XVIIL. 1-14. The works of the Almighty are past finding out; the insignificance of man, and 
the magnanimity of God (=1+2+2+1+2+2+4+2+1 distichs). | 
He that liveth for ever created* all things together». 
The Lord alone °shall be justified *. 
de Who is sufficient® to declare His works, 
And who can trace out! His mighty deeds ? 


-_ We 


ΟΞ + ‘and thou shalt glory in His mercy ’ 4248 + ‘our God’ e-e S ‘He forgiveth ’ ! Expressed 
in & only £248 +‘holily’ h-h @& % ‘For all things cannot be in men, for a son of man is 
not immortal’: % + ‘and they take pride in the vanity of iniquity’ imi Reading ἀνὴρ os instead of πονηρος 
k So S: G& ‘thinketh’, reading ὍΝ as a verb, cp. xvii. 6, where the verb is understood as a noun: δὲ 6:8 καὶ τι 
πονηρότερον ενθυμειται (= IL): 70 253 καὶ ἀνὴρ os ἐνθυμηθησεται (= Syro-Hex) 11 So $ m-m So $ 

8 % ‘tried ’, or ‘ proved’ b 254 ‘by word (and) in order’ ὁτὸ 79 248 ‘is just’; adding : ‘and there 
is none other beside Him’: 3» + ‘and He abideth as king, invincible for ever’ d 70 248 insert here: ‘who 
guideth the world in the hollow of His hand, and all things are obedient unto His will; for He is King of all things, 
and they are in His power; He separateth among them the holy things from the common’ (= z. 3) e-e So 
SL: & ‘to none’ (248 ‘to whom’) ‘hath He given power’ £3 ‘number’ 


28. The omission of this verse in 3 is probably owing to the sentiments expressed, which would naturally be — 
distasteful to a Christian translator. 

Thanksgiving perisheth... Cp. Ps. vi. 5, xxviii. 1, xxx. 9, Ixxxvili. 4, 5, cxv. 17. 

29. How greatis... Cp. Ps. Ixxxvi. 5, 15. 

forgiveness. ἐξιλασμός, lit. ‘appeasement’; see further, note on xviii. 20. 

30. The rendering of S of this verse is to be preferred to that of &, according to which the meaning is that because 

man is imperfect and mortal, therefore he is entitled to appeal to God’s mercy ; % accords better with the context. 

itis not like thisin man. Cp. xviii. 13. 

Nor is (God’s) thought... Cp. Isa. lv. 8, 9. 

the children of men. (& vids ἀνθρώπου, i.e. a human being; cp. Judith viii. 12, the only other place in the | 
Apocrypha where the expression occurs. (Cf. however 4 Ezra viii. 44, emended text.) 

31. What is brighter... i.e. If the sun with all its brightness ceases at times to give light, is it to be wondered at 
that man, the victim of the manifold temptations which flesh is heir to, should sometimes fail? Logic of a somewhat 
similar incongruous character is found in Job xxv. 5,6: ‘ Behold, even the moon hath no brightness, and the stars are not | 
pure in His sight: how much less man, that is a worm! and the son of man, which isa worm!’ But similes of the — 
kind, especially in Oriental writers, must not, of course, be unduly pressed. 

the man who (hath)... See critical notes. 


% paraphrases the verse thus: ‘When the sun, having run its course through the bright day, has sunk, it becomes | 


dark ; so also man, who, being flesh and blood, does not control his inclination’ (73%). 

32. the hosts of heaven. Cp. xxiv. 2, xlii. 17; Deut. ix. 19, xvii. 3; Isa. xxiv. 21; @& ‘the power of the height of | 
heaven’, δύναμιν ὕψους οὐρανοῦ ; in the Sept. δύναμις is the rendering of bm even when it means ‘a host’. Here the | 
reference is to the sun, moon, and stars, regarded as eternal ; God looks upon these as well as upon man who passes away. | 

_ on men. G, misunderstanding the point of the verse, viz. that God looks upon things eternal and also upon | 
things transient, made an independent clause of the second half of the verse, and added ‘all’ to ‘men’. 

dust and ashes. Cp. x. 9; Gen. xviii. 27; Job xv. 14, 15. 

(e) XVIII. 1-14. 

XVIII. 1. created. ἔκτισεν, for which Ryssel would read κρίνει (‘judgeth’), cp. $, and the reading of the cursives | 
(see critical note) in τ. 2; cp. the scribal error ἐν κρίσει for ἐν κτίσει in xvi. 26. 

together. κοινῇ (=11N" as in 1. 17), referring to Creation in its entirety. 

2. shall be justified. δικαιωθήσεται, lit. ‘shall be declared just’. For the additions to this verse see critical notes, 

and cp. Isa. xl. 12, 21; Ezek. xxii. 26. 


4. Who is sufficient ... Cp.i.6. The similarity of language with that of the Psalms (Sept.) in this and the following 
verses is noteworthy. 


to declare His works. ἐξαγγεῖλαι τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ; cp. Ps. cvi. 22 ἐξαγγειλάτωσαν τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. 
who can trace out. ἐξιχνιάσει ; cp. Wisd. vi. 23. 
His mighty deeds. Cp. Ps. Ixx. 7 (Sept.). 


SS 


378 


SIRACH 18. 5-1 


σι 


5 ®Who can declare the might of His majesty, 
And *2who can recount££ His mercies! ? 
6 No man can take (from them) nor add (to them), 


7 When a man hath finished, then doth he but begin, 
And when he ceaseth, he is in perplexity. 
8 What is man, ™and what profit is there of him™ ? 
What is the good of him, and what is the evil ? 
g The number of man’s days 
Is great (if it reach) an hundred years*. 
to °As a drop of water® from the sea, or as? a grain of sand, 
44So0 are '(man’s) few" years in the eternal days*4. 
11 Therefore is the Lord longsuffering towards them, 
And poureth out His mercy upon them. 
12 tHe seeth" and knoweth* that their end’ is evil, 
Therefore doth He multiply His forgiveness”. 
13 The mercy of man is (exercised upon) his own kin*, 
But the mercy of God? is (extended) to all flesh’, 
Reproving, and chastening, and teaching*, 
And bringing them back as a shepherd his flock. 
14 »He hath mercy on them that accept (His) chastening >, 
And that ‘diligently seek after® His judgements. 


15 °° My son, “bring no® blemish on thy good deeds4, 
Bison), Oring : ys 
fNor in (giving) any gift? (cause) grief through words! ; 
giving ys g 8 : 


Bs > es-eé (τ Ut. ‘who shall add to make a description of’ 


Nor can any one trace out the marvellous acts of the Lord®. 


(f) XVIII. 15-18. The right spirit in giving (= 2+. distichs). 


ΒΟ ‘the Lord's’ 
μεγαλειατε- nyd33, ‘mighty works’ ™-m So 96. ‘what is his loss and what is his gain?’ 
(dif. incalculable) is the sleep of such (which is common) to all’ 0-0 ὁ ‘as when one fills a botile’ 


iC ‘works’: 307 
ἢ 0 248 +‘and eternal 


εὐϑοά, τα 


% 


a 


Se Rig A ae i 


70 248 S32: & > 4 So V 253 3: & & ‘pebble’ 41-11 8 ‘So a thousand years of this world are not 
(even) as one day in the world of the righteous’ Το 248 ‘a thousand’ 8 & ‘in the day of eternity’ (248 
253 Syro-Hex ‘days of’) ὑπὸ $‘for He knew’: δὲ ὅδ places an asterisk before this v. ἃ 30. + ‘the pride of 
their heart, that it is evil’ VY So 3: (ἃ καταστροφὴ w $ +‘among them, and showed them the way of 
righteousness ’ (viam aequitatis) x So $: G&L ‘neighbour’ Σ So SL: (τ ‘the Lord’ 2% ‘his works’ 
aS+4‘them’  »-b& ‘Blessed are they that wait for His mercy’: % ‘He hath mercy on them that receive the 
teaching of mercy’ c-e S ‘accept’ ec Ἐν has the title ἐγκρατεια ψυχης d-d $ ‘hinder not him that 
doeth a good deed to his neighbour’ eG lt. ‘give not’ if @& “7. ‘nor in every gift grief of words’; cp. 
% et in omni dato non des tristitiam verbi mali: S ‘and on him that gives look not askance’ £ 248 ‘request’ 


5. Who can declare. τίς ἐξαριθμήσεται ; cf. Ps. Ixxxix. 12 (Sept.) = 731. 
who can recount. Cp. Isa. xlix. 16 (Sept.). 
His mercies. Cp. Ps. xvi. 7 (Sept.). 
6. Noman... Lit. ‘It is not (possible) to...’; so, too, in the next clause. Cp. xlil. 21. 
the marvellous acts... Cp. Ps. Ixxvi. 12, Ixxvii. 12, Ixxxvii. 11 (all in the Sept.). 
7. he is in perplexity. i.e. because he realizes the impossibility of his task. 
8. What is man. Cp. Ps. vill. 4 (Sept.), 
what profit is there of him? i.e. that he should think it possible to trace out the wonderful works of God. 
What is the good... i.e. neither are worth consideration in view of his insignificance in the sight of God. 
9. The number... Cp. Ps. xc. 10. The addition to this verse (see critical note) probably represents something 
which the original contained ; cp. with it Eccles. ix. 5, 6. 
10. As a drop of water... Cp. Isa. xl. 15. 
So are... i.e. man’s few years of life are like a day compared with eternity. 
11. Therefore. Because his time is short and fleeting. 
12. end. Lit. ‘overthrow’. 
doth He multiply. Cp. Ps. xxxv. 8 (Sept.). 
13. his own kin. See critical note. Cp. Peshitta of Lev. xviii. 6 (= Wl NV’, lit. ‘flesh of his flesh’, i. 6. ‘near 
of kin’), quoted by Ryssel; cp. also Lev. xxv. 49. 
asashepherd. Cp. Isa. xl. 11. 
14. He hath mercy... Cp. xxxii. (& xxxv.) 14. : ‘ 
chastening. i.e. ‘instruction’ which is given by means of chastening; cp. Vi. 32, 33. 
(f) XVIII. 15-18. 
15. Nor in (giving)... i.e. do not humiliate the receiver of charity. 


379 Oe) 


SIRACH 18. 16-22 


16 Just as" the rain‘ maketh the burning heat to cease ; 
kSo a word changeth! (the character of) a gift®. 

17 ™For there is a good word which is better than a gift™, 
And both belong to a saintly® man. 

18 A fool upbraideth ungraciously °, 
And the gift of an envious? man consumeth® the eyes. 


(g) XVIII. 19-29. The need of foresight and preparation in view of many tings which happen to 
men; this 15 true Wisdom (= 3+2+3+1+2 distichs). 


19 Before thou fight, seek thee a helper’; 
* Before thou art ill, seek thee a physician*. 
20 tBefore judgement "examine thyself™*, 
And in the ‘hour of visitation’ thou shalt find forgiveness”. 
21 Before thou fall*, Yhumble thyself’, 
And #in the time of? (committing) sins, *show forth repentance*. 
22 Delay not” °to pay thy vow in due time’, 
4 And wait not till death to be justified”. 


h-h So S$: & ‘doth not’ i SoS: & lit. ‘dew’ kk So $ 1 Zit. ‘turneth’: GH ‘is greater than’ 
m-m So $: GL ‘Lo, is not a word above a good gift ?’ n So S: Gi ‘gracious’ © S$ ‘before he doeth 
a gracious act’ Ρ (ἃ properly ‘evil-eyed’: S ‘evil’ 4Zz%. ‘melteth’; 2% ‘maketh to wasteaway’ tT So 
%; (πὰ ‘before speaking learn’: 3» ‘before judgement prepare justice for thyself, cp. 20a 83 So S$: & 
iit. ‘before sickness heal’: % ‘and before thou speak learn, and before sickness apply to a physician’ 
{τὸ $ ‘and before sorrow come upon thee, pray’ u-u 248 “prepare thyself by well-doing’ v-v & ‘sight 
of God’ wS + ‘and it shall help thee’ x SoS: GH ‘art sick’ y-y S ‘pray and beseech’: 70 248 
+ ‘with self-control’ 2- $ ‘before’ a-a % ‘give alms’ b & “it. ‘be not hindered’ c-c S ‘to cause 
thy sins to pass away’: % ‘to pray unceasingly’ 3% imserts here two clauses: ‘be not careless until thou art in 
trouble, put not off the time of turning from thy sins’ d-d $ ‘remember that death delayeth not’: # 4‘ for 


16. Just as the rain... Cp. xlili. 23. 
17. For there is a good word ... Cowley and Neubauer quote Baba Bathra οὐ (T. B.): ‘He who giveth 
a farthing is blessed sixfold, but he who addeth words elevenfold’; the ‘word’ refers to the encouragement and words 
of cheer addressed to the recipient. 
And both belong... Words as well as acts mark the truly charitable man. { 
18. A fool... He isa ‘fool’ because the efficacy of the gift in the sight of God is done away with by the churlish 
remark which accompanies it. } 
consumeth... The reference is to the humiliation suffered by him who receives when the gift is accompanied I 
by cruel words ; for the expression in Gr. cp. Lev. xxvi. 16. i 
(g) XVIII. 19-29. 
19. 95 is to be preferred in this verse; cp. & (see critical note). 
seek thee a physician. Cp. xxxvili, 12-15. 
20. Before judgement. i.e. the judgement of God; the reference is to the ‘hour of visitation’ in the next clause ; 
see note on vil. 35. . 
thou shalt find forgiveness, ἐξιλασμόν (‘ propitiation’). According to Jewish teaching suffering and sickness, 85. | 
well as death itself, are in themselves means of atonement, and therefore of reconciliation with God, though the need of | 
repentance as well is often insisted upon in Rabbinical writings. In the Midrash Sz/re 73 6 (belonging to the second ὦ 
century A.D.) it is said that a man should rejoice more in chastisement than in prosperity, because if he enjoyed good | 
fortune all his life his sins would not be forgiven him. In the same Midrash (33 a) a saying is quoted to the effect that | 
‘All who die are reconciled through death’. Very pointed are the words in the Midrash Bereshtth Rabba 5 a: 
‘Suffering is more apt than sacrifice to win God’s favour and to atone for man. Teaching of this kind is only 
adumbrated by Ben-Sira, but it was greatly developed and elaborated by later teachers. 
21. humble thyself. Cp. xxxiv. 26 (Gt xxxi. 31). 
show forth repentance. Repentance is also, according to Jewish teaching, a mediating agency ; cp. Yoma 866 
(T. B.), where it is said that repentance ‘brings redemption, and is the cause of God’s regarding sins as though they 
had been unconsciously committed, and even of His regarding them as good works and (therefore) meritorious. It 
prolongs the days and years of men.’ Cp. also Shaébath 32 a (T. B.): ‘Repentance and works of charity are 
man’s intercessors before the House of God’; and Sanhedrin 43 ὁ (T. B.): ‘He who sincerely repents is doing as 
much as he who builds temple and altar, and brings. all sacrifices.’ 
22. Delay not to pay... See critical note ; perhaps the rendering of S is to be preferred, for it seems to accord 
better with the words of the second clause; vowing is dealt with in the next verse. Smend adds the distich from $ to 
the text between verses 21 and 22. (See crit. note °°.) 


wait not till death to... As in the later Rabbinical literature (cf. on v. 20), Death is regarded as a means of 
atonement. 


380 


SIRACGH! 18: 23=33 


23 °Before thou vowest, prepare thy vows®, 
And be not as one ‘that tempteth God'®. 
x 24 Think of the wrath in the £latter day§, 
And (when), in the time of vengeance, He turneth away His face. 
25 Remember "the time of famine® in the time? of fullness, 
And poverty and want in the days of wealth. 
26 From morning until evening the time changeth, 
And all things* haste on! before the Lord. 
27™A wise man is discreet” in all things”, 
And in days of sinning Pkeepeth himself from offence”. 
28 1Every wise man teacheth? wisdom’, 
*And they who know her must give thanks*4. 
29 They that are wise in words" also show that they are wise, 
‘In that they pour forth apt proverbs’. 


(a) XVIII. 30—XIX. 3. An Exhortation to Self-control in all things (= 2+ 342 distichs). 


3° “My son*, follow not the lusts of thy soul’, 
And refrain thyself *from its desire’. 
ΞΘ. 31 @If thou fulfil the desire of thy soul, 
F Thou wilt be like him that fulfilleth his enemy’s wish*. 
3? >Delight not thyself in overmuch luxury, 
°For double is the poverty thereof®. 
33 Be not a squanderer and a drunkard, 
Else there will be nothing in thy purse’, 


the reward of God abideth to eternity’ e-e So 35, of which this verse vs extant ee (ἃ σεαυτον, a correction 
of την ψυχην σου ( animam tuam), which zs a mistake for τὴν εὐχὴν σου (= § plur.) ff So according to Smend’s 
emendation (= Si); the text is corrupt ἔτ 711. “ days of the end’ (x ‘ day’) b-h ®@ ‘poverty’ 
1A 254 % ‘days’ K 70 248 U ‘ these things’ 1 Lit. ‘are speedy’ mm 248 > n % ‘is concerned’ 
Ὁ $ ‘these things’ PP S ‘feareth no evil’: 70 248 + ‘and the fool observeth not (248 > ‘not’) the 
opportunity’ a-a.So S$: (τ ‘every man of understanding knoweth, ἄς. γα HL ‘knoweth’ 8 70 248 
+ ‘and instruction’ tt@ 3 ‘and to him that findeth her he will give thanks’ u% ‘in teaching’ 
YVR are paraphrastic: 40 248 + ‘unto life:’ 248 adds further ‘Better is trust (111 boldness) in a single 
master (7. ὁ. God), than with a dead heart to cling to a dead one (2. 6. an idol)’ WNrABC (> C8) 70 248 
254 307 have the title ‘ Self-control of the soul’ x SoS ySo3 z-z So S: (ἃ ‘from thine appetites’: 
% ‘from thy will’ aa So S: G& ‘If thou grant to thy soul the delight of (her) desire thou wilt make thee 
a rejoicing to thine enemies’ (248 +‘who bear thee malice’) b> ® zs extant from here to xix. 3 
c¢ &® ‘neither be tied to the expense thereof’: B μὴ προσδεθης should be read with S* AC pn προσδεηθὴς (‘that 
thou be not in need besides’): $ ‘that thou become not twice as poor’ ἀγο 248 3 add, with slight 


23. This verse is quoted in Zanchuma nde 13 α (Smend). 
prepare. i.e. think over, so as not to vow rashly. 
And be not as one that... In making a rash vow a man tempts God; for rash vows are not likely to be kept, 
and divine punishment will ensue on their being broken. Cp. Deut. vi. 16. 
24. in the latter day. i.e. the day of death; cp. i. 13, xi. 26-8. E ᾿ 
He turneth away His face. Lit. ‘In the turning away’, i.e. when God turns away His face, or ‘ hideth His face’; 
cp. Deut. xxxi. 17, 18, xxxii. 20; Ps. x. 10, xxx. 7, meaning that He repudiates the sinner. ᾿ : 
25. Remember... Because evil days may come quite unexpectedly ; cp. next verse; the reference is quite general. 
26. From morning... i.e. within the space of a single day all may be changed; cp. Job iv. 19-21. 
before the Lord. i.e. it is the will of God. 
27. is discreet. εὐλαβηθήσεται, cf. Prov. xxviii. 14 (Sept.). I ᾿ 
_ in days of sinning. i.e. when a man has succumbed to temptation and committed sin. 
28. See critical notes. 
29. They that are wise... i.e. their utterances proclaim their wisdom. ᾿ 
In that they... Perhaps in reference to the writer himself, who has just been pouring forth apt proverbs. 


XVIII. 30—XX. 26. Warnings against various faults. This division contains nine subsections. 

(a) XVIII. 30-—XIX. 3. ἢ : 

30. The title in G@ runs : ᾿Εγκράτεια ψυχῆς. In one or other of the Gr. MSS. titles are found before xix. 29, xx. 27, 
XXIV. I, Xxx. I, 16, xliv. 1, li. 1; probably none of these belonged to the original. 

the lusts of thy soul. Cp. 2 Tim. ii. 22 ; Jas. i. 14. 

31. See critical note. 

32. For double is... i.e. poverty in purse and poverty in health. _ ᾿ : : 

33. Be not... G paraphrases: ‘ Be not made a beggar by banqueting upon borrowing’; this, when taken, as it 
must be, with the following clause, makes it tautologous. : 

381 


SIRACEH. 19h τοῖς 


w°19 x He that doeth this will not become rich, 
And “he that despiseth small things! *will become wholly poor”. 
Wine and women make the heart lustful, 


nN 


& ‘And he that cleaveth to harlots 8 will perish". 
; 3 »Moulderi and worms will take possession of him*”, 
ΕΝ 1And a brazen soul will destroy its owner’. 


(6) XIX. 4-12. A warning against too much talking (= 2+3+43 distichs). 


Gi 4™He that is hasty in reposing confidence "is unwise”, 
° And he that erreth sinneth against his own soul®. : 
5 He that hath pleasure in wickedness? ‘shall be brought to destruction", 
6 *And he that hateth® gossip is without malice’. 
» Never repeat a word",— 
*Then no one will reproach thee‘Y— 
8 τ Speak not of it to’Y friend or foe— 
Unless it be a sin to thee “reveal it not”— 
9 * Lest he who hear thee hate thee, 
And regard thee as an evil-doer*. 
& το Hast thou heard something¥? let it die with thee? ; 
“Be of good courage, it will not burst thee*. 
1 A fool travaileth in pain »because of» a word, 
As a woman in labour "because of” a child. 


* variations, ‘For thou wilt become a snare unto thine own life and much talked about’ dd-dd % ‘he that 
loveth the flesh ’ e-e Zit, ‘will become altogether naked’: $ ‘will inherit poverty’: /he rendering of ὅπ (κατα 
puxpov πεσειται) 7s due 10 a doublet ἘΠ» 8τα SoS: τ ‘will become reckless’ (B A ‘more reckless’): 
X ‘will become bad (nequam)’ bhys > i So Bxe® AC (ann): Bb followed by R.V. antes (δ ἢ onmes) 
Καὶ @& (ef, ‘will inherit him’ 1-1 So #S: 70 248 ‘and he shall be destroyed as (//. in) a terrible (1. 
greater) example’ τὰ ® ἧς wanting from here to XX. 4 u-n So 55, Δ. ‘wanting in understanding’: 
Gr ΜᾺ ‘empty of heart’ o-o ὁ. ‘He who accuseth his own soul, who will hold him guiltless δ᾽ Ρ So x* V 
253 3» Syro-Hex: BA Ὁ νοι 70 ‘in his heart’; 248 % ‘in evil living’ {τὰ SoS: & ‘he shall be condemned’; 
70 248+ ‘he that averteth his eye from pleasures crowneth his life’ © 70 248 znsert ‘and he that controlleth 
his tongue liveth without strife’ 8 3 ‘repeateth’ t S ‘understanding’ (=A ‘heart’): 39 ‘life’. Zn & the 
text of this verse has got out of order u ® ‘an evil and cruel (//. hard) word’: διὸ 253 + ‘in (‘thy’ 253) 
prayer’ ‘-vY.So S$: (ἃ ‘and thou wilt derive no disadvantage’ vv-vv % ‘deceive not’ w-w S ‘(then) pray 
for them, but accuse no one’ x-x So %, which on the whole ἐς preferable to & ‘For if he hear thee he will 
guard himself from thee, and will hate thee (7.2. show himself thine enemy) at the (fitting) time’ Σ Ltt, 
‘a word’: & + ‘against thy neighbour’ z $ ‘in thy heart’ a-a % ‘it is not an arrow (cp. Ὁ. 12 a) that it 
should pierce through thee and come bursting forth’ b-b Zz. ‘in face of’ 


XIX. 1. He that doeth this. @ ‘A workman that is a drunkard’; cp. Proy. xxi. 17, xxiii. 21. 
he that despiseth... It is not easy to see the connexion between the two clauses of this verse; this want of 
connexion probably accounts for the reading of S (see critical note), which is apparently an attempt to make sense. 
Possibly these words are to be explained in the light of Eccles. x. 1: ‘ Dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to 
send forth a stinking savour,’ i.e. looking upon any sins as venial must have evil results. 


2. Wine and women... Cp. Hos. iv. 11; Prov. xxxi. 3-7. 
make the heart... ‘make men of understanding to fall away’ is a toning down of the directness of 38. 
3. Moulder and worms... Cp. Proy.y. 5, vii. 26, 27, ix. 18. 


a brazen soul. MY WD). Cp. vi. 4, xix. 3, and a similar phrase W527" in Isa. lvi. 11. @ ‘And a reckless soul 
shall be taken away’ is a free paraphrase ; for τολμηρός cp. vill. 15. 
(ὁ) XIX. 4-12. 
4. He that is...confidence. ὁ ταχὺ ἐνπιστεύων 3 Cp. vi.7 μὴ ταχὺ ἐμπιστεύσῃς, Where the Hebr. has nord anon ds. 
unwise. κοῦφος is not found elsewhere in the O.T. in this sense. 
against his own soul. Cp. Proy. xx. 2 (Sept.). 
5. He that hath pleasure in wickedness. The reading of δὲ" πονηρά is evidently the more correct one (see critical — 


note). The addition in 70 248 may well contain an echo of the original. 
6. See critical note. 


7. Never repeat. Cp. xlii. 1. 
Then no one... Cp. Prov. xxv. Io. 

8. Speak not of it. Cp.1 Pet. ix.15. Possibly $ represents a more original text, ‘ Deceive not friend or foe.’ 
Unless it be a sin to thee. i.e. unless by keeping silence thou become a partaker in another’s guilt. 

9. Lest he who... Cp. Prov. xxv. 10. With (ἃ (see critical note) cp. xxii. 26. 3 

1o. it will not burst thee. Cp. Job xxxii. 18, 19 (Hebr. and Sept.). 

11. because of a word. ἀπὸ προσώπου λόγου = 127 30D. 


382 


STRACH. 19. 12-24 


2 Like® an arrow that sticketh in the fleshy thigh, 
So is a word in the 4inward parts? of a fool. 


(c) XIX. 13-17. Ox taking a friend to task on any matter (= 3 +2 distichs). 


[3 Reprove a friend®, ‘that he do no evil‘, 
And if he have done anything, that he do it not again®. 
14 Reprove a friend® ‘lest he speak’ [evil], 
And if he have said (it), that he do it not again. 
τῷ Reprove a friend*, for often there is slander’, 
: And ™believe not™ every word. 
τό Many a man” there is that slippeth®, ?though unintentionally”, 
And who hath not sinned® with his tongue! 
_ \t7"Reprove thy® friend* ‘before thou threaten him‘, 
« And give place to the law” of the Most High", 


(α) XIX. 20-30. The Difference between Wisdom and Craftiness (= 2+3+3+2 distichs). 


20 * All wisdom is ¥the fear of¥ the Lord, 
And all wisdom is the fulfilling of the Law’. 
22 *But the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom +, 
» And the counsel of sinners is not understanding”. 
23 There is a prudence”, ‘and the same is abomination °, 
And there is a fool 4who is without? sins°®. 
24 Better is one that hath small understanding, and feareth, 
Than one that hath much prudence and transgresseth the Law. 


¢ So 3 d-d So S$: & ‘belly’; & ‘heart’ 9. $ ‘thy friend’ ff So S: Q& ‘it may be he did it not’ 
8-8@ ‘and shall not have perceived it, and he say, I did it not’ by C 253 3 Syro-Hex ‘thy neighbour’ 
ri So S: (τ ‘it may be he said (it) not’ KS ‘thy friend’ 1248 S ‘mere (Δ΄. vain) slander’ 
m-m248 S$ ‘let not thine heart believe’ n-n [77, ‘one’ o% ‘sinneth’: yo 248 + ‘in word’: 
&% + ‘with his tongue’ p-p L727, ‘not from the soul’ 470 248 % ‘slipped’ rr $ ‘rebuke 
the evil man’ (reading ¥1 imstead of Y1 = & ‘neighbour’) SN 70 248 L > tt S$ ‘for he hath 
oppressed many’ u% ‘and believe not every word of his’ vi ‘fear’ W70 248 + ‘being 


without wrath. These also insert here: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of acceptance (by Him), and 
wisdom will gain love from Him, ‘The knowledge of the commandments of the Lord is life-giving instruction 
(27. instruction of life); and they who do the things that are pleasing unto Him shall pluck the fruit of the tree 
of immortality’ (= vv. 18, 19) x 3 mserts ‘ The words of prophecy and’: & znserfs ‘ Because’ y= (Ὁ 
248 ‘from’ z-2 (τ fit. ‘and in all wisdom is the doing of the Law’: 3% ‘and the fear of God, that is 
wisdom’; 7o 248 + ‘and the knowledge of His omnipotence’, fo which τς added‘ A servant that saith unto 
his lord, I will not do according to thy will, though he do so afterwards, angereth him that feedeth him’ 


ΓΞ τ. 21) a-a 3 ‘ There is no wise man who is evil ’ b-b Son*ACSHL: Buea ‘and it is not (found) 
where the counsel of sinners (is deemed) prudence’ bb Reading πανουργια (70 253) instead of πονηρια (see 
exegetical notes) c-e 3 ‘that createth sins’ d-d ΠΛ who is wanting in’ 9 SoS: GL ‘ wisdom’ 


12. inward parts of. “5 7)NI (Edersheim). 

(c) XIX. 13-17. 

13. Reprove... Here inthe sense of ‘exhort’; if the reading of ὅτ be accepted then it has the force of ‘examine’. 
In these verses the various meanings of ἐλέγχειν are well illustrated. 

14. Reprove. i.e. expostulate with, or the like. 

15. Reprove. i.e. find out the truth concerning him. 

16. that slippeth. Cp. xx. 18, xxi, 7, xxv. 8, xxviii. 26. 
17. Reprove. i.e. call to account. 

give place to the law. i.e. Lev. xix. 17. 

18, 19. See critical note. 

(4) XIX. 20-30. 

20. the fulfilling of the Law. Cp. Jas. i. 25. 

22. the knowledge of wickedness... Cp. Wisd. i. 4, 5. ; ᾿ iw 

23. There isa prudence. Although πανουργία (‘ subtlety’, or ‘ prudence’) is rarely used in a good sense, it is best 
to adopt this here. ‘Subtlety,’ as a form of wisdom, may be good; but in the sense of craft or sharp dealing it is bad. 
It is in this latter sense that it is spoken of as ‘an abomination’. ἢ 

And there is a fool... The meaning of the verse may be expressed thus: On the one hand, there is ἃ good type 

of wisdom which can be made bad ; on the other, there is a bad type of man which may be good—i. 6. prudence, good 
in itself, may take the form of craft, and thus become bad; while, to be a fool, bad in itself, may take the form of 
guilelessness, and thus become good. 
24. What has just been said is illustrated by this verse. a 

that hath small understanding. ἡττώμενος ἐν συνέσει, Cp. iil. 13, Xill. 8, Xxv. 2. 


383 


oe 


SIRAGH 192°25.—20: 5 


Gi 25 There is fa subtle (form of) craftiness which is unrighteous’, 

z And there is the man who dealeth tortuously to gain" a judgement’. 

26 There is one that walketh* !bent and mournfully™’, 
But inwardly he is full of deceit*. 

27 There is™ one with downcast look, °pretending to be deaf®, 
But ?when unobserved?, “he will get the better of thee‘; 

28 And there is one who, if for want of power he be hindered from sinning, 
Will do harm when he findeth opportunity. 

29 A man is known by his appearance, ᾿ 
And the wise man recognizeth’ him by his look*, 

30 A man’s attire tproclaimeth his occupation‘, 
And his gait’ showeth what he is. 


- κα aT Pew arene oy erase Wie: 


(e) XX. 1-8. There is a time for silence and a time for speech (= 3+ 2+ 2 distichs). 


20 1 There is a reproof that is uncalled for*, 
Then he that is silent is wise. 
ΕΞ > ’He that reproveth a sinner getteth no thanks”, 
But let him that maketh confession “be spared humiliation *. 
3η" 4°As is an eunuch that sojourneth with a νίγρίη “ἢ, 
So is he that would do right with violence®. 
η- 5 'One‘ keepeth silence, and is accounted® wise, 
f And another‘ is despised for his much talking. 


f-f $ ‘a crafty man who rejoiceth in deceiving’ &-€ (ἃ ΜᾺ ‘and there is one that...’: Ὁ. ‘and there is one 
that acteth perversely’ bh G ΔΆ ‘to bring to light’ i248 + ‘and there is a wise man who justifieth the 
judgement’ k Reading with two curstves, πορευόμενος (= Syro-Hex), zustead of movnpevopevos 1- $ ‘humbly 
and broken in spirit’ m (τ 21}. ‘ with black ἡ n 248 ‘ burning deceit’ mS$oS%:G> 9% ‘planning 


evil’ rp 71}. ‘where he is not known’ a-a L77. ‘he will be beforehand with thee’: 70 248 + ‘to harm 
(thee) ’ 44 So S: (ἃ & ‘And’ t So S: (ἃ ‘shall be known’ 8 Omitting with % ano απαντησεως 
t-t So $ (‘occupation,’ 77. ‘deeds’): & “1. ‘and laughter of the teeth’ VS ‘appearance’: & /77. ‘ the 


footsteps of a man’: N¢-8 ‘the step of the foot’ 

a Zit, ‘not comely’ b-b So S$: GH ‘how good it is to reprove rather than to be wroth’: 70 248 + ‘in 
secret’ e-e Jit, ‘be kept back from hurt’. Zhe interpolation (= v. 3), which 70 248 place after v. 8, & after 
v. 4, but which logically belongs here, runs: ‘How good it is when he who is reproved manifesteth repentance, for 
thus wilt thou escape wilful sin’ 4 ἧς extant from here tov. 7 incl. dd % + ‘And the Lord will seek it at 
his hand’ 9 30 wrongly transposes the clauses of this verse: the whole verse has got misplaced ; BS, several 
cursives, Syro-Hex place the second clause afler xxx. 20 ff Zit. “there is (one) that’: so frequently 


1 


25. dealeth tortuously.} What the Greek is intended to express here is uncertain; διαστρέφων χάριν is lit. 
‘that distorts grace’ (R.V. ‘that perverteth favour’); but it is best to take χάριν (=the Hebr. ind, ‘for the sake of’) 
with τοῦ expava, and to regard διαστρέφων as the rendering of Snany (‘that dealeth tortuously’); cp. the Septuagint of 


Ps. xviii. 28, 2 Sam. xxil. 27; διατέψεις = Snann (cp. also Deut. xxxii. 5); the clause then forms a good parallel to the 
other half of the verse. 
26. See critical note, and cp. xii. 11. 
that walketh bent and mournfully. Cf. Ps. xlii. 10; Mal. iii. 14. 
full of deceit. πλήρης δόλου : cp. Acts xili. 10 πλήρης παντὸς δόλου. 
27. one with downcast look. συνκύφων πρόσωπον : cp. Job ix. 27 συνκύψας τῷ προσώπῳ. 
28. S is probably right, as against ὅτ, in not joining this verse on to the preceding. 
30. And his gait... In the Babylonian Talmud directions are given as to how the inner worth of a man may 
be gauged by his outward appearance and behaviour, Berakhoth 436, Erubin 65 ὁ (Ryssel). 


(e) XX. 1-8. With this subsection cp. xix. 4-17. 


thee He that reproveth... In this clause the rendering of S is to be preferred as fitting in better with the context 
than &. 

thanks. Cp. xii. 3, where the Hebr. 7310 has the sense of ‘ thanks’. 

But let him... Cp. viii. 5. 


For v. 3 see critical note. 
4. The point of the comparison is that in neither case is the design accomplished. 
right. Lit. ‘judgement’. (ἃ for the second clause, ‘So is he that executeth judgements with violence,’ taking 

b}vD in a legal sense. For the phrase DD) NYY, i.e. ‘to do justice,’ ‘maintain the cause’ of some one, see 1 Kings 
Vili. 45, 49; Ps. ix. δὲ 

5. One keepeth silence... Cp. Prov. xvii. 28, Pirge Aboth i. 18: ‘Simon [the son of Gamaliel I] said, “All my 
days I have grown up amongst the wise, and have not found aught good for a man but silence; not learning, but doing, 
is the groundwork; and whoso multiplies words occasions sin.”’ 


384 


SIRACH 20. 6-15 


6 One keepeth silence, having naught to say ; 

And another keepeth silence, for he seeth (it is) a time (for silence). 
7 The wise man is silent until the (proper) time, 

But *the arrogant and the scorner* ‘take no note! of the time. 


8 *He that is abundant in word is abhorred*, 


And he that taketh to himself authority! is hated™. 


(f) XX. 9-17. Things are not always what they seem (= 2+ 3+3+2 distichs). 


9 *°Sometimes it is advantageous® for a man? to be in adversity, 


4And sometimes prosperity resulteth in harm 4. 


10'Sometimes a gift there is that profiteth thee nothing, 


And sometimes a gift bringeth double recompense. 


11 Sometimes cometh loss* through honour, 


‘And sometimes honour cometh through loss**. 


12 ¥44Some buy™ much for little", 


And some pay sevenfold. 


13 Y The wise man with few words *Y maketh himself beloved’, 


But the pleasantries of fools are wasted”. 


14 The gift of a fool profiteth thee nothing*, 


¥For he looketh for recompense? sevenfold®’ ; 


15 He giveth little, and upbraideth much, 


And openeth his mouth Plike a crier® ; 
To-day he lendeth, to-morrow he will demand it back : 
Hateful is such an one °to God and men‘*. 


ε (ἃ Ὁ ‘found’ hh % ‘the fool’: the text ἐς corrupt, for o>) read yd: Wn (Smend): & ‘the braggart and 
the fool’: $ ‘the arrogant and the unrighteous’: ἢν ‘the haughty and the shameless’ ii So HSL: 
& ‘ oversteppeth ἡ *W 7s wanting from here to Ὁ. 12 incl. kW ‘injureth his soul’ 1H + ‘unjustly "ἢ 
m ‘his life will be hated’: 70 248 + ‘ How good it is when he who is reproved manifesteth repentance, for 
thus wilt thou escape voluntary sin’: see Ὁ. 2 adove (note) n-n & ‘there is that which is to a man’s hurt’ 
0-0 (ἃ /zt. ‘there is prosperity’ Pvo 248 & + ‘that is a sinner’ 4-4 (ἃ Zt.‘ And there is a gain that 
turneth to loss’ rr [n place of these two verses & has: ‘For as thou throwest a stone at a bird, thus causing 
it to fly, so dost thou destroy the friendship of thy true friend, and findest it no more’ (= xxii. 204xxvii. 25, 
Fart) 8 & Zt. ‘humiliation’ t-t G& Zt, ‘And there is (the man) that hath lifted up his head from a low 
estate’ u-u S ‘One lendeth much like (ze. as though it were) little’ uu-un & /7/.‘ There is (the man) that 
buyeth’ Vv This verse ts extant in ®, but 1s placed after xxxvii. 26: 3 omits it vy-vv So Gk, znadvertently 
omitted in 7B W Reading \22w»: 163. poureth forth wisdom’, an obviously corrupt text: & lit. ‘are poured out’: 
® ws wanting from here to xxi. 21 incl. * 70 248 + ‘(who) receivest (it); so is it with the niggard who only 
giveth under compulsion’ ΣτΣ (ἃ Wt. ‘ For his eyes are many instead of one’: 248 adds ‘ with a view to receive’ 
: δῸ ῷ ἃ δῸ ὁ b-b $ ‘and speaketh evil and lieth’ οτὸ So 2483: GL> 


6. having naught to say. {τ ‘for he hath no answer’; the discussions of the wise often took the form of question 
and answer; cp. Prov. xv. 234, xvi. 1 ὁ. ° 


7. The wise man... Cp. xx. 200; Eccles. iii. 7. a 
take no note. ¢k ‘oversteppeth’, but in xviii. 27 ® is followed by 70 248 (see critical note there). 


8. he that taketh... i.e. He who arrogates to himself the sole right to speak. For the addition to this verse in 
some Gr. MSS. and & see critical note. 


(7) XX. 9-17. 
9. prosperity. Lit. ‘ gain’, εὕρεμα, cp. xxix. 6 ὁ. 
lo, a gift. 1. 6. which is given to another. 
11. honour. Lit. ‘glory’. With the verse cp. 1 Sam. ii. 4. } y 
12. The original text probably presented a contrast, as indicated in the text ; according to (τ the meaning would be 
that a man thinks he has made a good bargain, but finds that he is ultimately a good deal worse off: ‘There is that 
buyeth much for little, and payeth for it sevenfold,’ i.e. apparent good fortune is in reality a loss. 
13. This verse forms the antithesis to τ΄. 8. 
pleasantries. χάριτες, Jit. ‘kindnesses’, cp, xxix. 15. 
wasted. i.e. thrown away; for the Hebr. cp. Lam. iv. 1. ; ES 
14. profiteth thee nothing. Because what is expected in return is much more than what has been received. The 
‘fool’ is here, according to Ben-Sira, a rogue as well as a simpleton. ee : 
15. He giveth little... In Bevakhoth iv. 2 (T. J.) reference is made to those ‘ who give little, and reprove much 
(quoted by Smend). f 
upbraideth much. Cp. xviii. 18; the upbraiding refers to the reproaches made because he does not receive 
back as much as he expected. 
And openeth... i.e. he complains to all the world. 
Hateful...toGodandmen. Cp. x. 7. 


δ) - 
385 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


21 


22 


29 


24 


SIRACH 20. τό- 25 


The fool saith : ‘I have no friend, 
And my good deeds receive no thanks ; 
They that eat my bread are evil-tongued"’ 
How oft—and how many there are—they laugh him to scorn®. 


(g) XX. 18-20. Concerning unseasonable speech (= 3 distichs). 


fs A slip on the pavement is better than a (slip) of the tongue§ ; 
So doth the fall of the wicked come swiftly‘. 

4 As the fat tail of a sheep, eaten without salt, 
So is a word spoken out of season?. 

A parable from the mouth of a fool is worthless’, 
For he uttereth it out of season. 


(hk) XX. 21-23. Some are unintentionally without sin, while others sin intentionally (= 3 distichs). 


One, through want, is hindered from sinning, 
k And when he resteth he will not be troubled ; 

Another destroyeth his life through sense of shame, 
And perisheth! through ™his want of frankness™. 

And another, for shame’s sake, maketh promises to a friend, 
"Thus making for himself" an enemy ° without reason®. 


(ἢ XX. 24-26. The Liar shall be destroyed (= 3 distichs). 


A lie is a foul blot in a man, 
It is continually [found] in the mouth of the ignorant. 


25 " Preferable is a thief to one who continually lieth”, 


“But both shall inherit destruction’. 


ἃ & Zit. ‘evil with their tongue’; 3 ‘like a rock of stone’ © 70 248 + ‘For he hath not honestly received 
[that which he possesseth]; likewise that which he hath not is unimportant (αδιαφορον) to him’: sa 5, excepting 
that instead of ‘received’ zt reads ‘ distributed’ f-f $ ‘As waters poured out ona rocky stone, so is the tongue 
of the wicked among the righteous’ ὅτε Τῇ ‘The slip of a false tongue is as one falling upon the pavement’ 
bh So $: GH ‘A man without grace is (as) a table out of season (# tabula vana)’: Ge %+ ‘It will be continually 
in the mouth of the ignorant ’ (= v. 24 b) i & ΛΔ ‘ will be rejected ’ k-k § ‘and who that is righteous 
taketh his ease in (his) wealth?’ 180 $3: G&D ‘destroyeth it’ mm So $: G& ‘by a foolish countenance’ 
nn ¢& //. ‘and hath obtained’ 0-0 δωρεαν p-P 85. ‘he loveth stealing as well as lying’ a-4 35. ‘and his 


16. Ihave no friend. His good deeds have been unable to make friends for him, because his constant seeking for 
recompense has deprived them of all virtue. 


receive no thanks. i.e. not sufficient thanks according to his estimate. 
They that eat my bread. i.e. that live on his charity. 
evil-tongued. φαῦλοι γλώσσῃ : i.e. they do not thank and praise him sufficiently. 
17. How oft... The essence of folly is not to see how others scorn it. 
(g) XX. 18-20. 
18. Aslip... Smend quotes Zeno: κρεῖττον εἶναι τῷ ποδὶ ὀλισθαίνειν ἣ TH γλώσσᾳ. 
So doth... The point of the comparison is that each is sudden. 


ee fat tail. Cp. Exod. xxix. 22. ‘@ cuts the obscure allusion, compresses, and adds 244 to make the couplet” 
art). 


zo. A parable... Cp. Prov. xxvi. 7. 
(A) XX. 21-23, 
21. want. i.e. poverty. 
hindered from sinning. Cp. xix. 28. 
And when he resteth... i.e. he will not be conscience-stricken when, after the day’s activities are over, he 


thinks over what he has done. Οὐ κατανυγήσεται, lit. ‘he will not be pricked (at heart) ’. 
22. Another destroyeth... Cp. iv. 20-21. 


want of frankness. Lit. ‘the covering of his face’. 


23. an enemy without reason. Because, being weak, he promises what he cannot fulfil, and thus makes enemies 
unnecessarily, 


(7) XX. 24-26. 
24: Ἃ 116 15... ὍΘ. χσν. 2: 
of the ignorant. ἀπαιδεύτων, i.e. those uninstructed in wisdom. 
25. athief. Cp. v.14, where a thief and ‘one that hath a double tongue’ are mentioned together. 
.. Shall inherit destruction. Cp. Ps.v.6; Prov. xv. 5, 9. 


386 


τὸ 


SIRACH 20. 26—21. 3 


26 The end’ of a liar is dishonour®, 


And his shame is evert with him. 


(a) XX. 27-31. The Reward of the wise and prudent; but wisdom must be apparent (3 +2 distichs). 


7 "’ The wise man advanceth himself by means of his words’, 


And a prudent man ruleth™ the great. 


28 *He that tilleth his’ land raiseth high his heap’, 


And he that pleaseth the great atoneth for wrong*. 


2g Presents and gifts blind the eyes “of the wise, 


And as a muzzle on the mouth turn away reproofs. 


30 Hidden wisdom and concealed treasure, 


What profit is there in either®? 


31 Better is the man that hideth his folly 


Than a man that hideth his wisdom?’ 


(ὁ). XXI. 1-10. The Nature of Sin (=1+2+2+1+42+43 distichs). 


4My son, hast thou sinned, (then) add not thereto ; 
And pray concerning thy former (sins)*". 


2°Flee from sin “as from the face of a serpent? ; 


For if thou come nigh it, it will bite thee? ; 
Like’ the teeth of a lion fare the teeth thereof, 
It slayeth® the souls of men. 


3 Like a two-edged sword is ‘all iniquity’, 


From the stroke thereof is no healing. 


ways will bring him to destruction’ t So 3: G& ‘disposition’ s$ ‘for a curse’ t 3 ‘ destroyed’ 
UG © cnsert the title: Parabolic sayings: Δ. ‘ words (39 ‘ word’) of parables’ v-v $ ‘he that is full of wise 
parables showeth himself humble (/7. small)’ w So 3: GW ‘pleaseth ” x S> y So 248 & only: 
others>‘his’ 2% +‘and he that doeth justice exalteth himself’  2-@ & ‘iudicum’: 3 > b-b These verses 


recur in xli. 14, 15, which see e Lit. ‘in both’ 4248 + ‘Better is persistent endurance (/7/. patience) 
in seeking the Lord than a driver (/#. charioteer) of his own life without a master ’ 

wa Z> b® + ‘that they may be forgiven thee’ © S rnserts ‘my son’ d-dZ> 9 δηξεται; but 
70 248 &c. δηξεται = & f So 3 only &-¢ $ ‘is falsehood’ h Zz, ‘slaying’ ii 3 ‘an harlot’ 


26. Theend... The rendering of 5 ‘is manifestly right, since NON even in the sense of “fate” does not suit here’ 
(Smend). 


XX. 27—XXIII. 27. Further Warnings and Contrasts. This division has eleven subsections. 
(a) XX. 27-31. 
27. by means of his words. ἐν ( =] of the instrument or means) λόγοις. 

...Tuleth the great. Smend thinks that the reference is to Jewish sages at the court of a Gentile king, and that 
perhaps Ben-Sira had here some particular historical personage in mind, who through his influence was able to be of 
help to his co-religionists ; see τ΄. 28 ὁ. : 

28. He that tilleth. Cp. Prov. xii. 11. Just as proper attention to the land brings its reward, so does due attention 
paid to the great result in real advantage. 

his heap. i.e. of corn. 

atoneth for wrong. It is very possible that the reference here is to the wrongdoing of some Jew, which was 
overlooked through the kind offices of some influential Jewish person, perhaps Ben-Sira himself. 

29. Presents... Cp. Prov. xxi. 14. For ξένια cp. Sept. of 2 Sam. viii. 2, 6; Hosea x. 16 (= 13). 
the eyes of the wise. Cp. Deut. xvi. 19 (Sept.). 
amuzzle. Lit.‘a gag’. 

30, 31. See critical note. 

(6) XXI. I-10, 

1. And pray. i.e. for forgiveness. 

Zz. Pleeifrom... Cp. Prov. xili. 21. ; 
it will bite thee. Cp. Prov. xxiii. 32, where strong drink is compared to a serpent that bites. 
the teeth of alion. Cp. xxvii. 10; Joel i. 6. 
It slayeth... Cp. 1 Pet. v. 8 baie 

3. a two-edged sword. Cp. Ps. cxlix.6; Prov. v. 4; and the Sept. of Judges ili. 16. 
no healing. Cp. ili, 28a. 


387 


ne 


4 


SIRACH ὅλης 4-11 


«Tyranny and violence* make** habitations! desolate, 
And" the house™ “of the arrogant” is rooted οὐ". 


5 The supplication of the poor man cometh? unto His ears, 


4And his vindication? cometh quickly. 


6 He that hateth reproof *[walketh] in the path of a sinner’, 


7 


But he that feareth God* will turn [to Him] whole-heartedly”. 
YThe wise discerneth him that is before him, 
And spieth out the sinner at once’. 


8 He that buildeth his house with other men’s money 


9 


Is as one gathering stones for his “sepulchral mound”. 
(Like) tow wrapped together is the assembly of the ungodly, 
And their end is the flame of fire*. 


10 The way of sinners is Ymade smooth without’ stones’, 


I 


~ 


And at the end thereof is “the pit of Hades”. 
(c) XXI. 11-17. The contrast between the godly man who is wise and the godless man who ts a fool 
(= 2+2+4+2+42 distichs). 


He that keepeth the Law controlleth *his natural tendency’, 
>And the fear of the Lord is the consummation of Wisdom ”°. 


k-k $ ‘from morning till evening’ ΚΕΦ ‘she maketh’ 150%: @ ‘riches’ S03: GH ‘so’ m $ ‘many 
palaces’: % ‘ the wealth’ m1 $ > © Reading, instead of ἐρημωθησεται, with 1, εκριζωθησεται: & ‘she rooteth 


out’ P So & only: & ‘is from the mouth’ 4-4 $ ‘and it ascendeth unto the presence of the eternal 
Judge’ r Lit. ‘judgement’ s- § ‘is an unrighteous man’: H ‘ (it is) the mark of a sinner’ tSoA SL: 
x BC ‘the Lord’ u Liz. ‘in heart’: S$ ‘from his heart’ v-v & ‘He that is mighty in tongue is known afar 
off, and the man of understanding knoweth when he slippeth’ w-w Read with 248 εἰς χωμα (= 45) for as 
χείμωνα (Cr): 248 + ‘for his tomb’ x 248 + ‘unto destruction’ y-y $ ‘is a stumbling-block to” 
them’ Z εκ λιθων = JIND 22-22 Sa deep pit’: H inferi et tenebrae et poenae 


a-a Sy $ (=3), misunderstood by &): N* > (hab κα 5.) bb S ‘and he that feareth the Lord lacketh naught” 


4. Tyranny. καταπληγμός is dr. λεγ. ; it might have also the meaning of ‘intimidation’. 
habitations. This rendering (of 95) is preferable to that of & because one expects a parallel to ‘house’ in the next 
clause ; see further critical note. 
is rooted out. Cp. Prov. xv. 25. 

5. His ears. 1.6. the ears of God; cp. Ps, xvi. 8, cx. 5, cxxxix, 10. 

And his vindication... See the rendering of S for this clause in the critical notes; perhaps it is to be 
preferred to &. 

6. in the path. ἐλν ἴχνει, lit. ‘in the track’ (cp. # ‘ vestigium est’); cp. Prov. xvi. 17. 

7. The context makes it probable that the rendering of S is nearer the original than that of &&. 

8. He that buildeth his house. A figurative expression for making a fortune; cp. Ps. xlix. 16. 

sepulchral mound. See critical note. 

9. tow. στιππύον -- N7Y3; cp. Isa. i. 31 and Judges xvi. 9, the only occurrences of the word in the O.T. 
the assembly of the ungodly. For the phrase συναγωγὴ ἀνόμων cp. vil. 16, xvi. 6. 
the flame of fire. i.e. Gehenna; for the expression φλύξ πυρός cp. viii. 10. 
Io. without stones. Cp. Isa. Ixii. 10. 

the end thereof... Cp. Prov, xiv. 12 ὁ, xvi. 25 ὁ. ‘In Ecclesiasticus the problem of retribution takes a peculiar 
form. On the one hand it is uncompromisingly tory, and refuses to admit the possibility of the new views as to the 
future life. All retribution, without exception, is confined to this life (cp. xli. 3, 4). On the other hand, this writer 
supplements Ezekiel’s theory of exact individual retribution with the older view which Ezekiel attacked, and seeks to 
cover its obvious defects with the doctrine of the solidarity of the family. A man’s wickedness must receive its 
recompense either in his own person in this life, or, failing this, in the persons of his surviving children, since Sheol 
knows no retribution. Thus, on the one hand, he teaches the doctrine of individual retribution (see ii. 10, 11, ix. 12, 
xl. 26, 27 ὁ, xii. 3). But this theory of individual retribution was inadequate, for obviously all men did not meet with 
their deserts. Hence a man’s sins are visited through the evil remembrance of his name and in the misfortunes of his 
children after him. Thus our author declares that a man’s character shall be manifest in the fortunes of his children 
(see xi. 28, xxiii, 24-6, xl. 15, xli. 6). On the other hand, the children of the righteous are blest (xliv. 11-13). Since 
there is thus no retribution beyond the grave, there is no organic relation between this life and the life in Sheol (in xxi. 10 
thoughts of the penal character of Sheol do seem to be present, though not in harmony with the doctrinal system of the 
author). Sheol is out of the sphere of moral government; for there no account is taken of man’s past life on earth 
(xl. 4) ; there is there no recognition of God (xvii. 28); in that region there is no delight of life (xiv. 16); its inhabitants 
are bereft of light (xxii. 11); they are plunged in an eternal sleep (xliv. 19)’ (Charles, Eschatology ..., pp. 162 ff.). 

(ὦ XXI. 11-17. 

11. controlleth his natural tendency. (τ ‘becometh master of the intent thereof’, as though the reference were to 
the Law (see critical note); cp. Qiddushin 30 ὁ (T.B.): ‘1 created the evil tendency (ὉΠ ἽΝ) [and] I created the 
Torah for healing. If ye occupy yourselves with [the study of] the Torah, ye will not fall into the power of it (i.e. of 
the evil tendency)’; and cp. also Pirge Aloth iv. 2: ‘Who is mighty? He that subdueth his nature (173°).’ 

388 


SIRACH 21. 12-23 


& }24He that is not wise® will not be instructed, 
And® there is a wisdom‘ which maketh bitterness to abound?. 
3 The knowledge of a wise man aboundeth like a 8spring of water§, 
And his counsel "is like® ‘the water? of life. 
4 The heart ‘ofa fool is like a broken vessel, 
'He holdeth no knowledge!. 
5 If a man of understanding hear a wise word, 
He commendeth it, and addeth thereto ; 
m]f a foolish man hear it, he mocketh at it”, 
And casteth it behind his back. 
6 The discourse of a fool” is like a burden® on a journey, 
But grace? is found ‘on the lips of the wise“. 
| 7 The utterance’ of the prudent is sought for in the assembly, 
And his words are pondered in the heart. 


|8 As a prison-house’ is Wisdom to a fool, 

And the knowledge of the wiset as "coals of fire". 

9 As’ chains on (their) feet is instruction to the foolish, 
And as manacles on their right hand. 

ΤΠ As a golden ornament is instruction to the wise, 
And as a bracelet upon their right arm. 

}:0 The fool lifteth up his voice with laughter, 

But the wise* man smileth” in silence’. 

-a The foot of a fool hasteth into a house, 

[ὁ But it is *good manners® ?to stand outside”. 


man heareth it, and it displeaseth him’ 23% ‘the ungodly’ © 3 Syro-Hex ‘a heavy burden’ 


12. a wisdom. πανουργία, Cp. xix. 23. 


a ‘welling spring’ because of his devotion to the study of the Law. 


the Torah give life to the world.’ 
14. like a broken vessel. Cp. Jer. il. 13. 
15. casteth it behind... Cp. Ezek. xxiii. 35. 


17. ... are pondered in the heart. Cp. xiv. 21. 
(4) XXI. 18-28. 


to the fool to correspond with ‘ prison-house’ in the first clause. 
19. Contrast vi. 24 ff. 
21. That this verse should come before v. 20 is manifest, cf. vv. 22, 23. 
20. the wise man. πανοῦργος. 


Talmud, Midda 16 ὁ, Pesachim 112 a (Cowley and Neubauer, p. xxiv). 
23. good manners. For the Hebr. phrase cp. Prov. xx. 3. 


389 


(4) XXI. 18-28. Further contrast between the godly man and the fool (= 2+1+1+3+2+42 distichs). 


© 248 ‘the acceptation of Wisdom’: 3» + ‘and understanding’ dd 3 > e# + ‘in (that which is) good’: 
G Wit. “ crafty’ eex AC ‘ But’ f Zit, ‘ craftiness ’ ὅτε So S$: GU ‘flood’, reading ya instead of yr30 
h-h ® ‘abideth’ ii So S$: G& ‘a fountain’: 248 ‘a pure fountain (as)’ k So SL: G ‘the inward parts’ 
11 $ ‘he learneth no knowledge all the days of his life’: 70 248 + ‘in his life’ m-m (πα ‘The wanton 


δὲ ¢@ ‘parable’ 44 ‘in all the speech of the righteous ’ r Zit, ‘mouth’ 8.So 3: G&L ‘a house that is 
destroyed’ t So x* only: G@S¥U ‘ unwise’ u-u So S$: & ΔΛ ‘unexamined words’ VSoS:&> 
"ὁ “ἃ net” x So SL: (ἃ ‘clever’ (πανουργος) ySo 3: GL + ‘scarcely’ z% ‘in peace’ 


ἅτ ® weyd Ἴ29 (= 3) ‘the glory of a man’ (Smend conjectures ΘΝ for N32) b-b So G&S: 32 corrupt wy ΓΛ 
‘in the house of his people’ (Symend conjectures syoyd 7132) τὸ O35 yor’ (‘shall humble many’), for which 


“ον Which maketh... Craftiness is a kind of wisdom which is often a cause of sorrow and bitterness to others. 

13. aboundeth like a spring of water. & read dy, the technical Hebrew word for the Flood, instead of 111 
(‘a spring’). Cp. Pizge Adoth vi. 1, where it is said that the man who is busied with the Law is like ‘a spring that 
ceaseth not, and as a river that continueth to flow on’. knii. 10 οὗ the same tractate, Rabbi Eleazar ben Arak is called 


... like the water of life. Cp. the Midrash Szfve 84 a: ‘ As water giveth life to the world, so do the waters of 


16. grace. For the word used in this connexion cp. vi. 5, xx. 19, Xxxvil. 21; Ps.xlv.3; Prov. xxii.11; Eccles. x. 12. 


18. coals of fire. i.e. toa fool. Sis preferable here, because the context demands something that is disagreeable 


22, 23. In # these verses have got misplaced ; both verses are preserved in a quotation in WYTPA IIIT NPA 14 ἃ 
(‘The Lecture of our holy Rabbi,’ i.e. Judah. ha-Nasi), an ethical treatise; wv. 32 is also quoted in the Babylonian 


SIRACH 21. 24—22. 6 


24’ Tis unseemly® for one to listen at the door, 
And the wise man would be grieved ‘at the shameful act’. 
25 The lips of babblers® [only] repeat" ‘what others say’, _ 
iBut the words of the wise are weighed in the balance’. 
26 The heart of fools is in their mouth, 
But the mouth of the wise is ‘in their heart. 
27 When the fool! curseth his adversary”, 
He curseth his own soul. 
28 The whisperer defileth his own soul, 
And is hated wheresoever he sojourneth”. 


(ὁ) XXII. 1-2. The Despicableness of Sloth (= ἃ distichs). 


22, τ The slothful man is like* a filthy stone”, 


Ξ 
& 


ὁ Every one fleeth from the stench thereof*. 
2 “A slothful man is like* the filth of a dunghill?, 
He who °taketh it up® shaketh out his hand. 


(f) XXII. 3-6. The shame and grief of evil children (= 3 +1 distichs). 


3 [There is] shame to a father in **the begetting of** an uninstructed (son), 
And a daughter is born to his loss. 
4 ‘A prudent daughter ‘is a treasure‘ to her husband, 
But#é she that bringeth shame is a grief to him that begat her‘. 
5 She that is bold® bringeth shame on father and husbandi, 
And she is despised of both. 
6 As* music in (time of) mourning, (so) is unseasonable talk’, 
But™ stripes and correction are at all times wisdom”. 


read DD... (= &) ὁ Zit. ‘ want of instruction’ ff Zi, ‘with the disgrace (of it)’ & So 248: & 
‘strangers’: S ‘ungodly’: % ‘ unwise’ h Zit. ‘declare’: sox V 248 3% Syro-Hex: BAC ‘are grieved’ 
ii 777. ‘the things that are not theirs’: so 248 only: (τ ‘at these things’: % ‘in his own body’, z.e. ‘his inner 
thoughts’: H ‘foolish things’ Ji S$ ‘The wise man speaketh by measure’ (’/. ‘by weight’) Kk So 248 
SU: G ‘their heart’ 1803: GU ‘ungodly’ m & Jit. ‘Satan’ (see note below): & ‘the Devil’: 3 ‘him 
who sinned not against him’ un So CV 248 253 254 (= Syro-Hex); & ev παροικησει. «ὁ reads for this 
verse: ‘ The soul of the wise is grieved at the fool, for he knoweth not what to say to him’ 

a Lit. ‘is (to be) compared to’ by ea S ‘a stone cast out’ ($ Zi. ‘thrown out into the street’) ὁ-ὁ & 
‘and every one hisseth at the shame thereof’: @& + ‘every one keeps clear of him’ d-d $ * when a man goeth 
out into the street and disgraceth himself’ eS ‘seeth it’: 30 ‘toucheth it’ eeeeS> thS > frie 
‘shall inherit’: % ‘is an inheritance’: (τ mdsread NW (‘she shall inherit’) zws/ead of NWN (‘ treasure,’ iz. 
‘inheritance’) Qt avdpa aurns 88 Let. ‘and’ bS ‘foolish’ i ‘her mother’: & znserts ‘she will not 
be menaced by the ungodly ’ (z.e. ‘they will be in sympathy with her ’) K So 3 only 1 Zit. ‘discourse’ 
m B ‘and’ 0 Sox* SL: (ἃ ‘of wisdom’: 70 248 + ‘Children who live comfortably in good circumstances 


24. the wise man. φρόνιμος means here ‘discreet ’. 

25. are weighed in the balance. Cp. xvi. 25, xxviii. 25. 

26. Fools talk without thinking, the wise think before they speak. 

27. his adversary. && evidently read j0WM, the original meaning of which was simply ‘adversary’ (cp. Num. 
ΧΧΙΪ. 22, 32; 1 Kings v.18, xi. 22) ; the meaning is either, that in cursing Satan the curse recoils on the man’s own head, 
or else that a man’s real spiritual adversary is his own evil nature; cp. the next verse. 

28. Cp. v.14, XXvill. 13. 

(e) XXII. 1-2. ἢ 

1. a filthy stone. Cp. the Midrash Wayyigra Radda, § xvii, chap. xiv. 34, where the passage Job xxxi. 34 is 
commented upon. Cp. Job ii. 8. 


2. Aslothful man... Ben-Sira’s disgust for slothful people is coarsely expressed. 
ΕΠ: δ. 
3. in the begetting of. Cf. Prov. xvii. 21. 
a daughter . .. According to Jewish ideas it was a misfortune to beget daughters ; cp. JZenachoth 43 ὁ (T. B.), 


where it is taught that a man ought to bless God every day for not having made him a woman ora slave. In the daily 
service for Morning Prayer in the Jewish Liturgy occurs the following Benediction: ‘ Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, 
King of the Universe, who hast not made me a woman.’ 

4. atreasure to... See critical note. Cp. xxvi. 1-4. 

she that bringeth shame. i.e. to her husband; this is also a grief (εἰς λύπην) to her father, because her shame is 

a reflection on him, implying, as it does, that he did not bring her up properly. 

5. She that is bold. ἡ θρασεῖα ; cp. Sept. of Prov. ix. 13, γυνὴ ἄφρων καὶ θρασεῖα. 

6. talk. διήγησις (Syr. NY’) means the discourse of the sages; this is ‘unseasonable’ at times when ‘stripes and 


390 


SIRACH 22. 7-16 


4) XXII. 7-18. The Futility of the Fool (= 2+3+3+2+2+142 distichs). 


7 He who teacheth a fool is (as) one that glueth together a potsherd®, 
(Or) as? one that awakeneth a sleeper out of a deep sleep. 
8 ‘He that discourseth to a fool is as one discoursing to him that slumbereth 4, 
And at the end he saith, ‘ What is it ?’ 
τι Mourn for the dead, "for his® light hath failed” ; 
And mournt for a fool, for understanding hath failed (him). 
"Weep gently’ for the dead", for he hath found rest ; 
’ But* the life of a fool is ’worse thanY death”. 
.12 The mourning for the dead (lasts) seven days, 
| But *the mourning for a fool? all the days of his life. 
| 13 Talk not much with a foolish man, 
And consort not with a pig?: 
Beware of him, lest thou have trouble, 
And thou becomest defiled »when he shaketh himself” ; 
Turn from him, and thou wilt find rest, 
And (so) shalt thou not be wearied with his folly®. 
14 What is heavier than lead@? 
And what is its name but ‘ Fool’? 
) 15 Sand and salt and a weight of iron 
(Are) easier® to bear than fa senseless man’. 
"τό As* timber girt and fixed into the wall 
*Ts not loosened by an earthquake*, 


conceal the humble origin of their own parents; (but) children who grow up in arrogance and wantonness besmirch 
the noble descent of their kin (= wv. 9, 10) ©V Syro-Hex p/ur.: & +(‘and as one) who telleth a tale (11. 
word) to him that heareth not’ pSo Sit a-a % ‘he that teacheth a fool is like one that eateth bread 
when he is not hungry’ aa + ‘wisdom’ tr % Ui. ‘for he is kept from the light’ 8 Expressed in & 
ἰῷ» u-u $ ‘it is not (fitting) to weep for the dead’: Sah ‘it is good to weep for the dead’ Υ 711 
‘more sweetly’: 3. modicum w-w $ ‘For an evil life is worse than death’ x So B only y-¥ 248 > 
zz So S: GH ‘for a fool and an ungodly man’ a So 3, which adds ‘in the way’: 70 248 + ‘for 
being without sense he will altogether despise thee’ b-b, So S$: (ἃ ‘in his onslaught’, 7 shaking’ : 
% ‘in his sin’ ¢ S$ ‘much talk’ d-d % ‘for he is much heavier than lead’ e So 2483: G& ‘easy’: 
S ‘pleasanter’ 1-fS ‘to dwell with a fool’ £S0 708 h Zit, building’: S + ‘of the corners of 
a house ἡ kKkS> 


correction’ are really what is required. Ben-Sira is laying stress on the need of firmness towards children ; the lack 
of this in their earlier years results in the shame and grief which, later on, are brought upon a father (vv. 4, 5); cp. the 
gloss on v. 6 (see critical note). 
stripes and correction. Cp. Prov. xxii. 15, xxix. 15. 
(g) XXII. 7-18. 
7. He who teacheth... Cp. Prov. i. 7, xxvii. 22. A potsherd glued together is useless for all practical purposes, 
one that is awaked out of a deep sleep is unfit for doing anything ; nothing can be done with either—nor yet with a fool. 
8. He that discourseth ... A fool cannot understand sensible talk, although he hears, any more than one who is 
asleep and cannot hear. For vv. 9, 10, see critical note. 
11. Mourn... Cp. vii. 34, xxxviii. 16. 
his light hath failed. Cp. Prov. xx. 20 ὦ, 27. On Jewish tombstones the following ancient formula is often 
inscribed: ‘ May his light continue to shine.’ 
12. ... (lasts)seven days. This is still observed by modern orthodox Jews ; the period is technically called ‘ Shiba’’ 
(pronounced ‘ Shiva‘’), ‘seven’; cp. Gen. 1. 10; Judith xvi. 24; and see below xxxviil. 17. 
13. Talk not much, μὴ πληθύνῃς λόγον = AMW ΠῚ ἽἼΠ bx, a phrase which occurs in Pirge Adoth i. 5. 
consort not. Lit. ‘ go not to’. 
with a pig. This rendering of S$ is evidently correct, as is shown by the context (see clause ¢); & is a toning 
down. The swine is referred to as the emblem of filthiness in the T. B. Berakhoth 43 6(/E, xi. 6094). The fool, like 
the man of sloth, is regarded as unclean ; for the uncleanness of swine cp. Lev. xi. 7. 
And thou becomest defiled... The outpouring of a fool’s nonsense is compared to the filth carried about by 
a pig which it shakes from itself after having wallowed in the mire. 
wearied. The verb ἀκηδιάζω occurs very rarely in the Sept.: Ps. Ix. 3, ci. 1, cxlii. 4; Dan. vii. 15. 
folly. ἀπόνοια means also ‘ madness’, which is perhaps preferable here, as a strong word is required. 
14. What is heavier... Cp. xxi. 16. 
what is its name. i.e. the name of that which is heavier than lead. 
15. Sand. Cp. Prov. xxvii. 3. See further Introd. § 7 (4). 
16. The contrast offered by the wise man. 


291 


Gr 


Se 


SIRACH 22. 16-26 


So a heart established on well-advised counsel 
1 Will not be afraid! in time™ [of danger]. 
17 ™ A heart fixed on thoughtful understanding 
Is as an ornament graven" upon? a polished wall™™. 
18 PSmall stones? lying upon a high place 
Will not remain against the wind, 
4So will the fearsome heart (bent) on foolish imagination 
Be unable to withstand any terror). 


(Δ) XXII. 19-26. How Friendship is dissolved ; the duty of a friend (=2+3+2[+1]+2 distichs). 


19 A wound ‘in the eye maketh tears to flow, 
And a (heart)-wound' ‘severeth friendship *. 
20 He that throweth a stone at birds scareth them away, 
And he that reproacheth" a friend dissolveth friendship. 
21 Even if thou draw the sword against a friend, 
Despair not, for there is Ya way out”; 
22 And” if thou open thy* mouth against a friend, 
Fear not, for there is a (way of) reconciliation ; 
y But reproach and arrogance, and betrayal of a secret, and a deceitful blow,— 
In (face of) these every friend will depart’. 
23 Support? thy neighbour in his poverty, 
That in his prosperity* thou mayst rejoice” ; 
Remain true® to him in the time of his? affliction, 
That thou mayst be heir with him in his inheritance®. 
24 [° Before the fire is the smoke of the furnace’, 
So revilings before bloodshed]. 
25 Be not ashamed of a friend who becometh poor®, 
h And ‘hide not thyself: from his face? ; 
26 * For **if evil happen unto him! through thee!§, 
Whosoever heareth it will beware of thee™. 


1-13 ‘no fear will shake him’ ὯΔ 70 248 3% ‘at any time’: 248 Ὁ + ‘with fear’ mm-mm 7 > 
n Reading yupparos (Smend) for ψαμμωτος ° So 248 3 P-» Reading with AC 70 248 mg. 254 χαλικες 
(=2): BN χαρακες, ‘pales’ a-a4$ *So is the heart of a fool broken in his innermost being, and he 
cannot stand up against grief’ τ Reading vooos (= %) for νυσσων (= it) s-s So $ (Jit. ‘changeth 
friendship’): & ‘showeth feeling’ th enserts the title: ‘Concerning friendship’ u % ‘robbeth’: and adds 
‘change not towards thy friend, but if thou change think not that thou wilt retain his love’ Vev 72. 


‘a returning’ (= MIN), ze. ‘a way of repentance’ W So V 253 Syro-Hex.£: &> x So 3 y-y 3 ‘He 
who reveals a secret is worthy of contempt (ΛΔ is a son of contempt), and a deceitful blow puts friendship far 
away z SoS: GU ‘ acquire trust in’ a Lit. ‘good things ’ b So NA 25 248 253 254 Syro-Hex & 
(ευφρανθης) : BC V 70 opov πλησθης : % ‘thou mayst share’ ¢ Zit. ‘steadfast’ d So & only © 248 
+ ‘For not always is the (outward) appearance to be despised, nor is the rich man void of understanding 
to De respected ‘ ee-ee This verse seems to have got out of place, as it breaks the sequence of thought ἐκ 
a and smoke (kamvos), which ὦ rightly omits -g Gr & ‘I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend’ 

L> ΤΊ & @ “1 will not hide myself’ k-k “If thy companion reveal to thee a secret, repeat it not’ 


17. an ornament graven. See critical note. 


18. Small stones... The reference, as Ryssel points out, is to the small stones which were placed on the top of 
the walls surrounding gardens and vineyards ; these were put there in order that, when jackals or foxes leaped on to 
the wall to enter the vineyard, the noise occasioned by the rattling of the displaced stones might warn the watcher. As 
these small stones were always lying in an exposed position they were easily blown down by a high wind. 

(A) XXII. 19-26. 

19. A wound. See critical note. 

maketh tears to flow. Cp. Prov. xxx. 32, 33. 

20. reproacheth. Cp. v. 22, xviii. 18, xx. 15. 


eis chee eee. oe ge. ἘΣΎ a The meaning of the verse is that every straightforward quarrel, 
ο ᾿ apa of adjustment, but when such things as those mentioned i i s 
friendship, then the breach is irremediable. Ἢ ον a 
22. if thou open The reference is to outspok i i i 
en... en, straightforward i 
Pena iin p 5 g differences between friends. 
betrayal of a secret. Lit. ‘revealing ...’; cp. Prov. xi. 13, xx. 19, xxv. 9. 
23. thou mayst rejoice. See critical note. 
24. So revilings... Cp. xxvii. 15. 
25. And hide not... Cp. vi. 12. 


26. The rendering i is Vv i i i i 
g of & in this verse is clearly not in order, but its general sense agrees better with the context than 


sy 


}6 May “the lust of the fleshY *and chambering* ¥ not overtake me” 


SIRACH 22. 27—23. 6 


(2) XXII. 27—XXIII. 6. The Need of Self-control (= 2%+4+1+42 distichs). 


7™°QO that one would set a watch over my mouth®, 


And a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, 
That I fall not? by means οἵ them’, 
And that my tongue destroy me ποῖ"! 


#\2 2O that one would set scourges over my mind), 


And “a rod of correction® over my heart, 
That they spare not “their errors“, 
© And overlook not their sins®! 


}3 That mine ignorances be not‘ multiplied, 


And that my sins abound nots", 
And ‘cause me to fall‘ in the sight of* mine! adversaries, 
So that mine enemy rejoice over me™. 


| ἡ Ο Lord, Father, and God” of my°® life, 


Abandon me not Pto their counsel?4. 
Give me ποῖ" δὰ proud look’, 
t And turn away concupiscence" from me’. 


᾽ 


2 And give me* not over to a shameless soul’. 


(ut. ‘give it not out’) kk @& ‘and’ 1G iL ‘me’ 1 G& ‘him’ mM (τ ‘him’: S + and will account thee 
a mischief-maker ’ (7. ‘one that doeth harm’) n 254 inserts here: ‘O that one would set scourges over my 
thought’ (= xxiii. 2 @) 0-0 G τις δωσει (= JN 1D) μοι (> NASH) ἐπὶ στόμα pou φυλακην PP 248 + ‘suddenly’ 


49 & ‘ from ’ τι ΟΝ (= SW): & ‘it’: Sah ‘through my mouth’ 8 The negative vs preserved in 248 253 


(= $ Syro-Hex) ἃ For the reasons of the above order in the clauses of vv. 1-5 see note below b Lit. 
‘thought’ c-e So S: & ‘a discipline of wisdom ’ d-d So & (ignorationibus eorum): Ge ἐπὶ ros ayvonpace 
μου = δ e-e αὶ σὰ fas the clause under the asterisk: 248 ‘Overlook not the insults (υβρεις) of sinners, according 
to (Wt. ‘in’) (Thy) promise’: $3 >, dut has instead: ‘that they in their assembly inherit not, nor take delight 
(jyann3) in destroying (band) ’ ; Sah > fhe clause allogether: & et non appareant delicta eorum ti > the 
negative 8-8 $ lit. ‘be not strong’ (})3wy2) h 70 248 + ‘to (my) destruction’ i1$ ‘reveal me’ 


i (onbaa), a scribal error which should, according to Smend, be corrected to ‘1021 (= sndvp»), “cause me to fall’: 


GH “1 fall’ k Lit. ‘before’ 1SoH%: ἃ ὦ» m 40 248 + ‘from whom the hope of Thy mercy is 
far-distant ’ n ‘Master’ © 70 248 ‘all my’ ret > α (ἃ + ‘and suffer me not to fall by them’ 
(S ‘on their account): 70 + ‘as a (standing) example’ (ev παραδειγματισμῳ): 30 + in illa exprobatione T & μη 
dos po 5.871... ‘a lifting up of eyes’: #‘... of mine eyes’: % ‘an exalted eye’; 248 +‘and an overbearing 


| (dt. gigantic) soul’ t248 cuserts here: ‘ Keep ever from Thy servant vain hopes’ uS ‘a lustful (Stn) 
| heart’: 2 ‘every desire’ ν 248 + ‘and him that desireth to serve Thee do Thou ever hold up’: S + ‘and 


suffer naught that is good to escape me’ w-w So S$: GU ‘the appetite (desire) of the (39 ‘my’) belly’ 
xs > ΣΤΥ S ‘not make me lustful’ z-z % * And let not a shameless soul have dominion over me’ 
8. 248 ‘ Thy servant’ 


is the case with $; if the pronouns in (τ are corrected on the basis of S good sense can be made out of the verse. 
The first word of the verse should be ‘ For’ instead of ‘And’; this is demanded by the context. 
(2) XXII. 27—XXIII. 6. 
27eOithat -.. Cp. 'Ps. exli. 3. 
that my tongue... Cp. Prov. xvili. 21, xxi. 23. 
XXIII. 1-5. A reference to the text of will show that it is out of order as it stands: v. 1 breaks the sequence 
between xxii. 27 and xxiii. 2; the first clause of τ. 1 = v. 4a; v.14 is omitted by S, and inserted in v. 4; something 


has evidently fallen out in vv. 4-5. That there is something radically wrong with the text of these verses as they 


stand is evident from the variations in the Gr. MS. and the Versions (see critical notes). Smend (following 5 


) partly) keeps 1 a and 1c and 4a of G, adding 1 ὁ to 4a. 


2. O that one would set. Lit. ‘who will set ...’, cp. xxil. 27. 
a rod of correction. Cp. Prov. xxil. 15 ὁ. 
their errors... their sins: i.e. those of his heart and mind. 
3. So that mine enemy... Cp. Ps. xiii. 4. 
1. ... their counsel. 1. 6. the counsel of his own heart and mind. ἘΣ : : 
_ 44. a proud look. Perhaps this should be interpreted in the sense in which the expression is used in Gen. xxxix. 7, 
in view of what follows (Ryssel). ji 
6. the lust of the flesh. See critical note. 


1105 393 bd 


SIRACH 23. 7-14 


(2) XXII. 7-15. The need of keeping the tongue under control (=2+3+3+2+3 +2 distichs). 


G ; Hear, O children, (concerning) the discipline of the mouth® : 
He that keepeth (discipline)4 *shall not be taken [captive]° 
g But! the sinner is ensnared® through? his lips, 
$ i And the fool stumbleth through his mouth’. 
9 Accustom not* thy mouth to an oath, 
\Nor make a habit of the naming of the Holy One™. 
G το ον asa servant who is constantly being questioned” 
°Tacketh not® the marks of a blow, 
So also he that ?sweareth and is continually naming ‘the name of the Lord?” 
Is not free*® from sins. 
τι A man of many oaths ‘is filled with iniquity*, 
And the scourget departeth not from his house ; 
If he offend" his sin will be upon him*, 
w And if he disregard* it he sinneth doubly~ ; 
y And if he sweareth “without need’, he shall not be justified Ὁ, 
4For his house shall be filled with calamities?*. 
12 ©There is a manner of speech “that is to be compared4 with death¢ : 
Let it not be found in the heritage of Jacob. 
°He that keepeth‘ his soul from this shall live®, 
s And not wallow in sins®. 
& 14Rememberi thy father and thy mother 
k When! thou sittest in council in the midst of the mighty*, 
Lest, perchance, ™thou stumble™ before them, 
[In that] "thou showest thyself [to be] a fool” in thy manner [of speech], 
° And dost wish thou hadst not been born®, 
And cursest the day of thy birth. 
13 Accustom not thy mouth to impure manner [of speech], 
For Pthat is a sinful thing?. 


we 


bB zo 248 254 insert the title: ‘ Discipline of the mouth’ ὁ. 248 + ‘that is truthful’ d Not expressed 

e-e % ‘shall not suffer shame’ SoS: & > (Ne ‘ either’) £ Lit. overtaken’, reading καταληφθησεται 
with 157 (= SH) for καταλειφθ. &: 157 248 + ‘in his folly’ h Zit. ‘in’ (= 3 ‘by means of’, cp. Ps. vi. 8) ἔ Oe 
i-i @ ‘the reviler and the arrogant shall stumble through them’: 3» superbus et maledicus scandalizabitur in illis” fy 


k-k $ ‘and thou wilt not (have to) sit before the judges’ 1% ‘instruct not’: & + ‘for there is great calamity 
therein’ mye2 A ‘the Most High’: % ‘God’ n-n % ‘for (as) every man that sweareth continually’ 
o-o $ ‘is not free from ’ ΡῸΡ $ ‘lieth and sweareth’ a-a So only A διοιδ 55 157 254 r SoS: GL ‘isnot | 
cleansed 5:8 $ ‘acquireth sins’ tS ‘strife’ ἃ % ‘swear by mistake’ (ἡ. 6. ‘ falsely’): % frustraverit | 
Y 55 254 + ‘he will hide it under his tongue’ w-w $ ‘and if in truth he will not swear (at all)’ x Lit} 
‘overlook’: & dissimulaverit y-y S ‘ For whosoever sweareth continually, it is detestable, and he shall not be | 
justified ” zz 1. “in vain’ Ea) Ss b 248 3» ‘retribution ’ e-c S * And if there is another thing 
that is like it’ ἀ-ἃ Reading with 70 253 (= Syro-Hex) αντιπαραβεβλημενη : Ge αντιπεριβεβλ.: % contraria | 
e-e & 3. ‘ For from the godly (# ‘the merciful’) all these things shall be put away’ f Z7#, ‘shutteth up’ 
s-f G& Ὁ ‘And they will not wallow (//. roll) in sins’ h Vo. 13 and 15 belong together. iS + ‘that thou 
hast’ k-k $ ‘and from terror thou hast been preserved’ 1805: GH ‘for’ m-m So S: (ἃ ‘ that 
thou be not forgetful’: # ‘lest He (z.e. God) forget thee’ nn $ ‘thou be despised ’ o-o S ‘and sayest, 
O that I had not been created’ p-p 7,27. ‘ therein is the word of sin’ 


(7) XXIII. 7-15. With the whole of this subsection cp. Jas. iii. 1-12. 
7. shall not be taken [captive]. i.e. by his mouth; he will not fall under the dominion of his tongue. 
g....toanoath. Cp. Matt.v. 34 ff., xxiii. 20 ff.; Jas. v. 12. 
10. a servant. οἰκέτης, ‘a household servant’; the context suggests that δοῦλος (=73}),*a slave’, would have been 
a more appropriate word here. : ᾿ 
being questioned. ἐξετάζω means ‘to examine closely’, but the word is frequently used in the special sense of 
examining by torture (cp. Acts xxii. 24); ἐξεταζόμενος is, therefore, used quite appropriately here; so that Smend’s 
suggestion that ἐξουσιαζόμενος (it. ‘one having authority over’, i.e. here in the sense of ‘one rebelling’) should be read 
instead does not commend itself. 
the marks of a blow. Cp. xxviii. 17; μώλωψ' means the result of a blow, i.e. a bruise, as well as the blow itself. 
the name of the Lord. Cp. Lev. xxiv. 16 (Sept.). 
11, A man of many oaths. Cp. xxvii. 14. The last two clauses seem to be merely a variation of the first two. 
12: There is a manner of speech... Cp. Lev. xix. 12, xxii. 2, 3, 32, and especially xxiv. 16. 
the heritage of Jacob. In the O.T. this expression is used in reference to the Promised Land, cp. Isa. Iviii. 14; 
here it refers rather to the Jews in contradistinction to the Gentiles. 
14. As the text shows, this verse must come before v. 13, which has got out of place. 
Remember thy father... i.e. so as not to bring disgrace on their name. 
... thou hadst not been born... Cp. Job iii. 3; Jer. xx. 14. 


394 


a π- τες - 


i 


| 
Ur ᾿ 


SIRACH 23. 15-21 


[δ A man that doth accustom himself to “disgraceful talk4 


rWill not learn" wisdom Sall his days*. 


(k) XXIII. 16-27. Tke Waickedness of Impurity (= 4+3+4+14+3+3+42 distichs). 


-6 Two types (of men) ‘multiply sins‘, 


And the third increaseth® wrath’ ; 
wv A hot desire*, burning like fire, 

Which is not quenched till Yit be consumed’ ; 
A fornicator with the body of his flesh, 

(For) he ceaseth not till the fire consumeth him ; 


7 [And] the man to whom all bread? is sweet, 


(For) he will not leave off till he die. 


8 A man* that ’goeth astray” ‘from his own θεά", 


And saith in his heart: ‘ Who seeth me? 
4The walls of my house hide me, 

And the shadow of my roof covereth me, 
And no one seeth me— 

What hindereth me from sinning ?’ ¢ 
®He remembereth not the Most High®; 

* The eyes of men are his (only) fear‘, 
—And he perceiveth not that the eyes of the Lord 

Are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, 
Beholding all the ways of men, 

*And looking into secret places? ; 


.o For® all things are known unto Him before they are created, 


‘So also [doth He see them] after they are perfected',— 


{'2®Such a man shall be punished! in the streets of the city, 


And shall be taken where he suspecteth it not*™. 


a-a Lit. ‘words of reproach’: 3 ‘worthless words’ rr SoS: & Ut. ‘will not be instructed’ s-8 Q& ‘in 
all...’: 3 ‘all the days of his life’: S + ‘and the man that is impure in the shame of his flesh accepteth no 
instruction ἡ t-t S ‘doth my soul hate’ u Zit. ‘will bring’: % ‘causeth to arise’ vi + ‘and perdition’ 
aw > x Lit. “ soul’ y-y Ne “it consume something’ (= i) z % ‘flesh’ aA + ‘(that is) a 
fornicator’ b-b S$ ‘committeth adultery ἡ τὸ S$ ‘on the covering of his bed’ d-d So ᾧ (pr. ‘behold’): 
(ἃ iverts and abbreviates 18 c d, and misunderstands 18 f ee 3S >: & (misunderstanding) ov μὴ μνησθησεται 
0 ὑψιστος tf) > s- % ‘and perceiveth the nature (11. the form) of their works (done) in darkness’ 
h Expressed in SU ii 3 ‘and judgeth them at the end of the world’ K-k 3 fransposes the clauses 
1S ‘detected’ m+ <and shall be a disgrace in the sight of (Zs to) all, because he knew not the fear of God’ 


15. disgraceful talk. Cp. Joshua v. 9 (Sept.). ~~ 
(ὁ) XXIII. 16-27. 
16. Two types ... And the third. With this form of expression cp. xxvi. 1, 5, 28, 1.25; Prov. xxx. 7,15, 18, 21, 24, 
29; cp. also the whole of chap. v of Pirge Adoth. 
increaseth wrath. Lit. ‘bringeth’, i.e. the wrath of God; for the Gr. word (ἐπάγω) cp. il. 4, xlvil. 20. 
he ceaseth not. & ‘ He will in no wise cease till he have made a fire to blaze’. 
17. ... to whom all bread is sweet. Cp. Prov. ix. 13-18, especially v. 17. 
18. Cp. Job xxiv. 15. 
19. Beholding... Cf. xvii. 19, 20; Prov. xv. 3, 11; Ps. xxxiil. 14 ff. ; 
20. For all things are known... Cp. Pirge Aboth iii. 24: ‘Everything is foreseen; and free-will is given’; and 
see Taylor’s comments on this in his edition. 
Soalso... Cp. Gen. ii. 1, 2 (Sept.). : es ᾿ 
21. shall be punished... Cp. Lev. xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 22; the full rigour of the Law was evidently mitigated in 
later times, since there is no mention of punishment by death here. ‘Under the Talmudic law the severity of the 
Mosaic code was in many instances modified, and the laws relating to adultery came under the influence of a milder 
theory of the relation of crime and punishment.... Upon this mild view followed the entire abolition of the death 
penalty, in the year Α. Ὁ. 40, before the destruction of the Second Temple (Savhedrin 41 a), when the Jewish courts, 
probably under pressure of the Roman authorities, relinquished their right to inflict capital punishment. Thereafter 
the adulterer was scourged; and the husband of the adulteress was not allowed to condone her crime (.So¢a/ vi. 1), 
but was compelled to divorce her, and she lost all her property rights under her marriage contract ...’ (//, 1. 217 @). 
shall be taken ... i.e. to the public place of scourging. The transposition of these two clauses in 5 is correct. 


395 pda 


SIRACH 28. 22—24. 3 


22 So also a wife that leaveth™ her husband, 
And bringeth in an heir by a stranger. ᾿ 
23 For, firstly, she is disobedient® to the Law of the Most High; 
And secondly, she trespasseth? against her own husband® ; 
And thirdly, she committeth adultery through (her) fornication, 
And bringeth children in by a stranger. 
24 She shall be led into the assembly, = ae 
And upon her children ‘there will be visitation’. 
25 Her children shall not spread out their roots, 
And her branches shall bear no fruit. 
26 She will leave her memory for a curse, 
And her reproach will not be blotted out. 
27 *And they that are left behind shall know 
That there is nothing better than the fear of the Lord ᾿ς 
And nothing sweeter than to observe 
The commandments of the Lord*®. 


(a) XXIV. 1-34. *The Praise of Wisdom*(=24+242434+3+14+3+24+24+2+2+143424343 


distichs). 


QA x Wisdom praiseth herself”, 


And is honoured among “her people 

2 She openeth her mouth in the assembly ‘of the Most High, 
And is honoured in the presence of His hosts®. 

3 ‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, 
And as a mist I covered the earth. 


n % ‘sinneth against ” ο 
will be remembered’ as 


‘ And all the dwellers on earth will know, 


S ‘she lieth against’ pps > aS + ‘of her youth’ rz $ ‘her.sins 
3, which on account of tts better rhythmical measure ts perhaps to be preferred, reads : 


PRM OLSEN ISR ΤΡ ae Oe a TY aT Tot 


And all the rest in the world will perceive, 

That nothing is better than the fear of God, 
Or sweeter than to keep His commandments.’ 
t 55 157 254 3 ‘God’ ἃ 55 248 253 254 ‘God’: 70 248 & + ‘to follow after God (% ‘the Lord’) is” 
great glory, and length of days it is for thee to be accepted of Him’ (= Ὁ. 28) 


a-a V 106 157 253 “5 syro-Hex > 
a-d $ ‘of God’ €So S$: (ἃ ‘might’ 


23. the Law of the Most High. See Exod. xx.14; Deut.v. 18. 
bringeth children in by... For the result of this entailed upon such offspring see Deut. xxiii. 2. 
24. She shall be led... 1. 6. for punishment. 
upon her children... Their illegitimacy descended upon their children (Qzddushin 78 ὁ). ! 
25....Shall not spread out... They were not regarded as belonging to the congregation of Israel (cp. 
Qiddushin 78 6); for the belief that the children of adulterers do not come to maturity see Wisd. iii. 16-19, iv. 3-5. 
26. ... will not be blotted out. Cp. Ps. cix. 14. 
27....Shallknow... Cp. xlvi. 10. For the addition to this verse see critical note. 
XXIV. I—XXVII. 3. (In praise of Wisdom, with practical applications.) The division falls into twelve subsections. 
XXIV. 1-34. A fine hymn in praise of Wisdom follows. The author, in declaring that Wisdom is honoured 
in heaven, as well as on earth, thereby shows that she is entitled to speak in her own name. The hymn falls into six 


strophes, each containing six distichs. 


1. Wisdom praiseth herself. Lit. ‘...praiseth her soul’; she is entitled to do so on account of her inherent 
excellence ; every utterance of hers is 2250 facto the praise of herself because it witnesses to her transcendent perfection. 
_ among her people. The rendering of S, ‘the people of God,’ suggests that Israel is meant (cp. v. 8); Smend 
thinks that the heavenly companions of Wisdom are meant, and the rendering of & (in deo honorabitur) points to the 
scene being in heaven ; but as the heavenly hosts are referred to in the next verse, it is probable that the Israelites are 
meant here, the intention of the writer being to indicate that Wisdom is honoured both on earth and in heaven. 


2. in the assembly of the Most High. Cp. Ps. Ixxxii. 1 Dyna (S reads ‘of God’); here it is clear that the 


heavenly hosts are referred to. 


... Hishosts... δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ ; cp. Isa. xxxiv. 4, where ΘΠ NI¥ is rendered ai δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν in the 
Sept. ; cp. Ps. xxxiii (Sept. xxxii) 6; Dan. viii. το. 
3. Icame forth... Wisdom now speaks in her own name; for the personification of Wisdom cp. Prov. viii. 4 ff, 
and with the whole of this section cp. Prov. viii. 22-ix. 12, with which it has many points of similarity. 
as a mist I covered the earth. Cp. Gen. i. 2, ‘The Spirit of God brooded upon the face of the waters,’ and 
Gen. ii, 6, ‘ There went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.’ In connexion with these 


Ὁ + et in deo honorabitur c-e $ ‘the people of God’ 
* 


396 


5 


SIRACH 24. 4-10 


@ 4 In the high places did I fix my abode, 


And my throne was °*in the pillar of cloud’. 
fAlone I compassed the Circuit of heaven‘, 
And £in the depth of the abyss® I walked. 


| 6 Over the waves of the sea, and over all the earth?, 


And over every people and nation I held sway’. 


7 With all these I sought a resting-place, 


And (said): In whose inheritance shall I lodge? 


8 Then the Creator of all things gave me commandment, 


And He that created me fixed my dwelling-place (for me) ; 
And He said: Let thy dwelling-place be in Jacob, 
And in Israel* !'take up thine inheritance!. 


' 9 He created me from the beginning, before the world ; 


™The memorial of me shall never cease™. ἐπ 


Gro In the holy tabernacle I ministered before Him, 


Moreover™™ in Zion was I established. 


ee-ee S ‘upon the pillars of the clouds’ ff $ «Together with Him did I dwell in heaven’ 8-8 % iv. ‘in 
the roots of Tehom’ ΒΥ, + steti 1.So NC-® ἡγησαμην (= SL): G& ἐκτησαμην (‘I got possession ’) Kk 248 
‘Jerusalem ’ 1-1 $ ‘establish thyself’ m-m ¢& ‘And unto eternity I shall not fail’  ™™ SoS: (ἃ καὶ ovrws 


the following should be considered: v. 5 ὁ, ‘in the depth of the abyss I walked,’ and Prov. vili. 27, ‘When He prepared 
the heavens I was there, when He set a circle upon the face of the deep...’ Wisdom is here evidently thought of as the 
Spirit of God ; in later Jewish literature Wisdom is identified with the ‘ Ruah ha-qodesh’ (‘the Holy Spirit’). Here 
we have, therefore, the germ of the later teaching ; but a great advance was made as early as the last quarter of the 
second century B.C., for in the Book of Wisdom the identification of Wisdom with the Holy Spirit is implicitly taught ; 
see Wisd. i. 4~7, and especially xi.17: ‘And Thy counsel who hath known, except Thou give wisdom, and send Thy Holy 
Spirit from above?’ In the Midrash Beveshith Rabbah \xxxv it is said that Solomon’s wisdom was the Holy Spirit 
guiding him. 

4. In the high places. Here again may be discerned the germ of the teaching of later Judaism, according to which 
there were a variety of ‘ Mehizoth’, or dwelling-places on high; according to Hagigah 12 ὁ there were seven heavens 
above (cp. 2 Cor, xii. 2), in the uppermost of which, called ‘Araboth’, God Himself dwells ; in front of it a ‘ Pargéd’ 
(‘curtain’) of clouds is placed ; this is the ‘ Holy of Holies’ of heaven (see further Weber, γα. Theologie®, pp. 162 ff.). 

the pillar of cloud. See Exod. xiv. 19, &c. (the ‘Shekinah’ of later Jewish teaching). According to Philo 
(Quis Rer. Div. Heres. ὃ 42=§ 231 ff. in Cohn and Wendland’s ed.) the ‘pillar of cloud’ was Wisdom; cp. v- 10, 
“In the holy tabernacle I ministered before Him,’ and Exod. xxx. 9, 10, ‘...the pillar of cloud descended and stood at 
the door of the Tent.’ In Sofah*33 α it is said that the Holy Spirit and the ‘Shekinah’ dwelt in the Holy of Holies. 
In Wisd. x. 17 it is said of Wisdom that she ‘became unto them a covering in the day-time, and a flame of stars 
through the night’ (cp. Ps. Ixxviii. 14) ; cp. the words of Philo in reference to the pillar of cloud (De Vita Mos. lib. 1, 
§ 29): τάχα μέντοι καὶ τῶν ὑπάρχων τις ἦν τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως, ἀφανὴς ἄγγελος, ἐγκατειλημμένος TH νεφέλῃ προηγήτωρ, ὃν ov 
θέμις σώματος ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρᾶσθαι. 

5. the circuit of heaven. γῦρον οὐρανοῦ ; the same expression occurs in the Sept. of Job xxii. 14 (= 2) 2)Π) ; cp. 
xlili. 12; Prov. viii. 27. Ε: 

in the depth of the abyss. Cp. i. 3, and Job xxxvi. 30 ὉΠ WA (= S ΝΠ NPY, see critical note), 
Amos ix. 3 D7 yprpa (‘in the bottom of the sea’). Cp. the Babylonian belief of Ea, ‘the lord of wisdom,’ whose 
wisdom came forth from Apsu, ‘ the deep,’ which is called also ‘ the house of Wisdom’. 

6. [held sway. See critical note. ; 

7. With all these... i.e. with every people and nation. ‘On the thought here expressed the Rabbis based, later 
on, the legend (referring to Deut. xxxiii. 2 and Job iii.3)?that the Law was offered to all nations, but was refused by 
them, before it was accepted by the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Adodah Zarah 2 ὁ towards the end)’ (Ryssel 271 loc.). So the 
Midrash Peszgta 186 a says that originally the Law was offered to all, but that Israel alone of the nations accepted it, 

resting-place. ἀνάπαυσιν ; so too in the Sept. of Is. xi. 10, ‘.. .and His resting-place (= N13?) shall be glorious.’ 
.. ShallI lodge? αὐλίζομαι is the Sept. for }2Y in Job xi. 14, xv. 28, xxxviii, 19 (cp. 3 Esdras ix. 2); as Smend points 
out, the expressions 77129 and {3¥ are used in this sense of God also. ᾿ . : 

8. the Creator of all things. Cp. li. (12%) ‘He that formed all things’, as in Jer.x. 16, li. 19 ; cp. 1 Enoch Ixxxiv. 3, 

fixed my dwelling-place (for me). κατέπαυσεν τὴν σκηνήν μου, lit. ‘made my tent to rest’; W isdom, after having 
vainly sought a resting-place among a people who would welcome her, has finally to leave the decision with God. 

Let thy dwelling-place be in Jacob... κατασκήνωσον, cp. John i. 14. Contrast with what is said in this verse 
1 Enoch xhii. 1, 2: ‘Wisdom found no place where she might dwell; then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the 
heavens. Wisdom came to make her dwelling among the children of men, and found no dwelling-place ; then Wisdom 
returned to her place, and took her seat among the angels’; cp. Ixxxiv. 3, xciv.5. Wisdom is here identified with the 
Law, the perfect expression of divine Wisdom. 

9. He created me... With this thought cp. John xvii. 5. . ye Ξ 

The memorial of me... This rendering of 95 is preferable to that of (τ, since it is the Law (see the verses which 
follow) with which Wisdom is identified ; this is thought of here ; cp. Exod. xiii. 9, 16; Deut. vi. 8, 9, xi. 15. 

10. In the holy tabernacle... The worship of the Tabernacle was the carrying out of the Law, so that, as 
personified, Wisdom could be said to minister before God. 
in Zion... i.e. when the Temple took the place of the Tabernacle. 


397 


SIRACH 24. 11-16 


τι In the Holy” City likewise° ? He caused me to rest”, 
And in Jerusalem was my authority. 
12 And I took root’ among an honoured' people, 
In the portion of the Lord (and) of His inheritance’. 
13 I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, 
And like an olive-tree* on the mountains of Zion”. 
14 I was exalted like a palm-tree on the sea-shore’, 
And as rose-plants in Jericho ; 
And as a fair™ olive-tree in the plain* ; 
Yea, I was exalted as a plane-tree Yby the waters’. 
15 As cinnamon and aspalathus “have I given a scent of” perfumes, 
And as choice myrrh I spread abroad a pleasant odour ; 
As* galbanum, and onyx, and stacte ; 
(I was) as the smoke of incense in the Tabernacle”. 
16 I as a terebinth”” “stretched forth my branches‘*, 
And my branches were branches of glory‘ and grace. 


n So 248 3» Eth: G&S ‘beloved’ 0% ‘(... beloved) like me’ p-p $% Eth “1 rested’ 43% ‘I was 
magnified ’ τ x¢-2 ‘approved ἢ *«$ +‘Israel’: &% +‘and among the multitude of the saints was my abode’ — 
t So 3 (cp. ® in 1. το). u So & (cp. Deut. iv. 48, Sept.), see exegetical note VNC-2 253 % Syro-Hex ‘in 
Engadi’: 248 εν γαδδι: © ‘in Cades’ WS> Χο 248 ‘the beautiful plain’ y-y So 70 157 
248 S52: ἃ > z-2V 248 253 % Syro-Hex > ἃ $ © ser? ‘incense and ’ b-b 3 ‘I gave forth my 
perfumes as (that of) good oil’ bb % ‘oleander’ e-c $ ‘fixed my roots’ «0 ‘perfume’ 


11. the Holy City... ἡγιασμένῃ (cp. xxxvi. 18) instead of ἠγαπημένη is perhaps to be preferred, as the phrase ‘the 
Holy City’ (YIP VY) is supported by O. T. usage (Isa. xlviii. 2, lii.1 ; Neh. xi. 1,18; Dan. ix. 24), whereas ‘the Beloved — 
City’ is not found (but cp. Ps. cxxxvii. 2). 

He caused me to rest. Cp. Ps. cxxxii. 8, 14. 
in Jerusalem was... It is possible that the thought of Wisdom having had her abode above (see v. 4) and coming 
to dwell in Jerusalem contributed to the later idea of Jerusalem having its counterpart above; cp. Zest. 7welve Patr, 
Dan. v.12, 13;)S7b. Orac. iii. 657 ff., iv; 4 Ezra vii. 26, viii. 52, 53, x. 44-59; 2 Bar. iv. 2-6, xxxii.4; and in the 
N.T. Gal. iv. 26; Heb. xii. 22; Rev. iii. 12, xxi. 10; the same idea occurs often in Rabbinical literature; the earthly 
Jerusalem (ADD by ow») is paralleled by the Jerusalem that is above (aby ὃν ody) ; cp. e.g. Pesahim 50a 
and the Midrash Peszg¢a 143 a. 
12....0f His inheritance. Cp. xvii. 17, and Sept. of Deut. xxxii. 9; Zech. ii. 16. 
13. like a cedar... Cf. Ps. xcii. 12. 
an olive-tree. κυπάρισσος is the rendering of {DW yy (‘Oleaster’) in 1. τὸ (= S ΝΠ nado), ‘ 
Zion. ‘Apparently “Acpyoy is a correction in the Greek (‘‘innergriechische Korrektur”), which put the more usual © 
name for the rarer one’ (Smend) ; cp. Hebr. of Deut. iv. 48. S ‘Senir,’ cp. Deut. iii. 9. ‘ 

14. on the sea-shore. See critical note. It is possible that the right reading is ‘in Engadi’, for, as Ryssel points 
out, palm-trees do not grow to any great height on the seashore, whereas Engadi was famed for them (see Buhl, 
Geographie des alten Paldstina, pp. 58, 165). 

rose-plants in Jericho. Cp. xxxix. 13, 1. 8; i.e. ‘the Rhododaphne’ (=‘ Oleander’), which grows on the banks 
of the Jordan (cp. the rendering of S ‘field of roses’): see Buhl, of. ciz., p. 59. 

a fair olive-tree. Still to be seen growing in great luxuriance in the plains round the site of Jericho. 

a plane-tree. Hebr. /7Y as in Gen. xxx. 37; Ezek. xxxi. 8, the only occurrences in the O.T.; see further J. Low, 
Aramaische Pflanzennamen, p. 107. ; 

15. cinnamon. Cf. Exod. xxx. 23, 34; Prov. vii.17; Cant. iv. 14 (3p). 

aspalathus = (Gendsta acanthoclada (cp. Low, of. cit., p. 340); according to Pliny (7st. Waz. xii. 24) the root 

was used for making ointment. 


stacte. ἢ) Exod. xxx. 34, an odoriferous gum; the Hebr. name was given, apparently, because this gum was 
gathered by drops. See further Nowack, Hedy. Archdol. ii. 64, 248. 
as the smoke of incens2... i.e. something holy, pleasant, and acceptable; its special sanctity is seen by 
the punishment meted out to those who offer it without being entitled to do so, cp. Num. xvi. 6 ff., 17 ff.; 2 Chron. XXV1. 
{ΟΡ ἈΠΕ ΜΕ use it for profane purposes, cp. Lev. x. 1 ff.; for its pleasantness, &c., cp. Ps. xlv. 8; Prov. vil. 17, XXVil. 93 
é - lll. Ὁ. 
16. terebinth ... It is still seen to be characteristic for its far-spreading branches (cp. Nowack, of. cz¢. i. 63). 


398 


SIRACH 24. 17-31 


-|7 1 asa vine put forth grace®, 
And my flowers are the fruit of glory and wealth’. 
9 Come unto me, ye® that desire me, 
And be ye filled with my produce? ; 
[Ὁ For my memorial‘ is sweeter than honey, 
And the possession of me than the honey-comb. 
τ They that eat shall still hunger ‘for me, 
| And they that drink me shall still thirst for me*; 
2 He that obeyeth me will !not be ashamed’, 
| And “they that serve me will not commit βίη ταν 
3 All these things are the book of the covenant of God Most High, 
| The Law which Moses commanded (as) an heritage for the assemblies of Jacob®, 
5 Which filleth (men) with wisdom, like Pison, 
And like Tigris in the days of °new (fruits)? ; 
)}6 Which overfloweth like Euphrates, with understanding, 
And as Jordan in the days of harvest? ; 
}72%° Which poureth forth‘, as the Nile, instruction4, 
And‘ as Gihon in the days of vintage. 
8 The first man knew her not perfectly, 
| So also the last will not trace her out ; 
|9 *For her understanding is more full than the sea, 
And her counsel is greater than the deep*. 
o And as for me, I (was) as a 'stream from the‘ river, 
And I came forth as a conduit into a garden ; 
[11 said: ‘I will water my garden, 
I will abundantly water my garden beds’ ; 


© 248 ‘perfume’: & in suavitate odoris f40 248 © (with slight variations) + ‘I am the mother of beauteous 
love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope; I, the ever-existing one, am given to all my children, 
to those who are called by Him’ (=v. 18). ENS ‘all ye’ b$ ‘good fruits’ i$ ‘instruction’: 
H ‘spirit’ Kk So S$: GL> 1 $ ‘not fail’ m-m $ ‘none of his works will be destroyed’ 
n70 248 (with slight variations) + ‘Faint not, (but) be strong in the Lord, and cleave unto Him in order that 
He may strengthen you. Cleave unto Him; the Lord, the Almighty, is the one and only God, and beside Him 
there is no Saviour’ (= v. 24) 0-0 $ ‘its fruits’ P 3 ‘Nisan’ 4-4 (ἃ (ws φως) misread WN (= ‘the 
Nile’) as ἫΝ (‘light’), and wrote expawov (‘maketh to shine forth’) 7: order 10 make sense ga-a1 = 3 qui 
mittit ΤῸ 248 254 Syro-Hex 13 s-3 The rendering of G& ts due to a misunderstanding of the Hebrew 
way of expressing the comparahive ttS> 


17. the fruit... Cp. Prov. iil. 16, vill. 18,19. See critical note. 
19. Come unto me. Cp. Prov. ix. 4. ; 
20. sweeter than honey ...honey-comb. Cp. Ps. xix. 10 in reference to the Law; cp. Prov. xvi. 24. 
21. With the thought of the verse contrast John vi. 58, iv. 14. : ᾿ 
22. will not commit sin. Cp. Pirge Aéoth. ii. 2: ‘Excellent is Torah-study together with worldly business, for 
the practice of them puts iniquity out of remembrance.’ With the whole verse cp. Zes¢. Zwelve Paty, Levi xii. 7, 8. 
With this verse Wisdom concludes her speech. . 
23. All these things... The identification of the Law with Wisdom in this and the following verses comes out 
very clearly. 4 Ἢ 
The Law which... assemblies. From Deut. xxxiii. 4, where the Hebr. reads N27) (but Sept. συναγωγαῖς) ; 
Ben-Sira (so also the Sept. in Deut. xxxiii. 4) was thinking of the synagogues of the Dispersion. 
25. Pison. Cp. Gen. 11. τι ff. 
new (fruits). Cp. 1.8; Num. xxviii. 26 (Sept.). 
26. in the days of harvest. Cp. Joshua iil. 15. 
ν 27. See critical note. f 
And as Gihon. The addition of ‘and’ is well attested (see critical note); its omission (so &) would imply the 
identification of Gihon with the Nile, as in the Sept. of Jer. ii. 18 (Smend). _ 
in the days of vintage. i.e. September to October, when the river is in full flood. 
28. The first man... i.e. the first man who sought to fathom her (Fritzsche). 
29. See critical note. 
the deep. ἄβυσσος ; cp. v. 5; Gen. vii. 11; Ps. xxxvi. 6. ᾿ s : 
30. And as for me. i.e. the writer, who speaks now of himself; he continues the metaphor of the river (as in 
vv. 25-27), and compares himself to a small irrigation canal leading out from the great river of Wisdom. 
31. I will water my garden. i.e. he intended to use his waters of Wisdom for himself alone at first ; but later on 
his stream ‘became a river...’, i.e. others were to benefit by it. Cp. Is. lviii, 11, ‘thou shalt be like a watered 
garden’; John vii. 38. 


390 


SIRACH 24. 31—25. 7 


& And lo, my stream became a river, 

And my river "became a" sea. ; 

32 Yet again will I bring instruction to light as the morning, 
And will make these things shine forth afar off. 

33 Yet*again will I pour forth doctrine as prophecy, 
And leave it for eternal generations. 

34 ‘Look ye (and see), that I have not laboured for myself only, 
But for all those that diligently seek her *. 


(6) XXV. 1-2. Three things which are beautiful, and three which are hateful (= 2. - distichs). 


= 95 1*Three things hath my soul desired*, 
And they are” lovely in the sight of God and men: 
& The concord of brethren, and the friendship of neighbours, 
And a *husband and wife” suited to each other. 
2 Three types (of men) doth my soul hate, 
And I am greatly offended at their life: : 
i The poor man that is haughty, and the rich man that is deceitful®, 
And an old man that is an adulterer “lacking understanding **. 


(c) XXV. 3-6. A beautiful thing is wisdom and counsel among the aged (= 1 +2 +1 distichs). 


3 (If) in thy youth thou hast not gathered‘, 
How wilt thou find in thine old age? 
& 4 How beautiful °to grey hairs® is judgement, 
And for elders to know counsel! 
5 How beautiful is the wisdom of princes’, 
And thought and counsel in those (who are) honoured ! 
6 The crown® of the aged is their much experience, 
And their glorying is the fear of the Lord. 


(2) XXV. 7-11. Ten types of men who are blessed (= 1+5+1 distichs). 


7 "Nine (types of men) have I conceived of"; (these) I accounted blessed ; 
And a tenth will I speak of with my tongue : 
A man that hath joy of his children», 
Who liveth to see his enemy’s fall. 


u-u 3 ‘reached to the’ va &) Ss wd ‘truth’ 

aa & ‘In three things I was beautiful’: ὡραισθὴν vs perhaps a textual corruption of ἡρασθην (Hart): & = S 
bb G& ἀνέστην (‘I stood’) zs probably a corruption of a ἐστιν (= 253 L) bb-bb So $%: G& ‘a wife and a husband ’ 
οὐχ “ἃ liar’ ce-ee 7h > 43 + ‘wisdom’ dd #9 2s wanting from here to v. 8 e-e $ ‘among old men’ 
! SoS: G& ‘old men’ (cp. 3» veteranis) £% ‘honour’ h-h 777. ‘nine conceptions’ (evvea ὑπονοηματαὴ, 70 
which xc-® + the correction ανυπονοητα (= 85 3}) hh $ ‘posterity’ 

32. With this and the following verses cp. 4 Macc. i. 15-19. 
afar off. i.e. to those of the Dispersion. 


33. --. doctrine as prophecy. As Smend points out, these words show that there was no rigid idea as yet 
concerning a fixed canon of Scripture. 


34. This verse occurs in almost identical form again as xxxiii. 17 (= @& xxx. 26). 
(ὁ) XXV. 1-2 
1. concord of brethren. Cp. Ps. cxxxiii. 1. 
a husband and wife. Cp. xl. 23 ὁ. 
suited to each other. ἑαυτοῖς συνπεριφερόμενοι ; cp. Sept. of Prov. v. 19 συνπεριφερόμενος πολλοστὸς ἔσῃ. 
2. Three types. τρία εἴδη ; cp. xxiii. 16 δύο εἴδη (lit. ‘ species’). 
at their life. i.e. that they are alive. The two last clauses of the verse are quoted in Pesahzm 113 (T. B.). 
lacking understanding. The Talmud quotation has instead of this: ‘And a president who behaves himself 
proudly towards the congregation’ (Cowley and Neubauer, p. xxiv); the same words occur also in Hagigah 56 | 
(maya dy myannn Ὁ) ΒΕ). 
(e) XXV. 3-6. 
3. (If) in thy youth... Quoted in Adoch de R. Nathan, c. 24, thus: ‘If in thy youth thou hast had no delight in 
them, how wilt thou attain to them in thine old age?’ (Cowley and Neubauer, p. xxiv); cp. vi. 18. 
6. The crown. Cp. 1.18. 
(4) XXV. 7-11. 
7. Who liveth... Cp. Ps. xviii. 37, 38, liv. 7, cxii. 8. 
400 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
} 
| 


SIRACH 25, 8-18 


8 iBlessed is the husband of an understanding wife, 
That doth not plough with ox and ass". 
iBlessed is he that hath not slipped with his tongue), 
And he that hath not served one inferior (to himself) ἡ 
9 ἘΞ Blessed is the man* that hath found a true friend**, 
And that discourseth unto 'ears that hear!. 
| ro How great is he that findeth wisdom, 
| But he is not above him that feareth the Lord. 
αι The fear of the Lord surpasseth all things : 
"He that holdeth it, to whom shall he be likened! ? 


(e) XXV. 13-15. Some of the worst forms of evil (= 2+1 distichs). 


| 13 Any wound, only not a heart-wound ! 

Any wickedness, only not the wickedness of a woman! 

G) 14 +Any calamity, only not the calamity (brought about) by those who hate ! 
| Any vengeance, only not the vengeance of enemies! 

| 15 There is no poison ™above the poison™ of a serpent, 

And there is no wrath above the wrath of a woman™™". 


(f) XXV. 16-26. The evil of a wicked woman (= 1+2+1+1+4+2+4+2+4+1+42 distichs). 


{ 16 I would rather dwell with a lion and a dragon, 
| Than "keep house with" a wicked woman. 
Ef} 17 The wickedness of a woman ™ maketh black" her look®, 
And darkeneth her countenance like that of a bear°’. 
18 In the midst of his friends her husband sitteth, 
And involuntarily” he sigheth bitterly4. 


1118 ἧς much mutilated in this verse, and the order of the clauses ts wrong, viz. c dab imi & > 1:1 Most of 
this clause ts mutilated in B ἡ} Ge ‘that is unworthy of him’ *® vs wanting from here to v. 13 k-k So 
πῶ: GL> kk So ©: S‘afriend’: & ‘prudence’ 1-1 3 & ‘the ear of one that heareth’ N-ll $ « Hold 
it fast, my son, and let it not go; there is nothing to be likened unto it’: 70 248 & (wth slight variations) 
+ ‘The beginning of the fear of the Lord is to love Him, and the beginning of faith is to cleave unto Him’ 
(=v. 12) + ® ws wanting from here tov. t7 m-m & ‘head’, mzsunderslanding of UX, which means ‘poison’ 
as well as ‘head’ mm So 3: Ψ' (ἃ ‘enemy’ on So By*: ANe-® ‘dwell with’ (= 3) nn-nn § ‘maketh 
pale’ (cp. Jer. xxx. 6) 9 ® (/ater hand) + ‘(of her) husband’ (= 5) 00. So NA all the cursives: B ‘like 
sackcloth’: NA cursives =: 3 ‘like the colour of a sack’: & combines both renderings: ‘like a bear and like 
sackcloth’ P Reading WO DYDD for WYO: (ἃ ἀκουσας 7s a corruption of ἀκουσιως (248 8) aN Sg Ἣν 


a modicum: 248 + ‘through her’ 
i” i ; Ξ 
“ 8. Blessed is the husband... (ἃ ‘Blessed is the man that dwelleth with...’; for ὁ συνοικῶν HS have bya 
ὺ i (‘husband’); 38 is mutilated. ; ᾿ ; 
; That doth not plough... This clause is undoubtedly genuine and occurs both in ® and S$ (out of place in 
4 the former); it has dropped out of & by mistake; without it there are only nine, instead of ten (see v. 7) types of 


men enumerated. Cp. Deut. xxii. 10; 2 Cor. vi. 14; the words are of course metaphorical. 
that hath not slipped... Cp. xiv. 1; Jas. ill. 2. 

g. atrue friend. The second clause shows that & (‘ prudence’) is wrong here. 

το: that feareth... Cp. i. 16. re 

11. He that holdeth... Cp. vi. 27. For the gloss added after this verse (= τ΄. 12) see critical note. 

(e) XXV. 13-15. ; Les ᾿ 

13. This verse is quoted in Shadd. 11 a (Τ. Β.); see Cowley and Neubauer, p. xxiv ; cp. Schechter, FOR, iii. 697 f. 

14. Any calamity... Those that hate obviously desire misfortune to befall the object of their hatred, and what 
vengeance is there but the vengeance of an enemy? Smend rightly points out that (D)NIY (= μισούντων) and (O°) 
(= ἐχθρῶν) were mistakes for 782 Y (vil. 26) and ΠΣ (xxxvii. 11). The passage refers to the evils of polygamy, which, 
according to xxvi. 6, xxxvii. 11, was still in vogue in Ben-Sira’s day. 

15. poison. For WN (see critical note) cp. Deut. xxxii. 33; Job xx. 16: in the former passage the Sept. renders the 
word by θυμός (‘wrath’); see next clause. S makes the same mistake. 

(f) XXV. 16-26. 

16. I would rather... Cp. Prov. xxi. 19, xxv. 24; εὐδοκήσω. i 

17. maketh black. (& ‘altereth’; the verb occurs elsewhere only in Job xxx. 30 in the O.T.; for the noun see 
Lam. ἵν. ὃ ; Eccles. xi. ro, and for the adjective Lev. xiii. 31, 37; Cant. i.5, v.11; Zech. vi. 2,6. j 

like that of a bear. In the Midrash Bereshith Rabba to xxxix. 7 God is made to speak of Potiphar’s wife as 

a ‘she-bear’. For the variant readings here see the discussion in the Introd. § 3 (2). 
18. In the midst... @& ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀναπεσεῖται ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς. 

involuntarily. ὅ86ε critical note. With the expression DYD X73 (Neo-Hebr.)cp.NDYb xba in Gittin 14.a(Schechter). 


401 


SIRACH 25. 19-26 


®° 19 (There is but) little malice like the malice of a woman, 
May the lot of the wicked fall upon her ! 
20 *As™ a sandy ascent to the feet of the aged, 
So is a woman of tongue to a quiet man”. 
21 Fall ποῖ" because of the beauty of woman, 
ss And tbe not ensnaredt for the sake of what she possesseth* ; 
22 For “hard slavery“ and a disgrace it is, 
(If) a wife support her husband. 
& 23"A humbled heart and a sad countenance, 
uu And a heart- wound, is an evil wife". 
ΕΝ Hands that hang down, and palsied knees, 
(Thus shal] it be with) a wife that maketh not happy her husband. 
ΚΣ ΞΕ ἘΣ a 
24 From a wersen did sin originate, 
And because of her ‘we all must die’. 
@ 25 %YGive not water an outlet, 
Nor to a wicked woman power~. 
26 If she go not **as thou wouldst have her**, 
Cut her off from thy flesh*’’. 


rr So according to Smend’s emendation (based on (τ) of the text, which ts mutilated τ Qk (exc. 70 248) >: 
ΞΡ -Ξ- ἢ 8% ‘Be not enticed’ ss-s8 So also S: for (ἃ see note below t-t Reading with Smend 


szbn bx: 30 ‘look not upon’ ttt Reading nwp may (= 8) for... Myr which & read as ΠΣ (‘wrath’): 
aAwpP zs wanting in the MS. of B, where a small hiatus occurs u-u 35 > uu % zserfs ‘darkness ” 
v-v Zit. ‘we die altogether’ (ἼΠῸ) w-vv Wanting in ® xs A and cursives mappnovay: B εξουσιαν : 248 
παρρησιαν εξοδου (cp. & veniam prodeundi): $ 4+ ‘For as the bursting forth of water goes on and increases, so 
does an evil woman continue to sin (more and more)’ xx-xx [7/, ‘according to thy hand’: & + ‘she will 
shame thee in the presence of thine enemies’ y 248 + ‘Give, and send her away’: S + ‘Give to her, and 
send her from thine house’: Ὁ + Ne semper te abutatur 


19. (There is but) little... (ἃ renders freely : ‘All malice is but little to the malice of a woman’; S renders 
according to the sense of xlii. 14. 
May the lot... i.e. may it be the lot of the wicked, not of the righteous, to have such. 
20. asandy ascent... i.e. one that is wearisome, and where it is difficult to get a foothold. 
a woman of tongue. i.e. one that is abusive. The point of the comparison is that just as it is impossible for 
an aged man to ascend a slope where he can get no firm foothold, so it is impossible for a quiet man to get on with a 
woman who has an abusive tongue. 
21. Fall not. For the expression by bp of falling into a snare cp. Isa. xxiv. 18 ; Amos iii. 5 ; cp. also Prov. xxii. 14. 
G incorrectly, ‘throw not thyself upon.’ 
And be not ensnared... @® ‘And desire not a woman’: something has clearly dropped out ; ἐν κάλλει is added 
by δὲ A and a number of cursives 3. Syro-Hex ; 70 248 add εἰς τρυφήν. 
22. For hard slavery... See critical note; U ‘There is anger, and impudence, and great reproach ’. 
23. The omission of the two first clauses of this verse (found in (τ S$) by # suggests that they are not original; the 
sense of them is contained in the two last clauses. 
A humbled heart... S ‘And the heart that is with her she covereth over’, meaning probably that she suppresses 
all womanly feelings. 
Hands that hang down. O°) }})57, lit. ‘hanging down of hands’, signifying helpless terror; the same expression 
occurs in Jer. xlvii. 3. ; 


palsied knees. Lit. ‘a tottering of knees’; the word idea only occurs elsewhere in the O. T. in Prov. xvi. 18, 


where it means ‘a calamity’. Cp. Ps. εἶχ. 24: DVS 125 "52 (‘my knees totter from fasting’). 

(Thus shall it be with). These words are unexpressed, but implied; fearfulness and calamity are to be the lot 
of the woman who does not make her husband happy. 

24. From a woman... Cp. Gen. iii.6; 2 Cor. xi. 3; 1 Tim. ii. 14, and see Zhe Life of Adam and Eve, §§ 15-19. 

did sin originate. (ἃ ‘(was) the beginning of sin’. 

And because of her... Cp. the Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan) to Gen. iii. 6, where it is said at the moment of Eve’s 
succumbing to temptation Sammael, the Angel of Death (identified with Satan), appeared to her. In Zhe Life of Adam 
and Eve, § 3, occurs the following: ‘And Eve said to Adam, “ My lord, if thou wilt, kill me; perchance the Lord God 
will then lead thee back into Paradise ; for it was only through my fault that the anger of the Lord God was kindled 
against thee. The later Jewish theology, however, generally points to Adam as the real cause for the entering of sin 
and death into the world (cp. 1 Cor. xv. 22), and that not so much on account of the ‘Fall *,as that he refused to show 
repentance for what he had done; see, e.g., the Midrash Bemidbar Radia, chap. xiii: ‘When Adam transgressed the 
command of the Holy One, and ate of the tree, the Holy One demanded of him penitence, thereby revealing to him the 
means of freedom [i.e. from the result of his sin], but Adam would not show penitence.’ : 


25. Nor to Fa aie woman... See critical note. 
power. ἐξουσίαν, i.e. liberty to do what she likes; cp. 1 Cor. xiv. 34, 35. 
26. Cut her off from... i.e. Give her a bill of divorcement (the later Gét), cp. Deut. xxiv. 1 ff. ; Matt. v. 31; 


hitherto they had been ‘one flesh’, cp. Gen. ii. 24; Eph. v. 31. 
402 


ΘΑ ΘΗ 26 1 τὸ 


(g) XXVI. 1-4. The happiness of the man who has a good wife (= 2 - 2 distichs). 


ig 1 A good wife,—blessed is her husband, 


The number of his days is doubled. 


2 A worthy wife cherisheth her husband, 


2 And he fulfilleth the years of his life? in peace?’*. 


4.63 3 A good wife °(is) a good gift®: 


“πω 4ρ»...».. 40.» 


2 a eR 


She shall be given to him that feareth God, °°for his portion®°. 
4Whether rich or poor, his heart is cheerful, 
And his face is merry at all times. 


(kh) XXVI. 5-12. The fearfulness of having a wicked wife (= 3 - 3 Ὁ 2 -Ὁ 2 distichs). 


5 Of three things is my heart afraid, 


And concerning a fourth I am in great fear®: 
Slander in the city, and a concourse of the rabble, 
f And a false accusation,—worse than death are they all. 


6 Grief of heart and sorrow is a wife jealous of (another) wife’, 


The scourge of the tongue £all together # [are they]. 


7 Like» ia hard yoke? 155 a wicked woman : 


He that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion. 


8 Great wrath (doth) a drunken woman (cause) ** ; 


She doth not cover her own shame. 


9 The whoredom of a woman is in the lifting up of her eyes, 


And she will be known by her eyelids. 


| 10 Upon a 'headstrong daughter! keep strict watch, 


Lest, finding liberty, she use it for herself™. 


CON) Be b So 248 53: ἃ » bb 3 ‘joy’ Cac τὸ δ ce-ee So Gk: Feb. Sanh. ‘into his bosom’ 
ἃ ® ὃς wanting from here to XXVii. 5 ὃ προσωπῳ εφοβηθην, 50 ANC 55 106 155 248 253 (= SH): Bap. 
εδεηθην (‘1 made supplication’) : δ  εδοθην ΕΓ» τε So $: G& ‘communicating to all’ h SoD: 
Gas> i, So S$; G& ‘a yoke of oxen shaken to and fro’ kH& ‘so also is’ kk 248 S$ + ‘who strays 
about’ 113 > ‘daughter’; ‘a wanton wife’ m-m 7% Ne inventa occasione utatur se 


(g) XXVI. 1-4. 
I. This verse is quoted twice in the Babylonian Talmud, Vedamorth 636, Sanhedrin 1006; the only difference 
being that both these tractates read ‘beautiful’ for ‘good’. With this and the next verse cp. Prov. xii. 4 @, xxxi. 10-12. 
2. worthy. 2M; for this sense cp. Gen. xlvii. 6; Exod. xviii. 21,25; Ruth iii. 11, and the references above to Prov. 
cherisheth. Lit. ‘maketh fat’, cp. v.13; @ ‘maketh glad’. ᾿ 
fulfilleth .... Cp. Is. Ixv. 20: YON δ ΡΟΣ τ 5 TWN ΠΡ}... ΠΥ ΝΣ, 
3. a good gift. @& ‘a good portion’; cp. Prov. xviii. 22. 0 a 
for his portion. Smend suggests that the rendering found in the Bab. Talmud Pp‘ (‘into the bosom of’) is 


a mistake for 22 (‘for [his] portion’), and refers to Num. xxvi. 53 for the use of 4. 
4. Whether rich or poor... Lit. ‘Of a rich man and of a poor man the heart is cheerful’ (ἀγαθὴ), 1. 6. if he has 
a good wife. 
(A) XXVI. 5-12. 
5. lam in great fear. See critical note. 
Slander in the city... Cp. Acts xix. 23 ff., xxiv. 12. 
6. a wife jealous... The result of polygamy. 

all together [are they]. i.e. All the four things enumerated, slander, the concourse of the rabble, a false accusation, 

and a wife’s jealousy, are results of the scourge of an evil tongue, : 

7. ahard yoke. This rendering of $ simplifies matters; but the rendering of G, βοοζύγιον σαλευόμενον, suggests 
a misunderstanding of the original, which possibly had 2 ND1D3 (‘like the bars of a yoke’), cp. Lev. xxvi.13; Nahum 
i.13; M010 (‘a pole’, or ‘bar’) was understood as though part of the verb DY (‘to shake’). In this case the point 
of the comparison would be that just as the bars of the yoke were constantly rubbing and chafing the neck of the 
Ox, so a wicked woman was, by her behaviour, a constant source of irritation to her husband. 

He that taketh hold... The thought seems to be that if a man attempts to assert his authority over a woman 
of this kind he will suffer grievously for doing so ; deadly retaliation will be the result, i.e. some bitter slander or false 
accusation (see v. 5 a, and cp. Ezek. ii. 6). The simile of the scorpion is the more apt inasmuch as its sting was 
believed to be deadly (cp. Deut. vill. 15). 

8. She doth not... i.e. Drunkenness leads her to adultery. ‘ 

9. ... by her eyelids. Cp. Prov. vi. 25; see also 2 Kings ix. 30; Jer. iv. 30; Ezek. xxiii. go; for the Oriental 
customs and methods of painting the eyelids and eyebrows, &c., see ZD1/G, 1851, pp. 236 ff. 
το. Upon a headstrong... This clause occurs also in xlil. 11 a. 

Lest, finding... Cp. xxii. 16, 17. 


403 


SIRACH 26. 11-24 


& 11 Look well after a shameless eye, 
= And marvel not if it trespass against thee”. 
12 As a thirsty traveller that openeth his mouth, 
And drinketh of any water that is near, 
So she sitteth down at every post, 
And openeth her quiver to every arrow. 


(ἡ XXVI. 13-18. The joy of the man who has a good wife (= 3+3 distichs). 


13 °The grace of a wife delighteth her husband, 

And her understanding fatteneth his bones?. 
14 A silent woman (is) a gift from the Lord, 

And "a well-instructed soul? “is above worth". 
15 Grace upon grace is a shamefast" woman, 

And there is no price worthy of *a continent soul®. 
16 As‘ the sun arising in the highest places of the Lord, 

Sot is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of his“ [her husband’s] house. 
17 As the lamp shining on the holy candlestick, 

So is the beauty "of a face" Yon a stately figure’. 
18 As the golden pillars upon the silver base, 

So are beautiful feet “upon firm heels™. 


(7) XXVI. 19-27. A later appendix to the preceding (= 3+4+1+1+1 distichs). 


70248 19 My son, *keep thyself healthy in the flower of thine age*, 
And give not thy strength unto strangers. 
20 Having found a portion of good soil out of all the land, 
Sow it with thine own seed, trusting in thine own good birth. 
21 Thus will thine offspring flourish, 
And, having confidence in their noble descent, will become great. 
22 A hired woman is as spittle**, 
But a married woman is reckoned as a tower of death ¥to them that use her’. 
23 A godless woman shall be given to the man who regardeth not the Law as his portion ; 
But a devout (woman) is given to him that fearethY’ the Lord. 
24 A shameless woman despiseth shamefastness ; 
But a shamefast daughter will show modesty even before her husband. 


nn $ ‘And tarry not lest she deceive thee’ -05> p-P & it. a lacking of throat’, z.e. ‘ self-control in 
speech’ a-a (77, ‘there is no exchange for’ Τ 248 + ‘and faithful’ s-s $ 7}. ‘a lacking of mouth’ 
tSoSt: & > tt So B*: B® δὶ A avrns ἀπὸ 3 ‘of a good woman’ v-v $ ‘in keeping her house’ 
wow Reading em πτέρναις εὐσταθεσι (cp. 8 248): BA ent orepvos εὐσταθους : & super plantas stabiles mulieris: 3 ‘in 
the ordering of her house’ x-x $ ‘take heed to thyself in the time of thy youth’ xx $ ‘naught’ 
y-y 3 ‘to them that cleave unto her’ YY 70 ‘loveth’ 


11. Look well... The reference is still to ‘a headstrong daughter’; in the second clause $ (see critical note) is 
perhaps to be preferred ; there must be no hesitation in dealing with such a daughter. 

(Z@) XXVI. 13-18. 

13. ...fatteneth his bones. 1.6. is the means of giving him physical health and strength ; cp. Prov. xv. 30. 

14. A silent woman. Cp. xxxvi. 23 (28 in &). 

15. price. Cp.vi.15. 


16. the highest places... Cp. xliii.9. 
17. the holy candlestick. Cp. 1 Macc. i. 21, iv. 49, 50. 
18. As the golden pillars... i.e. the pillars of the Temple which were covered with gold; cp. 1 Macc. 1. 22, 23. 


upon firm heels. See critical note. 
(7) XXVI. 19-27. These verses occur only in 70, 248 among the Greek MSS. ; they are, however, preserved in the 
Syriac and Arabic versions, and some of the clauses are quoted by Clement of Alexandria and in the ‘Commonplace 
Books’ of the monks Antonius and Maximus (see Hart, pp. 321-370). In the main they are derived from the secondary 
recension of the Hebrew (see Introduction, § 3(c)); this is proved by the fact that in $ there are various errors of trans- 
lation which can only be explained on the basis of a Hebrew original (see Ryssel 77 Zoc.). 
19. This verse is quoted in Antonius and Maximus (Hart, p. 367). 
give not thy strength... Cp. Prov. v. 9, 10, xxxi. 3. 


20. a portion of good soil. i.e. a good wife. 
21. For the general sense of the verse cp. Prov. v. 15-19. 
22 


. This verse is quoted by Clement of Alexandria (Hart, p. 330). 

as spittle. ἴση σιάλῳ ; cp. Sept. of Isa. x]. 15 ὡς σίελος = P12 (Smend). 
-..asa tower of death. See 2 Macc. xiii. 5 ff. (Nestle, quoted by Ryssel). 
24. This verse is quoted by Antonius and Maximus (Hart, p. 367). 


404 


SIRACH 26. 25—27. 4 


2425 7A headstrong woman? will be regarded as a dog ; 
But she that hath shame feareth the Lord. 
426 The woman that honoureth her own husband appeareth® wise unto all, 
But she that dishonoureth (her husband) “is known to** all as one that is godless in (her) pride. 
Happy is the husband of a good wife, 
For the number of his years is doubled”. 
27 A loud-voiced and tongueful woman is reckoned as *a trumpet”? that putteth enemies to flight ; 
¢ And the soul of every suchlike man will pass his life in the turmoils of war®. 


(k) XXVI.28. Three things that cause sorrow (= 3 distichs). 


(τ [28 For two things my heart is grieved, 

And for a third cometh wrath upon me: 

A ©man of war suffering on account of poverty, 
Men of understanding who suffer contempt, 

(And) one that turneth from righteousness to sin ;— 
May the Lord prepare “him for the sword®. 


(ἢ XXVI. 29—XXVII. 4. The temptations of trade (= 3+1 distichs). 


>| 29 °Hardly* shall the merchant keep himself from wrongdoing®, 
And a huckster will not be acquitted of sin. 
t Many have sinned for the sake of gain*$ ; 
And he that seeketh to multiply (gain)* turneth away his eye. 
2iA nail sticketh fast between ‘the joinings of* stones’, 
™And "sin will thrust itself int between buyer and seller. 
3°My son’, if Pthou hold not? diligently to the fear of the Lord, 
4Thy* house will soon be overthrown4. 


(a) XXVII. 4-7. The appraising of a man’s value (= 3+1 distichs). 


4°When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remaineth ; 
So (it is with) the filth of man in his reasoning’. 


zz 5. “Α woman that hath no shame’ ἃ 55. ‘is reckoned’ aa-aa 709 ‘is accounted by’ Ὁ + ‘The 

strife of a woman is even in her gentleness, and as a burning fever so shall she appear’ bb-bb 248 > 

cto > ee-ce $ ‘man of wealth’ d-d So 248 253 (= 2): G& ‘the sword for him’: & 7s a paraphrase 

eX mserts the clause: Duae species difficiles et periculosae mihi apparuerunt ΓΦ ‘with great difficulty’ 

£% 4+ ‘But in many things he stumbleth’ £& Reading, with x*, διαφόρου (BA N° abiadopov). Cp. vii. 18 

h $ ‘sins’ id mnserts ‘AS’ KkS> 1S ‘one stone and another’ m 30. raserts ‘So’ un Reading 
¥ συνθλιβησεται for συντριβησεται (L angustiabitur) : §S ‘sins are fixed’ 0-0 So ὁ rp So ©; S ‘if thou 
' transgress but a little’ 4-4 $ ‘For long time wilt thou be in want’ t So L 8-3 254 “ὁ > 


25. asadog. Used typically of some one without shame (cp. Deut. xxiii. 18). 

26. Happy is the husband... These two clauses are almost identical with v. 1. 

27. This verse is quoted by Antonius and Maximus (Hart, p. 368). 

(2) XXVI. 28. 

28. Aman of war. Perhaps Smend is right in preferring here the rendering of 5, ‘a man of wealth’; in the two 
other types of men referred to in this verse contrasts are presented—a wise man suffering contempt, « righteous man 
committing sin—so that logically one would expect a similar contrast in this case as well—a rich man suffering poverty ; 


the Hebrew may have had Sn ws (‘a man of wealth,’ lit. ‘strength’), which was misunderstood by & ; cp. Ruth 11. 1. 
one that turneth from... Cp. Ezek. xvili. 24; Matt. xi. 45,35 2 Pet. ii: 2. 

XXVI. 29-XXVII. 3. ‘ 

29. Hardly shall the merchant... Cf. Pirge Aboth ii. 6: ‘... Nor is every one that hath much traffic wise.’ In 
Erubin 55 6, where Deut. xxx. 13 is commented upon, it is said that the Torah ‘is not found either among hucksters or 
among merchants’, the reason being that their constant travelling from place to place prevents study. Schechter 
(Studies in Judaism, Second Series, p. 72) refers to O¢ddushin 82 a, where it is said that the hawker and the shopkeeper 
are engaged in trades of bad odour, and the latter are said to practise ‘the handicraft of robbery’. 

XXVII. 1. turneth away his eye. i.e. will acquiesce in what is wrong; cp. Prov. xxviii. 27. 

2. nail. Lit. ‘tent-peg’, cp. xiv, 24. 

3. Myson... (ἃ ‘Unless (a man) hold on diligently . .. his house will soon ...’; cf. Prov. xiv. 11. 

XXVII. 4—XXIX. 28. This division continues the general theme of the preceding. It gives further illustrations 
of applied wisdom. Such topics as malice, anger, revenge, strife, calumny, and their baneful effects are dealt with ; 
and lastly mercy in its several aspects. The whole falls into twelve subsections. 

(a) XXVII. 4-7. ᾿ 

4. a sieve. i.e. the ‘ Kirbal-el-Kamachi’, still used in Palestine. The corn which has been threshed for the first time 
is placed in it and sifted; the refuse, i.e. the dung of the oxen which has been trodden into the straw, remains behind, 


405 


SIRACH 27. 5-15 a 


®* 5'The furnace proveth" the potter's vessels, 
v And the trying’ of a man (is done) by examining him. 
6 Upon the cultivation of the tree dependeth the fruit ; 
So (dependeth) man’s’ thought upon his nature’. 
& 7Praise no man *before taking stock (of him)*, 
For this (is) the (way to make) trial of men. 


(6) XXVIL. 8-10. Reward and retribution (= 3 distichs). 


8 If thou follow after righteousness’, thou wilt attain’, 
16a Qamma And put it on as a robe of glory. 
ὦ 9 Every bird* dwelleth? with its kind, 
& And truth returneth® to them who practise her. | 
το The lion lieth in wait for prey ; 
So do sins# for those who *work iniquity “. 


(c) XXVIII. 11-15. Concerning varieties of speech (= 2+ 3 distichs). 


11 The discourse of the wise‘ man continueth’ "in wisdom®, 
But the fool changeth as the moon. 

r2 In the midst of fools ‘watch closely the time’, 
But *among the wise abide continually*. 

13 The discourse of fools! is an annoyance®, 
And their laughter is "sinful wantonness”. 

14 °The oath of the godless® maketh the hair stand upright ; 
Their strife maketh one stop his ears. 

15 The strife of the proud is shedding of blood, 
And their reviling is grievous? hearing. 


tt oy, 5, 6 come after vi. 22 in BA: the text isin part corrupt ἃ Reading ἍΠΕΡ for syid(Smend) ττν Reading 
npn for 1103) (Simend) vv Reading DIN W-W Wanting in 3: ® ts wanting from here to Xxxii x-x Reading 
προ διαλογισμου (cp. τ. 5 ὁ) for προ λογισμου y % ‘truth’ 2.248 + αὐτο (= SX) a S$ ‘the birds of the 
heaven’ Ὁ Ge καταλύσει (al. καταλύει): 3. conveniunt ὁ 95. ‘ walketh’ 4 95. ‘unrighteousness ’ eed 
“commit sins’ ΤῸ A(= 5): G ‘godly’: &% sanctus in sapientia £SoL: & > h-h So 248 3: 
% ‘as the sun’ 14 $ ‘bide thy time’: 30 serva verbum tempori k-k $ ‘among the wise speak continually ’ 
1g sauce : ; πὶ %¥@ ‘hateful’ n-n $ ‘impertinence’ 0-0 So % (reading NnINND for SNM ὁ gift’) 
PNC-2 evi 


while the grain passes through the sieve (cp. Zeitsch. du deutschen Palastina Vereins, xci.2). The point of the com- 
parison is that, in the case of the type of man under consideration, the bad qualities remain in him, Just as the refuse 
remains behind in the sieve ; while the good that is in him passes away. 
5. With this verse cp. Zest. Twelve Patr., Naph. ii. 4: ‘As the potter knoweth the use of each vessel, what it is meet for, 
so also doth the Lord know the body, how far it will persist in goodness, and when it beginneth in evil.’ 
by examining him. G ‘in his reasoning’. 7 
6. For this verse (τ reads: ‘The fruit of the tree declareth the husbandry thereof; so is the utterance of the thought 
of the heart of a man’; i.e. just as the yield of a tree depends upon the way in which it has been tended, so the 
utterances of a man depend upon the state of his heart, i.e. the way in which he has tended himself, in a spiritual sense. 
7. before taking stock (of him). Lit. ‘before his discourse’, i.e. before discoursing with him. 
(6) XXVII. 8-10. 
8. If thou follow after righteousness. Cp. Zeph. ii. 3. 
a tobe of glory. ποδήρη (= YD) δύξης ; cp. Isa. li. 10; Job xxix. 14 (APT Sey) ; cp. the high-priestly robe 
mentioned in xlv. ὃ ; Wisd. xviii. 24. In the Zest. Twelve Patr., Levi viii. 2, it is said: ‘Arise, put on the robe of the 
priesthood, and the crown of righteousness, and the breastplate of understanding, and the garment of truth... «ἢ 


9. Every bird... Cp. xiii. 15; G& ‘ Birds will resort unto their like’. 
1o. Thelion... Cp. xxi. 2. 

(¢) XXVII. 11-15. 

11. ...continueth in wisdom. Cp. v. το. 


12. watch closely the time. συντήρησον καιρόν ; cp. iv. 20, where the same phrase occurs. The meaning of the 
verse is that one must grudge the time wasted with fools, whereas among the wise one may well spend all one’s time. 
13. annoyance. προσόχθισμα is the Sept. rendering of YY (‘abomination’) in 2 Kings xxiii. 13, 24; Ezek.v. 11, vii. 20. 
-.. Sinful wantonness. Cp. Prov. x. 23, xiv. 9. 
14. The oath of... Cp. xxiii. 11. 
maketh the hair... Cp. Job iv. 15. 
_ maketh one stop... Lit. (15) a stopping’ (évppayyds), N* στεναγμός (‘groaning’). The strife of the godless man 
of oaths occasions language such as makes a man shut his ears. 
15. is shedding of blood. i.e. their strife is as bad as shedding of blood in its results. 
406 


SURACH 27.) 16-25 


(ὦ) XXVII. 16-21. The evil consequences of betraying secrets (= 2+3+1 distichs).” 


16 He who revealeth secrets“ loseth' credit, 
And he findeth no friend to his mind". 
17 Prove® a friend, and tkeep faith with him’, 
But if thou reveal his secrets, follow not after him ; 
18 For as a man that hath destroyed his inheritance’, 
So hast thou destroyed the friendship of thy” neighbour. 
[τὸ And as a bird which thou hast loosed out of thy hand, 
So hast thou let thy* neighbour go, and thou wilt not catch him again. 
20 Pursue him not, **for he is gone far away**, 
And hath escaped’ like a gazelle out of a snare’. 
21 For a wound may be bound up, and for slander? there is reconciliation, ( 
But he that revealeth secrets ”*hath no hope”. 


(e) XXVIIL. 22-24. The hatefulness of insincerity (= 3+ τ distichs). 


22 *He that winketh with his eye planneth evil things, 

And he that knoweth him keepeth far from him. 
Ἢ 23 Before thy face he speaketh sweetly, 

And will admire thy words ; 

But afterward he will alter his speech, 

And with thy words will make a stumbling-block. 
24 Many things I hate, but nothing like him, 

And the Lord will hate him (too), ?and curse him”. 


(f) XXVIII. 25-29. Nemesis (= 342 distichs). 


[25 He that casteth a stone >on high” °casteth it on his own head®, 
4And a deceitful blow apportions wounds to the deceiver“. 


αΞ ‘of a friend’ ν᾿ So: G&S ‘destroyeth’ rr L7t. ‘soul’ (= 3) 8. So S (GY ‘ love’) {τ S ‘put 
thy trust in him’ Vv So $3: G ‘enemy’:  < friend’ W So 2483: & >: WH Syro-Hex ‘his’ x So 3» 
Syro-Hex: & 3 > 2278 £3 SS y # + quoniam vulnerata est anima eius yy $3 +‘and like a sparrow 
out of the snare, cf. Prov. vi. 5 % % ‘a quarrel’ 22-22 248 ‘hath destroyed faith’ aim place of 
vv. 22, 23 has: ‘He who hath a proud eye it shall be his ruin’ b-b §0 3: & > bb-bb 3 > ce S ‘it 
will return upon him’: % ‘it will fall upon his head’ 4- & ‘And a deceitful blow will open wounds’: 3 ‘He 
will be delivered over to destruction’ 


(4) XXVII. 16-21. 
16. He who revealeth secrets... Cp. xxii. 22; Prov. xx. 19, xxv. 9. 
17. keep faith with him. Cp. xxix. 3. 
follow not after him. It is useless to do so because his friendship is lost. 
18. inheritance. Smend’s suggestion (following Béttcher) that κλῆρον should be read instead of ἐχθρόν, which is also 
the reading of S, is worth adopting, though & makes good sense as it stands. 
19. Friendship which has been forfeited by the betrayal of secrets is lost irretrievably. 
21. hath no hope. i.e. of reconciliation, cp. xxii. 22. 
(6) XXVII. 22-24. 
22. He that winketh with his eye. διανεύων ὀφθαλμῷ ; cp. Sept. of Prov. vi. 13 ἐννεύει ὀφθαλμῷ, x. 10 6 ἐννεύων 
ὀφθαλμοῖς (PY YAP). A sign of insincerity. 
planneth. τεκταίνει ; cp. xi. 33, xii. 23; Prov. iii. 29, vi. 14 (Y7 WN). 
And he that knoweth him... This rendering agrees better with the context, and is preferable to &: ‘And no 
man will remove him from it,’ i.e. it is impossible to dissuade him from planning evil things. 
keepeth far from him. Lit. ‘ will depart from him’. 
23. he speaketh sweetly. Lit. ‘ he will sweeten his (B ‘ thy’) mouth’; cp. xii. 16@; Prov. xvi. 219 
he will alter his speech. Lit. ‘he will twist his mouth’, διαστρέψει τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ; cp. Proy, xii, 1 DYNDY wpy. 
And with thy words... Perhaps Wp jn’ 77373), cp. xi. 31; i.e. he will conspire against thee by wresting 
thy words and putting a wrong meaning upon them, and thus cause thee to give offence to others. ; 
24. but nothing like him. Seecritical note. (ἃ lit. ‘and I likened (them) not unto him’,i.e. he hated many things, 
but his hatred for them was not to be compared with his hatred for the insincere man who wrested his words. 
will hate him. Cp. Prov. vi. 16, viii. 13. The addition ‘and curse him’ (from 3) seems to be demanded, as 
otherwise the clause would be rather too short. 
(7) XXVII. 25-29. 
25. casteth it on his... 1.6. he will wound himself. 
a deceitful blow... So #. The meaning of & is obscure, but % gives good sense. 


407 


, SURACH 2ue (26-20. ἢ 


G 26 He that diggeth a pit °shall fall into it® ; ; 

And he that setteth a snare shall be taken therein. 

27 He that doeth evil things, they shall roll upon him, 
And he will not know whence “they came® to him. 

28 "Mockery and reproach (are the lot) of the proud, _ 
And vengeance, like a lion, lieth in wait for them'>. 

29 ¥ They that rejoice at the fall of the godly shall be taken in a snare, 
And anguish shall consume them ere they die*. 


(g) XXVIL. 30—XXVIII. 7. Concerning forgiveness ; vengeance belongs to God alone 
(= 3.3. 2 distichs). 


30 Wrath! and anger, these also are abominations, 
m™ And a sinful man clingeth to them™. 
28 «He that taketh vengeance? shall find vengeance from the Lord, 
°° And his sins ἢ (God) will surely keep? (in memory) °°. 

2 PP Forgive thy neighbour the injury (done to thee)??, 
4 And then, when thou prayest, thy sins will be forgiven’. 

3 Man cherisheth anger against another ; 
And doth he seek healing from God®? 

4*On a man like himself he hath no mercy ; 
And doth he make supplication for his own sins*? 

5 He, being flesh", Ynourisheth wrath’ ; 
Who will Ymake atonement™ for his sins ? 

6 Remember thy *last end*, and cease from enmity’ ; 
(Remember) “corruption and death’, and “abide in the commandments?. 

7 Remember the commandments, and be not wroth with thy neighbour ; 
And (remember) the covenant of the Most High, and ? overlook ignorance. 


e-e & ‘shall fill it with his own body ’ ἘΦ ‘shall fall’ s-¢ ‘evil hath come’ hhg> 
iSo V 248: & ‘him’ k-k $ ‘Snares and nets are for those who make (12, know) them; these shall cling 
to them till the day of their death’: £ > 13 ‘envy’ m-m $ “ And a deceitful man destroyeth his own 
way’ un inserts the title: De remissione peccatorum 0-0 S$ ‘And’ 00-00 % ‘ And all his sins are 
reserved for him’ p-P Reading with 248 διατηρων διατηρησει (= L): (ἃ διαστηριων διαστηρισει pp-pp ὁ ‘ Put 
away what is in thy heart, and thereupon pray’ a-a $ ‘And all thy sins will be forgiven thee’ t $ ‘ And 
why’ 8So 3%: & ‘the Lord’ ttS> uS‘a man’ v-v $ ‘will not forgive’ 
w-w % ‘forgive’. x3 ‘death’ y 70 248 + ‘and be not wrathful with thy neighbour’ zz & ‘Hades 
and corruption’ a-a S ‘keep thyself from sinning’ b-b $ ‘give him what he needeth’ cH + ‘of 
thy neighbour ’ 


26. He that diggeth... Cp. Prov. xxvi. 27 a; Eccles. x. 8; Ps. vii. [7 
he that setteth... Cp. Ps. ix. 15, 16. 
27. they shall roll upon him. See Prov. xxvi. 27, and cp. Sirach xxxvii. 3. 
20: -- δ’ πον die.) ΘΡ- [0 ΧχῚ Τὸ; 20: 
(g) XXVII. 302—XXVIII. 7. 
30. these also... 1.6. in addition to the abominations above referred to. 
XXVIII. 1. He that taketh vengeance. Cp. Deut. xxxii. 35; Rom. xii. 19. 
willsurely keep. & διαστηριῶν διαστηρίσει, lit. ‘will surely make firm’, For the reading διατηρῶν διατηρήσει of 248 
“he will surely mark,’ cp. Sept. of Ps. cxxix. (cxxx.) 3 (παρατηρήσῃ) ; Job xiv. 16, 17. 
2. Forgive thy neighbour. With this and the next two verses cp. the following passage from the 7:52. Twelve Patr., 
Gad vi. 3-7: ‘ Love ye one another from the heart; and if a man sin against thee, speak peaceably to him, and in thy 
soul hold not guile ; and if he repent and confess, forgive him. But if he deny it, do not get into a passion with him, 


lest catching the poison from thee, he take to swearing, and so thou sin doubly.... But if he be shameless, and persist — 


in his wrongdoing, even so forgive him from the heart, and leave to God the avenging.’ In Rosh Ha-shanah 17 a occur 
the words: ‘God forgives him who forgives his neighbour’ (cp. Matt. vi. 14, 15, xvili. 35). In view of these passages, 
it is not necessary to regard the verse under consideration as a Christian interpolation (Edersheim). 


3. With this verse cp. the Midrash Sifre 93 ὁ: ‘He only who is merciful with mankind may expect mercy from — 


Heaven’ (quoted by Schechter, Stadies 22 Judaism, Second Series, p. 94). 
healing. 1. 6. forgiveness, cp. next verse; for this sense of ἴασις cp. Sept. of Is. xix. 22, &c. 


4. Cp. Megillah 28a: ‘So long as we are merciful, God is merciful to us; but if we are not merciful to others, God — 


is not merciful to us.’ A, L? 
5. being flesh. Cp. xvii. 31; the ‘flesh’ is regarded in itself as evil; cp. Rom. vii. 25; 1 Cor. xv. 50; Gal. v. 19. 
6. Remember... Cp. vii. 36, xxxviii. 20. — 
7. be not wroth with... Cp. x.6,and Shadéath 20 a, where it is said that the most important law is: ‘Thou 
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’; cp. Matt. xix. 19. 


overlook ignorance, rapide ἄγνοιαν = minsnw> Nw xxx. 11 (Smend). Ignore sins committed against you uncon- 


sciously. 


408 


ST ΘΟ ΌΡΠῸ 


SIRACH 28. 8-17 


(2) XXVIII. 8-12. Warnings against quarrelling (= 2+ 2+ 2 distichs). 
3 Keep far from strife, and ‘sins will keep far from thee: 
®For a passionate man kindleth strife? ; 
ly And a sinful man fstirreth up strife among friends‘, 
And casteth enmity® in the midst of the peaceful. 
9 According to its fuel, so will the fire burn ; 
4 And according to the vehemence of the strife, so doth it increase™’ ; 
And according to the ¢might# of a man, so is his wrath ; 
And according to (his) wealth, so doth he increase* his anger. 
kk Strife begun in haste kindleth fire**, 
t And a hasty quarrel 'leadeth to bloodshed'. 
If thou blow a spark it burneth, ™and if thou spit upon it it is quenched” ; 
And both ®come out of thy mouth”. 


w 


(ἢἣ XXVIII. 13-26. The mischief that is wrought by a wicked tongue 
(= 14+24+24+24+24+243+4+2+1 distichs). 
3°Curse the whisperer and double-tongued®, 
PFor it hath destroyed many that were at peace?. 

jt The third tongue “hath taken many captive4, 
| And hath dispersed them tamong many nations’ ; 
Even strong cities hath it destroyed’, 

And laid wastet the dwellings of the great. 
}) The third tongue hath cast out "brave women?, 
| And deprived them of their labours’. 
}? He that hearkeneth thereto shall not find rest, 
Neither shall be dwell in quietness”. 
’ The stroke of a whip maketh a mark, 
| But the stroke of the tongue breaketh bones. 


a4 So $: GH ‘thou shalt diminish sins’ eos > Mf Cp. 3: & lit. ‘troubleth friends’ &So SD: 
— & ‘calumny’ bhP> In B shis clause has got out of place, coming at the end of the verse i So 7o 248 
αὐυξηθησεται (= 8) for εκκαυθησεται iit ἕν “honour of the hands’ k Zit. ‘exalt’ kk-kk $ ‘Gum and 
pitch kindle a fire’ 1 Zit. ‘ sheddeth blood’ m-m 248 > n-n $ ‘are from thee’ 0-0 % ‘ May 
the third tongue be cursed’ p-P S ‘ For it hath cast away many slain’ a-a§o$: GH ‘hath shaken many’ 


rr [77,.‘from nation to nation’ s Z7/.‘pulleddown’ +t 211. ‘overturned’ U"S‘many’ YS ‘wealth’ WWS> 


(4) XXVIII. 8-12. 

8. Keep far. Cp.ix.13. It is quite possible that, as Smend suggests, the clauses of vv. 8, 9 have got displaced, and 
that their order should be 8 a, 9a, ὃ ὁ, οὖ. With v.8 cp. vili. 1, Prov. xxvi. 21, xxix. 22. 

το. According to its fuel... Lit. ‘As is the fuel of a fire, so will it burn’; cp. Prov. xxvi. 20; Jas. iil. 5. The 
more inflammable the matter which is put on the fire the more fiercely it burns, and in the same way, the more 
contentious the cause of the strife, the more bitter will it be. 

vehemence. orepéwots = NOSY, cp. xi. 9 (Smend); cp. also Isa. xl. 29, xlvii. 9. The varying degrees of the 
vehemence of a quarrel are conditioned by the causes which give rise to it. 

might. Not material strength here, but social rank. 

according to (his) wealth... The richer a man and the more exalted his position the more will he resent any 
one crossing him. 

11. Strife begun in haste. These words, in view of the next clause, evidently do not represent the original; 3 (see 
critical note) very likely echoes the Hebrew, if it does not give the exact translation. Both in & and 35, as they stand, 
the parallelism between the two clauses is incomplete. 

12. If thou blow... Quoted in the Midrash Wayyigra Radéa, ch. xxxiii, thus: ‘ There was a glowing coal (nna) 


| before him; he blew upon it, and it blazed up; he spat upon it, and it was extinguished’ Though Ben-Sira is not 
; mentioned as the author of these words in the Midrash, they are evidently a quotation from his book. It may be 


gathered that in the Hebrew ‘ glowing coal’ was read instead of ‘ spark’. 

And both... The words are illustrated by Prov. xv. 1: ‘A soft answer turneth away wrath, but a grievous word 
stirreth up anger.’ The words which will kindle strife, as well as those which will avoid it, come from the same 
| mouth; whether it is to be war or peace depends upon yourself. 

(2) XXVIII. 13-26. 
13. the whisperer and... Cp.v. 9,14; and with the whole section cp. Jas. iil. I-12. 
14. The third tongue. A literal translation of the Hebrew, which is represented in Rabbinical literature by 
ΤΉΝ send, a technical expression for the tongue of the slanderer; cp. e.g. Avakin 156: ‘The third tongue kills 
| three,’ viz. the slanderer, the slandered, and he who believes the slander ; on the last of these see v. 16. 

15. hath cast out brave women. ¢&Badev ...; cp. vii. 26, where ἐκβάλλειν is used of divorcing a wife. For the 
expression ‘brave women’, i.e. noble women, cp. xxvi. 2. 

16. He that hearkeneth thereto. This refers to the third person whom the third tongue ‘kills’; see the quotation 
in note on v.14. The husband is primarily thought of. 

17. ...breaketh bones. Cp. Prov. xxv. 15. 
1105 409 Ee 


Hm 


“I 

ο 
Rep w 

co 


29 1+*He that lendeth to (his) neighbour »showeth kindness’, 


SIRA GH 29. 18-2042 


18 ν᾿ Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, ἐν 
But not (so many) as they that have fallen through the tongue”. 
19 Happy the man that is sheltered* therefrom, 
And that **hath not passed through** the wrath thereof; 
That hath not drawn the yoke thereof, 
And that hath not been bound with its bands. 
20 For its yoke is a yoke of iron, 
And its bands are bands of brass. 
21 The death thereof is an evil death, 
Υ And the rest of Hades is better than hers’. 
22 (But) it hath no power over the godly, 
They will not be burned in her flame ; 
23 They that® forsake the Lord shall fall into it’, 
And she will burn among them, and not be quenched ; 
As a lion shall she be sent upon them, 
And as a leopard shall she destroy them”. 
(a) °For as thou enclosest thy vineyard with thorns‘, 


24 
25(6) So make ‘doors and bolts“ for thy mouth. 
24(6) °Thou makest a bolt‘ for® thy silver and gold, 
25(2) Make a balance and weight for thy words. 


26 Take heed that thou slip not thereby’, 
Lest thou fall before "him that ensnareth®. 


(j) XXIX. 1-13. On lending and borrowing (= 3+3+3+1+3+3 distichs). 


And Che that taketh him by the hand* keepeth the commandments. 
2 Lend to thy neighbour in time of his need, 

And pay thou thy neighbour again at the appointed time. 
3 Confirm thy word, and keep faith with him ; 

And (so) shalt thou always have what thou needest. 


ww-ww % «Many are they that are killed with the sword, but they are not (as many) as they that are killed by the } 


tongue.’ x S ‘preserved ’ xx-xx $ ‘hath not mingled with’ y-y (ἃ ‘And more profitable is Hades 


than her’ z-z % * All who forsake the fear of God the fire shall burn ’ aS ‘All who’ b$% ‘tear them — 


in pieces’ ce & * See that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns’ ἀ-ἃ (τ ‘a door and a bar’ 
e-e (τ ‘bind up’ f Lit, ‘seal? £3 >: Ὁ ‘in thy tongue’ h-h % ‘thine enemy’ 
ἃ 307 inserts the title: ‘Concerning loans’ (= %) Ἐπ᾿ 9 “ obtaineth good interest’ “τὸ So S: G& ‘he that 


19. ...that is sheltered therefrom. Cp. the Sept. of Ps. xxxi. 20: ‘Thou shalt shelter them in a pavilion from 

the contradiction of tongues.’ 

hath not drawn the yoke. Cp. Deut. xxi. 3. 

bands. Of the yoke, i.e. the tongue here. 
a yoke ofiron. Cp. Jer. xxviii. 14. 
. The death thereof... i.e. the death caused by the third tongue (see note on v. 14). 
. They will not be burned. Cp. Jas. iii. 5-8. 
. into it. i.e. the flame of the wicked tongue. 
destroy. λυμαίνομαι ; lit. ‘to mutilate’. 


NNN ND 


wWNRO 


24-25. The clauses of these verses have got out of order, as their contents show: the proper order should be as > 


given in the text. 70 248 1 read 25 ὁ twice over, once after 25 a and again after 24a; S places 25 ὦ after 24 a. 
256. make doors. Cp. xxii. 27; Ps. cxli. 3. 
246. Thou makest a bolt. For the rendering of & (see critical note) cp. Deut. xiv. 25; 2 Kings v. 23. 
25a. Makea balance. Cp. xvi. 25, xxi. 25. 
26. that thou slip not. For ὀλισθάνω cp. 111. 24, xiv. 1, xxi. 7, xxv. 8. 
(7) XXIX. 1-13. 
1. Showeth kindness. Cp. xlvi. 7 (JDM AY); also Exod. xxii. 25; Lev. xxv. 36; 2 Sam. ix. 3. 
that taketh him by the hand. ὁ ἐπισχύων τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ; cp. Ley. xxv. 35 (113 pnd). 
keepeth the commandments. Cp. xxxvii. 12 7189 7’, and the Rabbinical phrase Niyd τῶν, 


2. Lend... Cp. Prov. xix.16,17. In accordance with both Biblical and Rabbinical teaching there is no mention | 


pS ee 


νει τὰ * 
pe ed = OS ee ὐζοσς 
Ὅσο ἰς ee te a τορος eT ak ee es ree 


ἔ" 


here of interest ; in Lev. xxv. 36 it is said: ‘Take thou no usury of him, or increase’; cp. Baba Bathra goa: ‘A usurer ! | 


is comparable to a murderer, for the crimes of both are equally irremediable’ (quoted by Abrahams, Jew7sh Life in the 
Middle Ages, p. 237). E 


pay thou thy neighbour... Cp. iv. 31; Ps. xxxvii.21. See also Pivge Adoth ii. 13: ‘Go and see which is the 


evil way a man should shun.... Rabbi Simeon said, “ He that borroweth, and payeth not again.”’’ 7 


3. keep faith. Cp. xxvii. 17. 
410 


SIRACH 29. 4-13 


| 
| 


| Many have reckoned a loan as a windfall4, 
And have brought trouble® on them that helped them. 
|; Until he receive it, he kisseth thy hand, 
And speaketh humbly about his neighbour’s money ; 
But when payment is due, he prolongeth the time, 
f And after much time he repayeth’. 
i If he is able [to repay], he [i-e. the lender] will hardly" receive the half, 
And counteth it as a windfall; 
If not [able to repay], he hath deprived him [i.e. the lender] of his money, 
And he hath made him an enemy unnecessarily®. 
He repayeth him with cursings and railings, 
And instead of honour *he repayeth him®* with insult®. 
Many, therefore’, have turned away [from lending] because of wickedness, 
| (For) they feared ‘to be defrauded for naught*. 
‘kk But with the man of low estate be longsuffering, 
1And let him not™ wait for alms’. 
»=™=Ffelp the poor man for the commandment’s sake, 
2 And grieve not for the loss®. 
»Lose money for the sake of a brother or a friend, 
And °let it not rust® under a stone Por a wall”. 
“Lay up for thyself a treasure of righteousness and love’, 
And it shall profit thee more than ‘all that thou hast*. 
| fsStore up almsgiving tin thy treasuries*’, 
And it shall deliver thee from all evil; 
᾿ Better than a mighty shield and a heavy spear 
Shall (this) fight for thee against “an enemy*. 


strengtheneth him with his hand’ d L7z, ‘ find’ e So B: & ‘grief’ (= & Syro-Hex) (f & ‘He 
returneth words of heaviness, and complaineth of the (shortness) of the time’ Τῷ» ἔϑο Anca (ΞΞ.9 3): 
| 8*B ‘not without cause’ ge-s8 S > h Zit. ‘dishonour’” iB >: N? V 253 307 ᾧ 3» Syro-Hex have 
a negative (ov for ovv) k-k $ ‘an empty quarrel’ Kk 307 inserts the title wept edenpoovrns 11g > 
+ ™ B omits the negative mm 30, znserts the rifle: De dato in proximo n-n @& * And according to his need-send 
him not away empty’ (V 248 > ‘empty’) o-o S$ ‘put it not’: 248 3» ‘hide it not’: V ‘let it not be saved’ 
(σωθητω for ιωθητω) p-P So  : (ἃ ‘for perishing’ 4-4 @& ‘Lay up thy treasure according to the command- 
'ments of the Most High’ tr G& ‘cold’ τ ® inserts the title: De misericordia s-s 3 ‘ Bind up alms and 
put them in thy store-chamber’ t-t © ‘in the heart of the poor’ uu $ ‘many’ 


4....asa windfall. i.e. they did not repay the loan. 
5. he kisseth thy hand. i.e. in insincere servility. 

speaketh humbly. Lit. ‘ humbleth his voice’, i.e. he speaks as one awestruck and humbled by his neighbour’s 
wealth, thus implying that it would be but a trifling matter for one of such wealth to make a loan. 

prolongeth the time. 1. 6. delays repayment. 

And after much time... See critical note. The rendering of S is to be preferred to that of & because ‘he 
returneth words of heaviness’ forestalls what is said in 6 e/; it is probable that the words καὶ τὸν καιρὸν αἰτιάσεται are 
merely a bad translation of 732 Ny) (Smend), ‘after much time.’ The two last clauses of τ΄. 5 (as in the text above) 
are elaborated in v.6: with the words, ‘ But when payment is due, he prolongeth the time,’ must be read v. 6 a-d, and 
with the words, ‘And after much time he repayeth, must be read 6e¢f The rendering of 5 in the clause under 
consideration must be understood ironically ; the borrower repays indeed, but with ‘ cursings and railings’; that literal 
repayment is not meant is clear from 6 ἀπὸ. 

7.... because of wickedness. i.e. many have refused to lend money because experience has taught them that 
they may not be able to get their money back owing to the unscrupulousness of the borrower. 

to be defrauded for naught. The rendering of $ (see critical note) is perhaps to be preferred. 

8. But... Nevertheless; the man is justified who will not part with his money for the reason just mentioned, 
nevertheless there are other reasons which should induce him to part with it. 

9. for the commandment’s sake. See Deut. xv. 7, 8, cp. xxxii. 7. In Baba Bathra ga it is said that ‘ almsgiving 
is equal in value to all other commandments’ (quoted in /Z, i. 435 ὁ). ᾿ 

And grieve not... The rendering of $ accords better with the context, and is preferable to &. 

Io. Lose money... Cp. xxxvii. 6. 
let it not rust. Cp. Matt. vi. 19; Jas. v. 3. 


under a stone... For treasures hidden away cp. Isa. xlv. 3. ; y ; 
11. Lay up for thyself... The rendering of $ strikes one as more original than &, which reads as though it were 
explanatory. 
12. Storeup... The renderings of & S have the same meaning. 


it shall deliver thee... Cp. vii. 32, xii. 2; Tobit ii. 14, iv. 9-11- 
13. Shall (this) fight for thee... Cp. iil. 30. 


we 


411 Ee 


SIRACH 29. 14-27 


(k) XXIX. 14-20. Concerning suretyship (= 3+ 2+2 distichs). 


€ 14 A good man becometh surety for his neighbour, P 
But he that hath lost the sense of shame Yrunneth away from his surety”. 
15 “Forget not the good offices of thy surety, 
For he hath given his life for thee. 
16 ΧΑ sinner disregardeth” the goodness of his surety, 
17 #And the ungrateful* man faileth him that delivered him’. 
18 Suretyship hath undone many *that were prospering, 
bb And tossed them about as a wave of the sea”? ; 
Men of wealth hath it driven from their homes, 
And they had to wander among strange nations. 
19 The sinner falleth in (his) suretyship‘*, 
And *he that followeth after sins4 falleth into judgements. 
20 Help® thy neighbour according to thy power, 
δ And take heed to thyself, that thou fall not. 


(2) XXIX. 21-28. The advantages of contentment and independence (= 1+ 3+3+1 distichs). 


21 The chief thing for life* is water and bread, 
And a garment, and a house to cover nakedness’. 
22 Better the life of the poor under a shelter of logs, 
Than sumptuous fare ‘in the house of strangers'. 
23 With little or with much, be contented ; 
xC4248% *So wilt thou not (have to) hear the reproach of thy wandering!*™. 
& 24 An evil life (it is) to go from house to house, 
And where thou art” a stranger thou" (must) not open (thy)™ mouth. 
Ξ 25 °A stranger thou art [in that case], and drinkest contempt° ; 
G And besides this thou wilt (have to) hear bitter things: 
26 ‘Come hither, sojourner, furnish (my) table, 
And if thou hast aught, feed me (therewith) ’ ; 
27 (Or): ‘Get thee gone, sojourner?, from the face ‘of honour4, 
My brother is come as my guest, '(I have) need of my house™!’ 


er Se? SPS Se YO rey 


vv SoS: & ‘will fail him’ Wow > > > inserts here ‘The sinner and the dishonourable man (immundus) 
fleeth from his surety’: 248 adds this (omitting ‘and the dishonourable man’) αἴ the end of the verse y Lit. ‘will 
overthrow ’ z-2 % ‘He who forsaketh his Creator forsaketh him that delivereth him ’ ἃ 248 ‘unprofitable — 
in mind’ bbZ > bb-bb 3 «And they went unto a strange people’ C70 248 SL + ‘transgressing 
the commandments of the Lord’ d-d So S$: (τ ‘he that undertaketh contracts for work’ eS ‘Go surety 
for’ ΤΊ inserts the title: De frugalitate honesta et hospitalitate & A® most cursives 8 & Syro-Hex +* of } 


Pees eee eS Pe PE ee 


% ‘And what he doeth in his house none seeth ’ 1,80 & peregrinationis: read παροικιας for οἰκιας τὰ 253) 
Syro-Hex +‘For there is one who humbleth and exalteth’ 0B SH 3rd pers. 0-0 @& ‘thou shalt entertain, 


man’ h/JZit.‘shame’ i Z7f,* among strangers’: $ ‘in exile’: 30 in peregre sine domicilio *k&> 
and give to drink, without thanks’ Ps > a-a % amicorum meorum r1S> ; 


(4) XXIX. 14-20. ἢ 
14. becometh surety. Cp. viii. 13. Contrast with this Prov. vi. 1 ff., xvii. 18, &c. a 
15. the good offices. Or ‘kindnesses’ (χάριτας). 

For he hath given. Cp. Prov. xx. 16, xxii. 27. 

16. A sinner disregardeth... Lit. ‘A sinner overturneth the good things of (his) surety’, i.e. disregards his 
obligations in spite of the kindness shown (cp. v. 15); it is also possible to take the words to mean that the sinner, by — 
disregarding his obligations, involves his surety in ruin; but this is rather the meaning of v. 17. ἡ 

18. Men, ruined by unscrupulous persons, have had to leave their homes and seek a living in foreign lands. Ν᾿ 

19. The preceding verse has described how good men have been ruined because they have become surety out τ 


kindness ; this verse refers to evil men who have been ruined because they became surety for evil purposes, e.g. for the 

sake of usurlous practices. ᾿ | 
20. Help others as far as you can, but be careful not to ruin yourself; cp. vili. 13. 
(Ὁ XXIX. 21-28. ; 
21. The chief thing for life. Cp. xxxix. 26. ι 
253... Ὁ the ἘΕΒΞΟΒΌΝ of... i.e. the reproaches which the wanderer has to listen to when dependent on others. 

Although both & and S omit this clause, it is most probably genuine ; cp. next two verses. P| 
25. Astranger... The rendering of S is, on the face of it, more genuine than that of &. 

drinkest contempt. Cp. Prov. xxvi. 6. 

27. from the face of honour. A literal translation of 7) ‘JE (Deut. xxviii. 20); cp. $ NPN DIP {PD (Ryssel), | 


J 


412 eS | 


3 


6ι 


» 


}2 


5 


SIRACH .29. 28—30. 8 


These things are grievous to a man of understanding: 
**Upbraiding concerning sojourning’, and the reproach of a money-lender™'*. 


(a) XXX. 1-13. The training of children* (= 3+ 3+1+3+3+1 distichs). 


He that loveth his son ἢ will continue” (to lay) ‘strokes upon him®, 
That he may rejoice over him at the last. 

He that disciplineth his son ‘shall have satisfaction of him, 
And among °his acquaintance® glory in him. 


3 He that teacheth his son maketh his enemy jealous, 


And in the presence of friends exulteth in him. 


| " When his father dieth ‘he dieth not altogether’, 


For he hath left one behind him like himself. 
In his life he saw’ and rejoiced}, 
And in death he hath not been grieved. 


δὶ Against enemies he hath left behind Jan avengerj, 


And to friends one that requiteth favour‘. 


7*He that pampereth his son* 'shall bind up his wounds}, 


And his heart ™trembleth™ at every cry. 


|3 An unbroken horse "becometh stubborn’, 


And a son °left at large® becometh headstrong”. 


tm-rr 3 ‘Upbraiding and usury, and the loan of a money-lender’ 8 Reading παροικίας for οἰκιας (Smend) 
*% + ‘Give very freely to the poor, and feed him from that which thou hast at hand; if he be naked clothe 
him; thus wilt thou be lending unto God, and He will repay thee sevenfold’ 

2B ἄς. pr. tit. περι τεκνων (307 Aoyos €TEpOs TOU αὐτου περι τεκνων): but Syro-Hex. 253 &c. omz/: & de disciplina 


~ filiorum b-b & ἐνδελεχησει : S ‘will renew’ ὁτὸ & μαστιγας avr: 95 ‘his strokes’ d-d Ge ovnoerar (δ: 
αινεθησεται = WH: noOnoera τοῦ, evppavOncera 248 = 3S): 38:0 (13) we ee E γνωριμων : S ‘his neighbours’ 
Cf & (ετελευτησεν αὐτου ὁ πατηρὴ καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἀπεθανεν: S ‘and is almost (= is not quite) dead’ (ΠῚ noo ni : 
xoqan = Ὁ wellnigh ’, ‘almost’, as 7m 4 Ezra vii. 48: Zaz. ‘pene’, Greek ὡς ovr) €S + ‘him’ h 248 + 
ex are = & 1S s/ransposes clauses (a) and (b) ( perhaps rightly) J3 (ἃ ἐκδικον : % defensorem domus 
EEG (N*BA Sah Eth L) περι ψυχων wor: read with 248 περιψυχὼν υἱον (N®A &c. also read vw0v) = 9 
(AN3 ΡΞ: cp. P35!) Prov. xxix. 21 = ‘one pampering’) 1-| G& xaradeopevoet τραυματα αὐτου : 85. ‘his wounds 


shall be increased’ (& = 9 "Β΄" : $= Π2 " | Hart}) m-M (ἃ ταραχθήσεται: 85. ‘shall be empty’ n-n && aro- 
βαινει σκληρος (= ἢ AV) 0-0 Er ἀνειμενος (=? ndvin) P-P εκβαινει mpoadns (3 for whole verse: ‘like a young 


» meaning that the sojourner has now no more to expect any honour being shown to him, because a guest has arrived ; 


the wanderer must only expect attention when there is no one else there to claim it. 
brother. Used in the wide sense. ΤῊΝ 
28. The addition to this verse in 3 (see critical note) Smend regards as ἃ translation from an original Hebrew text, 
though of a secondary character (see Introd. § 3 (c)). 


XXX. I— XXXII. 13 (= G. XXXV. 13). With ch. xxx a new division of the book begins, the change being 
marked not only by the difference of theme, but also by a difference in the method of treatment. A number of 
subjects now come in for brief and practical treatment. The division contains eight subsections, the subjects of 
which range over the upbringing of children, health, and conduct at meals and banquets. 

(a) XXX. 1-13. i 

1. He that loveth his son .. . strokes. Cp. Prov. xiii. 24 (‘He that spareth his rod hateth his son’, &c.), 
XXIV. 13, [4, Xxix. 15. 

at the last. i.e. in the latter part of his (the parent’s) life. : 

2. He that disciplineth his son... satisfaction of him. Cp. Prov. xxix. 17 (‘ Correct thy son... and he shall 
give delight unto thy soul’). The Greek word here rendered ‘have satisfaction of’ (ὀνίνασ θαι) occurs only again in the 
Greek Bible in Philemon 20, where it is used with the same meaning as here. It was regularly employed in Greek of 
joy in children. ; Deen. ; 

4. When his father dieth he dieth not altogether ...like himself. i.e. the father lives on in his son. ‘ This 
and the following verse cast light on one of the great consolations and hopes which the writer entertained in regard to 
death : (viz.) continuance in one’s children’ (Edersheim). The son being regarded in this light, it was all-important 
that he should be pious. - : 

6. Against enemies... Cp. Ps. cxxvii. 5 (a man who has a number of stalwart sons to support him will not be 
exposed to the danger of an unjust conviction at the place of trial (the gate)). 

7. shall bind up his wounds. 1.6. the wounds of his son, incurred in reckless play or adventure, when allowed to 
go on unchecked. S% (so Edersheim) understood the ‘ wounds’ to be those of the indulgent father. 

ateverycry. Either of the son, or that caused by him (so Edersheim). 

8. a son left at large. Cp. Prov. xxix. 15 (‘a child left to himself’). 


413 


Gr 


3" 


10 "Laugh not with him", ’lest he vex thee’, 
11 “Let him not have freedom” in his youth, 


12 7*Bow down his neck! in his youth*, 


13 Discipline thy son ®and make his yoke heavy “, 


14 Better is one that is poor, band is healthy in his body”, 


SIRACH 30. 9-14 


9 °Cocker® thy son ‘and he will terrify thee"; 
*Play with him® tand he will grieve thee’. 


vy And make thee gnash thy θείῃ ἡ at the last. 

x And overlook not* Yhis mischievous acts’. 

And smite his loins sore while he is little*— 
Lest” he become stubborn? “and rebel against thee®, 


4And thou experience anguish of soul on his account*. 


Lest ‘in his folly 8/he stumble!®. 


(6) XXX. 14-20. The blessing of good health (= 3+1+3 distichs). 


Than a rich man who is plagued in his flesh. 


horse that has not been broken, so is a rebellious son that listens not to his father’ 9-9 Ge τιθηνησον (=? jOX = 
‘nurture tenderly’: cf. Lam. iv. 5): $ ‘chasten’ [read ‘ thy son’ with 3: (ἃ has τεκνον only | Tr So) Cia 
S ‘lest thou be mocked’ ss §o @&: S ‘and if thou laugh with him’ (%? pnw {πὸ Or καὶ λυπησει σε = ἢ FSP") 
u-u So G&: % ‘do not go with him according to his pleasure’ = ἢ wy T7YIN by (Smend), 1.4. “be not complacent 
with him’ (cp. Job xxxiv. 9, Ps. 1. 18): ¢hrs may be right v-v So 3 =? Dd" JD: Ck wa py συνοδυνηθῃς (248 
&c. Syro-Hex 3Ὁ οδυνηθῃς) W-wY @& has και... γομφιασεις τοὺς odovras σου (‘and thou shalt gnash,’ &c.): but 70 
has γομφιασει = ‘he shall cause (thee) to gnash’ (= 8): so read w-w 99 (AZS. B begins here) wdwnn bx, Δ, 
“Jet him not have rule’ or ‘independence’ = & py des avrw εξουσιαν: 3 = B x-x 3) nvm ὈΝῚ (‘and forgive 
not ἢ: («- (248) kat μὴ παριδῃς y-y 35 yminnys: G& (248) Tas ayvo.as αὐτου x cogitatus — evvotas) 2-2 15 has 
the first two stichot of v. 12 in a double form, as follows : ] 
pian *n dy np (a) 
sTy2 wae Yond ps7 (b) 
NAIA wN FD (c) 
ΣΡ aywnw> wand ypar (d) 


Here (a) and (Ὁ) form a doublet of (c) and (4); (a) 7s obviously corrupt, and yrelds no tolerable sense: Schechter 
emends to YPan *n ἫΝ ipnd: then render (a) and (Ὁ) : ‘beat his shoulder while it is yet tender, crush his loins vs 

while he is yet a youth’ (Zev? emends "n yabdya ena, ze. ‘beat his shoulder in his youth’). or wx in (c) 
read \NYS with & and & (cp. li. 26) απὸ Reading (affer Ge 248) WNNIYII NI 83 [τού 10 homoioteleuton all MSS. 


of & except 428 and three other cursives omit 11 ὦ and 12 a: in 248 the two lines run: (11 6) kat μη παριδῃς τας ayvoras 
αὐτου (12 4) καμψον tov τραχηλον αὐτου ev νεότητι} bb Reading AW’ = G& (σκληρυνθεις), so S: Q ΠΡῸΣ (scrzbal error) 


mg. wep ee So BIIAIWN=CEarabyoy σι Ἃ-ἃ vO mB wo Thy (‘and there will be born from him _| 
an expiry of soul’): (ἃ καὶ ἐσται σοι (+ εξ αὐτου 106) οδυνη ψυχης : 50 248 70 τοῦ and UL, but uncials omit (9 reading oF 
WEI NID for 5) ΠΕ} : so Hart) e-e So ® ry Taam: G καὶ epyaca ev αὐτῳ (=? Py Dayan): S ‘be hard 
towards him’ £1 Sy H: δὶ ἐν τῇ ἀσχημοσυνῃ σοὺ (bul 248 H &c.avror) ὠ  ὀ ΕἼ GE προσκοψῃ = PPR (s0 read | 
with Peters): % Ja yony (® mg. dyn’ = “lift himself up against thee’) b-h 15. yosya "ΠῚ (ΟΠ. offen = ‘healthy’ 
in PBH): & vyms (= MM) και ἐσχυὼν ty εξει (= explanatory paraphrase for yyy): ‘that is healthy and firm in 
his body’ = & 1 Reading W) DMO = (ἃ vyea και εὐεξια (WY = ‘soundness, ‘strength’: Aram. 77, 
‘to be sound,’ firm’); so Peters: Q WW nN (2c. WW = INV, so 38 mg.) ‘bodily health’ ($ = 38) i Sow | 


| =G, 8 


ἜΠΟΣ Comer. Nurture tenderly (‘tend as a nurse’, Edersheim; Heb. f®N); cp. Lam. iv. 5 (‘they that were nurtured . 
in scarlet’), 
ae: Laugh not with him. Or ‘be not complacent with him’ (see critical note). Fritzsche quotes from Solon: 
liberis ne arrideas, ut in posterum non fleas’ (cited by Edersheim). 
12. Bow down his neck. Cop. li. 26 (‘and bring your necks under her yoke’). has ‘ Bow down his head’, i.e. 
humble him; cp. iv. 7; Isa. lviii. 5. 
smite his loins sore. Cp. Ezek. xxix. 7. 
anguish of soul. Cp. Job xi. 20 (‘giving up of the ghost’). 
13. Discipline thy son. Cp. vii. 23. 
make his yoke heavy. Cp. 1 Kings xii. 10 (phrase). 
(ὁ) XXX. 14-20. 


414 


SIRACH 90. 15-19 


(5 ‘Health and soundness shave I desiredi more than fine gold, 
¥ And a cheerful spirit* !more than pearls! 

(6 There is no wealth ™above the wealth™ "of a sound body", 
And no ™good™ above °a good disposition®. 

7 Better death “than a wretched life®, 
And eternal rest "than continual pain’. 

18 Good things ‘poured οὐδ" before a mouth that is closed 

‘Are as an offeringt "that is placed before an idol®. 

τὸ Y How can (such) “profit® *the images* of the heathen 

Which are unable either to eat or smell¥ ? 


NN = 3: (ἃ βελτίων Καὶ So ® Aw ΠῚ = S: G& καὶ copa ευρωστον (? capa, a corruption of mvevpa: so Lévr) 
1 ® op = S ( pearls’): (τ (freely) ἢ o\Bos ἀμετρητος m-m SoH: & (βελτιων) and 85 (G like ’) omdt (Peters 
omits second Wy): but & (census super censum) and the parallelism with next line. support ® n-n ® pyy 7w 
(z. e. ‘soundness of body’) = & nn-nn AIO: (ἃ εὐφροσυνὴ = S 0-0 329 395 ND = ‘oodness of heart’ : 
Gk χαραν καρδιας P-P ® has this verse in a double form : 


Dyn orm mod ww (c)) _ xiv ym mind aw (a) 

stew aan Sweet τοὶ (a) ) (Mg. dyn ovnn) joa ὩΝΘ ody ΠΠῸ (Ὁ) 

{τ κρεισσων θανατὸς ὑπερ ζωὴν πικραν (Ν 6.8 70 + και ἀναπαυσις αἰωνιος : so ᾿', et requies eterna) ἢ appeotnpa εμμονον = 
® (a) (b): $= ® (c) (d) 1-4 Reading DY ΝΠ = 19 (c) and &: so Peters, Smend rr Smend reads 


| =& 


aay “aD = ® (d) and S$: Peters poss "39 = 38 (Ὁ) ss So H=G: S‘shut up’ = (bona abscondita) 
tt ® pn Gk θεματα (B Syro-Hex Gena) βρωματων : cp. 3 ‘as foods’ u-u ® byby ΣΡ ΓΝ: (ἃ παρακειμενα ἐπι 
tapo (9 = &), reading bi (sdbiz) = ‘the stone which closes a grave’ V-v # has a lacuna tn its text 


corresponding 10 vv. 19 a-d and 20 ἃ, which vs supplied by the margin: ἸΏ text has 20 Ὁ immediately after 18 Ὁ: 
ona ‘ibid [dyp ΠΙῸ = το (a) | 
[pap xdy pba xb ἼΩΝ = το (b) 
νὸν wb [ery Ἢ 15 = 19 (c) ἡ B mg. 
292071 ΓΤ PR = το (d) 
[ΠΝ ΤΙ] ya [ANI] = 20 (a) 
:MINND) ΠῚ) Pan OID AWNI= 20(b) τι B "εχ. 
® adds the following Ιου. 20: 
DAVID DINI Aeny ja] = 20 c 
mbina oy 35 [Ὁ Ν) 19 = 20d | in ® ext. 
[yD wpad Ὁ 


; ae 20e 
[1 hese lines 20 οτθ are unoriginal. | 


(τ τι συμῴερει καρπωσις εἰδωλῳ ; = το (a) 
οὐτε yap εδεται, OUTE μὴ οσφρανθῃ ΞΞ (19b) 
ovTws ὁ εκδιωκομενος ὑπὸ κυριῳ. 
βλεπὼων δὲ οφθαλμοις καὶ στεναζων = 20 (a) 


ὠσπερ evvovxos περιλαμβανων παρθενον και στεναζων = 20(b) 


(+ ovras 0 ποιων ev Bia κριματαὴ = 20 ὁ (so 254 70 V &c., bul not uncials = xx. 4 &) 
S$ = 19 (a) (Ὁ) (c) (4), 20 (a) (d) (e). Thus το (c) (4) are atfested in ® and 8, but not in τ: they are certainly 


15. pearls. So S: or ‘corals’ (# 0°35). ᾿ : hae ᾿ 
16. There is no wealth... disposition. This verse is cited in Solomon ibn Gebirol’s ‘Choice of pearls (see 
Cowley-Neubauer, p. xxx) as follows: ‘There is no greater riches than health, no greater pleasure than a cheerful heart 


(a 353 ΠΥΡῚ) ΝΟῚ myenas away ps). aes 
17. Better death than a wretched life. Cf. Tobit iii, 13, 15 (‘why should I live?’); the sentiment often comes to 
expression in classical literature (cp. e.g. Eur. Hec. 377). : ; 
And eternal rest. Omitted by & (principal MSS.—see critical note), perhaps for dogmatic reasons (Edersheim). 
The omission may be due to later revision; note that 3} (‘ requies eterna’) attests the words, which probably belong to 
the original form of &. ᾿ x : 
18. Good things... before a mouth that is closed... i.e. riches which cannot be enjoyed (owing to ill health) 
are as futileas food offered to an idol that can neither taste nor smell. ᾿ ὦ ; 
an offering ... placed before an idol. The heathen custom of offering food to idols is referred to (cp. e.g. 
the story embodied in Bel and the Dragon). @& (‘as messes of meat laid upon a grave’) makes the reference to the 
well-known heathen custom of providing food at the graves for the dead: cp. Tobit iv. 17 (and the notes there). 
19. unable either to eat or smell. The phrase is borrowed from Deut. iv. 28 (cp. Ps. cxv. 4 f.). 


415 


py 


20 °He seeth it® with his eyes °and sigheth*, 


21 Give not thy soul *to sorrow”, 
22 Heart-joy is life for a man, 


23 Entice thyself® "and soothe thine heart, 


SIRACH 30. 19-23 


So is he who possesseth wealth, 
“And hath no enjoyment? Pof it?’: 


As %a eunuch? that embraceth a maiden®*’. 


(c) XXX. 21-25. Av exhortation to dismiss sorrow and care (= 2+2+2 distichs). 


f And let not thyself become unsteadied with care’. 
And human gladness * prolongeth days". 
And ‘banish? jvexation) from thee : 


For sorrow hath slain* many, 
And there is no !profit! ™in vexation™. 


original. @ in tts third line of τ. 19 apparently preserves an unoriginal equivalent of το (c) (d); Peters regards 
the three original lines in ® as added to amplify the text from other parts of the book: τ. 20 (0) = xx. 4b; v.20 (d) 
= xx. 4a, and v. 20(e) = v. 3b (DET wpm ” 55) [1 v. 20d jon, Ls. ‘trusted one’ (2.6. one entrusted with 
the care of the Harem) = ‘eunuch’: so $ renders 20 ἃ NID ; but 1] ἐς unnecessary 10 regard WS) as a translation 
of 3; see Peters ad loc. against Levi | w-w Reading Sy = yy = G&S (so Peters); others ΔΘ; Smend 3} 
(‘what do men sacrifice, &c.’) x-x Smend 5:5: Peters sab (cp. Ps. xxxix. 7, Ixxiil, 20) = 3: G& καρπωσις 
¥S + ‘and drink not’ 2- So WS: Uk ovras o exdiwxopevos (read with Syro-Hex εκδικουμενος) ὑπὸ Kuptov = ὃ 
OPIN "DJ = το Ἢ (19) + 20e a-a H mn (Wf. of nn a PBH word) b-b 30 not quite certain: either — 
wo (= 3) or yA, ‘of his substance’ (¢he latter probably = W's reading: so Schechter, Strack, Smend) — 


ee Reading MINN... = ES d-d 39 OND, a mestake for D'ND ©® + mand = (τ: probably an 
addition from the previous clause (so Peters) ee-ee 35 pid (2. iD: the same graphical mistake in Xxx. 23, 
XXXViil. 18) Pf (ἃ καὶ pn θλιψης σεαυτὸν ev βουλῃ σου = Wsya Svan bey (so read with Peters) : ἢ text “n ora) 
nya (ὁ corrup! for Pry, but cp. Ps. xxxi. 11): ἢ mg. ἼΠΥΨ τε ES: B mg? Jnyy wan by fff Ge 
μακροημερευσις : = WD) PANT (so read): 312 “εχ ox “Π (a seribal error): 85. ‘his life’ for “his days’ (= wn: so 
Schechter reads) ὅτε So ® ἼΣ5) nD=S: G& ayaa (Jus N*eC V 253 254 &c. Syro-Hex anara = 38) 
bh ® way = S: Ce καὶ παρακαλεῖ [3%B, an Aramaism =? ‘refresh’ (‘mitigate’, ‘soothe’), ‘cause relaxation’ ] 
Hi ῬΠῚΠ ΞΞ & Hakpav ἀπόστησον 33 ppyp (= Grinye we ΚΝ (in, ANP) Kk Ge amexrewev 
(ul SAC ἀπωλεσεν : 248 combines the two verbs) 1-130 vbyn, ce. ndyin (or npyh) (gp. PBH noyin = 
‘profit’, ‘use’) = G ὠφελια m-n So: G ev avry [5 for the whole line, ‘And anxiety destroyed them’] 


non ® pin ny nba = (ἃ πρὸ Katpou ynpas ayet (ynpas ayer = the causative of ynpackew | Hart) : & ‘bring grey hairs’ — 
0-0 ® yw, 2. ὁ. MY ( pl. constr.) ; ch. Prov. vi. 10: Ge apparently omits. 95. transposes (see next nole) p-P® τὸ 


(c) XXX. 21-25 (= & XXX. 21-244+ XXXIII. 13 ὁ ο). 
_ 21. Give not thy soul to sorrow. Cf. xxxviii. 20a G. The sentiment expressed in this verse and also in v. 23 
is also re-echoed in the Talmud. Thus in Τὶ B. Yebamoth 63 ὁ the following is cited as from the Book of Ben-Sira: 
‘Be not troubled for the trouble of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what the day may bring forth (= Prov. xxvii. 1). 
Perhaps on the morrow he will be no more, and be found grieving over a world that is not his’ (so Sazh. 100 6). 
Edersheim also cites: ‘Suffice sorrow for its hour’ (T. B. Berakh. ο 2), and ‘the sorrow of the hour (i.e. immediate 
sorrow) is sorrow’ (T. J. Abodah zarah 396). 

And let not thyself become unsteadied with care. ¥ text, ‘and stumble not because of thine iniquity’; cp. 
Ps, xxxi. 10 (‘my life is consumed in sorrow... my strength stumbleth because of mine iniquity’). The rendering 
given above (‘and let not thyself become unsteadied’) = ‘stumble not’. 

22. prolongeth days. Lit. ‘his days’ (or ‘his life’); see critical note. 1 has ‘prolongeth his anger’ (maketh him 
slow to anger) ; cp. Prov. xix. 11 (‘the discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger’). The mistake of the copyist 
may be due to his reminiscence of this passage (so Schechter). 

23. soothe thine heart. The Hebr. word here rendered ‘soothe’ (3"5) ‘is sometimes used in Rab. literature in 
the sense of calming and rejoicing’ (Schechter). 

᾿ banish vexation ... For sorrow hath slain many. The Talmud cites a form of this passage as from 
Ben-Sira in T. B. Savh. 1006 (in Aramaic): ‘let not sorrow enter thy heart, for sorrow hath killed strong men’ 


(97 Sep pra pas ἼΣΟΣ x Syn yd), 
a this point the dislocation of chapters, which has produced a different order in all extant Greek MSS., begins 
(Cod. 248 is not an exception). Chapters xxx. 25—xxxiii. 16 have been placed after xxxiii. 16—xxxvi. 11, thus 


416 


a 


B 


SIRACH ‘30, 2481. 4 


24 Envy and anger shorten days, 


And anxiety "maketh old untimely”. 


25 °The sleep° Pof a cheerful heart is like dainties?”, 


41And his food is agreeable unto him‘. 


(4) XXXI. (XXXIV.) 1-4. The anxieties of poverty and riches (= 2+2 distichs). 


1* Watchful care over wealth" *wasteth the flesh’, 
‘And anxiety about it* "dissipateth slumber®. 
2 ἡ Anxiety about sustenance’ “breaketh off (?)* slumber 
*Even as severe sickness dissipateth sleep*. 
3 The rich man ¥labourethY το gather? riches, 
And when he resteth, it is to *partake of delights*. 
4The poor man °toileth® “for the needs of his house4, 
And if he rest *he becometh needy* ». 


3 


Doyo nnn 22: (ἃ λαμπρα καρδια και ἀγαθὴ exe εδεσμασιν (= ?W: 2? Aaurpa... xa ayabyn, a double rendering of 
310): 3 ‘a good heart many (=? mW s/ransposed—so Hart) are its meats’ (buf Smend suggests that both G& and 
S may have read DMYOYD 37 30 35), Levi thinks Mw in ἸῺ rs a title (= ‘of sleep’), and so ἐς omitted by G& and $ 
4-ἃ ® γῶν ΠΟ axn: “and his food (8 ‘all that he eats’) goes up upon him’ ($ ‘ upon his body’), ὦ ὁ. ‘ agrees 


with him’ (ἃ mzsunderstands ® and renders freely: τῶν βρωματων avrns επιμελησεται. γα So & = WY ΡΨ: 
S$ = ἢ VY (1. Ip) Pw (so 3 mg. WW) s-3 ® Nw AND (2. ἽΝ) (ἃ ἐκτηκει = ἢ MDD (so 9) ὑπὸ SoG = 
® mg. sv uu ® vex? 113 pyran = (ἃ αφιστᾳ ὑπνον VV 39 ND MINT; (ἃ μέριμνα aypurmas (αγρυπνιας 


JSrom previous line): 3= B® wow ® YIN: (ἃ amarynoe (bul read with 35 [avertit | ἀποστήσει = ἢ YH): S=B 
(39 7 Aram. = to break, divide, exchange) sx Reading mw yan (® mg.) apn Adm (38 mg. wan for 
yan); 38 Aas ΠῚ) al end ; but read nw = G&: (ἃ και appoornpa βαρυ εἐκνηψει (=? YAN so 38 mg.) ὑπνὸν : but S 
supports yan. [1ἢ adds two lines, which are not ortginal, to this verse: they are omitted by & and 3 and do not 
harmonize with the context. 
AHI WIN ONT YI 
:viDID INN Wo Wnon 


‘Reproach putteth to flight the faithful friend, 
But he that hideth a secret loveth (a friend) as his own soul.’ 


Cp. xxii. 22, xxvii. 17, xli. 22] y-y Reading Soy with ἸΏ mg. = G&S: ἢ ext ‘ony (‘the labours of a rich 
man are to,’ &c.) zz Reading yapd with & >: Ὦ προ (from next line) a-a H yn bad: (ἃ ἐμπιμπλασαι 
τῶν τρυφηματων αὐτου (35 ‘to partake of banquets ἠὴ) b-b ® gzves a double recension of this verse: 
ana mond Ὃν doy (c) ima sond yy (a) 
15 Ama xd ΠῚ ow (4) :pay am my oy (Ὁ) 


According to Smend (c) and (a) give the original text of ® c-c ® (a) yr’: ® (c) ὉῸΝ (so Smend) ὅτ 10) (8) 


cr) 


wma spond: ® (c) map “Ἰοπῦ =? ὅτ ev edarowse βιον (IND mond =? ‘for lack of means for himself’ = 3) 
e-e So 39 (0): ® (d) ‘he hath no rest’ 


producing the order in @& xxx. 24; xxxill. 16—Xxxvi. 11; Xxx. 25—Xxxlll. 15; XXXVI. 12 ef seq. elt is evident that this 
must have proceeded from a misplacement of the sheets in the archetype of our Greek MSS.’ (Edersheim). Note that 
# and S have the right order; so ¥.] P 

25. The sleep of a cheerful heart is like dainties. Cp. Prov. xv. 15 ‘he that is of a cheerful heart hath 

a continual feast’. ἘΣ ΑΝ 5 

And his food is agreeable unto him. The Hebr. phrase here used (see critical note) = lit. ‘and his food goes 
up upon him’ ($ ‘upon his body’). It may be illustrated from the Adoth de Rabbi Nathan (ed. Schechter), ch. xxvi: 
‘food which does not go up upon (i.e. which does not agree with) one’s body’ (Ἰ5}} Sy ody orev? ardor). 

(4) XXXI. 1-4 (= (ἃ XXXIV. 1-4). - 

τ. anxiety about it dissipateth slumber. Cp. (for the phraseology) xlii. 9. ; ee ; 

2. breaketh off(?) slumber. The Hebr. word rendered ‘ breaketh off’ occurs also in Rabbinic literature in the 
sense of ‘to destroy’, ‘cause to disappear’. For the additional clauses in # which are attached to v. 2 see critical 
note. They deal with the law of loving one’s neighbour (cf. Lev. xix. 12, 34). ‘ : 

3. The rich man... delights. This verse may underlie Luke xii. 18-19 (so Peters). For the phrase ‘to partake 
of delights’ cp. xli. 4d (38). ΕΑΝ ὦ ὃ : a 
4. The poor man toileth... Cf. with the sentiment here expressed the Rabbinic citation attributed to Ben-Sira 


417 


F(a 


SIRACH 31. 5-10 


(ec) XXXI. (XXXIV.) 5-11. The perils of mammon-worship (= 3+24+241 distichs). 


5 He that ‘loveth gold “shall not go unpunished§, 
And he that ‘pursueth’ Phire* *erreth thereby’. 
6 Many there are that have J bound themselves to gold! 
k And have put their trust in corals*. 
7 It is a stumbling-block! ™ for the foolish™, 
» And whoso is simple is snared thereby". 
8 Happy is °the rich man® that is found blameless, 
And that hath not ?gone astray following? mammon! 
9 Who is he? that we may felicitate him— 
For he hath done wondrously among his people. 
το Who “hath been tested® by it 'and remained unharmed’, 
*So that it hath redounded to his glory ν᾽ 


ff Reading 37s in (a) and YN) in (Ὁ) with G& 3: 18 inverts the order &-s 38 7p nb = G ov δικαιωθησεται 
bh 19. > nD: (ἃ διαφθοραν (corrupt for διάφορον = ): S ‘mammon’ 1πὶ 35 mw 12 = & avros πλησθησεται 
(+ avrns 296 308 =): 21. am αὑτης πλανθησεται = Ὦ and Ὁ (AW: bul & may = mv: so Peters) i Ὦ 
2ΠῚ ‘San = ‘bound of (given in pledge to) gold’: Gr εδοθησαν εἰς πτωμα χαριν χρυσιου: bul 248 εδεθησαν xapw 
χρυσιου = ®: S ‘rich’ (® mzgh/ mean ‘have been destroyed of gold’) K-k ® oy 35 by (2. pmpyan) moan: 
$ ‘and have trusted (= D'n0)3)) in their riches’: Ge καὶ ἐγενηθὴ ἡ ἀπωλεια αὐτῶν Kata πρόσωπον αὐτῶν = by nba 
ὃ DMD (or ὃ ΤῊ AM: Pelers reads }y7INM\—‘and destruction was before their face’): H + (so S) 2 Lines: 


ayan dyand wwsn ΝΟῚ 
ΠΣ} ova yernd on 


‘And they found not how to deliver themselves from evil, 
And also to save themselves in the time of wrath. 


(& ‘in the time of their end’.) But (ἃ rightly omits (the lines are a gloss; cp. Prov. Xi. 4) 1 So (ἃ ξυλον 
προσκομματος = bon Vy (Ὁ 5 for yy (displacement): % also inserts "3) m-m  Syxb Gk τοῖς ἐνθυσιαζουσιν αὐτῳ 
(‘unto them that sacrifice unto it’ R.V.): du¢ x* and three cursives give the right reading ἐνθουσιαζουσιν (? confusing 
mx with byw: so Hart). See also & nn So ® Gr: S ‘every one that erreth therein stumbleth’ 0-0 Of 
πλουσιος = S = WY: so read Sor ® WN (Smend keeps Ὁ) b-p 38 ANN nda: urs (cnexacily) emropevOn οπισω 
4-4 (ἃ εδοκιμασθη = pray (Pefers 12 Pra): 3ἢ ΠΧ 12 Prww ΠῚ ew Ὁ: WB mg. payn (ΠῚ Nw from previous 
line): ‘who is he that we should cleave unto him?’ (= 3) /exv/) or ‘who is he that cleaveth unto it?’ (p13 7 
PBH = to examine, explore) rr Reading ody = GF καὶ ετελειωθη: ἢ oidy nm s3 35 > mm 


which is given in the notes on χ]. 22. The alternative reading ‘for the lack of his means’ (for ΓΞ in this sense cp. Prov. 
v. 10; Job vi. 22) may possibly be right against ‘ for the lack of his house’. Cp. xi. 11. 

(e) XXXI. 5-11 (ἃ XXXIV. 5-11). 

5. He that loveth gold shall not go unpunished. Cp. Prov. xxviii. 20 (‘ he that maketh haste to be rich shall 
not be unpunished’); also Qoh. v. 10 (Hebr. 9) (‘he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver’, &c.). For 
the same theme (the dangers of love of money) cp. also 1 Tim. vi. 9. 

that pursueth hire. Or rather ‘ gain, profit’ ; cp. xlii. 9, vii. 18. 
erreth thereby. Or ‘is led astray thereby’ (i.e. ‘falleth into sin on account of it’). 

6. And have put their trust in corals. Or pearls: for & see critical note. For the two lines (a gloss) that are 
appended to this verse in 38 and S (see critical note) cp. Prov. xi. 4 (‘Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but 
righteousness delivereth from death’). 

7. It isa stumbling-block... Cp. xiii. 236. 

simple. Cp. Job v. 2 (same word). 
is snared. Cp. Eccles. ix. 12. 
δ. the rich man that is found blameless. Cp. for the phraseology xliv. 16, 17 (38). 
following mammon. The occurrence of the word ‘mammon’ (j11212) here is noticeable (=in Biblical Hebrew 
ἢ55 or 122). Outside Ben-Sira its earliest attestation is in the N. T. (Matt. vi. 24; Luke χνὶ. 9, 11, 13). The spelling 
‘mamon’ (so in Greek) seems to be probably correct; but both spelling and etymology are uncertain (see art. ‘Mammon’, 
col. 2912-5 in ZB, vol. iii). 4 

9. Who is he? ... Apparently a pious rich man was as rare in Ben-Sira’s time as an honest publican later in the 
provinces of the Roman Empire. 

10. Who hath been tested by it (sc. by wealth) and remained unharmed? Cp. Matt. xix. 23; Luke xi. 24. 3ἢ 
(text) ‘Who hath clung to it...’ 


418 


SIRACH 312) 10213 


Who could ‘fall away', and did not fall away ; 
«And (could) inflict* harm, ‘and did not’? 

11 “Therefore shall his good fortune *be steadfast*, 

And the congregation shall declare Yhis praise’. 


(f) XXXI. (XXXIV.) 12-24. Sustruction concerning bread and wine together 
(= 3+24+2+14+3+1+42+42 distichs). 
‘12 ’If thou sittest “at a great man’s table‘, 
4Ἐς not greedy upon it®; 
®Say not: There is abundance upon it'— 
13 ®Remember that an evil eye is an evil thing’, 


ΤΟΝ ΒΟ (Ὦ mg. maxand: so Peters reads): (ἃ και ἐστω es καυχησιν (bul διὰ 70 Syro-Hex εσται aro = ®) [8 adds 
Sour lines which are not attested by 3 or (ἃ: 
naxand 97> max | ὙΠ oby mana 3 
naxand 75 (τι. ΠΝ) sia wn ade. 93 Ὃ 
‘For when the peace of his life multiplieth, I will be to thee a glory—who hath blessed it and made his life 
perfect? he (γι. 1) will be a glory unto thee.’ Zhese lines form doublets fo 10 ab] tt Ὦ mob = (ἃ παρα- 
βῆναι u-u 3) ΠΡ Ἢ yandy (so Cowley: Schechter yr) = (ἃ και εἐποιησεν κακα : % ‘to evil entreat his comrade’ 
(=]yw) τ SoG S=yrn gd: Bnav xy ww WH 5 dy: »ΈῈ ὦ (248, 70 H+ δια rovro) χτὰ Reading 
pin’ wih (ἃ S: ® pin Y-Y Ge ras ἐλεημοσυνας αὐτου = ἹΠΡῚΝ : WB yndam SQA ὙΠ 7} ond DW (cp. s¢milar 
headings in xii. 16 and xliv. 1: all doubiless secondary): (ἃ 3 > (but 254 has litle περι βρωμάτων: cp. & de 
continentia) b ® pr. 22 ‘my son’: so 3 (dul>&) e-e Ur ‘at a great table’ (so (1) = ® bya yndw dy (may 
be rendered ether way) d-d 39) (M #73) 7373 voy nnan ds Hi. ‘open not thy throat (mg. the throat) upon 


1} = (τ ὃ 9 (ἃ 27. και (50 3) rt by pPipad (11. ‘there is sufficient upon it ἢ = (ἃ πολλα γε Ta ἐπ autns: 
Ξ ‘I have not enough’ ὅτε SoM =G:> 3: 35 here adds four lines, which are not attested by &, but are 
parlly represented in 8: by Ne py pr (1) 


ΝΣ ND 1929 yo (2) 
(M yn) py yin nat ὍΘ En ΠῚ 5 (3) 
:(M? yn) yotn ΠΡΟ Opn) (4) 
‘The man of evil eye God hateth, 
And He hath created nothing more evil than him. 
For this—by reason of everything the eye quivereth, 


And from the face it maketh tears.’ 
S has -— 


(= 1) ‘The evil of the eye God hateth, 
(= 2) And He hath created nothing more evil than it. 
(= 3) Therefore the eye quivereth by reason of everything.’ 


Flere tt ts clear that (2) a a doublet of 13. Ὁ, while (1) τς prod. a gloss on the same stichus (13 Ὁ); (3) and (4) are 
Who could fall away ... i.e. Who ever had the power and opportunity of falling away and inflicting 

mischief, and failed to do so? Such cases (see next verse) are so rare as to be marvellous. For ‘inflict harm’ (ym?) 

cp. Ps. xv. 4. } 

11. his good fortune (# 12))). For this meaning cp. Prov. xi. 10; or it may mean ‘his goods’ (riches); cp. 
Deut. vi. 11. 

And the congregation shall declare his praise. Cp. xliv. 15 (same expression). @ ‘his alms’ (= Np 7¥: 
so Peters reads) is probably an interpretation, but suggests the right meaning. A rich man who was pious would show 
his piety by generous almsgiving: cp. the Rabbinic dictum ‘the salt of mammon is almsgiving’. 

(f) XXXI. 12-24 (= (ἃ XXXIV. 12-24). With the subject of this subsection cp. Prov. xxiii. I-3. 

12. at a great man’s table. So # preferably to & (‘at a great table’, i.e. one well provided): cp. δ Ζγφε Adoth 
vi. 5: ‘lust not for the table of kings.’ For the Rabbinic rules regarding table-manners cp. Derek eres rabbu vi-viii ; 
also Derek eres zuta and Kallah. 

Be not greedy upon it. Cp. Derek eres zuta i: ‘ Be careful with your teeth (i.e. at your meals) that you do not 
eat too much.’ The Hebrew phrase lit. = ‘Open not thy throat upon it’ (this possibly may mean, ‘ Make no remark’: 
so Edersheim, cp. next note). 

Say not: There is abundance upon it. The Syr. 227 7s not enough for me ‘is’, says Edersheim, ‘characteristic. 
The praising of the food in Oriental countries is done by the host; the mere act of admiration by any one else would be 
regarded as dangerous.’ 

13. Remember that an evileye... ‘Whena person expresses what is considered improper or curious admiration 


419 


τη" 


SIRACH 91 13-17 


»God hath created nothing more evil than the eye ; 
iTherefore over everything must it weep’. 
15 )« Be considerate* to 'thy companion as thyself’, 
And be mindful of all ™thou detestest™. 
14 Stretch not out the hand "wherever he may look”, 
° And collide not with him® Pin the dish? !, 
16 “Eat like a man ‘what is put before thee’, 
‘And be not ravenous’, lest thou become disliked 4. 
17 ‘Leave off firstt "for manners’ sake’, 
vAnd devour not voraciously* “lest thou become offensive™. 


variants of 13 ὁ [18 embodies a number of variants, §c. from different codices|. In (3) ΠῚ 5 has displaced }3 by 
and 937 has been (erroneously) inserted ; while yyn has arisen, prob., from ἽΝ ΩΤ a corruption of yin (Perles) 
h-h ® ὃν pon x (= variant (2) N73 nd): (ἃ τι εκτισται; Ii Reading youn yy $5 an j>D by = & δια 
TovTo ἀπὸ παντὸς προσωπου Saxpue (so Smend: yon pyar Jrom variant (4)): ® here for last two words yields 
a further variant, viz. nnd Ὁ), ‘its freshness is abated’ ( from Deut. xxxiv. 7) i vv. 14, 15 fo be transposed 
(with Smend): in the usual order ‘may look’ has no proper antecedent Kk Reading myn (cp. xxxviii. 1 note) 
with Smend: ἸῺ nyt (only again in this form Prov. xxiv. 14) = ‘know’: (ἃ voe: 3 = ® (‘know that thy 
neighbour is like thyself’) Hl So® ὥ: & (freely) Ta Tov πλησιον εκ σεαυτου m-m 15 nw: & [em παντι] 
πράγματι =? ΠΟ (I mg. NNIW AWN zs lo δὲ preferred) nn 10 by 2.3) DYpD (ΟΝ repeated accidentally : omit) = 
Gr ov eav emPBdeWn (N* 155 Syro-Hex emreyys = 3) 0-0 ® mg. YOY INN ὈΝῚ (an — ἽΠΠ) “it. and join ποῦ 
thyself with him’: ( καὶ μὴ συνθλιβου avtm (70 avr αὐτου: Origen per (avrov)): 3 ‘do not force thy hand’ 
Ρ-Ρ 35 ΝῈΩΣ = ‘in the basket’: @& ‘in the dish’ (τρυβλιῳ) (so 3) give NID an extended meaning (so Peters) 


9-4 [n 18 τ΄. 16 exists in a double form, as follows : 


s5yin Β pyn Ser) maa WS wND IDA (1) (2) 
p32 TW YI (3) 


of anything, he is generally reproved by the individual whom he has thus alarmed’... and especially when one is 
invited to partake of a meal ‘ he must reply if he do not accept the invitation ‘“‘ Heneean” (i.e. ‘‘ may it be productive of 
enjoyment”), or use some similar expression ; else it will be feared that an evil eye has been cast upon the food’ (Lane, 
Modern Egyptians, i. 183 (315), as cited by Edersheim), The thought of our passage, however, seems rather to be that 
the guest at the great man’s table should not be envious and greedy in the presence of the abundance he sees upon it; 
such envy and greed is equivalent to ‘the evil eye’: cp. xiv. 10a, ‘The eye of him that has an evil eye darts greedily (® 
Dyn, cp. 1 Sam. xiv. 32) upon bread.’ In the same passage Ben-Sira also says that the ‘evil-eyed’ man is not only 
greedy, but grudging (xiv.106). For the Biblical senses of ‘the evil eye’ see 2}, s.v. ‘ Eye’ (ii, col. 1453), and for the 
later senses /Z, 5. ν. ‘Evil’ Eye, v. 280f. [For the variant additional clauses in ¥ see critical note.] 
God hath created nothing more evil than the eye; Therefore over everything must it weep. The eye 
is a main cause of sin; cp. Num. xv. 38f. (esp. 39: ‘that ye go not about after . . . your own eyes’); Job xxxi. I 
(1 made a covenant with mine eyes’, &c.); it is therefore punished by God in that when misfortune comes it must 
weep (so Smend). Ἷ 
15, 14. For the transposition of these verses see critical note. 
15. Be considerate. i.e. treat in a friendly way; cp. xxxviii. 1 note (same Hebrew verb). @ here has ‘know’ 
(voet): see critical note [{ἀ for whole line has: ‘ Know the affairs of thy neighbour by thine own’ (R.V. ‘ Consider thy 
neighboutr’s [liking] by thine own’). See next note.] 
to thy companion as thyself. ‘Thy companion’ here =, of course, thy companion at table, thy fellow-guest. To 
see in this dictum an anticipation of the positive form of the Golden Rule of the Gospel, as Friedlander claims (Ze 
Jewish Sources of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 232 1.), is not justified by the context. 
And be mindful of all thou detestest. Here, again, the reference is to the behaviour of the guest at table. 
In Tobit iv. 15, which is cited by Fritzsche and Ryssel in this connexion, the reference is more general and less restricted 
(‘And what thou thyself hatest do to no man’). 
᾿ ΤΆ: wherever he may look. i, e. wherever thy fellow-guest may look. Possibly, however, the reference is to 
the host. 


τὸ: like a man. i.e. as a grown-up man and not as a child, i.e. as becomes a man. Smend compares 
Qoh. x. 17. 
δ 


16, 17. be not ravenous ... devour not voraciously. Cf. xxxvii. 29: ‘Indulge not excess in any enjoyment, 
nor immoderation in any dainties.’ Prescriptions against gluttony are common in the Rabbinic literature. 


* Matt. vii. 12: ‘All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto 
them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ 


420 


SIRACH 31. 18-20 


[18 And, moreover, when thou art seated *in a large company * 
Stretch not the hand out ¥before a neighbour’. 

19 Surely a little is sufficient for 7a man of understanding’, 

And he need not *choke* upon his bed. 

| (c) *Pain and sleeplessness, and distress?, 

A(z) ©And inward disorder® “are with a foolish man‘. 

:.(α) *Healthy sleep® ‘hath a purged belly‘, 

(2) And when he riseth in the morning £his wits are with him’. 


apd owe a7 wea dioen (4) 
[ This line added in smaller writing in MS. axon 15. 773 AN ny] (5) 
Ura aye ως ἀνθρωπος τα παρακειμενα σοι Pa 6 
kat μὴ διαμασω μη μισηθῃς. ee 

[3 has for vv. 15-16 three stichor = (3) (4) (5) [22 same order }. 

(1) ‘ Take thy seat like a man that is chosen, 
(2) And dart not greedily (i.e. de not voracious) lest thou become abhorred. 

(3) Know that thy neighbour is like thyself. 


(4) And eat like a man what is placed before thee, 
(5) And be not gluttonous, lest thou be rejected.’ 


The form of ® as it exists in the MS. ts a mixture of two recensions. Apparently (3).(4) and (5) represent the 
recension of the text which lay before &. It vs clear that (3) ἐξ a doublet of v. t5 a: wt divides the pairs of doublets 
(1) (2) and (4) (5); (1) 2s @ variant form of (4) and (5) of (2). Peters adopts (4) and (5) as representing the 
original form of ®Q, and corresponding to & ; but Smend adopts (4) and (2) thus: 


quad pwy 337 ΝΘ dion = τό ἃ 

dyin ip oyn ὈΝῚ = 16 Ὁ 
Tt should be nated that ® mg. gives as a variant to (1) nai wa 5x, from which Fuchs concludes that the 
original form of τό ἃ in ® was: ἽἼΓΙΣΣ We wx dyDN, i.e. ‘eat as a man what is in front of thee’: δίς, he thinks, 
will explain N23 AWN WN im (1) and ἼΞΡ owy "ΣῪ in (4): ut the latter τς attested by & rt So & = 
® (4): the variant in ἸΏ (1) ΤᾺ) (2. ἽΠ5)) = ‘ what is in front of thee’ (cp. Exod. xiv. 2, Ezek. xlvi. 9): ® (1) 
4n3) wNd perhaps arose from ND) WN2, misread 12} = ‘upright’: hence 3DN in ® (1) s-s 32 DYN DN) = Lit. 
‘and dart not (greedily) upon’; varzant (4) 1) ΠΠΠ ΝΟῚ (mana = ‘greedy’: ἡ Neo-Hebr. word with 


Aramaic affinities) tt (partly damaged) pwrxn din = ὅτ: $ ‘be watchful’ u-u (damaged) ΣΝ 
DD = (ἃ χαριν radeas UVES G0 bn ὈΝῚ ive. yon (from wn or νυ ‘to swallow greedily’; cp. Obad. 16): 
Ge καὶ μὴ amAnotevov W-W ® (damaged) ONON 15: & py ποτε προσκοψῃς = ἢ Span 1D (Peters) a-x 7572: “in 
the midst of many’ y-y So ® yn vad: (ἃ mporepos avray = pavad (so 8): Schechter, Ryssel propose 
ΟῚ Ὁ 2-2 2) WIN = & ἀνθρωπῳ πεπαιδευμενῳ ( mg. 112) = ‘honest, steadfast): S ‘righteous’ = 
® mg. 8-ἃ 30 pry” ‘burneth’: (ἃ avOpawe = ? pnw" (from next line: so read) b-b G movos aypummas και 
χολερας : 385 PWM Ay. AW TIN DNID: buf (ἃ = the first four words of B: prob. prwny 15 an error for 
pwn = pane” a variant of PL in previous line: tt overloads the stichus here τὸ 9 mayen (ΔΙ ovB)) 121: 


Gr καὶ στροφος : H ‘et tortura’ (but Cod. Tol.‘ et tortura ventris ’, whech suggests that γαστρὸς has fallen out of &): 
και στροῴος γαστρος =? ὨΊΣΙΞΙ Dy (so Smend: so read: Smend also reads 192 ΣΝ for AW IWIN im 20 (c), 
prob. rightly ; cp. Targ. Job vii. 4 “nw ΠΤ) d-d 3 DDD WN DY: Ge pera avdpos ἀπληστου -- 8; bul ἸΏ is 
implied by iA LAIN in 19 ἃ e-e 35 on ΠῊΦ (Orn = ‘health’ as 77 Prov. xiv. 30) = & umvos υγειας 38 
Soy ΣΡ ὃν (bby im PBH= ‘to clarify’ (wine, &c.); here ‘purge’: ? read byby pl. pass.) = Gk em evrepo 
μετριῳ (μετριῳ a toning down) 8- ] NN WEN = & [the right order of clauses in Ὁ. 20 15 given in B, as above, 
vtz. 20 (c) (d) (a) (Ὁ) against (ὰ]. Tov. 20 ® appends some additional clauses, six in number, which are partly 
destroyed ( gaps in MS.) : 


18. Stretch not the hand out before a neighbour. Cp. Derek eves γαῤδα vii: ‘When two are sitting at table, 
the elder begins to eat first, and the younger after him ; and if the younger begins first he is a glutton.’ Cp. also Lane 
(op. cit. i. 183): ‘The master of the house first begins to eat; the guests or others immediately follow his example’ (this 
last passage is cited by Edersheim.) 

19-22. Moderation in eating conduces to health. 


19. Surely alittle... Cp. Prov. xiii. 25: ‘The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul.’ 
choke upon his bed. Or ‘groan’, viz. from the effects of indigestion. 
20. Pain and sleeplessness... Cf. xxxvil. 29-31. 


421 


SIRACH 31. 21-25 


21 hAnd even if thou hast been constrained with dainties, 
iArise and vomit‘, and thou shalt have ease. 
22 jLListen, my son, and despise me not, 
k And in the end¥ thou shalt comprehend my words). 
In all thy doings be !modest', 
And no ™mishap™ shall touch thee?. 
23 "Him that is generous over meat® °the lip® blesseth ; 
? The testimony of his generosity? is lasting : 
24 Him who is niggardly over meat ‘the city murmureth at’; 
‘The testimony of his niggardliness* is lasting. 


(g) XXXI. (XXXIV.) 25-31. The use and abuse of wine (= 2+2+2+1+42 distichs). 


25 In wine ‘also’ show not thyself valiant, 
For tnew wine*t “hath been the ruin" of many. 


yoy WaN APIA pry Naw ...... eee M (1) (2) 
προ kA okmotem.ore tora. coo (3) 
Ἐν ee ty cus (is) (5) 


9. = (1) (2) and by tts atd (1) can be restored fo 112) wR DY ON MW: thus (1) and (2) are doublets of 20 (a) 
and (Ὁ): the variant in (a) may be due to an attempt to refine away the somewhat coarse expression in 20a Δ by 
Soy. Zn (4) mma NvON) ἦν, apparently, a variant of 35 mm 21 Ὁ (end). [Note that & in 20b dormiet usque 
in mane = 8 and ® (2) agaznst & (ανεστη mpor) | h-h The right order of vv. 21, 22 ts preserved in & and 85. 
In B® 22d 2 placed before 21, and a doublet = 19 ἃ intruded (AYN) 2) WIN ΥἽ xd), thus producing the order 
22cd doublet, 21, 228 Ὁ i Bap ΠῚΡ ze. ‘keep on hoping’ (patiently): (ἃ avacra μεσοπορων : but 248, &c.+ 
ἐμεσον = & surge a medio et vome (a conflation): read mp op (or NP): S ‘withdraw thyself from the midst of 
the company’ 3) ® has these lines in a double form thus : 


S nan ὈΝῚ 23 pow (a) 

ON DYN nana (Ὁ) 

ΥἹΟῚ. ΠΡῚ 3 yw (c) 

9927 Nyon ΠΡ ἽΠΝΩῚ Sy (ΔΙ. aydn) xdn den (6) 


Here, again, we have double readings: (c) and (4) represent the recension of Q which lay before S$ (reading 
ΒΟΥ =v): (a) and (b) = & kK-k Reading MANN = & (so 15. (d) ὁκ 3 (b)>)) Il 35 pry: 
G& ‘adroit’ (extpexns = 38 : cp. Micah vi. 8, where yoyn = ‘walk humbly’ zs rendered by LXX croov εἰναι : (τ mis- 
understood): for ΝῸΝ cp. xiii. 8 [1 T. J. Foma 43 .c yys¥ ts opposed fo Δ ‘ gluttonous’: Lev7'] mm 7 DN 
(‘mischief’): Ge appoornna: S ‘evil’ on ® ond by yy = & λαμπρον ex αρτοις : S* the good eye over’, ἄς. 
(cp. Prov. xxii. 9) 0-0 ® TAY: Gr χειλη: S> p-p 35 yaw Ny = (ἃ (+«a) S ‘and a good witness’ 
(zncorrectly) 1-4 So & διαγογγυσει πολις =? WY fan (so Peters: but Wy fem.): BM aywa mn) ‘shall be 
troubled in the gate’ [ perhaps WA {IM should be read = ‘he that is niggardly ... shall be murmured at 
in the gate’] τὸν So ® mg. Ge (-Ἐ και): ® text has nyt for nyIY—a scribal error corrected by B mg. [S>v. 24] 
Ξπὸ 18 ΕΝ — το: > Och (9. ΞΞ 103) τ win: S$ ‘the old (wine)’ wu Swan: & ἀπώλεσεν = 9 
YY Reading W\23 with Smend (cp. & 70 ws | Clem. Alex. ws apa} καμινὸος and 3): ἸΩ text W2 = & (ordinary reading) 


21. Arise and vomit. This appears to represent the best attested text (see critical note). The custom of using 
an emetic after immoderate eating was prevalent among the Romans; cp. Cicero, ad «427. xiii. 52.1, of Caesar : “ἐμετικήν 
agebat ; itaque et edit et bibit ἀδεῶς ᾿ (cited by Edersheim). Here, however, the reference may be simply to natural — 
action. In S7/ra (ΠῚ ‘NN end) on Lev. xviii. 25 (‘and the land itself vomiteth out its inhabitants’) the explanation is 
given: ‘as a man vomiteth his food’ (12119 NN NYPOY DIN). 

22. be modest (as opposed to gluttonous) (see critical note). 

23. Him that is generous... blesseth. Cp. Prov. xxii. g: ‘He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed.’ 

24. Him who is niggardly over meat... Cp. xiv. Io. 

(g) XXXI. 25-31 (= & XXXIV. 25-31). 

25. In wine also show not thyself valiant. An echo of Isa. v. 22. 

new wine hath been the ruin of many. Illustrate from Judith xiii. 2. For the expression cp. xxx. 23 above. 
Note the change of words for ‘ wine’ in the two clauses. 


422 


SIRACH 31. 26-31 


* 6 * Like a furnace’ which proveth “the work of the smith, 
*So is wine in the quarrelling of the scornful*. 

7’ Life-giving waterY 7is wine to a man? 
If he drink it *in moderation ®. 

beWhat life® hath a man that lacketh new wine, 

4Seeing it was created? °for rejoicing from the beginning®”. 

28 Joy of heart ‘and gladness and delight’ 

Is wine drunk #in season and (for) satisfaction ®. 

1:9 " Headache, derision, and dishonour! 

Is wine drunk ‘in strife and vexation’. 

30 JMuch wine is for the fool a snare/— 

It diminisheth strength and supplieth wounds. 


ιν 


51 At a banquet of wine ‘rebuke not?* a friend, 
1And ‘grieve him not in his ον": 


wow 15 viond πν τ 9 : (ἃ στόμωμα ev βαφῃ (ev Bapy=‘ by dipping’ R.V., ? an zncorrecl gloss) ΧΟ So 18: & ovras 
owos καρδιας ev payn ὑπερηφανων (248 o, ο. ev καρδιᾳ ὑπερηφανων ev μεθῃ): καρδιας an addition: S ‘so is wine the provoker 
of the ungodly’ [38 has a doublet with inferior readings of v. 26 : od ab say [59 awyn myn ima jay, ie. 
‘the discerning man proves work by work (every work); so is strong drink in the contention of the scornful’ | 
yy Reading on 105 (transposing ON and yn with Smend): G εφισον (ons = ON OD: S =O Md 
z% Reading vhond M1: ® καὶ for whole line has ved on pa 195 = “Τὸ whom is wine life? to the sick’ 
(cp. Prov. xxxi. 6) a-a 7). ‘in its (due) proportion oy measure’: soH=& 9 b-b A doublet of v. 2] ς ἃ 
occurs in ® text at the end of v. 28, which appears to yield a better text ; read ( following this) : 


rea pono 535 sim) gan sond ay yn 


(so Smend) (enferior text of 24 ¢d = ®'; doublet (end of v. 28) = 1) ce 351] on AD 38 AD YN d-d 79? 
pbna REE Vals Ease S13! elie ete MTT? e-e So 38! ἅπὰ 2; G εἰς εὐφροσυνὴην ἀνθρωποις (the last word an error for 
an’ apxns, see Clem. Alex. paed. ii. 23) [3% for whole line ‘for joy was created from the beginning] ΠῚ 
NT) ΠΥ (2. PAY] = ‘delight’ 22 late Hebr.): Ce καὶ εὐφροσυνηὴ ψυχης (cp. IY Ps. ciii. 5 =? ψυχη: so Peters 
reads here): 3% ‘and good times’ §-8 35 wn (so marg.) Ny ΟΝ = ‘saturation, moisture’ Job xxxvil. 11 ; 
myn Ps. xxxiil. 5): {τ [ev carpe | avurapkns h-h 35 nop) mays YN IND (for mayd ‘wormwood ἡ ἢ. ay with 
Smend): Ge πικρία wo xns (πικρια = aay often in LXX): % ‘pain, poverty, and headache’ = a double rend. of 
we AN3 1 DyD) ΠἽΠΠΣ = & ev ἐρεθισμῳ και ἀαντιπτωματι (S > D>) 1) ® S95 sn (1 maqam) ΠὩ 2 
UPD = ? S: (ἃ πληθυνεῖ μεθηὴ θυμὸν appovos εἰς πρόσκομμα (' Θυμὸον perhaps marginal correction of ἀντιπτωμα (20) 
ffart) kK-k G@ μη ελεγξης = nD1N be: H defective 1 Ge καὶ μὴ εξουθενησῃς avtov ev εὐφροσυνῃ αὐτου = 


26. Like a furnace...So is wine... ‘Furnace’ and ‘wine’ are parallel; just as the furnace tests and proves 
the real character of the metal (gold and silver), so wine brings out the real character of the ‘ scornful’—their inherent 
pride and viciousness being revealed in the quarrelsomeness that is engendered by free indulgence in drinking wine. 
According to Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (p. 68, ed. Schechter) wine is one of three things by which a man’s character is 
tested (business dealings, much wine, and much talk). @ has obscured the sense by the addition of an incorrect gloss 
(‘by dipping ’—‘ the furnace proveth the temper of steel by dipping,’ R.V.)—a reference to the process of dipping red- 
hot iron in water to give it temper. See Edersheim ad /oc. ἢ 

[The word rendered ‘smith’ in 26a = lit. ‘forger’ or ‘hammerer’ (Heb. vinnd) ; cp. Gen. iv. 22.] 

27. life-giving water. Lit. ‘water of life’; cp. for the expression Rev. xxi. 6, ἄς. (not in the O. T.). 

If he drink it in moderation. Moderation in this connexion is often insisted upon in Rabbinic literature ; cp. 
e.g. Derek eres rabba vii: ‘Wine drunk in large quantity is bad for the body ; in moderation it is good.’ Edersheim 
remarks on the verse as a whole: ‘These sentiments were perhaps natural at a period when there were practically no 
drinks known save wine and water; cp. Virgil, Georg. i. ad init’ [‘In moderation’, lit. ‘in its measure’, or (due) 


proportion. } 
Seeing it was created for rejoicing. Cp. Ps. civ. 15. : 
28. Joy of heart... gladness... Is wine drunk inseason... Cp. Τ. Β. Yoma 76 ὁ : ‘If he acts rightly (i.e. 


drinks in moderation, Rashi) it (wine) gladdens him; if he does not act rightly (1. 6. drinks to excess) it ruins him’ 


(Heb. 12wW!D 731 xb ΠΟΘ mat; see Cowley-Neubauer, p. xxv). 

30. Much wine . . . diminisheth strength ... According to Adoth de R. Nathan (ed. Schechter, p. 108 ὁ, 
chap. 37) wine is one of seven things which if used in moderation are wholesome, and if in excess are harmful (wine, 
work, sleep, wealth, travel, warm water, and the letting of blood). ᾿ ' : 

31. At a banquet of wine... This verse forms the transition to the following section which deals with behaviour 
at banquets generally. Logically, perhaps, it should be reckoned with what follows (xxxii. I-13). 
rebuke not a friend. Cp. xx. 1. 


423 


He 


SIRACH | 31. 31-32: °3 


m<Speak to him’™ no reproachful word, 
»<And quarrel not with him?® °in the presence of (other) people®. 


(h) XXXII. (XXXV.) 1-13. Ox behaviour at a banquet (= 3+2+2+2+2+4+2+4+1 distichs). 


32 1 “If thou hast been appointed (banquet-)master, do not exalt thyself”? ; 


Be “to them® as one of themselves ; 
Take thought for them,'and afterwards" be seated. 
2 Supply *their needs*, and tafterwards* recline ; 
That thou mayst rejoice "on their account", 
And ‘receive consideration’ “for politeness”. 


3 * Speak, O elder, Yfor it is thy privilege’: 
“But be discreet in understanding’, and *hinder ποῖ" song*. 


Qnnieva 72) Ser: so Smend MM SOGS πο SoS = ny myn ὈΝῚ: E καὶ py αὐτὸν θλιψῃς = ὃ wIyyn by 
0-0 35. mg. DIN 23 ον = S: Ge ev ἀπαιτήσει : bul 248 εν απαντησει αὐτου suggests corruption of es anavrnow 
avOporav = 3ἢ mg. P-P linea ultima folii deest (S/rack): Gk nyoupevov σε κατεστησαν ; μὴ επαιρου = (Peters Ww) 


waa (Smend) xwonn ὃν qrow = S ($+ ‘and at the head of the rich do not sit down’: th’s may be a corrupt 
variant of, or a gloss on, the first line. It may have stood in the Hebr. MS.) a1 So 19 S: G& ev avros (but 
Ν 248» εν) rr So ® fext 3 : G καὶ ovrw = 3ἢ mg. 33) (cp. xiii. 7) s8 So ® S: bul G τὴν xpeav cov 
(Sah > σου) tt H anni: ἃ S> uu @ δὶ αὐτοὺς = ὩΣ: H ONII3 ‘in their honour’: % ‘in their 
latter end’ (correct fo ΠΤ ΓΙ ‘in their joy’: so Smend) vv 35 Say xen (cp. Prov. ili. 4: 310 baby jn ἘΝῚ 
“and find favour and good repute’): Smend thinks bak has come in Srom τ. 35 possibly jn or IDM should be read 


for aw here. (τ στεφανον =? bb5: S$ ‘honour’ = 92: Schechler suggests ay ὙΥ 30 ΒΥ Sy = Gr εὐκοσμιας 
xapw: 85. ‘at table’ (Ὁ mzsreading ADD for 1DY2) s-X τς 3 lacking in 3 y-¥ ® TD ΝῚΠ 1D = & πρεπει 
yap σοι 2% 1 Soy yoym: BH mg. nod yxym = Micah vi. 8 (x PBH yoxsn = ‘to hide, keep in the 
background’) : Cr ev ἀκριβει εἐπιστημῃ = 2 da VISTA (248 ev axpiBera της επιστημης), Cp. XVI. 25 a-a (ἃ μὴ 


31. Speak to him no reproachful word. Cp. xviil. 18, xx. 15, xxil. 22. 
in the presence of (other) people. Lit. ‘of men’ (Ὁ Ν 23). The rendering of & here. (“by asking back a debt’ 
= with a demand for repayment) depends upon a corruption in the Greek ; see critical note. 

(A) XXXII. 1-13 (= ἃ XXXV. 1-13). 

1-3. The banquet-master should study not his own dignity, but the comfort and convenience of the guests. 

1. If thou hast been appointed (banquet-)master. i.e. συμποσίαρχος ΟΥ̓ἀρχιτρίκλινος : cp. John ii. 8. The 
reference is to the sumptuous banquets which were given by wealthy Jews, and conducted according to the rules of 
etiquette generally acknowledged by the polite society of the time (Greek or Roman). The ἀρχιτρίκλινος was apparently 
appointed either by lot or election in such circles. The rules governing his conduct ‘regarding the invitation and 
seating of the guests, the mixing of the wine and the serving of the dishes’, as also the methods of procedure to be 
adopted by the cook and the servant of the house (31), ‘were no less strictly observed by the Jews than by the 
Greeks and Romans’ (Kohler in JZ, ii. 497). A vivid account of the more luxurious banquets of this kind, such as 
were given by wealthy heathen and even Jews, is set-forth in Philo, De vita contempl., §§ v, vii (cp. /QR, xii. 761-764 ; 
also Wisd. ii. 7f.). The Rabbis often uttered warnings against the dangers of such banquets, and tried to guard 
against the worst evils by insisting on discussions of Scripture, sacred songs, and the presence of students of the Law 
at such gatherings. Ben-Sira’s advice is less tinged with rigorousness, but insists on a standard of good manners, 
restraint, and consideration for the guests. He obviously has in mind banquets where such standards were not 
observed. 

Be to them... 3S adds a clause here which is probably not genuine ; see critical note. 

Take thought for them. ‘This, according to Plutarch (Pod/wx, vi. 11), would refer to the nature and quantity 
of the wine to be given to each’ (Edersheim). 

be seated. Hebr. 210M. This verb (in the Hif.) is used in Mishnaic Hebrew in the sense of ‘ recline at table’ (it.? 
‘surround the table’), but does not occur in this sense in Biblical Hebrew. (In Mishnaic Hebrew 1D = ‘banqueting 
couch). Philo (of. cit. ὃ 6) describes the couches used at a luxurious banquet thus: ‘Couches, both for three to recline 
upon, and which extend all round, are manufactured of tortoise-shell or ivory, and of the more valuable woods ; and of 
them most parts are inlaid with precious stones. On them are laid cloths of purple with gold inwoven, as well as others 
dyed with divers bright colours, in order to attract the eye.’ 

2. And receive consideration. (τ ‘and receive a crown’, which has been supposed by some (older) commentators 
to contain a reference to the custom, common at the drinking-parties of Greeks and Romans, and perhaps known to 
the Hebrews (cf. Wisd. ii. 8; Ps. xxviii. 1-5), of the guests crowning themselves with garlands. Fritzsche sees a reference 
to a supposed custom of crowning the successful sywzposiarch, which, however, lacks attestation. In any case our text 
probably did not read ‘crown’ originally (see critical note). 

for politeness. Cf. xxxi. 17, ‘for manners’ sake’ (same Hebr. word, D1). 

3-6. The elder should not obtrude his ‘wisdom’ in an unseasonable manner; music and song also have their 
rights at a banquet. 

3. Oelder. The Hebr. word = lit. ‘grey-head’; cp. viii. 9, xlii. 8. 

be discreet in understanding, Or keep thy wisdom in the background (see critical note for meaning of the 
Hebr. word). ‘Do not play the sage when others are laughing’ (Edersheim). 


424 


i) 


SIRACH 32. 4-10 


4] ἃ place of music pour not forth talk’, 
© And at an unseasonable time® ‘display not thy wisdom?. 
5 ef As a signet-stone of carnelian’ £on a necklace (?) of gold 
»Ts a concert of song} at a banquet of wine’. 


6 iiSettings of fine gold and a seal of carbuncle! 


Is the sound of music with the pleasance of wine*!. 


7'Speak, O young man, “if thou art compelled™— 
"Tf thou art asked twice or thrice"). 


'8°PSum up thy speech?, ‘say much in little4, 


‘And be like’ one that knoweth and can keep silence?. 


jo Among Selders® tassert not thyself*, 


"And ply not ‘eminent persons* overmuch*. 
© “In front of “hail speedeth the lightning, 
And in front of *the shamefast* speedeth favour’. 


eumodurns = : but 248 Chrysost. xii. 248 (Ben.) > μὴ b-b ® has a doublet here, ny own by yn pps (1) 


my Fawn md Ward yoy (2): 2 my Javin Ss svn pips = & (omou ἀκροαμα κτὰλ.)}: S= 38’ ce 35 


F ony (11. xbay) ba) = (τ και ακαιρως 4- 35 pannn ΠΟ e-e The true Hebrew text of this verse, which ts preceded 


by a variant (two lines), runs: yn ane Sy wy pavin i ant aa Sy one mr (for mr Exod. xxxv. 22 1. 
with variant DMN cp. Ge: so Smend) '-f Reading OWS DMINI: E σῴραγις avOpaxos ὅ8-8 30 ΠῚ 3 Sy (meaning 


of 3°) uncertain): ® variant ant D3 yas bh % WH BSD = (τ συγκριμα μουσικων (1 variant by ον 
‘divine song’ = S$) i Here again the true Hebrew text ts preceded by a variant (two lines) which corresponds 
το 9 3) ΓΡῚΞ oni 15 mado: ἃ (freely) ev κατασκευασματι χρυσῳ σῴμαγις σμαραγδου k-k 3 pyr by 


vian: Ge ep nde owe [$ renders v. 6‘ As a collar of gold and gems and emeralds, so are pleasant words at 


| a banquet of wine’: this corresponds to ἸῺ variant: τ ΠΤ Sy may oat ΝΣ JD 11 WDD) Ἴ5) 13) Ar 23] 


ly. ἢ wanting in 85 m-m 39 ANN PAY ON = (ἃ εἰ χρεια σου n-n 9 7>xv ox wow owyE pina: Ge pods 
dis eav ἐπερωτηθῃς = ἡ JON? DN ΝΒ pina (so Peters = ‘at the most twice if thou art asked’: sh7s may be 
right: Smend omits PIN2 (cp. ΤΥ) Ps. xc. 10) and keeps worh DY = ? ‘twice or thrice’ as above (but the 
expression ts strange) 0-0 y, 8 wanting in S Ρ-ν Ck κεφαλαιωσον Aoyov = VN bb3 (Smend): 9 ον Ὁ 52 = 
? ‘finish saying ° 4-4 AIAN vyyi = ? ‘and make little (Pze/) of much’: & (freely) ev odyos πολλα (or ὃ 
reading Dyna Schechter) τοῦ ® Snot: & ywoves 8-8 9 7271 line has ‘elders’ and in line 2 ‘eminent persons’ 
(‘princes’ ow’): S ¢ransposes: so (ἃ (μεγιστανων and yeporres true text: see note following) t-t G μη εξισαζου 
(‘behave not as their equal’ R.V.): du¢ δὲ & (praesumas) εξουσιαζου : 35. OPN be = ὦ u-u So 38: Cr καὶ 
etepou Neyovtos μὴ πολλα αδολεσχει, but 3) ubi senes=orov yepovres (cp. 248 ὁπου Neyorres): WL preserves the true reading 
VV τὶς 10 wanting in &: Ἰ has it in a double form with one variant, viz. W\1 (‘shamefast’) and 35 (‘contrite ’) 
wow So =H (grandinem): G& [προ] βροντης (a correction: & preserves original reading) x-x Gr [προ] 
αἰσχυντηρου = ® wi (the variant 7s N34) 


song. i.e. singing accompanied by music. 

4. In a place of music. i.e. at an entertainment (€ ἀκρόαμα). The entertainment here contemplated was, 
apparently, in the main musical (vocal and instrumental). It followed at the conclusion of the banquet. Heathen 
banquets included also at this point performances by jesters, story-tellers, and acrobats. 

at an unseasonable time... Cp. for the general sentiment Deves eves γαῤδα vii (end): ‘One shall not rejoice 
among those who are weeping, &c. This is the rule. One shall not have different manners from those of his friends, 
and of people in general among whom he is’ (in reference to social gatherings). 

5. As a signet-stone of carnelian... Cp. Prov. xxv. 11. 

6. Settings. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 17 and 20. 

7-13. The young should be modest and not self-assertive; respectful to their elders, and not unduly talkative. 
' When the time comes they should return home quietly, and remember the duty of thankfulness to God. 

7. Speak, O young man, if thou art compelled... For the general sentiment of the verse cp. Derek eres uta ii 
| (beginning) : ‘Sit before the elders, and let thine ears be attentive to their words. Be not hasty in answering. . . . Do 
not speak in the presence of one who is greater than you in wisdom.’ 

If thou art asked twice or thrice. i.e. only speak after repeated invitations; or the clause may run: 
‘(Speak) at the most twice if thou art asked’ (see critical note). @ is rendered by R. V. ‘ Yet scarcely if thou be twice 
asked’ (= same sense as rendering adopted in text. 

9. Among elders (or ‘eminent ones’, see critical note) assert not thyself. Cp. Job xxxii. 6 (xxix. 7 f.). 

ply not. viz. with questions. The verb (779) has the meaning of ‘ to weary’, ‘trouble’ in later Hebrew. 

10. In front of hail... Hail as well as thunder is inseparable from lightning our text says ; but the lightning is 
swifter, and is seen first; even so the favour and winsomeness inspired by modesty anticipate the exhibition of the latter 
(Smend). The verse reads like a proverb. The Hebr. verb rendered ‘hasten’ here (NY): κατασπεύδει, seer 
1105 425 > 


SIRACH 32. 11-14 


τι ¥*At the time of departure” be not last, 
Depart home “and linger not*; 

12 And (there) whatsoever cometh up in thy mind, speak”, 
°In the fear of God and not in foolishness’. 

13 4And for all these things bless thy Maker, 
Who satisfieth thee with His bounty. 


XXXII. (XXXV.) 14-17. (a) The god-fearing and the sinful man: a contrast (= 2 - 2 distichs). 


14 °f He that seeketh’ God will receive discipline, 
And he that resorteth to Him diligently shall obtain *favours*. 


y-¥ ® has: myn pden qnvad awe (2) | ansnn bx spa ny3 (1) 
saat 725 ὃν aby ὈΝῚ (4) | oat naan by inde nya (3) 
£55 gona xdy by meeps (6) 1 pyn adv Ἵ[Π}3]0 [25] (5) 


) ‘At the appointed time linger not (be not last) ; 

) Depart to thy home and accomplish (thy) will. 

) At table-time multiply not words ; 

4) But if anything comes up in thine heart, speak. 

(5) Depart to thy house and accomplish (thy) will, 

(6) In the fear of God and not in foolishness’ (ad for 53). 


Cx does not recognize (3) and (4), which = % of v. 11 essentially: (3) τς a variant of (1), IPD. and jnby being 
corruptions of the variants OB and mbv (so Smend). Smend adopts (4) as the true text of v. 12a; while 
Peters follows x and corrects tt by (5) zz Reading VOD) NYA (τ ev wpa εξεγειρου (Jur & surgendi = avacracews 
Clem. Alex. paed. ii. 7. 56): reading of & is secondary. ἾἮΉ vext 1Pb2 Nya = ‘at the time appointed’ a-a (Χ 
και μὴ ρᾳθυμει = NINN Sy (Gen. xlii. 1): Ὁ ΠΝ πὶ obey Ὁ from (5); but Smend keeps here b-b So ® (4) above 
(and Smend): Gk exer παιζε καὶ move τὰ ἐνθυμήματα cov. This partly corresponds to & (5) above ; correcting by & 
Peters reads 2937 ddr pny ov ce So ® (6) above correcting $5 at end 10 Ib: & xa μὴ apaptys Noy 
υπερηφανῳ, ? reading NNOAA x5) and Jona 4- 3 nbs bs by Gk και ἐπι τουτοις (ut © et super his omnibus) 
e-e The genuine text of this verse runs in ® thus: :nxyo YW AANw || ADD Mp Sx was This is preceded by 
a variant which has 87 for D2 tm line τ, and gives as line 2 ® of v. 15 Ὁ; zt τς followed by another variant 
which runs: syn>pnN wy ἢ προ np Sx cyan wart ze. ‘He that seeketh things pleasing to God will receive 
discipline, and He will answer him in his prayer’ [¢hzs = 3 substantially: ‘he who seeketh the service of God 
receiveth instruction; and when he prayeth before Him He heareth him’]: (τ has: ὁ φοβουμενος κυριον εκδεξεται 
παιδιαν, καὶ οἱ ορθριζοντες ευρησουσιν εὐυδοκιαν ff G o φοβουμενος (?from v.16): ® yao 5-- Reading nya 


means ‘to make brilliant’ in xiii. 5, 13 (where it is similarly rendered by &: see critical notes ad Zoc.) : so here it might 
be rendered ‘flasheth’—‘ In front of the hail flasheth the lightning, and in front of the shamefast flasheth favour’. 
[Prof. Schechter suggests ΚΓ}; cp. 1 Kings xx. 19=‘be urgent’; but the word is a doubtful one. A common meaning 
of ΓΝ is ‘to be victorious’.] 

12. In the fear of God and not in foolishness. W text has ‘in the fear of God and without lack of anything’, 
which may be a reminiscence, as Schechter suggests, of Ps. xxxiv. 9: ‘O fear Jahveh, His holy ones: for there is no 
lack (DM) to them that fear Him’: but see critical note. 

13. And for all these things bless thy Maker. This, according to Schechter (W7sdom of Ben-Sira, p. 32), 
implies the institution of grace over food (j1!27 N273), which was undoubtedly very old; it was, of course, based on 
Deut. vili. 10. 

Who satisfieth thee. Lit. ‘who saturateth thee’ (71197) ; cp. (τ (μεθύσκοντά σε). 


XXXII. 14—XXXIII. 31 (Ξ ἃ XXXV. 14—XXXVI. 16a and XXX. 25-40). Here a new section of the book 
begins. The main themes that emerge in it are: (1) Wisdom above all else consists in foresight against danger. The 
imprudence of the ungodly man is the result of pride, and the blindness so engendered ; the pious man, on the other 
hand, finds the right path by study of the Law and attention to its teaching (xxxil. 14—xxxiii. 6 = Gt xxxv. 14—xxxvi. 6): 
(2) a justification of the apparent arbitrariness of providential choice (xxxiii. 7-15 = (τ xxxvi. 7-15); (3) an appeal to 
the rulers and guides of the people to listen (xxxiii. 16-18 = Gt xxxvi. 16 a, xxx. 25-27). All this, as Smend points out, 
is introductory to the teaching that follows on (a) the importance of maintaining independence (xxxiii. 19-23 = Ut xxx. 
28-32); and (4) on keeping slaves and subordinates in order (xxxili. 24-31 = @& xxx. 33-40). 1 

(a) XXXII. 14-17 (= XXXV. 14-17). 

14. And he that resorteth to Him diligently... Cp. xviii. 14. 

426 


SIRACH 32. 15-19 


15 >He that seeketh out the Law ishall gain her} 
jBut the hypocrite} shall be snared thereby”. 

τό *!They that fear Jahveh discern His judgement!, 

™And elicit guidance from the darkness™5. 

17 "The man of violence” °wresteth reproofs°, 

PAnd forceth the Law to suit his necessity”. 


(6) XXXII. (XXXV.) 18-24. Forethought before action (= 2+2+2 distichs). 


18 4*A wise mant ‘will not conceal understanding®, 
tAnd a scornert "will not receive instruction"4. 
το ‘Without counsel carry out nothing ; 

“And after the deed”, *rue it not*. 


(cp. first variant in ®) = & εὐδοκιαν (3. benedictionem = evdoyav): W fext ΤΩΝ ‘an answer’ ἈΠΕ y, 15 
wanting in & 1 So ® (map): Ge εμπλησθησεται αὐτοῦ 1:1 3ὴ AbASM (cp. Prov. xxvi. 18: ‘as a madman δὴ 
Ge καὶ ο vmoKptvopevos k-k 3) has this verse in two forms: the variant runs: MYON || WDWD wD oN 
yo wes man (σι. nyaam) = ὦ II Reading first line as variant above: & ot φοβουμενοι κυριον ευρησουσιν 
κριμα (39' ὉΞΦῚ pI ND) m-m 351 NYY AwWID mdyann) (7. ΝΜ): (ἃ καὶ δικαιώματα ὡς φως εξαψουσιν 
(δα free rend, of ®': or possibly reading yyy) Ὠ)5) : S = 1] variant (see above), which may be a correction of the 
original (or paraphrase suggested (Ὁ) by a corrupt reading, Wad for >) nn Reading DON WX = & 
ἀνθρωπος ἀμαρτωλος: 9 ON WN = S 0-0  MINDN AY) = (ἃ ἐκκλίνει ἐλεγμὸν ( reproof’ szmg.): 3 ‘ concealeth 
instruction ἡ P-P 3ῇ AWN JW iY ANN: (ἃ καὶ κατα ro θελημα αὐτου (= ? YI ANNI) cvpyoe (248 εξευρισκει: 
ἡ. ὃ ελκυσει [Smend}) συγκριμα : 86 ‘and according to his will (= &) maketh his way’ (6uf 7. NNN 707 ἹΠῚΝ) 
9-4 ® has this verse in three forms ; two tn the text and one in the margin (Y' Ἰη" Ὦ mg.) rr ® (all three forms) 
DIN WN = S: (ἃ avnp Bovdys (= ? AYY WN: so Smend reads) ss Reading bay nos xd (Smend): & ov μὴ 
παριδῃ διανοημα (Savona = bow): %® noon now xd: ® saw πρὶ yd: BH mg. Sow np x5: $ ‘will not leave 
wisdom when it is hidden’ (combining παριδῃ with Y') t-t Reading yy with 35}: G ἀλλότριος και ὑυπερηφανος 
(misreading Tt as Mt) = by Tt (? and 38 mg.); but the sing. verb that follows (Ap or Ww) suggests that N 
ws an addition ; the line ought also to begin with 1: so 3 (= yy) πὰ Reading aan np xd (Smend) : 
® mg. myo np xd: BH an soe yb: 32} wwd avy xb =S: G ov καταπτηξει φοβον -- ὃ ΠῚ nm vd 
(ἡ corruption of AN np xd) [Peters reads line 1: Ss snoy xd pon wes ‘a wise man doth not dissemble wit’ : 
m line 2 he follows 18. ‘and a scorner guardeth not his tongue’|. A/ the end of v. 18 G+ καὶ pera to ποιήσαι μετ 
αὐτου avev βουλης (but 70 155 >; and νὰ: marks the words with an astertsk); the words have arisen from 


a correction of τὸ Ὁ; as they stand they yield no sense (avev Bovdns repetition of 19 a) v @ Eth praem. fili 
wow if. ‘and after thy deed’: 335 7 wyd “ANNI: Ge καὶ ev τῳ ποιῆσαι σε (248. 155 > ge): it, καὶ pera τὸ ποιῆσαι 
(/rom end of previous verse) = & et post factum s-s 35 Aypnn bse: Ge μὴ perapedou (wer αὐτου end of v. 18 has 


15. He that seeketh out the Law shall gain her. Cp. iv.12. The same Hebr. word (1p"5") occurs in both passages, 
and & renders in both passages ‘shall be filled’. By ‘seeking’ (W117) the Law is probably meant investigating it 
(searching out its meaning; cp. the technical use of the verb W717 in this sense in later Hebrew; also 71,2). Cp. 
Ps, cxix. 45. 

the hypocrite. i.e. the man who is not in earnest about the Law or its fulfilment, and who therefore only 
pretends to be interested. Only those who love the Law will discover its secrets; cp. John vii. 17. 

16. They that fear Jahveh discern His judgement. Cp. Prov. xxviii. 5. 

And elicit guidance from the darkness. Knowledge of God’s will, gained by the study of the revelation of 
it, will prove a beacon illuminating the darkness of life’s journey. Possibly, as has been suggested, Ben-Sira has in 
mind the great lighthouse of Pharos off Alexandria, which he may have seen. For the idea cp. Prov. vi. 23; Ps. cxix. 105. 

17. The man of violence wresteth reproofs. Cp. xxi.6. He will accept no guidance. 

And forceth the Law to suit his necessity. So 9. In (τ σύγκριμα = prob. DAW, i.e. ‘justice’. In its 
original form (τ may have suggested (reading ἑλκύσει for εὑρήσει) : ‘and will drag justice to suit his will.’ 

(ὁ) XXXII. 18-24 (= (ἃ XXXV. 18-24). 

18. A wise man will not conceal understanding, And a scorner ... Here ‘conceal’ apparently = ‘let be 
concealed’, let lie dormant; and the verse, as a whole, seems to mean: the wise man will take care to discover what 
course is demanded by prudence, and then to follow it ; while ‘the scorner’, i.e. the proud, wicked man, obsessed by 
his own conceit, is not willing to receive advice (‘instruction’). [Illustrate the general idea from Proy. xii. 15 (‘The 
way of the foolish is right in his own eyes; but he that is wise hearkeneth unto counsel’). The verse states a 
general principle which is illustrated in what follows (forethought and prudence is necessary before an effective course of 
action can be followed). The alternative for line 2 offered by #1 (= 3) is: ‘And the scorner doth not guard his 
tongue,’ i.e. is imprudent and reckless in speech; cp. Prov. xxi.23f. For &, the text of which is in much disorder, see 
Critical note. 

19. Without counsel... Cp. xxxvii. 16 (G). 


427 Ff 


SIRACH 32. 20—33. 3 


3} =20¥In a way set with snaresY walk not, 
And stumble not “at an obstacle twice’. 
21 abBe not careless® “ina way...... Ὁ 
22 4And in thy paths be wary?*. 
23 *'Tn all thy works guard thyself’, 
*For he that so doeth keepeth the commandment®’. 
24 He that observeth the Law guardeth himself", 


And he that trusteth in Jahveh ‘shall not be brought to shame’. 


(c) XXXIII. (XXXVI.) 1-3. Loyalty to (ρας Law brings its own reward (= 3 distichs). 


833 =| Him that feareth Jahveh no evil befalleth, 
But Jin temptation) *<he shall again be delivered?*. 
21mHe that hateth the law is not wise”, 
» And is tossed about <like a ship in a storm>"). 
3 °A man of discernment ?discerneth the Word?, 
4And the Law {15 faithful unto him as the Urim??°. 


arisen from petapedov) y-y ® Nwpyw JAI: (ἃ ev odo αντιπτωματος : S ‘in a way of steepness’ 2-2 & 32 
DDD: Ck ev λιθωδεσιν: /. ev λιθῳ dis (Hart) = S ἅτ has these two lines tn a double form (18, and 18) 
b-b and? non w= ἃ ὦ ὁ-Ὁ 38: Ann 773 ‘in the way of (?) the spoiler’: #’ oywa JaII= 9 : (ἃ ἐν 
od@ ἀπροσκοπῳ = ? 4939 7792 (so Peters reads). [In Rabbinic Heb. MEA occurs in the sense ‘round and smooth’: 
NEN might have some such meaning : ® apparently corrupt | a-d 155 ἼΠῚΠ NNN (so read) = 95 : (ἃ και απὸ 
τῶν τεκνων cov φυλαξαι = OWT JN ΠΝ 3) (1Ὲ}) e-e ® has this verse in a double form (3! and 185) ff 35" 
ἼΦΞΣ Wow ὙΦ ΞΈΡΕΙ (ἸΏ pon for Pwyn): ἦξξ 3: (ἃ ev παντὶ epyo moreve ty Ψυχῃ σου (? morteve for 
mpooexe: Cp. 24 8) &-8 Reading ΤῊΝ WW ΠῚ AMY 5 (= 39): Hl has “)}) nbs πὴ» 55 5 = S: & καὶ yap 
Touro ἐστιν τήρησις εντολων (= ὃ MNID WWW ΠῚ 1D: so Peters reads) bh % wa Wow AMIN A: Ek o morever 
(cp. τ. 23) νομῳ (248 κυριῳ = L) προσεχει evtodas: S ‘he that keepeth his way keepeth the commandment of 
God? (cp. Prov. xvi. 17) {3 wa NO: G& ἐλαττωθησεται (= 0M: “his may be right): % ‘shall not perish for 
ever’ }:) ® ba (ἜΣ a late Hebr. formation ; also again in xiiv. 20: ἡ Ὁ) is more common, δ. Κ΄. ἵν. 17, Vi. 7, 
xiii. 11) Ik Reading mdi DY” (or nda avh = 9, Smend): Ck καὶ παλιν εξελειται (1Η defective) lly, 2 
wanting in 2 mm 30. ΠῚ ΝΟ» DM Nd (rightly): G ἀνὴρ σοφος ov μισησει νομον nn Reading ΔΉ ΙΓΔῚ 
[ΠΝ 3 ay jon. (Smend) : (ἃ o δε υποκρινομενος ev avt@ ΓΞ ?ababnnr cp. XXXii. 15) ὡς ev καταιγιδι πλοιον [ν»ϑὉ ΞΞ 
ΓΟ ‘storm’; a noun not otherwise attested | 0-0 φ, 3 wanting in & P-P 35. 737 Pa: (ἃ ἐνπιστευσει νομῷ 
(νομος = 137 Ps. cxix. 57, 105) 14M. ee ee INIM: G καὶ ο νομὸς αὐτῷ motos ws ἐερωτημα δηλων (only 
B δικαίων [epornpa an explan. addition|) = 7228) DMN > AMM (so Peters, but without 1): Smend b aM) 
Ἢ ΤΡ navy ‘and the Law is for him an amulet, a band on the hand’ try, 4 wanting in &. From here 
fo xxxv. 11 there τς a gap in the Hebrew MS. consisting of two leaves (= seventy-two lines). Here again ® appa- 
rently must have contained doublets. 8-8 (τ εἐτοιμασον λογον = 435 PDN t-t (ἃ καὶ ovrws = $39) (cp. Xxxil. 2) 
U-U OF ακουσθησῃ = ἢ ΓΦ ΠῚ (or prow) : (ἃ ? read Nif. V-V (τ συνδησον : © et conservabit (= ? συντηρησον = ? 
373 (cp. Isa. viii. 16)) W-W Reading καὶ tore with 248 &c. Syro-Hex % (δ 70 &c. καὶ ovras): cp. IMN) ΧΙ. 7, 
XXXV. I xx 3 ‘like a swift wheel’: @& rpoyos ἀμαξης (3. quasi mota carri): = ἢ πον dadao (cp. Isa. xxviii. 28) 
y-¥ (ἃ σπλαγχνα μωρου 2-2 Reading WN ἸΞῚΝΘ : Ek ὡς akov orpepopevos (αξων = jDIN Exod. xiv. 25): 3‘ like 


20. And stumble not at an obstacle twice. For the figure of the obstacle (stumbling-block) cp. Isa.viil. 14. The 
verse appears to mean: do not persist in a course beset with pitfalls ; after stumbling at one obstacle, learn the lesson ; 
be warned and do not run the risk of stumbling a second time. 

21, 22. Be not careless... be wary. Repeating the general sentiment of the preceding verses. Possibly the 
corrupt word at the end of v. 21 meant ‘smooth’; ‘ Be not careless in a way that is smooth ’—a warning ‘not to trust 
too much to the apparent ease and simplicity of a course’ (Edersheim). 

23. In all thy works guard thyself... keepeth the commandment. ‘In the Rab. literature (T. B. Berakoth 
32 6) the exposing of oneself to danger is regarded as a transgression of the Scriptural words (Deut. iv. 9): ti PD 
WEI 100") > (‘ Only take heed to thyself and keep [guard] thy soul [self)’] (Schechter). ‘ 

24. He that observeth the Law... Cp. Prov. xvi. 17, xix. 16 (‘ He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his 
soul’), xxii. 5. Good fortune and happiness are the reward of loyalty to the Law and its diligent observance. Therefore 
the observance of the Law appeals to the highest self-interest. This verse forms a natural transition to the paragraph 
that follows. 

(c) XXXIII. 1-3 (= ἃ XXXVI. 1-3). 

1. no evil befalleth. Cp. Job v. 19. 

in temptation. Or ‘trial’. 
he shall again be delivered. viz. from the evil or misfortune that may threaten ; cp. Prov. xii. 21. 
2. And is tossed about... And so is likely to founder. For the figure cp. 4 Ezra xii. 42. 


428 


SIRACH 33. .4-9 


(2) XXXIII. (XXXVI) 4-6. Against thoughtlessness, especially in teaching (=3 distichs). 


4'Prepare thy speech’, tand sot “let it be heard"; 
‘Bind up* instruction, “and then™ reply τ. 

5 *Like a cart-wheel* 515 the mind of a fool’, 

And his thought “like a rolling wheel-rim’. 

6 *Like a saddled horse is the love of a fool®; 
Under ?whatever rider” he neighs. 


(ἡ) XXXIIT. (XXXVI) 7-15. Divine preferences in Nature and Man justified 
(=3+2+2+2+42 distichs). 

7 °Why is one day distinguished from another’, 

“When all daylight in the year is from the Sun®? 

8 “By God’s <great? wisdom® they were distinguished, 

"And He differentiated’ seasons and feasts®. 

9 Some ἢ He blessed and hallowed", 

And others He made ‘ordinary daysi. 


a pig [are all his thoughts ] ἢ misreading Wn as ANN a-a So S: OG unmos εἰς οχειαν (Νὰ A.V. &c. οχειον : 307 
woxtov : 253 Syro-Hex ἰσοχειος) ὡς dios μωκος (but Ne-2 rightly popos: ch. 3): for poxos V 70 have μοιχος (55 
254 Φιλομοιχος) b-D So (τ: $ (enexacily) ‘whoever loves him’ ce So $ (+ of the year’ after ‘day’) = 
vine pm o vw And (Smend): Ge dia te ἥμερα nuepas vmepexer dd So (ἃ: S ‘seeing that all lights serve ’ 
(misreading wow =‘ from the Sun’ as VIBWID =‘ serve’) ‘the days of the year’ 59:8 So 3 (corrected): (ἃ εν γνωσει 
Ht Ge καὶ ηλλοιωσεν (= mv) Pos SS Dy) pny h-h So 3 (cp. Gen. ii. 3): & ανυψῶωσεν και ἡγιασεν (253 WW 
Syro-Hex nudoynoe και ανυψωσεὶ) 71 G& εἰς ἀριθμὸν ἡμερων 


(4) XXXIII. 4-6 (= G& XXXVI. 4-6). From the theme of the desirableness of pious study of the Law the writer here 
passes to the work of the Teacher of the Law. The good teacher will take care that oral instruction is preceded by 
careful preparation. As in the preceding subsection the point is emphasized by a contrast. ἢ 

4. Prepare thy speech... Apparently the writer is thinking of the teacher who is answering questions. , 

Bind up instruction. Cp. Is. viii. 16. ‘The metaphor is from provisions for a journey that are packed up 


(Edersheim). The subject to be taught should have been well thought out beforehand—made compact, and pre- 
served for future use. 


and then. i.e. and only then. 


5. Like a cart-wheel... A contrast. The mind ofa ‘fool’, 1. 6, an uninstructed person (the exact opposite of the 
type described in v. 4), is ‘like a cart-wheel’, i.e. has no fixed convictions, but changes constantly like a wheel that is 
ever revolving. ; Γ ; 

6. Like a saddled horse is the love of a fool... Not only the mind, but also the affections of a ‘fool’ are equally 
uncertain. Just as the saddled horse, in the joy of free movement and exercise, cares not who rides him, but neighs to 
signalize his exhilaration; so the careless ‘fool’ is indifferent as to the object on which (or on whom) he lavishes his 
transient affections. On the other hand, the pious are particularly careful to cultivate only the society of the pious, 
and to shun that of evil-doers. @ (cf. R.V. and critical note) has misunderstood the verse. 


(e) XXXIII.7-15 (=@ XXXVI.7-15). Godin His unfathomable wisdom has willed that creation should be organized 
in a series of opposites and contrasts. In themselves all men, so far as their creation 15 concerned, are ona level, just as 
all the days of the year derive their light equally from a common source, the Sun; but justas God has distinguished some 
days (the festivals and holy-days) from others, so has He distinguished some men from others—notably (the writer implies) 
Israel from the heathen nations. The passage, as Smend suggests, was probably directed primarily against the Hel- 
lenists, who were striving to break down distinctions between Israel and the outside world, at the time when he vO. 
For the passage as a whole cp. 4 Ezra v. 23 f., and the following from the Midrash (Zavch. on Numbers NW): ‘Out 
of certain classes of things God has chosen one. Of days the seventh was chosen and sanctified. Of years, too, the 
seventh was chosen as the sabbatical year; and out of seven sabbatical years one was selected as the jubilee. Of 
countries God made choice of Palestine. Of the heavens Araboth (i.e. the highest of the seven heavens) was chosen 
for God’s throne. Of nations Israel was the choice; and of the tribes of Israel that of Levi.’ See further the Midr. rab, 
on Cant, ii. 1. The following passage from J¢dr. Tanch. (already referred to above) is cited by Cowley-Neubauer, 
p. xxvi (Exodus, ἃ 19N, p. 1094; cp.also T.B. Sanhedrin 65 δ): ‘Turnus Rufus asked this question of R. pine enS 
said to him: Why is one day different from another? He said to him: And why is one man different from another ἢ 
He said to him: Because the Lord wills ; and the Sabbath also is because the Lord wills. ea 

7. Why is one day distinguished from another. viz. in length, according to Ryssel (see 72); but it re 
natural to suppose that the distinctions of holy and profane are referred to, which are worked out in what follows. 
Note that the days are regarded as real entities (cf. Job 111). ᾿ ᾿ Nae: nee 

8. By God’s great wisdom. The answer to all questions is: God has so willed, and His will is unfathomable : 
“they were separated by a divine decree’ (Edersheim). Cp. the Midrash extract cited above. 

9. He blessed and hallowed. Cf. Gen. ii. 3 (of the Sabbath). Ne rhs ΕΝ ΠΕ 

others He made ordinary days. ‘Lit. “He put into the number of days”; i.e. days distinguishec by no ae 
further than their “number” (in the month or year). In this use of the word signifying “number”, the Hebrew, Greek, 
and Latin languages agree’ (Edersheim). 


429 


ΘΑ ΘΕ 99. τὸ τὸ 


& (9) τὸ iLikewise alsoj all men ‘are made from the clay*, 


II 


12 


9 


14 


. τῷ 


16 
(xxx. 25) 


And Adam was created !of earth}. 
Jn His great wisdom™ God distinguished them, 
And differentiated "their ways?. 
Some He blessed and exalted, 
And others He hallowed °and brought nigh to Himself? ; 
PSome He cursed “and abased 4, 
* And overthrew them” *from their place*. 
t As the clay is in the power of the potter‘, 
"To fashion it" according to his good pleasure ; 
YSo is man’ in the power Wof his creator™, 
*To make him according to His ordinance*. 
Over against evil (stands) the good, and against death® life ; 
* Likewise over against the godly’ the sinner’. 
«Even thus look upon all the works of God*, 
>Each different”, one the opposite of the other. 


(f) XXXIII. 16-18 (XXXVI. τόκα, XXX. 25-27). Ben Sira’s right to give instruction asserted 
(= 2: 2 distichs), 


ΟἹ, indeed®, 4came last of all4, 
*As one that gleaneth® after the grape-gatherers : 


I So S=on: G και k-k So S$: G azo εδαφους 11 (ἃ εκ γηςὶ S ‘of dust’ mM OF ev πληθει 
ἐπιστημης : & renders as in Ὁ. 8 above n-2 (ἴτ τὰς odovs αὐτων : S&S ‘{and He made them | inhabitants of 
the earth’ (? confusing OMINAN and oNISIN; cp. 1 Kings xviii. 6, LXX [Smend)}) 0-0 (ἴ καὶ προς avtov 
ἡγγισεν (= IN yoy): S$ ‘and they attained unto Him’ (= yxy oT) Ρ 296 (=X 9) praem. καὶ 
1-4 Ge καὶ εταπεινωσεν : S ‘and overthrew’ rr (ἃ καὶ aveorpe ev (157 ἀνετρεψεν)ὴ avrovs: S&S ‘and rooted 
them out’ 8-8 (ἃ amo στασεως avtay (=? DAYDD or DIN: so Smend): H a separatione ipsorum 
(Cora απὸ αποστασεως αὐτωνὴ : S ‘from their habitations’ (Caz Davin) tt (ἃ ws πηλὸς κεραμεως ev 
xetpe αὐτου (S supports ‘in the hand of the potter’) u-u Reading with 70 πλασαι αὐτο (avrov): cp. & plasmare 
illud et disponere (+omnes viae eius); a@ doublet: the ordinary reading of (ὰ maca a οὗοι αὐτου is a 
corruption of the true reading [S combines 13a and Ὁ thus: ‘as the clay, which is fashioned in the hand of 
the potter’ | vv Reading ovres ἀνθρωπος 248 = 3» S; other MSS. of & ovres avbpora W-W τοῦ ποιήσαντος 
avrov 248 (other 77.8.5. ayrovs) X-X Gr ἀποδουναι avrois κατα τὴν κρισιν αὐτου (last three words = wawns): “ὁ ‘to 


set him over all his works’ (msreading WWAWND as Ywyna: the whole line in ® prob. ran: \OBwW23 MN ny) 
Δ ΣῪ $4 ‘is created’ 272: each case (an Unnecessary addition) 2-2 Qk ovrws amevavte evoeBous apaptwdos (2 48 70 
Syro-Hex 253 V ovrws ἀπέναντι [ του) ἀμαρτωλου [0 | ευσεβης) : S ‘and over against light was created darkness’ 
ἅτ So G&: S ‘so hath God manifested all His works’ (9 confusion of nN and TIN: so Smend) b-b & δυο δυο 
(=?rp yw Dw) = 3; cp. xiii. 24 ὁπ (ἃ kayo: 3S (one reading) ‘and I also’ (= *3N7O)) 4- (τ ἐσχατος 
ἡγρυπνησα: 85. ‘came last’ (MINN MANN) Ξε ἢ ND NINN (G ? mesunderstood MA (from ΓΔ); 11 = ΤΙΝ as 3 
renders: so SLEdersheim) e-e Gi ws καλαμωμενος =? Shy {-f (ἃ εφθασα = "ΠΡ (1 went ahead’): 
S$ ‘I stood’ (=‘nnp): H speravi (=? np) or emend fo superavi (Bretschneider) s& So 3: & ληνὸν 


10. Likewise also all men are made from the clay. Cp. Jobx. 9. 
11. In His great wisdom. i.e. for reasons known only to Himself; they are beyond the human mind to fathom. 


their ways. i.e. their destinies (Smend). 
12. Some He blessed .. . others He hallowed... Israel and the priesthood (within Israel) are referred to 
(Smend). For the phraseology cp. Num. xvi. 5f. It was the special privilege of the priests to ‘come near’ (cp. 
“bring nigh’ in 124) to God; cp. Ezek. xl. 46, xlii. 13, xlv. 4. 


Some He cursed and abased . .. The heathen nations outside Israel, regarded in the lump, are apparently 
referred to, especially, however, those (in Canaan) that were overthrown by Israel: cp. Gen. ix. 25-27. ; 
13. As the clay is in the power (lit. hand) of the potter... For the figure cp. Jer. xviii. 4, and its application 


by St. Paul in Rom. ix. 21. 
To make him according to His ordinance. For the text see critical note. (‘to render to him according 
to his judgement ’) misunderstands the original, and introduces an alien thought. 
15. Even thus look upon all the works of God. Cp. Qo/el. vii. 13 (‘Consider the work of God: for who can 
make that straight which He hath made crooked ?’). 
Each different. Or ‘two and two’ (G&S); cp. xlii. 24. 
_(f) XXXIII. 16-18 (= (ἃ XXXVI. 16 a, XXX. 25-27). Although he comes last in the succession of teachers Ben- 
Sira asserts his right to be heard. He is conscious that what he has to say has been gleaned largely from predecessors 5 
but his labour has been directed towards one end—to select and gather together what is most important for practical 
wisdom in the affairs of life. Therefore the leaders of the people ought to pay close attention to his message. For the 
general idea cp. xxiv. 30 ff. 
16. came last of all. sc. of the wise. (τ ἠγρύπνησα might mean ‘I was studious’, i.e. strove by study to acquire 
wisdom ; Wisd. vi. 16. 


430 


SIRACH 33. 16-24 


‘T advanced ‘ by the blessing of God, 
And filled Smy winepress® as a grape-gatherer. 
. 26) "Consider that not for myself alone have I laboured, 
iBut?! for all that seek Jwisdom!"! 
. 27) Listen Funto me§, ye leaders ἰοῦ the people!, 
And ye rulers of the congregation, give ear ! 


(5) XXXIII. 19-23 (XXX. 28-32). Against surrendering one’s independence to others 
(=2+2+2 distichs). 
19 (xxx. 28) To son or wife, to brother or friend, 
Give no power over thyself while thou livest ; 
m™ And give not thy goods "to another? 
°So as to have to ask for them againo™. 
20 (xxx. 29) Whilst thou art yet alive and breath remaineth in thee, 
PGive not any creature power over thyself”. 
21 (Xxx. 3°) For it is better that thy children ask of thee 
“Than that thou shouldst look to the hand of thy sons‘. 
22 (xxx. 31) In all thy works tremain uppermost’, 
And *let no stain come on thine honour‘. 
P3 (xxx. 32) When" the days of thy life are ended, 
"In the day" of death, ἡ distribute thine inheritance’. 


(2) XXXITI. 24-31 (XXX. 33-40). On the treatment of subordinates 
(=1+2+2+1+2+41 distichs). 


4 (Xxx. 33) “ Fodder® and stick and burdens’ for an ass, 
7Bread and discipline* and work for a servant! 


h-h y, 17 wanting in 3 i & adda (+ Kae nea) jC 155 296 σοφιαν: other ASS. παιδειαν Kk SoG S$ 
(dut 248 > pov) 1G Naov: but 55 254 Aawy = $: cp. % et omnes populi mm $ fransposes these clauses 
so as to make them follow the next verse (20) nn $ ‘to others’ = & (Cod. Amuat. aliis); so Syro-Hex 


oo S ‘to return and beg from them’: (ἃ wa μὴ μεταμεληθεις den περι αὐτῶν (μεταμεληθεις prob. a false transl. of 
aw; so Smend) pp So S: G μὴ αλλαξης σεαυτον (= ‘sell not thy self’) πασῃ σαρκι: % non immutabit se 


’ omnis caro 4-4 $ (freely) ‘than that thou shouldst beg from them’ rr So $ Sah = C (ywov vrepavo) = 
4 τον an (Deut. xxviii. 13): Β ὑπεράγων 8 So 248 70 Syro-Hex N°* $; others >. tt G& μὴ bos μωμον εν 
ἡ τῇ δοξῃ σου u+u-U G& ev nuepa... ev καιρῳ: franspose with S$ V-V Gr duados κληρονομίαν (= mbna ron cp. Is. 
xlix. 8): S$ ‘cause thy sons to inherit thy money’ w Certain MSS. (248 ἄς.) pr. tit. περι δουλων (% de disciplina 
servorum) Χ (ἃ yopracpara (A 254 Sah χορτασμα = 5) = NADI y SoG: Honus=S t 5. transposes 


Here (in the ‘middle of 7. 16) occurs the great transposition in the Greek MSS. and the versions derived from the 
Greek. See further note on xxx. 24-25. 
I advanced. viz. in wisdom. The Hebrew word (ΠΡ = ἔφθασα) means ‘I went to meet’, ‘anticipated’. The 
_ author attributes this advance to the grace of God (‘by the blessing of God’). 


as a grape-gatherer. Ben-Sira here explicitly affirms his indebtedness to previous teachers. For the figure 
cp. Isa. xxiv. 13. 


17. Consider... wisdom. = xxiv. 34. 

18. Listen unto me, ye leaders of the people... For the address to rulers cp. xlv. 26; others, of course, are 
included: cp. Matt. xiii. 9, &c. (‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear’), and the similar passages in Rev. ii. 7, 17, 
29, li. 6, &c. 

(5) XXXIII. 19-23 (= G& XXX. 28-32). 

19. Give no power over thyself. Soas to become dependent on them. 

20. Give not any creature power over thyself. Ryssel thinks that ὅτ (see critical note) = Ἢ warboa 52 ΡΟΝ 

‘exchange not thyself with any flesh ἢ 1.6. do not allow any other person during thy lifetime to usurp thy pl ACE : 
following Edersheim he suggests that S$ misinterpreted "2M by the Aram. N71) ‘ lord’. 

21. look to the hand of thy sons. Cp. xl. 29 (‘ Aman that looketh to a stranger's table’); Ps. cxxiii. 2 (‘ Behold, 
as the eyes of servants (look) unto the hand of their master’). Cp. the saying preserved in Aboth de R. Nathan (90 a): 
“If a man eat of the property of his father or of his mother or of his children, his mind is not established; much more 
when he eateth of the property of others’ (cited by Edersheim). 

22. And let no stain come on thine honour. As would probably be the case in a position of dependence ; for the 
expression cp. xviii. 15, xliv. 19. 

23. In the day of death, distribute thine inheritance. In the so-called Second Alphabet of Ren-Sira the 
saying occurs in the following form ; ‘ Hide, my son, thy wealth in thy life and conceal it ; and to thy heirs give it not 
till the day of thy death.’ Note that the dying man is to distribute the patrimony ; written testamentary dispositions 
were apparently not usual (Smend). 


(Δ) XXXIII. 24-31 (= ἃ XXX. 33-40). 
24. Fodder and stick... Cp. Prov. xxvi. 3 (‘A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of 
431 


SIRACH 33. 25-31 


G($) 25 (xxx. 34) *Put thy servant to work*, "and he will seek ΤΕΒΈΩ: 
¢Leave his hands idle*’, and he will seek liberty ! 
26 (xxx. 35) 4 Yoke and thong bow down the neck, 
And for an evil servant (there are) *stocks and chastisement.®* 
27 (xxx. 36) Put thy servant to work’, Sthat he be not idle§; 
(xxx.37) For *idleness* teacheth much mischief. 
28 (xxx. 38) ‘Appoint him (a task) in thy house? such as befitteth him, 
And if he obey not J/make his fetters heavy’. 
29 *But be not overbearing* against any creature, 
And do nothing 'that is without right’. 


30 (xxx. 39) ™ Hast thou an only servant™, let him be as “thyself"— 
°For ?thou hast need of him as thy very self?®. 
31 ™Hast thou an only servant™, treat him as “thy brother “-- 
°rBe not jealous against thy very life™?! 


a-a G& epyaca ev made = FYI Jay: S> (iy homoioteleuton) b-b So 248 καὶ ζητησει avanavow = © (3 
‘and give him no rest’): B &c. καὶ evpnoes κτλ. e-e So G&: S ‘if thou raise his head’ (Preading ὉΠ 
Sor 7) dd §> e-e Ur στρεβλαι kar βασανοι = ἡ OVD" NIB: στρεβλωτηριον (Symm.) = n>anDd 
Jer. xx. 2: Baoange = 4D" ἵν. 17 (Smend) ff So S$ = IAI Jay: (ἃ euPare avrov εἰς epyacrav 8-8 δ 
(ἃ = oxy (a)sdy bch G apya = ΠΡῚΝ 11 $ ‘give him power in thine house’ = ἢ 7n’32 wTp|aN (Smend): 
G εἰς epya καταστησον ( - αὐτὸν % Syro-Hex) 1.) (ἃ βαρυνον ras medas αὐτου (>avrov N* A C &c.): 307 Bapuvov 
ras πεδαις cp. & curva illum compedibus Καὶ Ge καὶ μη περισσευσῃς = NIN~DN (Smend), or better, perhaps, 
a misreading by (πὰ (wn\n) for ann (em Neo-Hebr. = ‘be boastful’, ‘ overbearing’, cp. ΠΥ Prov. xxi. 24) 
1-| G& avev κρίσεως = DEVI NDI: S$ ‘which is not in the Law’ m-m $ ‘Tf one is thy servant’: @& εἰ (read εις) 
εστιν σοι οικετῆς un && ov (ὀμί 248 = © ἡ ψυχη σου) 0-0 In Gt these clauses are transposed; the order 
adopted above ts supported by 3 — P-P & ws ἡ ψυχὴ σου επιδεησεις αὐτῳ : 96 ‘like thee is thy loss’ ( read wDNN or 
yon: so Smend) a-a Reading adedpov ( for σεαυτὸν B) with 8 AC ἄς. Syro-Hex 3» tr Ge ore ev αιματι 
ἐκτήσω (= IPN) wrov: S$ ‘do not fight against the blood of thy soul’ =? qW5] D732 δ ΡΠ by (so read) 


fools’). For ‘discipline’ in the second line the Armenian has ‘the lash’, which may be a correct interpretation of 
‘discipline’ here; it corresponds to ‘stick’ in line 1. Cp. Prov. xxix. 19. 
25. Put thy servant to work. Lit. ‘ work with thy servant’; cp. xiii. 4 (‘make a slave of’). 


Leave his hands idle = 1 47, which 3 misread Ἢ ὉΠΠ (so Edersheim). 

26. Yoke and thong bow down the neck. The terms are applicable to a beast of burden, which is, no doubt, in 
the writer’s mind. The word rendered ‘thong’ (iuas) or ‘strap’ refers probably to some sort of rough harness. In 
Isa. v.18 and Job xxxix. 10 it = nyay ‘cord’—in theylatter passage the cord or band by which an animal is controlled 
(‘Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow?’). For the phrase ‘ bow down the neck’ ep. vii. 23 (ἃ, 

stocks and chastisement. For the ‘stocks’ (M35) cp. Jer. xx. 3, xxix. 26; 2 Chron. xvi. lo. It was an 
instrument of punishment which compelled a crooked posture, or distorting (15) apparently, and, though not 
recognized in the Law, is referred to (with the ‘collar’ or manacle [P)°S] and the ‘fetters’ [see v. 28 below]) as 
a method of disciplining disobedient servants and other refractory persons. All these restrained personal liberty. — 
By ‘chastisement’ (0"1D’) probably scourging is meant. The right of a master to inflict excessive punishment was, 
however, limited by the Law, even in the case of non-Israelitish slaves; and the sabbath rest was a humane 
institution by which they benefited (cf. Exod. xxi. 26 f., xxili. 12; Deut. v.12f.). It must be borne in mind that the 
case contemplated in our text is that of the ‘evz/ servant’. 

27. For idleness teacheth much mischief. Illustrate from 2 Thess. iii, 11. 

28. make his fetters heavy. Cp. for the phrase Lam. iii. 7 (‘ He hath made my chain heavy’). 

29. be not overbearing. The Hebr. text underlying & is usually supposed to mean ‘be not excessive’ (anin-5y), 
sc. In punishment; for another view see critical note. In any case the rights even of foreign-born slaves were 
safeguarded in the Law. ‘Thus if a master struck his slave so as to cause the loss of an eye or tooth, the slave was to 
be free ; if death resulted on the same day the deed was avenged as a murder, but not if it ensued on a subsequent day 
(cf. Exod. xxi. 20, 21, 26, 27). A fugitive slave, according to Deut. xxiii. 15, 16, was not to be delivered up to his master 
by those among whom he had taken refuge. 

without right. i.e. contrary to the Law. 

30. an only servant. For the reading cp. critical note. This reading explains the apparent contradiction between 
the advice given in this and the following verse and the section that immediately precedes. For the transposition of 
clauses ὁ and d see critical note. 

31. Be not jealous against thy very life. The original text probably ran 7W5] D723 ΡΠ by, lit. ‘ be not jealous 
against the blood of thy soul (or thyself)’; ‘blood’ = life according to Gen. ix. 3 f. and other passages. Ὁ renders: 
‘and fight not with the blood of thy soul, i. e. with thine own blood—a rendering of the same text, probably. Smend, 
following Drusius and other scholars, supposes ‘with the blood’ here to represent 273, and explains this expression 


from the Aramaic sense of | = ‘worth’ or ‘ price’: then the line may be interpreted : ‘ for in him thou possessest one 
worth thy very self’: cp. A.V. (v. 30) ‘because thou hast bought him with a price.’ 


432 


ἘΠ Ry ani 


3) (xxx. 40) If thou treat him ill, ‘and he proceed to run away’, 


On what way shalt thou find him ? 


(a) XXXIV. (XXXI.) 1-8. The vanity of dreams and divinations (=3+1+3+1 distichs). 


34 5 1*He who seeketh vanity findeth delusion,* 


& >And dreams elate fools?. 
2 As one catching at a shadow ‘and pursuing the wind’, 
So is “he that trusteth® °in dreams*. 
$ 3‘ Alike are mirror and dream‘, 
8The likeness of a face opposite a face®. 
4 "From the unclean what can be clean”, 
And from the false what can be true ? 
5 Divinations and soothsayings and dreams are vain ; 
Even ‘as thou hopest (so) seeth thy heart'. 


5:8 Gk καὶ ἀπαρας ἀποδρᾳ: S ‘and he goes and gets lost’ (Ἴ2Ν) P\D2) = ὃ NA JOM 

aa So 3 (cp. Ὁ. 2a): (ἃ κεναὶ αἱ ελπιδὲς καὶ ψευδεις ασυνετῳ avdpt: W has sing. (vana spes et mendacium) 
b-b So (τ: 9. ‘and a dream is a vain delight’ ( = 5an ayn for (o)ba> wn) ce So Gk (avenov B, 
aveyous 248 347 Compl.): S‘and as one startling a bird’ d-d So S$: & o ἐπεχων (& qui attendit ad) e-e So 
G: 3 visa mendacia: S$ ‘to the vision of the night’ If $ ‘thus is the vision’ (= 18 mirror) ‘and dream 
of the night’: (ἃ rovro Kata Touro (so δ ef al Syro-Hex 35 Syr Sah: éu¢ B κατα τουτουὴ ορασις ενυπνιων (τουτο 
κατα Touro = MD ΠῚ Ζ. 6. ‘like one another [are]’, &c.): 30 = (ἃ (hoc secundum hoc, &c.) ss So Gt (κατεναντι 
προσώπου ομοιωμα προσωπου)ὴ: 3: ante faciem hominis similitudo hominis: S$ ‘opposite a person (ΝΒ}5) the 
likeness of a face’ h-h So ZL: (ἃ = WO) Ὁ NOD (ΠΡ) = καθαρισθησεται: but read ab) = καθαρευσει 
cp. αληθευσει next clause: so Ryssel): 3 has ‘and from the head of his people’ = wy wd mesread from 
Mm yw ‘it (the dream) expels innocency’: & pornts fo a Hebr. text (9) AD AD ywrn, ‘out of wickedness 
what can be pure?’ (@ vardant on text underlying &) | Edersh., Ryssel suggest Pas for A mn Syr. variant| 
Mi (τ ὡς wdwovons φανταζεται καρδια (= >qad mi nn 13: cp. Isa. xxvi. 17, LXX: read 525 ayy Smin wo: 


If thou treat him ill... S renders: ‘because if thou afflict him he will go away and perish (or get lost); and by 
what way shalt thou find him?’ The runaway slave could not be recovered (see on v. 29 above). 


XXXIV. I—XXXVI. 16 (= (ἃ XXXI. I—XXXIII. 13a; XXXVI. 16 4-22). This division falls into six sub- 
sections, viz.: (a) xxxiv. 1-8; (6) xxxiv. 9-17; (c) xxxiv. 18-26; (4) xxxv. I-11; (e) xxxv. 12-20; (/) xxxvi. I-17. 
Its themes embrace a disquisition on the vanity of dreams, the practical value of true wisdom, acceptable and 
unacceptable sacrifice, the efficacy of the prayers of the oppressed, and, in conclusion, a prayer is set forth to God for 
His people. 

XXXIV = (XXXI). Three of these subsections are included in chap. xxxiv, viz.: (@) xxxiv. (xxxi.) 1-8; (6) xxxiv. 
9-17 (= xxxi. 9-20); (c) xxxiv. 18-26 (= xxxi. 21-31). The theme of (a) is the futility of dreams, divinations, and 
soothsayings as sources of knowledge; with this the writer contrasts (4) the outcome of his own much-travelled 
experience, viz. that nothing can exceed in practical value, for the stress of life, the possession of true wisdom and the 
fear of the Lord; in (c) he turns to another subject, the ineffectiveness of sacrifices unaccompanied by a proper spirit 
and true repentance (this is continued in xxxv. 1-11 [= & xxxil. 1-13] by a paragraph on acceptable sacrifice). 

(2) XXXIV. (ἃ XXXI.) 1-8. In his strong repudiation of belief in dreams Ben-Sira is much in advance of his time. 
Even the later Rabbis failed to reach so discriminating a standard, belief in the efficacy of dreams being practically 
universal among them. ‘The Jews of antiquity held almost the same views regarding dreams as did other ancient 
peoples’ (/Z, iv. 837). False divination is denounced in Jer. xxviii. 8: cp. Qohed. v. 6 (Hebr. v. 7)- 

1. He who seeketh vanity findeth delusion. So 3. (ἃ has ‘A man without understanding hath vain and false 
hopes’. The aphoristic style of S$ here is probably more original. For thought cp. v. 2a. ; 

dreams elate fools. For the variant of S$ here (‘A dream isa vain delight’) cp. the dictum of R. Simon Ὁ. Yochai 
(2nd cent. A.D.): ‘As there is no grain without chaff, so there is no dream without vain things.’ The Greek 
ἀναπτεροῦν = ‘to furnish with wings’: then, metaph. ‘to excite, elate’. It may here represent Y'177 (in Cant. vi. 4 it = 
2777). 

2. pursuing the wind. Cp. Hos. xii. 2 (xii. 1 Hebr.). 5S (‘as one startling a bird’) is probably interpolated from 
XXvil. 18: cp. Prov. ix. 12 LXX. 

3. Alike are mirror and dream. Dream and mirror are alike in this, that the image in both is a mere reflection as 
contrasted with the reality. There may be the further idea that as a mirror merely reflects what is placed opposite it, 
so a dream merely portrays what is read into it. It may be made to mean anything. % (‘hoc secundum hoc visio 
somnorum ’) can only = ‘ all dreams are alike’. 

4. From the unclean what can be clean. Cp. Job xiv. 4. ee 

5. Divinations... The Latin qualifies the terms employed (‘divinations, soothsayings, dreams’): ‘divinatio 
erroris, auguria mendacia, somnia malefacientium,’ ‘reserving the rights of legitimate divination’ (Hart): cp. v. 6. 

as thou hopest... The emended text yields an excellent sense. (ἃ is rendered by R.V.: ‘And the heart 
fancieth, as a woman’s in travail,’ i.e. is the victim of manifold selfdelusions. The physical phenomenon alluded to is 
often referred to by ancient writers. 


433 


2 6 


7 
{τ 


8 


9 


Io 


(11) 


SIRACH 34. 6-10 


iIf they be not sent from the Most High providentially), 
Do thou pay them no heed. 

kFor many there are that have been led astray by dreams‘, 
1 And through placing their hopes thereon have fallen’. 

™Without deceit shall the Law be fulfilled”, 
And wisdom is perfect in a mouth that is faithful”. 


(ὁ XXXIV. 9-17 (XXXI. 9-20). The practical value of true Wisdom (=2+2+3+3 distichs). 


° An ‘experienced man) knoweth much, 
And ‘one that is well versed)° ?declareth understanding’, 
He that is without experience knoweth little, i 
But “the well-versed? hath much “skill*. 


cp. Smend): & ‘he that trusteth in them his heart is there’ (248 has φαντάζεται σου ἡ καρδια: 50 i) 1:) (ἃ eav 
μὴ παρα Ὑψίστου ἀποσταλῃ εν επισκοπῃ (NAC): Ἔσου (248): ἐπισκοπῃ (> εν) 106 = 3» nisi ab Altissimo fuerit 
emissa visitatio: so Arm: cp. S ‘even though it be ordained of God to err in thoughts of the night’ Kk § 
it. ‘for many there are that have missed their way (NNN yd) in a dream’: (τ (C ἅς.) πολλοὺς (+ yap A 
248 ef al. Syro-Hex & 8) ἐπλανησε τα ενυπνια 1 So G& 3. : S$ ‘and have stumbled in their paths’ mm So 
& 3» (verbum legis): $ ‘where there is no sin God is well pleased’ (Hed. ὃ apy ΝΟΣ misunderstood by $: so 
Ryssel) nn G& καὶ copia στόματι mote (more 253 296 308: cp. 3 in ore fidelis) τελειωσις = nad moon 
255 myn (cp. Ryssel): S ‘the wisdom of the ungodly at night is believed’ = [ajvba mond yeas moon (so 
Ryssel) 0-0 G& ἀνὴρ πεπαιδευμενος (z. 1. SA vid. 248 347 &c. Syro-Hex πεπλανημενοςῚ) eyva πολλα, Kat ὁ 
πολυπειρος : 3» vir in multis expertus (= avnp πολυπειρος) cogitabit multa, et qui multa didicit (= και ὁ πεπαι- 
δεύμενος) /ransposing the two Gk. words [im xxi. 22 (25) avOpwmos πολύπειρος is rendered ὧν & homo peritus: 
im XXi. 23 (26) amp πεπαιδευμενος by vir eruditus|: so 85. which renders: ‘a wise man’ (ΝΣ NII = ανὴρ 
πολυπειρος, Cp. XXXVi. 25, Xxi. 22) ‘examines much, and the diligent man’ (Ὁ 7w5 [so read| = Heb. by) 
This would point to an original Hebrew text : 


se eee ν (cp, XXXVi. 25) PN) WN 
ἀν gene aon 


Sean (= ‘used to’, ‘well versed in’, parallel in meaning to pny) prob. gave rise to the variant reading πεπλανη- 
μένος = ‘travelled’ (= 59 regarded as passive part of 227) p-p So G&, 3. (enarrabit intellectum): $ ‘ searcheth 
out everything’ 9-4 G& o δε πεπλανημενος, so C 248 &c.: πεπαιδευμενος 55 106 157 254 (variant renderings of 
by as in Ὁ. 9): © in multis factus est (=? πληθυνομενος, corruption of πεπλανημενος}): S ‘he who is tried 
(experienced)? (85) ΤῸ & πανουργιαν = Dy: LH malitiam (nequitia) = Ayr: S ‘wisdom’ [vz. ga, ro, ΤΙ 
wn & = doublets | ss So (ἃ ©: S ‘when I tried (gathered experience)’ tt S$ = NI OMIT DAN: Zhes 25 
confirmed by & which has et plurimas verborum consuetudines (consuetudines = συνηθείας, a corruption ὃ of 


6. If they (i.e. dreams) be not sent from the Most High providentially (ἐν ἐπισκοπῇ, ‘as a visitation’). The 
writer here makes an exception of God-given dreams, of which many are referred to inthe O.T. The H, ‘unless a 
visitation be sent from the Most High’ (which may represent the true text), apparently means: unless the dream be 
followed by some definite and practical consequences, pay no heed to it—a good working precept which accords well with 
Ben-Sira’s general view of the matter. 

7. through placing their hopes thereon have fallen. For the phrase cp. & xiv. 2. 

ὃ. Without deceit shall the Law be fulfilled. i.e. without the aid of such false and delusive medza as dreams and 
divinations the Law will be realized (i.e. its threats and promises, dependent upon obedience or disobedience to its 
precepts, shall be realized): so Ryssel. Orthe sentence might mean: those who practise the Law can and should 
fulfil its precepts without resort to such means (which, indeed, are contrary to it). Edersheim makes ‘ without deceit’ 
= ‘by telling the truth’—a harsh and strained construction. 

wisdom is perfect in a mouth that is faithful. i.e. wisdom is only then perfect when it is allied with 
truthfulness. (‘A mouth that is faithful and true’: so Ryssel.) ‘Wisdom when combined with sincerity is perfect’ 
(Edersheim). Clem. Alex. S¢vom. ii. 26. 24, Paed. 441 cites the clause in the form: σοφία στόματι πιστῶν (without 
τελείωσις, cp. 3). [For the equation of Law and wisdom cp. chap. xxiv, and see Introd. § 9, ii and iii.] 

(ὁ) XXXIV. 9-17 (= ἃ XXXI. 9-20). The writer in this subsection proceeds to enlarge on the benefit of true 
wisdom and sound piety, as shown in his own wide experience of life. 

9. An experienced man...one that is well versed. The context shows that the writer is referring to experience 
gained in the school of life, especially by travel (cp. v. 11). Edersheim thinks skill in practice in the arts or sciences 
is meant (cp. v. 10 ὁ). 

1o. the well-versed. For the reading (= Hebr. Syy5) see critical notes. S ‘one who is tried’ (in the school of 


experience) gives the sense well: cp. also %. [Against the view that YD) and MD) have been confused in original 
Hebrew here see Ryssel.| 


434 


) 


ΘΕ ΘΗ τι 1s 


{πιτ(12) *In my journeying* I have seen much, 
*And many things have befallen ae 
12(13) Often was I in danger even unto death, 
But was preserved "because of these things". 
13 (14) ¥The spirit of those that fear the Lord remaineth alive’, 
(15) For their hope is upon Him that saves them”. 
14 (16) xHe that feareth the Lord is afraid of Ynothing’, 
And doth not lose courage—for He is his hope. 
15 (17) Of him that feareth the Lord—happy the soul! 
(18) On whom doth he trust? And who is his stay? ? 
16(19) The eyes of the Lord are upon *them that fear Him®, 
»Α mighty shield, and strong stay”, 
“Α cover from scorching Sirocco*, 4a shadow from noontide heat®, 
°A guard from stumbling®, and a succour from falling, 
17(20) Heart-gladdener’ and eye-brightener, 
’ Healing, life, and blessing®! 


(ἡ) XXXIV. 18-26 (XXXI. 21-31). Unacceptable sacrifice (=2+ 3+ 2+ 3 distichs). 


18(21)»The sacrifice of the unrighteous man is a mocking offering ®, 
(22) And unacceptable are ‘the oblations: of the godless. 


συνηλθε: or = bn for moe) : (ἃ και πλειονα (248 τα πλασματα---α secondary reading) Tov λογων μου συνεσις μου 
(106 > pov) = ἢ ΠΣ) IID AAW (NYA may be a corruption of ΝᾺ : so Ryssel) wu (τ τουτων xapw = S: 
3. horum causa et liberatus sum gratia dei; ‘ double rendering of xapw suggested by the familar phrase “ saved by 
grace”’ (Hart). Edersh. suggests that D7AyA stood in the original Hebr, with the meaning ‘when they passed 
over (me)’ (07292) and that this was misread by the translators DVIY2 = ‘on account of them’ vv So tk = 
Mnn MA AN MI: S ‘the will of those that fear Him the Lord does’ =? AN AT Nw myn (Laersh.): 
3. quaeritur = ζητηθησεται for ζησεται (the following clause in & ἐς an amplification) w-w So Gr &+ et oculi 
Dei in diligentes se (= v. τό (19) a): S ‘for great is his hope and He saves’ Χ 3> the verse Y-Y οὐδεν 
δ ἄς. Syro-Hex. 1 S$: πολλα A: ov py Β ἄς. τ Ok ἀαντιστηριγμα = ἸΝ Ps. xvill. 19 «a Gr (307) tous 
PoBoupevous αὐτὸν (so 1): τοὺς ἀγαπωντας αὐτὸν B &c. 248: S$ ‘all His servants’ [39 really has both readings: cp. 
v. 13 (15) | b-b 9 ‘protecting (}119) and delivering, and He is a great confidence’ ὁτὸ (ἃ σκεπὴ ἀπὸ 
καυσωνος : % tegimen ardoris (95 ‘from the enemy ’) ad So % (umbraculum meridiani): G σκεπὴ peonuBpras 
(9 ‘from the foe’) e-e So (ἃ : & deprecatio (precatio) offensionis: S$ ‘Saviour from affliction’ ft & 
ανυψὼων ψυχὴν = (wE3>) 33D: so 3», (exaltans animam): $ ‘joy of heart’ = ab mown: so read here (mae"D) 
ἔπε So & adding διδους (cp. 3» dans sanitatem, &c.): διδοὺς prod. an addition of & (so Ryssel) [S for the whole 
verse has: ‘joy of heart and light of eyes and healing of life and blessings—all these doubly upon the righteous 
shall come ’ (last clause an addition: cp. x). To) | hh (ἃ θυσιαζων εξ adixov, mpoopopa μεμωκημενὴ = ? diy nar 
Dynyn ΤΠ (porn aay M3: G& read AVY Nt): so Ryssel: % ‘the sacrifices of the unrighteous are 
unrighteous’ (ΠΝ NT NdwI pamby) = Aebr. : (or ny) by ΟΣ NAW: for μεμωκημενὴ (from μωκασθαι = fo 


11. In my journeying I have seen much. An interesting autobiographical touch. Ben-Sira’s travels are again 
alluded to in li. 13. Unfortunately no details are given. 
And many things have befallen me. So §S (see critical notes): @ has ‘and more than my words is my 
understanding’, i.e. my knowledge and insight is greater than might be supposed from my words. 
12. because of these things. i.e. because of the good sense, prudence, and -skill referred to in the previous 
verses (vv. 9 and 10); or read: ‘when they (viz. the experiences mentioned in the previous verses) passed over (me)’; 
see critical notes. 
_ 13. The spirit of those that fear the Lord remaineth alive. sc. in danger: ‘spirit’ here = principle of life, as 
in Isa. xxxviii. 16. 
14. is afraid of nothing. i.e. nothing daunts him, because he is sustained by a sublime faith in God’s providence. 
The v. 7. of (A) = ‘shall reverence much’ (taking εὐλαβεῖν in a religious sense, of God-fearing). 
15. On whom doth he trust? τίνι ἐπέχει , (=MVI" 97 Y), ‘And who is his stay?’ For the rhetorical questions cp. 
Ps. xxiv (end): ‘Who is the King of glory?’ (to introduce the answer that follows). ; : 

16. The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear Him. = Ps. xxxill. ky (= Hebr. xxxiii. 18); cf. xxxiv. 15 (16). 
The clause is identical with xv. 19. f 

A mighty shield... ‘A mighty shield (ὑπερασπισμὸς δυναστείας = ἢ δ 12) and strong stay’ (στήριγμα ἰσχύος 
=y {ywn) ; for the terms cf. Ps. xviii. (xvii.) 3 and 19 Hebr. and LXX; cp. also Ps. Ixi. (Ix.) 3 f., xci. (xc.) If. 

A cover from scorching Sirocco, a shadow from noontide heat. Cp. Is. xxv. 4. ἯΝ 
17. Heart-gladdener and eye-brightener. Cf. Ps. xix. (xviii.) 8: ‘The statutes of Jahveh ... rejoice the heart ; 
the commandment of Jahveh . . . giveth light to the eyes.’ ; ν 
(c) XXXIV. 18-26 (= [ἃ ΝΧΧΙ, 21-31). This subsection introduces a subject which is continued in the next 


435 


/ 


SIRACH 34. 19-25 


&(5)19(23) The Most High hath no pleasure in the offerings of the ungodly, 

jNeither doth He forgive sins for a multitude of sacrifices’. 

20(24) *(As) one that killeth the son before the father’s eyes 
Is he that offereth a sacrifice from the goods of the poor*. 

21(25)'A scanty bread is the life of the poor!: 
™He that depriveth him thereof™ is "a man of blood”. 

22 (26) °He slayeth his neighbour who taketh away his living®, 

(27) PAnda blood-shedder is he that depriveth the hireling of his hire. 

23 (28) One building “and another® pulling down— 
What have they gained but tempty* toil ὃ 

24 (29) One *praying® and tanother' cursing— 
To whose voice shall "the Lord® listen ἢ 

25 (3°) He who washeth after (contact with) a dead body Yand toucheth it again’, 
~ What hath he gained by his bathing ¥ ? 


mock at: cp. Jer. li, (xxvili.) 18 where Dxynyn Avy = epya μεμωκημενα LXX): A 7ο 106 157 Cyril. Alex. 
vi. 311 and & (maculata) read μεμωμημενη ‘contaminated’ (so Smend): combining this last reading with % we obtain 
as the possible text in the original Hebrew, nya nox ΤΟΝ ndiy, z.e. ‘A burnt offering from that which is 


unjustly gotten (cp. Isa. Ixi. 8 aby 20) is a blemished offering’. Zhzs_yzelds an excellent sense, and may be right 
(cp. Smend) ΓΙ G& (πο ἢ mg., 248) δωρηματα ἀνομων (cp. S ‘their oblations’): 3» subsannationes iniustorum : 
but δὰ A 296 308 μωμηματα: B μωκηματα avopev (‘the mockeries of the godless’) Ji So (τ: 86 ‘neither for 
the multitude of their oblations (cf. % nec in multitudine sacrificiorum eorum) doth He forgive them’ Kk Ψ, 
transposes clauses (a) and (Ὁ). [Gt at beginning has θυων: % Ὁ, Syro-Hex + os ‘as one that killeth’: ὦ 
also adds ovrws at beginning of clause (b)] Il (τ apros επιδεομενων (on πτωχων: 85 ‘bread of mercy’, &c. 
(=70n ond for >pn ond: point ΡΠ = ‘want, poverty’ (Prov. xxviii. 22, Job xxx. 3)) m-m ¢& (Β ἄς): 
ὁ anoorepwv αὐτὴν: for αὐτὴν NC 248 30 (qui defraudat illum) read αὐτου: 3 ‘he that exacts it from them’ 
nn So (ἃ %: S ‘sheds innocent blood’ (cp. 22 Ὁ) 0-0 So G@ =? mn» Suwa Nan min: B® qui aufert in — 
sudore panem (cf. Gen. iii. 19, iv. 2) quasi qui occidit proximum suum: S$ ‘he who kills his neighbour possesses _ 
his goods’ (Edersh. suggests WN) as the verb = ο αφαιρουμενος : this would account for $: 7 = ‘to dispossess’ — 
as well as ‘possess ’) p-p So G&: LH qui effundit sanguinem et qui fraudem facit mercenario, fratres sunt: | 
3S has a much extended text here 9-9 Ge και εἰς : S ‘another’: # et unus rr So S$: >& and hh ss So 
GH: Ὁ: blessing Ἷ {τ & και εἰς : so L: Syro-Hex και eTepos : SO x ut Gr ὁ δεσποτης : 3» deus, so ῷὥ 
v-v δὸ (ἃ 39: S$ ‘and returns (= again draws nigh) to him’ (¢.e. the dead) w-w So (τ (36 ‘from his washing): 
&% quid proficit levatio illius? x-x @ fransposes these two clauses YY (ἃ ev τῳ ταπεινωθηναι αὑτὸν = 1} 
5. “ἴῃαΐ he fasted’ (correctly interpreting) = Ἰ ὃ ἸὦΞ) IN)3Y3 or ἸΠΌΨΠΣ. 21 Throughout this chapter % seems to 


chapter, viz. the value of sacrifices. The theme illustrated first is that of unacceptable sacrifice, which is defined as 
consisting in what is derived from unjust gain and oppression of the poor. 

18. The oblations of the godless. The better attested Greek reading = ‘mockeries’, a term applied to the 
sacrifices of the godless. For the sentiment cp. Prov. xv. 8, xxi. 27. 

19. Neither doth He forgive sins for a multitude of sacrifices. Cp. vii.9; Isa. i. 11f.; Ps. 1. 8-15. f 

20. (As) one that killeth the son before the father’s eyes. The point of the comparison is that a duty may not | 
be fulfilled at the expense of committing a great wrong. The poor are dear to the divine heart as a son to a father. 

21. A scanty bread is the life of the poor. ‘Life’ here = that on which their life depends and is sustained (= 38 
MD); cp. iv. 1. The reading of $ (‘bread of mercy’ = charity) yields the sense: ‘ Bread of charity is the livelihood | 
of the poor,’ i.e. the poor depend upon the doles of the rich for their livelihood: but this is probably not right. Ball | 
Wer “12 a Joc.) suggests the rendering : ‘The bread of the needy, the living of the poor [he that depriveth him 
thereof,’ &c.]. 

22. his living. The Greek word used (συμβίωσις) has here the unusual sense of ‘living’ (vécfws) : ‘living together’ | 
(of social or marital intercourse) would be more literal. Probably the word was chosen to represent ND as distinct 
from ON (βίος). For the clause cp. the proverb cited in Midrash Tanhuma 126: ‘Any one who steals the worth of a 


farthing from his neighbour is as though he took away his life’ (192 wn’) Soya ΝΘ an moma vw Sain b>). 
who taketh away his living. The reading of 30, ‘he who takes away sweat bread’ (see critical note), is remark- 

able. There is a clear reference to Gen. iii. 19; cp. iv. 2 (Cain) in a context which refers to unacceptable sacrifice. 
And a blood-shedder is he that depriveth the hireling of his hire. Cp. the proverb cited in T. B. Bada mesia ) 


112 a: ‘Every one who suppresses the hire of an hireling is as though he took from him his life’ (ΣΦ 12¥ vwiayon 23 | 


yon war dor 1N3) : cp. also vii. 20 and Lev. xix. 13; Deut. xxiv. 14f.; Jer. xxii.13; Mal. iii. 5; Tobit iv. 145) 
James v. 4. 3 

23-24. In the case of the sacrifice contemplated one builds (=the poor man by his labour produces) something which | 
the other pulls down (i.e. consumes by seizing it for an unjust sacrifice): one prays (i.e. the sacrificer) and the other 
(= the poor man who has been robbed) curses. 


25-26. These verses give further illustrations of contradiction (between outward act and inward intention). It is futile 


436 


SIRACH 34. 26—35. 7 


($)26(31) So a man fasting for his sins 
—- And again doing the same— 
*Who will listen to his prayer ? 
And what hath he gained Yby his humiliation®*. 


(4) *XXXV. I-11 (XXXII. 1-13). Acceptable sacrifice (=3+3+4+2+42 distichs). 


(1)*He that keepeth the law multiplieth offerings? ; 
(2) >He sacrificeth a peace-offering that heedeth the commandments”. 
(3) ‘He that practiseth kindness offereth fine flour®, 
(4) And he that doeth mercy “sacrificeth a thank-offering®. 
(5) A thing well-pleasing to the Lord it is °to avoid wickedness®, 
fAnd £a propitiation® to avoid what is wrong’. 
4(6) Appear not with empty hands "in the presence of the Lord», 
5(7) For all this (shall be done) because it is commandedi. 
6(8) The offering of the righteous Jmaketh the altar fat), 
k And its sweet savour (cometh) before the Most High*. 
7(9)!The meal-offering! of a righteous man is acceptable, 
™ And its memorial shall not be forgotten™. 


3 


have modified and altered the text to a considerable extent for dogmatic reasons. These alterations are in a Christian 
direction ; direct references to sacrifices have been largely eliminated, and even allusions to words of Jesus introduced | 
aa So & (reading προυφορας with & A ἄς. Syro-Hex: against ovppopas B): & oblationem (Har? orationem): 
_§ ‘If thou hast done that which is written in the Law thou hast multiplied service’ b-b So (ἃ : 30 sacrificium 
salutare est adtendere mandatis (cp. θυσια a corrected reading of A): 3 ‘and he that keepeth the commandment blessed 
is his spirit” ce So &: H retribuet gratiam qui offert similaginem : 96 ‘he earns good interest that offers 
an oblation (07 that celebrates the Eucharist) ’ 1d & θυσιαζων awecews (N* θυσια κτλ.) = AN AI: FL offert 
sacrificium: S$ ‘keepeth the Law’ (? reading ΠῚ for mn) ee (ἃ αἀποστηναι aro πονηριας (απο apaptias 55 
106 254): S ‘from all that is evil’ ff So (ἃ : S ‘keep back thy strength from all that is hateful’ 8- & 
εξίλασμος (= AMD, cp. Ὁ. 5): 39 deprecatio pro peccatis hh So GL: ὁ ‘before Him’ i So & 
(% propter mandatum Dei fiunt): S$ ‘for every one that doeth what is pleasing keepeth the commandment ’ 
3 So (ἃ 3": S$ ‘is the prayer of their mouth ’ k-k So Gr 3. : & ‘their deeds penetrate the heavens’ (cf. v. 17) 
T1G θυσια: so: S ‘the gift’ (Smend ‘ Speiseopfer ’) m-m So (τ: 30. et memoriam eius non obliviscetur 


to pass through the ritual act of purification, if the defilement is to be immediately contracted again: so it is equally 

futile to ask for the divine forgiveness of sin (by a course of fasting) unless there is a real repentance : cp. for the thought 

2 Pet. ii. 20-22; Heb. x. 26. Similar illustrations and language are employed in the Talmudic tractate on Fasting 

(Ta‘anith 16 a); cp. also Aboth de R. Nathan (as cited both by Edersheim). 

26. humiliation = ‘fasting’: cp. later Hebr. ΠΝ (lit. ‘humiliation’, i.e. fasting). 

(4) XXXV. 1-11 (= ἃ XXXII. 1-13). The governing thought of the section is that loyalty to God’s Law, which is 

the expression of God’s will, demands the offering of many sacrifices. But these are only acceptable if they are offered 

willingly, from a grateful heart, and if they are combined with high ethical standards of conduct. 

I. multiplieth offerings. The various kinds of sacrifice are specified in what follows. The elimination of these 

references in $—who as a Christian recognizes no sacrifices—spoils the symmetry and appositeness of the original lines. 
a peace-offering. (ἃ σωτηρίου, = probably περὶ σωτηῤίου (so LXX τ Chron. xvi. 1, 2, &c.): so αἰνέσεως v. 2 (cp. 

LXX 2 Chron. xxix. 31): Hebr. ody mat. For the ritual prescriptions cp. Lev. iil., | 

2. offereth fine flour. i.e. a meal-offering (472!)) of which fine flour (σεμίδαλις = nob) was the principal constituent : 


cf, Lev. ii. The ‘ practice of kindness’ (ODN nidy3) is a regular phrase in late Hebrew for benevolence generally, 
which included much more than almsgiving. 

he that doeth mercy. Hebr. prob. API¥ Ay. 
3. to avoid wickedness. ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ πονηρίας = YD AND: cp. Job xxviii. 28. 
4. Appear not with empty hands (lit. ‘empty’)... Cp. vii. 29-31. 
ae the presence of the Lord. i.e. in the temple. For phrase cp. Exod. xxiii. 15, xxxiv. 20; Deut. xvi. 16 
and LXX. 
5. because it is commanded. One of the main motives for observance of the Law is that such constitutes obedience 
to the divine will. The prescriptions of the cultus must be obeyed because God has commanded them to be obeyed. 
It is this only that gives the sacrifices religious value. Though the best sacrifice is a moral life, yet the sacrifices of 
the Law must be performed because God has enjoined them. This was the position later of the conservative Hellenistic 
Jews such as. Philo. 
_6. maketh the altar fat. A sign from which it may be concluded that the sacrifice is accepted (Smend). 5 here 
simply paraphrases in a Christian sense (see critical notes). 
7. The meal-offering. (&k θυσία here = ΠΣ (S ‘the gift’): and ‘its memorial’ = the 1731N, i.e. that part of the 
meal-offering which was burnt as a ‘memorial’ (Lev. ii. 2) : so μνημόσυνον in xxxvill. 11, xlv. 16. So also ‘sweet savour’ 
in v, 6 = MN) m9 in reference to the fat pieces (of the burnt offering) which were burnt upon the altar (Lev. i. 6, ill. 5). 


437 


rn 


SIRACH 35. 8-15 


& 8 (10) With a good eye "glorify the Lord”, 
: And °stint not the heave-offering of thy hands°. 
%" 9 (11) PIn all thy deeds? let thy countenance shine, 
“And with gladness dedicate thy tithe’. 
το (12) Give 'to God* as He hath given ‘to thee’, 
ss With goodness of eye*’, and tas thine hand hath attained’. 
τι (13) For He is "a God of requital", 
And ‘sevenfold’ will He recompense thee. 


(ce) XXXV. 12-20(XXXV. 14-26). God hears the cry of the oppressed (=2+%+%+2+5+1 distichs). 


12 (14) “ Bribe not”, for He will not receive* ; 
(15) And put not thy trust Yupon a sacrifice of extortionY, 
For He is a God of justice’, 
And with Him is no partiality. 
13 (16) *He will not show partiality against the poor man, 
And the supplications of ?the distressed” He heareth, 
14 (17) He doth not ignore “πε cry° of the fatherless, 
4Nor the widow, when she poureth out (her) plaint?. 
15 (18) °Do not the tears‘ run down the cheek, 
(19) %And sigh against ‘him who causeth them to fall)? 


Dominus): $ ‘and the memorial of the righteous shall not be forgotten for ever’ nn So & 30: % ‘give to 

the poor’ 0-0 So & (amapxny χείρων [1ο xetpos | == Fah intenainlS eb Wills sii, Deut. xii. 11, LXX), #%: S$ ‘stumble © 

~ not (ayan for oynn) in thy gifts’ PP & ev πασῃ doce (inlerpreting): so S 4-4 So ® (wy, mg. Ἵν. 
1 and ὙΦ) (ἃ (δεκατην): S$ ‘lend to him who doth not pay thee’ (cp. Luke vi. 34 Pesh.) rr % text : 
variant (under line) bub: so S: (ἃ γψιστῳ 5- > ss-ss So 10 (PY AOI) G& ev ἀγαθῳ οφθαλμῳ : 50 S 

ὑπὸ 39 Ἢ NIWAD (1 PWN) = (ἃ καθ evpepa χειρος : 35. ‘with a large hand’ (reading “Δ and interpreting by Aram. SW). | 
For phrase cp. xiv. 13 ἢ : S+(a gloss: cp. Prov. xix. 17) ‘for he who giveth to the poor lendeth to God; for | 
who is a recompenser but Him’ = ® mg.: :yym ox 13 mbyaa Sya sey vans ima md 1 ® ΠΥΡΊ mde: | 


v-Y $ ‘ten thousand times ten thousand’ [96 /ransposes verses 10 and 11 | wow 10 NWN ὃν = (ἃ μὴ δωροκοπει | 
(cp. Deut. x. 17 Aq.): 3 ‘do not tarry’ (= ἢ ~nxn by):  noli offere munera prava x @ + illa. sy ® ἢ 
pwyn nat ὃν : Ge θυσίᾳ αδικῳ 2-2 So ® (righily) paw mb: (ἃ κυριος κριτης (= ἢ DEY pds) : S ‘a doer of © 
justice ” a-a § ‘the prayer of the poor man cometh up before Him’ (cf. clause b) [248 and &+ xpos] — 
b-b 10 pry (read Psvd: cp. iv. g): Ge ηδικημενου : S ‘the weary of spirit’ ὁτὸ 35 npys (mg. ΤΡ ‘groan’ = | 
8): (τ ixererav (cp. ἢ preces) d-d (τ καὶ χηραν εαν exxen λαλιαν = Y (mg. mw pann 5: for wann ext has 

mann): 39 for last word has loquelam gemitus ΒΤ ΤΡ ( Ξι ϊς 18: ΤΩΣ Ὁ Τ G& (L) + (cncorrectly) xnpas 
es ® fo be read WWW oy MMS) or AAW = Ge: 39 fext WNW = ‘her wanderings’. A verd ts required; ὦ 
hence point MIS) (subject MYT repeated): Ce takes as subst. = ‘sighing’ (rendering καὶ ἡ καταβοησις: 248 


8. With a good eye. i.e. with a thankful and joyful spirit. Cp. xiv. Io. 
glorify the Lord. i.e. by sacrifices. 
g. Here the Hebr. MS. B resumes the text. 
In all thy deeds. Cf. xxxi. 21 (€t xxxiv. 27). 
thy tithe. Here tithe is expressly mentioned (contrast vii. 31; xlv. 20f.). For the sentiment of the passage cp. 
2 Cor. 1x. 7. 

11. God of requital. Cp. xii. 2: for ‘sevenfold’ cp. vii. 3, xx. 12; Ps. Ixxix. 12. 

XXXV. 12-20 (= (ἃ XXXV. 14-26). This section is mainly concerned with the prayers of the poor and helpless | 
oppressed. To such, prayer occupies the place of sacrifice in the case of the rich. The prayers of the distressed, 
indeed, will be heard by God, while sacrifices which are the outcome of unjust dealing are rejected. At the same time 
God will punish the oppressor who is the cause of bitter outcry (vv. 12-17). This thought suggests an appeal to God 
on behalf of His oppressed people. The section ends with the expression of a confident hope that God will yet 
vindicate His chosen people against their heathen tyrants (vv. 18-20). 

12. Bribe not, for He will not receive. i.e. think not to bribe God to overlook sins unrepented by multiplying | 
sacrifices. God is not like an unjust judge—such sacrifices are unavailing, and are not regarded. Cp. Job vi. 22. 

a sacrifice of extortion. i.e. derived from the gains of extortion and unjust dealing. 
« with Him is no partiality (lit. ‘respect of persons’). Cp. Deut. x. 17; 2 Chron. xix. 7. 
14. He doth not ignore... the widow. Cp. Exod. xxii. 21 f.; Deut. xxiv. 17; Ps. Ixviii. 6; Prov. xxxiii. 10. 
15. Do not the tears run down the cheek. The question suggests that the subject is no longer the widow | 


Ἶ 438 


SIRACH 856. 16-19 


3 16(20)"A bitterness accepted" is (such): lsighing!', 
ἜΣ jAnd (such) a cry) *{bendeth! the clouds*. 
17 (21) The appeal of the lowly !traverseth the skies', 

™ And resteth not till it reach (its goal). 
It shall not remove till God doth visit™, 
(222) ™And (till) the righteous Judge executeth judgement . 
| 18(22 0) Yea, the Lord °will not tarry®, 

P And the mighty One will not refrain Himself”, 
Till He smite “the loins of the merciless, 
(23) And requite vengeance "to the arrogant!" ; 
Till He ‘dispossess$ tthe sceptre of pride, 

And "the staff of wickedness" utterly cut down; 
το (24) Till He render to man Vhis due’, 

w And recompense people™ according to their devising ; 

(25) Till He plead the cause of His people, 
And rejoice them *with His salvation*. 


Syro-Hex Sah & wrongly + avrns) b-h So ® (psa yn): (ἃ θεραπευων ev εὐδοκιᾳ = PSII naw (cp. 
Gepanay = ΤΠ Exod. xxxiii. τα, LAX): H qui adorat deum in oblectatione (? pointing to a different text: 
Hart suggests bs wown: then the doublet at end of previous verse Dominus exauditor non = by ἂν youn) : 
% ‘the bitterness of the soul of the poor’ =?w [waz] MIIIN. Schechter reads ΥΥΝ for psa: so Smend 
71 (¢ext) nna to be emended with Lévi to AMIN (the subst. answering to the verb MIS in previous line). For 
interpretations of 38 text see exegetical notes below 1) ® TMpPysr: Ge καὶ ἡ δεησις αὐτου k So S ‘boweth down 
the clouds’ (= ?Annw): ® “ext nnwn = G& ‘to the clouds hasteneth’ (+eos): so 3. Lmend ® fo ann 
(4ransp. two letters). Smend proposes mPYN=(?) ‘is attached to, attains’. [For first clause Smend adopts Schechter’s 
emend.: IY Npysi: then read APWn jy »%3y Npyyy] 1 So ® mg. ΠΡΟΤῚ Day = &: ἸῺ text oy dn py: 
(bn = shortened 25m and ὮΝ a corruption of ry, Peters): 3 ‘above the clouds ascendeth’ m-m 35 = G&: 
& ‘and before the Lord of majesty it goeth, not passing away until He draw nigh upon it’ nn So 38: (ἃ = 
ἸΏ mg.: 86 ‘and judgement of truth judgeth [7207 καὶ κρινεῖ δικαίως N* A 248 have kpwee δικαιους = ‘ He shall judge 
the righteous (and execute judgement)’ | 0-0 38 = τ: ὁ ‘He will despise ’ PP = 39 mg.: Et οὐδὲ μη 
μακροθυμησει em αὐτοις (248 - ο κραταιος : so %): S$ ‘and shall not forsake nor cease’ τῇ 8 = G& (οσῴφυν = 
Ὁ Π2) : 39. dorsum ipsorum τοῦ Correcting ® text on (so & 3) to od: cp. x. 14 ss 35 wy = (ἃ 
ἐξαρῃ (cp. xvi. 9). Smend proposes to read VIN or wren (root WW) = ‘beat down’: cp. Jer. v. 17, Mal. i. 4 
tt - 35: G πληθὸος υβριστων (= ἢ Ot NYaW: cp. Hart ad loc.): S ‘the strength of sinners’ u-u So 35 fext 
(mg. ‘of the wicked’ = &): S$ ‘ the unrighteous rulers’ v-V So = 3: G& κατα ras πράξεις αὐτου ww ® 
pis bon = & (cp. £): S ‘to the workers of iniquity’: emend ® 10 Sn (Smend) xs 35. ynyiwea = (ἃ ev τῷ 


(G adds χήρας incorrectly), but possibly oppressed Israel (so v. 18 onwards). The tears of Israel are often mentioned 
in the Psalms (so Smend). Cf. Lam. i. 2 (‘She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks’). If the 
subject is understood to be the widow clause 4 may be rendered (so Hebr. text): ‘and she sigheth because of her 
miseries’ (1.73712 by: cp. Lam. i. 7). 

16. A bitterness accepted is (such) sighing. i.e. the bitterness produced by such oppression is not allowed to 
pass by unheeded and unredeemed by God. The text of 38 is here uncertain. If the last word of the line is retained 
(139) and ΠΣ altered to ΚΝ, render: ‘the bitterness of the crushed is accepted ’(an accepted sacrifice): Peters, who 
keeps # unaltered (pointing 7430), renders: ‘amaritudo gratiae adducit requiem ei’ (see further critical notes). 

(such) a cry bendeth the clouds. Cp. Ps. xviii. 10 (‘ He bowed the heavens and came down’). Perhaps the idea 
is that the cry or supplication of the oppressed pierces the clouds (= God’s dwelling-place) and brings about the divine 
intervention. For God’s dwelling-place in the skies (clouds) cp. Ps. ἴχνη]. 34, Ixxxix. 6 (7). 

17. The appeal of the lowly traverseth the skies, And resteth not till it reach (its goal). Cp. Lam. iii. 44 
(‘Thou hast covered Thyself with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through’). A similar phrase occurs in the 
Zohar (according to Cowley-Neubauer) Lev. 1¥: ‘this word ascends and cleaves the firmament.’ 

(till) the righteous Judge executeth judgement. Cp. Gen. xviii. 25. 

18. Yea, the Lord will not tarry... i.e. will not delay His judgement on the oppressors. In this and the 
following verses the writer has in mind the heathen oppressors of God’s elect people. For the thought cp. 
Luke xviii. 7 f.: 2 Pet. iii. 9. 

Till He smite the loins, Cp. Deut. xxxiil. 11. : 

the merciless... the arrogant. Heathen ruling classes. (For phrase ‘ requite vengeance’ cp. Deut. xxxii. 43.) 
Till He dispossess the sceptre of pride. The expression ‘dispossess’ in such a connexion is unusual, but 
may be right, yielding a good sense. Smend proposes to read ‘beat down’. For ‘ sceptre of pride. . . staff of, 
wickedness’ cp. Ps. cxxv. 3; Isa. xiv. 5 ; Ezek. vii. 11; Ps. Ixxv. 11 (‘all the horns of the wicked will I cut (hew) off’), 


19. to man (was). i.e. the heathen: cp. Ps. lvi. 2 (1). one * Ἶ 
And rejoice them with His salvation. Cp. Is. xxv. 9; 4 Ezra vil. 28, vill. 39, ΧΙ]. 34. 
439 


#"20(26) ¥[ Beauteous is His favour in a time] of stress’. 


36 


8 (το) Hasten “the ‘end 4 and fordain the ‘appointed time ’*, 


I 
2 


3 
4 
5 


6 
(7) 
7 (8) 
(9) 


SIRACH 35. 20—36. 3 


“As a rain-cloud? in the season of drought”. 


(f) XXXVI. 1-17 (XXXIII. 1-13a, XXXVI. 165-22). A prayer to God for Israel 
(= 24+2434+24+24+242+2 distichs). 


2bSave us”, 50 God of 411“, 
4 And cast4 Thy fear upon all the nations*. 
* Shake Thy hand? against &the strange people’, 
And let them see "Thy power?. 
As Thou hast sanctified Thyself in us before them, 
So iglorify Thyself! Jin them! before us ; 
That they may know, as we also know, 
That there is none other God but Thee!. 
Renew “the signs™, and repeat ™the wonders" , 
Make Hand and “Right Arm” glorious. 
Waken indignation and pour out wrath, 
°Subdue® the foe and expel? the enemy. 


*For who may say to Thee: What doest Thou ?* 


ἐλεει αὐτου (cp. Is. xlv. 8) y-y There ts a lacuna in the Heb. MS.: & has wpaov edeos ev καιρῳ θλιψεως αὐτου 
(s 248 Syro-Hex 3 and 3 > avrov, which should probably be transposed to follow edeos): % may be restored 
Ap [ΠΣ an|s[a ΠΝ]: so Smend. After cheos Ὁ (Sang. Am.) + dei [ence Peters restores ym Jon]: 
$ ‘and put to shame the enemy’. [δ 248 prefix ὡς (ως ὠραιον = MN) MD) | 2-279 on (1. jaya) nya: 90 (τ S 
2z-2z So (ἃ 3. : S ‘vengeance i ἃ 307 pr. apxn Aoyou = B 5(PID = ‘section ὃ b-b So 35. wy vin = & ἐλεησον 
nuas: Cp. XXXV. (ΧΧΧΙΪ.) 25 ὅτ So: Ck δεσποτα (A and L>) o Geos παντων (δεσποτα and o θεὸς variants) : 
G+ καὶ ἐπιβλεψον ( et respice nos)—a diltograph from ἐπιβαλε τον in foll. line d-d Read nw (Smend) : others 
ofan]: ® ALS. defect.: $ ‘and let [Thy wrath] come’ [ from Ps. Ixxviii. (Ixxix.) 6] © 248 (so L)+7a py 
εκζητουντα σε (cp. Ps. xiv. 2): $ ‘that have not known Thee’ (Jer. x. 25): 3» -Ε ut cognoscant, quia non est deus 
nisi tu et enarrent magnalia tua (cp. vv. 3, 5, 8) ££ Gr emapov την χειρα cov: 3ἢ 37 (mg. +) s-2 So®: 
(ἃ εθνη αλλοτρια bh (ἃ τὴν δυναστειαν σου = 33 NAVI (9771...) iH ἼΞΞΠ : (ἃ μεγαλυνθειης (= 3) ΠΠ) : 
§ ‘sanctify Thyself’ 1.) So ® mg. G& S$: B text 9a (a mistake) Ν᾿ (τ -Ἐσε (‘and let them know Thee’) : > 
σε HS 1 G+ xupe (19 S>) mm 39. has MBN... MIN: (ἃ σημεια . . . θαυμασια (= ? TN so WH mg.: cp. 
xliii. 25, xlviii. 14)  ™™ So (τ S$: ® ‘and make strong arm and right hand’: 70 248+ ores διηγωνται ta θαυμασια 
σου ( from Ὁ. 10) 0-0 35. yan: Gr εξαρον (but exrpyBew 7m xlvi. 18, xlvii. 7 : so LXX, Neh. ix. 24) rp ® 
Hany: Gr ἐκτριψον (dur in xlvii. 5 εξαιρειν) 9-4 35 Ὁ = & καιρὸν (so often in LXX) Tr So: Gk μνησθητι 
(= pb Is. xxvi. 16) ὁρκισμου (buf N Syro-Hex & [finis] read ορισμου = 38 ἽΨΥ rightly): S ‘let the time come ἡ 
=s So ® S (cp. Job ix. 12): Gk και ἐκδιηγησασθωσαν (248 + σοι) τα μεγαλεια (248 θαυμασια)ὴ σου ἔφ. ο (11) > 


20. As a rain-cloud. Reading DN Ayd: Mn = ‘cloud’ or ‘rain’ rather than ‘lightning’ as usually rendered 
(Job xxviii. 26; Zech. x. 1). So Smend. 

(7) XXXVI. 1-17 (= ἃ XXNXIII. 1-13 a, XXXVI. 16-22) forms an independent subsection, which is linked on 
naturally with what precedes. In the previous subsection the confident hope had been expressed that God would 
punish the arrogant heathen oppressors of Israel, and grant His people relief. In the present subsection the writer 
pleads with God, in the form of a prayer, that He will save His own, and strike fear into the nations in order that all 
may know that He is God alone (vv. 1-5) ; God is urged to assert Himself by gathering in the scattered nation, and | 
by compassionating Sion (vv. 6-17). There are some striking parallels between this prayer and parts of the synagogue 
liturgy, especially the Ezghteen Blessings (Shémonch ‘Esréh), some of the key-words of which seem to be echoed here. 

1. O God of all. Cp. xlv. 23, 1. 22 (Gt); Rom. ix. 5. 
cast Thy fear upon all the nations. Cp. 1 Chron. xiv. 17. 

. Shake Thy hand. Cp. (phrase) Is. x. 32. 
against the strange people. i.e. the Greeks. 

4. As Thou hast sanctified Thyself... So glorify Thyself. i.e. As Thou hast punished us in the sight of the 
heathen, so now punish them in the sight of us: cp. Ezek. xxxvili. 23. 

5. there is none other God but Thee. Cp. Is. xlv. 14; 1 Kings viii. 43, 60; 1 Chron, xvii. 20, ἅς. 

6. Kenew the signs, and repeat the wonders. As in the deliverance from Egypt: renew the wonders of the 
Exodus. 

Make Hand and Right Arm glorious. Cp. Exod. xv. 6; Is. li. 9, lili. 10, Ixil. 8, Ixiii. 12. 
7. Waken indignation. Cp. Ps. Ixxviii. 38. 
pour out wrath. Cp. Ps, Ixxix. 6 (‘ pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that know thee not’). 

8. Hasten the ‘end’ and ordain the ‘appointed time’. The ‘end’ (Heb. }~)=the end of the period of 
oppression: the ‘appointed time’ is that of the deliverance (the same terms are used, almost in a technical sense, in 
Dan. xi. 27, 35.) The Heb. word here rendered ordain (7)p5) means almost ‘ give the command that it may come’. 
Even though the ‘end’ has been fixed, God can, if He chooses, shorten the period: cp. Mark xiii. 20 (ep. also 
Is. lx. 22 6). (ἴ mistranslates ‘remember the oath’. 

For who may say to Thee... Cp. Job ix. 12; Eccles. viii. 4. 


440 


Wn 


SIRACH 36. 9-16 


G 9 (11) *Let "him that escapeth" ‘be devoured’ in the “glowing fire”, 
And may Thy people’s *wrongers* ¥find destruction’ ! 

Ὦ 10(12) Make an end of ἔπε head of the enemy’s princes” 

That saith: There is none beside me ! 


| (ἃ xxxiii. 13@) Gather all the tribes of Jacob®, 
114(165) »That they may receive their inheritance” “as in the days of old’ 
12 (17) Compassionate ‘the people® that is called by Thy name, 
Israel, °whom Thou didst surname Firstborn®. 
13 (18) Compassionate Thy holy city, 
Jerusalem, ‘the place of Thy dwelling’. 
14 (19) Fill Sion ¢with Thy majestys, 
And *Thy Temple" with Thy glory. 
15 (20) Give testimony ‘to the first of Thy worksi, 
And establish ithe vision spoken in Thy name), 
16 (21) Give reward to them that wait for Thee, 
That Thy prophets may be proved trustworthy. 


uu & o (N* Sah+py: NC®+ ἀσεβὴς 0) σωζόμενος = 7 V-V (ἃ καταβρωθητω = Soy (cp. xlv. 10): S ‘destroy 
the enemy’ = Ww bax (for τὸν Sax) w-w Ge ev opyn mupos = YN NONI: S ‘in anger and in fire’ 
τὰ αδικουντες (B 68) ; κατοικουντες (70 A* wid. 306), κατεχοντες (106 corr.): the rest κακουντες ΣΤΥ G εὑροισαν 
ἀπώλειαν : cp. TIN “TY Num. χχὶν. 20 Ζ:2 35 ANY ΝΒ ΟΝ Ἢ (mg. IN): (τ κεφαλας ἀρχοντων ἐχθρων (Ώ mg.= 
4): 9. ‘crown of the enemy’ [εχθρὼν v, 7. ἐεθνων (106 157) and εθνων ἐχθρων (155)} ἃ + same clause as in 
v.5 (Ec 5 b) b-b 39 yonan : Ge καὶ κατακληρονομήησεις avtovs = 2? adnan) (248 106 κατεκληρονομησα) οτος 39 
DIP 2: (ἃ = ΞΡ jd: ὁ. ‘as Thou saidst from the days of old’ d-d So ® &: S and & ‘ Thy people’ 
[( Ἐκυριε: duis 253 23 LSah>: >WandS also | e-e So ® S = ov πρωτογονον wvopacas, 157 248: but 
C &c. ov πρωτογονῳ (L+ ‘tuo ’) (Nea TPOTOTOKM) wpocwmas Hf ® pnaw poo: G& πολιν (so Ξ3.: buts A Sah τόπον) 
καταπαυματος σου ὅτε ® 70 ΠΝ (mg. PII) : GF aperadoyias σου (so B*: on aperadoyia, used of ‘ glorifying ἡ 
God, cp. Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 93f.: if= ΠΣ in Ps. xxix. (xxx.) 6 Symm.): 253 307 Syro-Hex 
ἄρρητα (307 apera) λογια σου (A.V. ‘Fill Sion with Thine unspeakable oracles *): also misread apa ta λογια cov 
(Bb: R.V. ‘exalt Thine oracles ἢ h-h ® 103. MN so 95: (ἃ τὸν λαον σου (read vaov) ii 39 TwyID visond: 
G& τοῖς ev ἀρχῃ (% ab initio) κτισμασι cov = $ ‘to Thy works as from the first’ 1} ἢ Jows3 127 pin = ἃ 
προφητειας (Ee jn Dan. xi. 14) τας ἐπ ονοματι μου (248 προφηταςὴ: cp. & & ‘the prophecies of Thy prophets that 


9. Let him that escapeth . . . destruction. Num. xxiv. 19, 20 seems to have been in the writer’s mind here. 

Io. Make an end of the head of the enemy’s princes. # text has ‘of the princes of Moab’, a correction by the 
text of Num. xxiv. 17. Here again there is probably a reminiscence of Num. xxiv. 17: ‘princes’ here = ΝΞ 
(R. V. ‘corners’), which Ben-Sira understands in the sense expressed by the LXX ad Joc. (ἀρχηγούς). The ‘head of the 
enemy’s princes’ means some one pre-eminent hostile person, probably either Antiochus the Great, or Seleucus IV, or 
Antiochus IV. [Perhaps Antiochus the Great (223-187 B.C.) is meant, who wrested Syria (including Judaea) from 
Egyptian rule (198), and made many other conquests. In 190 B.C. he was defeated by the Romans at Magnesia, and 
compelled to give up the greater part of his conquests (but not Coele-Syria). In v. 9a (‘Let him that escapeth be 
devoured in the glowing fire’) there may be an allusion to Antiochus’s plight after this disastrous defeat. ] ; 

11 (116 = xxxvi. τό ὁ (πῇ. Gather all the tribes of Jacob, That they may receive their inheritance. i.e. that 
they may once again receive possession of the whole of the Holy Land. The Restoration under Cyrus had been 
incomplete, the Jews only recovering a small part of their ancient inheritance. The greater part of the nation was 
still ‘scattered’ in foreign lands, and this state of things was never essentially altered. Technically, therefore, the 
‘Exile’ still continued, and continues. : : 

12. Compassionate the people that is called by Thy name... Firstborn. Cp. Exod. ἵν. 22. For ‘thatis called 
by Thy name’ (κεκλημένον ἐπ᾽ ὀνόματί cov) Syr. has ‘ over whom Thy name is called’ = & ‘ super quam (sc. plebem) invo- 
catum est nomen tuum’. Cp. Deut. xxviii. 10. See further xliv. 23 ὁ note. 

13. Jerusalem, the place of Thy dwelling. Cp. 1 Kings viii. 39, 43, 49 (also 13); Exod.xv.17. [@& ‘place of thy 
Test’ on account of the assonance between NAW (3) and Nav.] 

14. Fill Sion with Thy majesty. @& (R.V. ‘ Fill Zion ; exalt Thine oracles’; cp.also A. V.) has been misread (see 
critical notes), 

Thy Temple with Thy glory. Cp. Hag. ii. = 

15. Give @atimony fortis first or Thy Lees i.e. openly acknowledge the position of Israel as firstborn. 
According to the Rabbis Israel was one of the six things created (or created in the divine thought) before the creation 
of the world. This was deduced from Ps. Ixxiv. 2, ‘O remember the congregation which Thou didst create of old, 
DIP np Jnvy (cited by Schechter ad /oc.). : GY ᾿ 

And establish the vision spoken in Thy name. Cp. (for phrase) 1 Kings viii, 20; the prophecies of the 
Prophets are, of course, referred to ; ‘ Vision’ (}ytm) often occurs as a title at the beginning’ of the prophetical books. 
16. be proved trustworthy. ‘Verified’; cp. Gen. xlii. 20 (same verb). 


1105 441 G σ 


SIRACH 36, 17-21 


12" 17(22) Thou wilt hear* the prayer ἰοῦ Thy servants', 
τ According to Thy good favour™ towards "Thy people”: 
That °all the ends of the earth® may know 
P That Thou art the eternal God?. 


(2) XXXVI. 18-20 (23-25). Moral discernment the fruit of experience (= 3 distichs). 


18 (23) 4Every meat doth tthe belly” eat, 
Yet is Sone meat more pleasant than another*. 
155 το(24) The palate tasteth ‘the dainties that are bestowed , 
And the discerning heart “the dainties of falsehood". 
20(25)"A deceitful heart® produceth sorrow, 
But an experienced man ‘wardeth it off’. 


(6) XXXVI. 21-26 (26-31). Concerning women (= 3+2+42 distichs). 


#®" 21(26) Α woman will receive any man, 
*Yet is one woman more pleasant than another*. 


spake in Thy name’ k G+ κυριε (L = 3 >) 1] 30 Py = οἰκετων cov (NA 155 253 3» and 3): | 
C wxerwr σου (‘Thy suppliants ) m-m §o 38: (ἃ κατα την evdoyay Ααρων (but 307 κατα τὴν evdoxiav: the same | 
mistake xlii. 15): after the misreading εὐλογιαν had arisen the incorrect gloss Aapwv was added: 3 = BY n-n yt 
του υἱου TOU 0-0 So 38: Ge παντες οἱ ἐπι τῆς yns (3: omnes qui habitant terram) Ρ-Ῥ ® [ody] by Ans 3 
(Hebr. MS. defect. at end of line) = (ἃ (248) ore σὺ κυριος των aver (his the orzginal reading): C ort Κυριος «eo | 
Geos των αἰωνων (also other variants) 4 ® pr. D (= prs) marking a new section rr = one of the marginal | 
readings of ® as restored by Smend, viz. 13] = G&: 32 text N73 (‘throat’): S ‘soul’ 5:8 Reading ® (which 
ἦς defective) Ὁ [5] Ὀ[{3}Ν}] bo Ὁ" ἽΝ (Peters, Smend) = & {πὸ 30 mg. It ΝΟ (/ex/ 739): (ἃ βρώματα 
θηρας (' dainties of the chase’ = ἢ ΠΝ ΟΡ, cp. Gen. xxvii. 4 f.) tt-tt So 38 : (ἃ λογοὺς ψευδεις (adopting 137 
Jrom line a ®: so Hart): so&. [The Hebr. readings of the verse are uncertain, there being several variants in © 
mg. and in MSS. Band C. The more important may be exhibited thus: (C IW) 437 Ὅν (C nyo) yma ὙΠ 
3D ΨΩ (v. 1. yma, 1132) Pao ay] u-u 35. apy ab: & καρδια στρεβλὴ = WPY Ὁ V-V 39 ext 13 ΠΩΣ: 
® mg. YYW»: G ἀνταποδώσει αὐτῳ : S ‘understands these things’ w This verse ts misplaced in ®, being 
inserted between vv. 18-19 (23-24): S> x-x (ἃ renders freely (in order to avoid repetition of yun) ἐστι be 


+ = A enter ones th <a pawl 


17. Thou wilt hear the prayer of Thy servants. Or ‘ Thy servant’ = Israel; cp. Dan. ix. 17; 1 Kings viii. 30. | 
According to Thy good favour towards Thy people. Cp. Ps. ον]. 4 (€ ‘according to the blessing of Aaron’ ~ 

[cp. Num. vi. 22 f.] is due to a corruption in the Greek text ; see critical note). } 
That all the ends of the earth may know (# mg. ‘see’). Cp. Is. lil. 10. . 


the eternal God (odry by). Cp. Gen. xxi. 33; Isa.xl.28. Cp. also1 Kings vilil.69. Smend notes the significant 
omission in this prayer of all reference to the Messiah. 

A new division of the book begins with xxxvi. 18 ((ὰ xxxvi. 23) which extends to xxxix. 11. Its contents, which are | 
somewhat miscellaneous in character, may, perhaps, be grouped under the general title of ‘ Precepts for social life’. 
It falls naturally into the following sections: xxxvi. 18 ((ἀ xxxvi. 23)—xxxvii. 15 ; xxxvil. 16-31 ; xxxviii. 1-23; and 
XXXViii. 24—Xxxxix. 11, with an Appendix, xxxix. 12-35. 

XXXVI. 18 (ἃ XXXVI. 23)—XXXVII. τς again falls into four subsections, the first of which treats of the moral 
discernment of a man of experience (xxxvi. 18-20 = & 23-25), the second of women (xxxvi. 21-26 = (τ 26-31), the 
third of friendship (xxxvii. 1-6), and the fourth of counsellors true and false (xxxvii. 7-15). i 

(a) XXXVI. 18-20 (= (ἃ 23-25). A parallel is drawn here between the senses and the moral faculties; in each — 
case the educated sense or faculty discriminates. 

19. the dainties that are bestowed. Perhaps the dainties set on the table before a distinguished guest are meant, - 
or the ‘portions’ referred to in Neh. viii. 10, 12 (cf. Esther ix. 19, 22). For the Hebr. words = ‘that are bestowed’ | 
(ἼΞῚ ‘DyHDd) cp. Gen. xxx. 20 [Hebr. text 137 ‘Dyn? yields no sense. (ἃ ‘dainties of the chase’ may be due to 
reminiscence of Gen. xxvii. 4—possibly a Hebr. reading derived from the passage]. ; 

the dainties of falsehood. The deceptive and alluring appearance that disguises what is false. For the senti- 
ment of the verse cp. Job xii. 11, xxxiv. 3. 

20. A deceitful heart. Cp. Jer. xvii. 9 (same phrase). ‘Produceth sorrow,’ i.e. sorrow to itself; perhaps mis-| 

directed (tortuous) intelligence is referred to. 

an experienced man wardeth it off. The Hebr. lit. rendered=causeth it (sorrow or trouble) to return by means 
of it (sc. the heart or intelligence), i.e. wards off its attack by foresight and intelligence. The word for ‘experienced’ 
here is PN, which occurs otherwise only in Neo-Hebrew. j 

(ὁ) XXXVI. 21-26 (= (ἃ 26-31) forms a second subsection. Its general theme is women: happy is the man with 
a tactful wife. 

21. A woman will receive... i misplaces the verse, inserting it between verses 18 and 19. S$ omits it. 


442 


SS > RR cca ee 


SIRACH 36. 22—87. 3 


Η" 22 (27) The beauty of a woman brighteneth the countenance’, 
! And excels every “delight of the eyez. 
23 (28) *When she possesseth also *a soothing tongue’, 
Her husband fs not (like other) sons of men. 

85 24 (29) >He that getteth” a wife »»(getteth) the choicest possession”, 
°A help meet for him’, and @a pillar of support’. 
25 (30) Without a hedge the vineyard is laid waste, 
And without a wife (a man is) “4a wanderer and homeless". 
26 (31) Who trusteth °an armed band® 

*That rusheth! from city to city ? 
So is the man that hath no £nest, 

Who resteth where evening befalls him, 


(c) XXXVII. 1-6. Of friendship, good and bad (= 3 +3 distichs). 


\\7 ἘΠῚ τ Every friend saith: "I am a friend®; 

‘But there is a friend who is (only) friend in name’. 
2 Is there not Jla sorrow!) ¥that cometh nigh unto death *— 

1A deeply loved friend! "who changeth to an enemy™? ͵ 
3 Ὁ base nature! why then wast thou created?, 

°To fill® ?the world’s face? 4with deceit"! 


2 


Ovyatnp θυγατρος κρεισσων Υ 307 -ανδρος : H+ viri sui: S$ ‘her face’ 2:2 = 39 py ἽΠ sod: (ἃ επιθυμιαν 
ἀνθρωπου ZY. 23» 90 aa 3 ΠΩ ΝΘ (Ρτον. Xv. 4): G ἐπὶ γλωσσης autns ἐλεος και πραυτῆς (248 + tacts) : 
39 lingua curationis et mitigationis misericordia b-b 395 mg. has part. ANP = ὅτ: so WP? (λέν): WP (text) 
mp ‘get’ (¢mperative) = S bb-bb 105 pap ΓΝ: Gk evapyerae κτισεως : S ‘at the head of thy possession’ 
ce 32" AS. reads 7812) Wy: EG βοηθὸν κατ αὑτὸν = 19339 Ny (Gen. ii. 18) = S (this probably original reading): 
3" mg. and Q? 73 Wy (Jer. i. 18) ‘a fortified town’ 2 (So 38: (ἃ στυλὸν avanavocws: S ‘pillar over 
against thee’ (S$ may have read a faulty text: ὙἹΣ Woy) 73 Uy) dd-dd % 43) yo (Gen. iv. 12, 14): 
(ἃ στεναζει πλανώμενος (LXX Gen. iv. 12 στενων καὶ τρεμωνῚ = i ingemiscit egens e-e ® Nav WII (cp. 
1 Chron. vii. 4) ‘in a band of war’ = G& εὐζωνῳ λῃστῃ (ευζωνος = Δ in Aquila; λῃστης = Ἵ ὧι LXX): 
δ ‘the youth like a gazelle’ (473 2” Syr. sense: and Ν for ΔΆΝ: cp. also Cant. ii. 9) f-f 1 adorn: 
(ἃ (B) σφαλλομενῳ but εφαλλομενῳ (248 106 155): the rest αφαλλομενῳ = QS s-¢ So® G: ὦ ‘wife’ 
bh & εφιλιασα αὐτῷ Kayo (but all authorities omit avrw except B: it is a dittograph of καγω (Smend)) ri WH? fext 
aAN Dv 2ΠΝ vw ἽΝ ‘but there is a friend the name of a friend’ (7. 6. ‘only a friend in name’). But the Hebr. ἐς 
not smooth: (ἃ (ονοματι povov φιλος) suggests INN OWA ‘a friend (only) in name’: S ‘whose name is friend’ 
(=? πὶ wow) 7} 1Ὧ5Ρ ext ys: bul emend to NT = tristitia Καὶ So ®: (ἃ [dunn | eve ews θανατου (so δ ἢ B*: 
@ inest): v./. μενει (ΒΡ xe-@ Syro-Hex mg.): $= 3 1-1 9? was yn: 32" Jw yn: ‘friend like the (thy) 
soul’: (ἃ eraipos και φιλος m-m (ἃ (A 155 254 296 308) τρεπομενος εἰς εχθρον = 3ἢ (others εἰς exOpav = LL): 
3 (omitting sv. at end of υ. 2 and confusing 8) of 3 ἃ with V8) renders 2b ‘[a deeply loved friend] shall he be 
to thee’. (v. 3) ‘Enemy and evil’, &c. nn 350 spay "5 WX’ yr 0 (so Q® substantially) 2. ὁ. ‘ Woe to 
the evil man that saith: Why was I created ῥ᾽ (cp. Is. xxix. 16): (ἃ @ πονηρὸν ἐνθυμημα ποθεν ενεκυλισθης, 1. e. 
“Ὁ wicked imagination! whence wast thou fashioned’ (rolled, sc. on the potter's wheel): by this correct Q and 
read: NN) 15. YD yr Ay NA o-o 18 sdb : (ἃ καλυψαῖι Ρ-ν 18 ban 15: Ge τὴν Enpav a-a ® nvoqn: 


22. The beauty of a woman brighteneth the countenance (for ub Hit. cp. Job xxxi. 26). Cp. xxvi. 16 f. 
_ 23. a soothing tongue. lit. ‘ healing of tongue’ (Prov. xv. 4; cp. also Prov. xiv. 30 and Eccles. x. 4); & ‘if there 
is on her tongue mercy and meekness’ (248 adds ‘ and healing’). 
Her husband ... lit. ‘her husband is not of the sons of men,’ i.e. is unusually fortunate. 
24. He that getteth a wife... The other form of the text (see critical note) runs : 
‘Get a wife, (as) the choicest possession— 
A fortified city, and a pillar of support.’ 
ae form of the distich see Prov. iv.7. [‘Get’ has the idea of acquiring by purchase, as in fact was customary with 
a wife. 
25. Without a hedge. Cp. Ps. v. 5; Prov. xxiv. 30, 31. 
a wanderer and homeiess. Cp. Gen. iv. 12, 14 (Cain) ; same phrase. 
26. that hath no nest. No wife, no house. For ‘house’ (M1) = wife. Cp. MWishnah Yoma i. τ. 
(c) XXXVII. 1-6. This forms a third subsection. Its theme is true and false friendship (cp. what is said on the 
Same subject in ch. vi). 
1. Every friend saith: Iama friend... Cp. Prov. xx. 6 (‘ Many a man will meet one who is kind to him, but 
a faithful man who can find ?’) 
Ϊ there is a friend who is (only) friend in name. This agrees with &; but S interprets otherwise: ‘ whose 
_ Name is friend,’ i.e. who deserves the name. 
3. O base nature! 1 ν᾽ = ‘the evil Veser: cp. Gen. vi. 5. In order to avoid imputing the creation of ‘the 
evil nature’ to God & rationalizes, translating ‘ wast thou created’ by ἐνεκυλίσθης (see critical note). 
To fill the world’s face. Same phrase, Is. xiv. 21. 


443 Gg2 


SIRACH 37. 4-10 


#°) 4 *Base is the friend who hath regard to (one’s) table’, 
But in the time of stress standeth aloof. 
5 ®A good friend contendeth with (one’s) enemy‘, 
t Andt against "adversaries" holdeth the shiela. 
6 ἡ Forget not’ a comrade “in conflict”, 
» * And forsake him not when thou takest spoil*. 


(ὦ XXXVII. 7-15. Of counsellors true and false (= 4+6+2+2 +1 distichs). 


7 Every counsellor *pointeth (with) the hand?, 
But there is he that counselleth a way to suit himself? ; 
8 Beware of the counsellor, 
And inform thyself beforehand what is his interest : 
¢For he himself will also® take thought : 
ee¢ Why should it fall out as he wishes?’ 
9 And will say to thee: ?7How good? is thy course ! 
And (then) stand off to watch “thy misfortune". 
ἘΠ τὸ Consult not °with 'those opposed to thee!®, 
And hide thy counsel from him that is envious— 


Gk ev δολιοτητι : H malitia et dolositati illius rr §o ® (= S ‘evil is the friend who approacheth the table’): 
(ἃ misunderstanding yr) mistranslates the whole line eraipos φιλου ev ευὐφροσυνῃ ηδεται s-3 So ®?: (ἃ again 
mistranslates (but perhaps from a corrupt Hebr. text) erarpos pio συνπονει xapw γαστρος (ἢ reading DY Son) mK 
apa ya: ze. bom (= πονεῖν 1 Sam. xxiii, 21, LXX) for pnd: and yx for it with apa from next verse) 

{τὸ G&>(dut 70 248 have xa: so 3» and ®) u-u ® py (Weo-Hebr. for DYN): C πολεμου (but 248 πολεμιουὴ 
v-v 35 ΠΟ ἢ ὑπ τε Gr: S praise not’ = navin-bs w-w 39. ΣἽἼΡΖ : G& ev ty Ψυχῃ σου x-x So 38 = & (but, 
perhaps, εν χρήμασιν σου = bein Sor ρον): $ ‘make him not ruler’ (perhaps an interpretation of waryn-by) 7 
‘in thy house’ (? Jn’23 for 7>5w2). Cp. Gen. xxxix. 6 a-a #9" 4) #2" ‘shaketh the hand’: G εξαιρει βουλην | 
(cp. ἐπαιρειν = 49 XXXili. 3, xvii. 4: and βουλη = Ἵν vi. 2): B® mg. and ®P Tn Wis ‘saith behold’: % ‘ behold” 
[ for ἐξαιρει 23 296 have εξερει = & prodit | b-b H? poy Jas = Li. ‘a way according to him’ ce 380 
Wp) NIN DI 5 ce-ce 39. Sypy why ΠῚ and: Ge μηποτε βαλῃ επι σοι κλῆρον (ὥ ne forte mittat sudem in terram): | 
(ἃ perhaps read ὉνῈ" poy (cp. Job vi. 27: 1 Sam. xiv. 42): $ ‘lest he cast upon thee evil hurt’ ἀ-ὰ 39 ap = © 
awn ἀ6-ὰ 35 νη 211. ‘thy poverty’ (cf. iv. 29): (ἃ to συμβησομενον cor: S‘thy shame’ 6:9 39" pon = 
% socero tuo (38 " clegible): but yon can hardly be right (4% =‘ thy father-in-law’, Ζ. ὁ. husband’s father, | 
always in ref. 10 awoman: Smend explained by Arab. εἰς -- = dux viae malus, ‘an untrustworthy guide’: dut ¢his | 
word vs uncertain): Gx του ὑποβλεπομενου σε: emend to \"2P (with Lévi: this seems to be the best suggestion yet made, } 
and may, perhaps, be accepted provisionally) : cp. ‘thine enemy’. [Zdersh., Margol. suggest ὉΠ as = (πα from | 


4. standeth aloof. Cf. 2 Sam. xvili. 13 (phrase). 
[4 @ is pieces by (ἃ ; R.V. renders ‘There is a companion, which rejoiceth in the gladness of a friend’. See | 
critical note. ᾿ 
5. A good friend... again misunderstands the text (see critical note; R.V. renders & ‘There is a companion, } 
which for the belly’s sake laboureth with his friend’. ἣ 
against adversaries holdeth the shield. Cp. Ps. xxxv. 2. 
(4) XXXVII. 7-15. This forms a fourth subsection. It treats of counsellors base and faithful. | 
7. Every counsellor pointeth (with) the hand. The Hebr. expression means ‘to shake the hand’, and may be | 
understood as = ‘to beckon with the hand’ as a preliminary to speech (cp. the phrase κατασείειν τῇ χειρί; e.g. Acts xi. | 
17, &c.). But this phrase is only used in reference to a public meeting, while here it is private counsel that is spoken | 
of. It is better, therefore, with Smend, to understand the expression in the sense of Is. xiii. 2, of pointing the way = 
‘he points out a way or course of action’. The alternative reading of the Hebrew (‘ Every counsellor saith: Behold !’ | 
cp. the alternative Greek reading and 955) certainly is well supported. It is preferred by Lévi. Smend, however, | 
regards this as an interpretation. [€ ‘ extolleth counsel’ misrepresents. ] 
he that counselleth a way to suit himself. Cp. Derek Eves zuta 8: ‘ Beware of him that counselleth according | 


to his own way’ (= T. B. Sanh. 76b): 12395 ΒΡ yyvny WAT 7) (cited by Edersheim). 

8. what is his interest (lit. ‘ need’) (cf. 35 ). 
For he himself will also take thought : ‘Why should it fall out as he wishes?’ The thought is set forth. 

The metaphor of the lot underlies the expression (cp. also $) = why should matters fall out as he wishes cnbas = voy)? Ι 


Lévi arrives at a similar meaning for the text. He explains by the phrase by baa (‘to fall to’) = ‘to go on the side of’, ἡ 
“espouse the cause of’ (cp. 1 Chron. xii. 20); so here = why should it go to his benefit or interest ? i.e. why should the 
matter result in benefiting him? (ἃ has misread and misunderstood the clause (cp. R.V.). 

το. those opposed to thee. See critical note. For words expressing hostility and envy in parallelism cp. Is. xi. 13. | 


444 


SURAGH Siri. 12 
ἜΣ. 

τ) χα With’ a woman Sabout$ her rival, 

, » And from fan enemy!" ‘about war with Πἰπαΐ; 

With a merchant about Jbusiness), 

And from a buyer about selling ; 

kWith an evil-disposed man* !about benevolence', 

And a merciless man ™about human happiness” ; 
*(With) the worthless workman® about his work, 

™» And the yearly hireling™* °about the sowing of seed? ; 
(With) the idle slave about much work— 

Put no trust in these ?for any counsel? ! 

12 “But rather with a man that feareth always‘, 

*Whom thou knowest to be a keeper of the Law’; 
*Whose heart is at one with thine own’, 

‘Who’, if thou stumblest, “will be grieved for thee". 


Aram. Sian = ‘to see’. Here used in a hostile sense| fH here inserts a doublet of clauses (e) and (f) 85- ἢ 
by = περι (NC &c. also 9): Β περι: for ans dy $ substitutes ‘lest thou commit adultery with her’ (40 avoid 
sanctioning concubinage implied by text) hh HP 771: Ge καὶ pera δειλου (= JA: cf. Deut. xx. 8): but 
context requires ‘enemy’ (so 45): read therefore with Smend > (cp. v. 5) ii} ΠΌΠΟΙ bx: & (so 3) περι 
πολεμου = 3η" (but parallelism with ANAS requires suffix) 15) ® mann: G& περι μεταβολιας (Ss μεταβολης) 
“concerning exchange ’ Καὶ ΤΏ νὴ Ws py: G pera βασκανου (= py pI ON, cp. xiv. 13). Perhaps py has 
fallen out in Q: © cum viro livido supports ® in reading ws 1-1 ®® spn dain by (cp. pal Psi cxvin 12): 
%#®° Jon mbm ὃν (π "1 common in Neo-Hebrew: ? substituted in MS. for the earlier expression): G περι 
evyaptorias m-m % wa 2) ὃν = ‘about the happiness (welfare) of flesh’ n-n %® sow ὈΡῚΞ : ὁπ pera 
oxynpov : %& cum operario agrario = pera epyarov aypou ( for apyou from next clause): % ‘with a cheating servant’, 
cp. Q? aw Synp (Ὁ misread ape) no-nn 160 mw oy (so 18" mg.: B® ww ow): Qk μετα μισθιου αφεστιου 
(B): dut for last word Syro-Hex 253 23 εφεστιου: Ν' Ο 155 308 επεστιου: the rest rightly with & emereov 
(= ‘yearly’: cp. Deut. xv. 18 LXX) 0-0 ®” yop ΝΥ by: & ( freely) περι συντελειας : % consummatione 
anni Ρ-Ρ Ge περι πασης συμβουλιας 4-4 ON IN|D WN (σεαα DY) ON JN: G& αλλ ἡ pera avdpos ευσεβους 
ενδελεχιζε, cP. & ‘with men righteous be dwelling’ rr 30 = Ge (dul evrodas): & ‘for they fear to sin before 
God’ s-s 355 52253 y3a5 py awe = Lv. ‘with whose heart (it is) as thine own heart’: & = 12253 Wer, 
which may be right tt 125 ox: 3220 ow = GS u-u (ἃ συναλγησει σοι = 3 IBY! ζ will be troubled on 


11. With ... from. The clauses that follow in 11 are in subordination to ‘consult not (with)’ and ‘hide thy 
counsel (from) ’ in ro. : 

With a woman about her rival. i.e. with a wife about another woman whom one is intending to take as 
a second wife ; the Hebr. word used here (ΠΝ --- ἀντίζηλος) has this technical meaning ; cp. xxvi. 6 (also xxv. 11). In 
these passages Ben-Sira apparently has in mind some of the evil results of polygamy, which were in evidence when 
he wrote. The same word (= ‘rival wife’) is used in 1 Sam. i. 6; cp. also Lev. xviii. 18. 

And from anenemy... (& ‘and with a coward about war’. 

With a merchant about business. @& has ‘concerning exchange’, i.e. about what to buy (the goods that 
the merchant has to sell). The cases enumerated are of persons directly interested in the results of the transactions. 
From such the reader is warned not to seek advice. ᾿ 

And from a buyer about selling. i.e. about the price he should pay one. Such cautions as these are 
especially necessary in the East. : 

With an evil-disposed man... The list of unsuitable counsellors that follows consists of such as are 
incapacitated from giving advice on the particular matter by inherent defects of character. “An evil-disposed man, 
1.e. an ill-natured, grudging man (Lat. ‘cum viro livido’). For ‘ benevolence’ @& has περὶ εὐχαριστίας --εὐχαριστία 
apparently = display of kindliness. B ; 4 5 

about human happiness. i.e. about the good fortune and happiness of any one. & ‘about kindness’. 

And the yearly hireling about the sowing of seed. offers an interesting variety of reading here (see 
critical note). The reading of the cursives (55 106 248 254 296), viz. ἐπετείου (= 3. ‘annuli’), is correct as against 
the uncials (BC N*), and is attested by ®. It is not ‘the domestic (ἐφεστίου) servant’, but the ‘ yearly hireling 
that the verse is concerned with. Such an one remained in his employment not a day longer than he was obliged 
(cp. Isa. xvi. 14); hence it would be of all things most unprofitable to discuss with one of this class something which 
would be carried out after the termination of his year’s contract—viz. the sowing of seed in the autumn. ; 

(With) the idle slave about much work. i.e. the opinion of a lazy servant must not be asked on the 
question whether there is much work to be done (Edersheim). Fj ee ‘ amen 

12. with a man that feareth always... keeper of the Law. i.e. a man who is God-fearing and pious; 
Such a counsellor will be guided by right principle. For the phrase ‘that feareth always’ cp. Prov. xxvill. 14; also 
xvili. 27 of our book. ἢ : ile δι 

Whose heart... i.e. a faithful counsellor must be one who can ‘act in a disinterested way, and is not 

committed to any course by special interests of his own. 


445 


SIRACH 37. 13-19 


%#*"”’ 13 Do thou also *take knowledge’ of the counsel of (thine own) heart, 
w~For thou hast no one more true to thee”. 
14 The heart of a man *telleth (him) his opportunities * 
Better than seven watchmen Yon a tower’. 
15 But in all this intreat God, 
That He may direct thy steps in truth, 


(a) XXXVII. 16-26. True and false wisdom (= 3+2[+1]+2+3 distichs). 


16 *The beginning of every action is speech, 
And before every work is the thought *. 

17 >The roots of the heart’s deliberations 

(18) Bring forth four branches?: 

18 Good and evil, life and death ; 

°But the tongue ruleth over them altogether’. 
°° το 4There is a wise man who is wise for many4 

But for himself 515. a fool®. 


account of thee’), which ἐς the mg. reading of Ὦ " (corrupted to ἼΣΝ" in BP: WP text pox py =? (pointing Y*3) 
condolebit tibi [Peters]: ‘shall be weary for thee’) v-V pan: (ἃ στησον Ξε “57: S renders whole verse: 
‘for his faith shall quicken him, and also he is faithful like thee’ τ τον ¥® 4211 WN TD (Δ PX) PON (BPD) 9: 
(ἃ ov yap εστιν σοι πιστοτερος αὐτῆς x-X HH ynyyy (3) TW (24. of nyw ‘hour, time = opportunity’ : form 
unusual): Gk ἀπαγγελειν ενιοτε εἰωθεν (‘is sometimes wont to bring him tidings’ RAVE) (157470 adnées : 106) 
αληθινα = 3.}: % ‘shall rejoice in (for shall show) his ways’ y-Y 3η" Ap Sy: Ge em μετεώρου καθημενοι emt 
σκοπης (καθημενοι an addition: ε. μ. and ε. σ. a double rendering of AD¥2 by) : 30 has w dy ‘upon a peak’ 
[posstbly em μετεωρου = jw by and & gives a conflation), & renders ‘more than the riches of the world that 
profit not’ (‘¢hinking of Matt. iv. 8’ [Hart]) 8: So 350 (ἃ : & ‘before all men and before everything God hath 
created all’. [or 1985 zm (b) ®® λας WI.] WL ante omnia opera (a/. omnem operam) verbum verax praecedat 
te et ante omnem actum consilium stabile b-b %® ΟΣ ΠΡΣῚΝ 330 (Ὁ mbyann) mbrann (D apy) ΠΡ» | rr 
(Ὁ m5’) 75) (mg. +D a anw): Ge yvos αλλοιωσεως (= Ὁ mpyonn) καρδιας τεσσαρα μερὴ ανατελλει [ Hebr. explains 
(ἃ which yields no suitable sense|: μερη = DYDD 3η" (cp. DIw Gen. xlviii. 22) ce So ® = &: & ‘he that 
rules over his tongue shall be preserved from evil’ ἀ-ἃ 39 ὩΞΠ) oad oon wr: Ge ἐστιν amp (Syro-Hex 
253 ><arnp) mavovpyos και πολλων παιδευτης (kaa>NAC &c. 1, 3 = 3η) [G = ®: possebly, however, reading D3 
Sor Dani, and treating this as Hif.: Lévi considers pani a mistake for nn: Nif. not otherwise attested ) e-e HP 
Sy (so B® mg.) = ἃ ὅ: B® and BE Sena (Peters renders: et animam suam liberat): 3 renders whole verse: 


13. take knowledge...  Self-reliance is, after all, best; for the maxim regarding the counsel of the heart cp. ὦ 
the Alphabet of Ben-Sira (1): ‘Take sixty counsellors, but the counsel of thine own heart do not abandon.’ 

14. The heart of a man telleth (him) his opportunities ... The Hebr. word rendered ‘ opportunities’ = lit. 
‘hours’, (MYW): the right opportune time for doing a thing (in this sense in Neo-Hebrew). The ‘seven watchmen 
on a tower’ of the second half of the verse may be an allusion to astrologers (Heb. is OSS lit. ‘ watchers’). For 
the number ‘seven’ in such a connexion cp. Prov. xxvi. 16, 25; Jer. xv. 9. The moral of the verse is that man should 
trust the instincts of his own heart most (so also &). 

15. But in all this intreat God. (ἃ has ‘above all these’; counsel, to be fruitful, must be taken in conjunction | 
with prayer. Prayer is of primary importance. The counsellors may be ranked in an ascending order of importance _ 
as one’s friends, oneself, God (Edersheim). With the verse cp. Prov. xvi. 9. 


XXXVII. 16-31. This section falls into two well-defined subsections, the first of which is concerned with wisdom 
true and false (vv. 16-26), and the second with wisdom or discretion applied to eating (vv. 27-31). 

(a) XXXVII. 16-26 opens with some general remarks on reflection and thought. Thought precedes and determines | 
action. Wisdom and folly bring in their train good and evil, life and death; but the fate of men is above all con- | 
trolled by the tongue of the teacher (vv. 16-18). In the verses that follow (19-26) three classes of wise who are not | 
really such (vv. 19, 20, 22) are contrasted with those who really deserve the name of ‘ wise’ (vv. 23, 24, 26). ‘ Wise’ 
throughout is a term for the well-instructed scribe or teacher. 

17: ΤῊ roots of the heart’s deliberations bring forth four branches. The Hebrew (note the v. 1) may be | 
rendered : 

‘The root of counsels is the heart ; 
It brings forth four branches.’ 
This accords well with v. 16. The workings of mind and the moral will issue in action which results in a harvest of — 
good or evil, life or death. For the figure (root and branches) cp. i. 20. [@r gives no coherent sense. ] 
18. Good and evil, life and death. Cp. xxxiii. (xxxvi.) 14; Deut. xxx. 19. 
ey the tongue ruleth over them altogether. Cp. Prov. xviii. 21 (‘Life and death are in the power of the 
tongue’). 

19. .. . who is wise for many But for himself is a fool. The verse may be explained to mean either (a) there 

446 


veel i 


SIRACH. 37. 20-27 


|? 20 8And there is a wise man who is loathed for his speechs, 


And is cut off "from all enjoyment? ; 


21 [For winning grace has not been bestowed upon him from the Lord, 


And he depriveth himself of all honour]. 


100) 22 }And there is Ja wise man who is wisej for himself, 


The fruit of whose understanding (is) ‘upon his body*, 


23’And there is a wise man !who is wise for his people’, 


The fruit of whose understanding is ™lasting™. 


25 "The life of a man (numbers) °days but few°, 


> But the life of Jeshurun days innumerable?. 


‘9 24 ®“Who is wise for himself4 shall have his fill ‘of enjoymentt, 


And “all who see him’ count him happy. 


26 ‘Who is wise (for his) people* gaineth "honour’, 


And his name Yabideth in life eternal’. 


(0) XXXVII. 27-31. Wisdom or discretion applied to eating (=2+2+1 distichs). 


27 My son, prove thy soul “in thy life, 


And see (that) what harmeth it *thou give it not. 


“every one that is wise in his own conceit is a fool’. { axpyoros: 3} insuavis = #| f Pr. tit. & de sofistica et 
versuta locutione “8H OND) NDIA DIN wy: E ἐστιν σοφιζομενος ev λογοις (Syro-Hex + και) puonros b-h 35 
gyn Saxo da (‘from all agreeable food’): (τ πασης τροφης (Ν᾽ 106 157 248 253 Syro-Hex σοφιας): Sah 
τρυῴφης = NIN rightly (τροφὴ for τρυφὴ xli. 1). Read ayn Sor: Sox a 3} xs an addition (a conflate reading) : 
® ‘and he depriveth himself of all honour’ (? = 21 b): doth 3 and ® omit two lines: possibly $ omits 20b, 21a 
and this line = 21 Ὁ (so Smend): 38» 21 a and Ὁ: nol improbably there 1s a doublet in & (vv. 20, 21), and S may 
represent a variant of 20 Ὁ (® ‘is cut off from all enjoyment’ = $ (varzan/) ‘is deprived of all honour)’ id 
transposes Vv. 22, 23 (wrongly : cp. 24, 26) j3 So® = DL: (ἃ coos k-k §o 39: % ‘from the sight of his 
face’: G& em oroparos (read cwpatos) πιστοι (296 > moro = an interpolation from 23b) | The verse ἐς wanting in 
%®: 180 pon spyd = && roy eavtov λαον παιδευσει: S ‘who is wise at all times’ = DDn δον : cp. τὸ ἃ [& avnp 
at beginning of line = QW» misread wx] m-m Sy @& (= jon): 32. on2 = ‘in their own bodies’ : dat by 
(not 3) would be expected here: cp. 22 Ὁ. Context supports G. % ‘for themselves’ π 35 fransposes vv. 24, 25 


(rightly): S>v. 25 0-0 WP py’ apn: WP ἼΒΟ O09: (ἃ ev αριθμῳ ἡμερων. Read with Smend ΒΟ "2. 
(cp. (b) and xli. 13) P-P δό BP: H® has Syme Dy for AW (= E& τοῦ Ισμαηλ): but PAW original 1-0 B 
wind non: & avnp copos: H=S rr H yoyn (= 3): & evdoyuas 8-8 320 NIT $3: Ge martes οἱ ὁρῶντες 
(+avrov 10b, so 3» and $ = 38) ὑπ ® op Don: Ek ο codos εν τῳ Naw αὐτου u-u HOP “25 : Ge πιστιν (bul 


248 δοξαν, so L and 3 =): motw may have been corrupted from τιμὴν (Smend) v-v %? οὖν wna ony: 
(ἃ ἔχεται (248 εσται) εἰς tov αἰωνα (= δον »nd : perhaps so read here with Smend) ¥-W So BP GS: WP mg. ΕΝ 
ἼΩΠΣ (‘in wine’) prodadly a scribal mistake for Ἴ"ΠΔ ¥ H+) (‘and give it not’): so ὅτ: du/ HL S>‘ and’ 


are some who are wise where others’ interests are concerned, but in their own affairs act as fools ; or (ὁ) there are 
some who pass as wise in the opinion of many, but who in their own estimation are as fools. Perhaps in view of the 


use of Ὁ in 22 a the former interpretation (a) is to be preferred. Then 22 is a contrast. 

21. winning grace. (ἃ χάρις = here also lovableness. Cp. xx. 19; xxi. 16. 

depriveth himself of all honour. Cp. Num. xxiv. 11. ᾿ : 

22. The fruit of whose understanding (is) upon his body. i.e. he experiences the results of his prudence in 
material comforts (‘upon his body’ = almost ‘upon himself’). For the reading of (τ see critical note, and cp. 
Prov. xii. 14, xili. 2, xviii. 21. ; ἢ 

23. islasting. The result of such public-spirited wisdom is seen not merely in material comforts and success, 
but in lasting honour (fame among posterity). . . ; Α 

25. The life of a man ... life of Jeshurun. The verse gives interesting expression to one ancient view of 
immortality. A man’s memory might live on in honour in the life of his people. The nation could be regarded as 
immortal. There is no hint of a survival of the personality of the individual. Cp. 2 Macc. xiv. 15. ἡ Jeshurun’ is 
a poetic name for Israel under its ideal aspect (= ‘upright one’); cp. Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxill, 5, 26; Isa, xliv. 2. 

24. all who see him... Cp. Job xxix. 11; Cant. vi. 9. : 

26. And his name abideth in life eternal. i.e. will live on honoured in the memory of future generations: cp. 
XxxIx. 9, xli. 13 (‘a good name endureth for ever’), xliv. 13, 14. 
_ (4) XXXVII. 27-31. The theme of this subsection is prudence and self-restraint, especially as shown in eating. 
Discretion in this regard will ward off disease and prolong life. It forms a good transition to the following section, 
which deals with the physician and the healing art. i ; ; 

27. My son, prove thy soul in thy life... ‘Experientia docet.’ The wise man will learn from experience what 
to avoid as specially dangerous to himself. ' 


447 


ἢ) 28 For not YeverythingY is good for every one— 


38 1 !Cultivate) the physician in accordance with the need of him‘, 


9° 


29 *Indulge not excess* in any” enjoyment, 
30 °For in much eating® !nesteth sickness‘, 


31 i} By intemperance! many have perished, 


Δ 


SIRACH 37. 28—38. 1 


“Every soul maketh not its choice of every kind’. 
°Nor immoderation® in “any® dainties. 
And he that indulgeth excess® cometh nigh to loathing®. 


But he that is on his guard prolongeth life. 


(a) XXXVIII. 1-15. The physician has been ordained by God and should be resorted to in 
sickness (= 3+3+2+3+3+41 distichs). 


For him also hath God ordained. 


y-y So H® = (τ: WH? ΔΝ (‘luxury, enjoyment’: ‘for enjoyment is not good for every one’), cf. % (‘food 
is not, &c. —?b5x Sor b2b) zz So B® =k: cp. Ὁ: HW? ann jr $3 was ὅπ ΝΟῚ = 3. et non omni 
animae omne genus placet ὅ-ἃ #® [Ὁ] yan dx (mg. an bw and [5s] mn): 320 [5x] tn bx (cp. QP mg. 2): 
G μη απληστευου. Perhaps QP should be read (with a different division of the letters) by stn bx (so Lévt, Strack) : 
then point Wi Dy (Nef. of ΠῚ.) =< scatter not thyself upon (dissipate not thyself)’=‘indulge not excess’ (= G& ‘be 
not insatiable in’): the reading of ® sn bw = ‘be not excessive’(?). Smend reads yn->w: Hif. (= strengthened 
Qal) of yw ‘to be restless’: he renders ‘sei nicht ausgelassen (bei)’, and regards the other readings as variants 
artsing (bs []}Π and by sin) from Sy sym and this from S yun: cp. YIN v. 30 Ὁ 325 mg. b-b HP ὑπ — (κα: 
32" mg. and H>b> ce 325 Javn byy = ὅτ: 32" mg. = Ἰῆ 2 ΠΠΠ ὈΝῚ = 2a scribal error Jor wynn which 
wself 7s a correction of BWM (so Smend): Levi reads yinnn and explains from Syr. as meaning ‘desire’ 
d-d So Q®: but B® mg. Q’> ‘any’ (05) e-e So 320 = 12" mg. and & (εν πολλοις yap βρωμασινὴ : B® ayn 373 13 
Ff So ®: Ge ecra πονος (B): bul other MSS. (SA 248 ἅς.) vooos (3 infirmitas: so 3) ss 32" ynnn (op. 
nole ® above) = YQ” mg.: BP Aw: E& καὶ ἡ ἀπληστια ἘΠΕ 30 Nt = G (cas xodepas): so Num, xi. 20 (Heér. 
and LXX) iri % apy da (‘through lack of discipline’: cp. Prov. v. 23 DW pRa= Symm. δι᾽ απαιδευσιαν): 
G 60 ἀπληστίαν: 33, propter crapulam: 96 ‘through much food ’ 1} BP oy ὦ ὁ. YI: mg. ayy aya = BP: 
(ἃ τιμα = 3. 3. and the citation in Rabbinic sources (ΡΥ 123): see exeg. note for these, and also for the use of AY 
in these connextons (ny used in an Aram. sense = Heb. ΓΝ ‘to take pleasure in, treat in a friendly way’ ) 
Καὶ 395 me. JIA vob (#? vb here this MS. ends): Qk πρὸς tas χρειας (+avrov NAV 155 253 254 307 Syro-Hex) 


28. For not everything is good for every one... Cp. 1 Cor. vi. 12. 
29. Indulge not excess. Cp. xxxi. (xxxiv.) 7, ‘be not insatiable’ (€& μὴ ἀπληστεύου, as here). 


Nor immoderation ... lit. ‘be not poured out’ (& μὴ ἐκχυθῇς = ἸΏ JAWN by), i.e. do not allow yourself to be 
given up excessively to. Cp. Ep. Jude 11 ‘rushed headlong (ἐξεχύθησαν) for wages in the error of Balaam’. 

30. sickness ...loathing. There is a clear allusion to Num. xi. 20. Possibly both here and in the Numbers 
passage the word translated ‘loathing’ (Vulg. ‘nausea’) may, as Smend suggests, denote something stronger, some 
severe illness like dysentery (Smend renders ‘ Brechruhr’). Oriental dysentery is especially dangerous. For the whole 
verse Cp. Xxxi. (XXxiv.) 20. 

31. prolongeth life. Lit. ‘ will add life’: cp. for the expression xlvili. 23; Ps. Ixi. 6 (7); Prov. ili. 2, ix. 11. 

XXXVIII. 1-23. This section falls into two well-defined subsections, the first of which treats of the physician and | 
his healing art, which should be resorted to in sickness (vv. I-15); and the second with mourning for the dead 
(vv. 16-23). 

(a) XXXVIII. 1-15. God has ordained the physician, and given man the power and means to use the healing art, 
in order that these should be resorted to when needful (vv. 1-8). In time of sickness, together with prayer, repentance, 
and sacrifice, the skill of the physician should be called in to aid. The section seems to be addressed to people who, 
on religious grounds, were unwilling to consult the physician in times of sickness ; cp. 2 Chron. xvi. 12 (‘ Asa... was 
diseased in his feet... yet in his disease he resorted not unto the Lord, but to the physicians’—the contrast is 
significant). 

1. Cultivate the physician in accordance with the need of him. The line is cited more than once in Rabbinic | 
works in the form—(‘ The proverb says :) Honour thy physician before thou hast need of him’ (AZdrash rabba to 
Exod. xxi; cp. Midr. Tanh. Gen. }P'2 § 10; also in an Aram. form in T. J. Zaanith iii. 6). This form agrees with 
3" here in reading ‘ before (thou hast need of him)’; but the alternative reading (52 = @) ‘in accordance with the 
need of him’ is to be preferred here, being supported by the logical connexion. The physician is to be cultivated and 
honoured ‘because’ God has ordained him for a special and necessary office in human affairs. This point the author 
is enforcing to people who were inclined to deny the necessity of the physician under any circumstances. The reading } 
‘before’ here may have arisen under the influence of xviii. 19 (‘ Have a care of thy health or ever thou be sick’); so | 
Taylor. The word rendered ‘cultivate’ (49) occurs also in xxxi. (xxxiv.) 15, with the meaning to treat in a friendly 
and considerate manner ; cp. Y in Aram. = ‘to delight in, welcome’ (2, 7. ΠΥ). 


ordained. The Hebr. word here rendered ‘ordained’ (pon) sometimes has the meaning ‘ created’ (so Xxxxi. | 


448 


SER ACH 138: 25 ὃ 


2 It is from God that !the physician getteth wisdom}, 
And from the king he receiveth ™gifts™. 
3 The skill of the physician lifteth up his head, 
And he may stand before nobles®. 
4 God °hath created°® medicines out of the earth, 
And let not a discerning man reject them. 
5 Was not ?the water? made sweet “by the wood‘, 
*That He might make known to all men His power’? 
6 And He gave men discernment, 
That they might glory *in His mighty works’. 
7*By means of them the physician assuageth pain‘, 
8 And likewise "the apothecary prepareth a confection": 


τιμαις (jo 106 296 > τιμαις) αὐτου: Clem. Alex. has only πρὸς χρειαν αὐτου: δι. προς τας χρειας = = YD x05 


(so read): QP y2798 vas = 8: so Rabbinic citations ( ὉΞΟ for > under influence of xviii. 19) 1-1 ® pom 
NEN = 8S: G& ( freely) ἐστιν caors m-m So: (ἃ dona (but V 248 253 Syro-Hex δοξαν) nn So 30 (with 
mg. nbn Sor p’2"93): Qk καὶ evavte μεγιστανων θαυμασθησεται: S ‘and before kings they set him’ 0-0 So 


GL S = 39 mg. (N02 [+0w ὦ ὁ. oND]): 35 (ex/) [Man] vw: for win used of creation cp. Gen. i. 12. 
|Z he marginal DY (88) = ‘spices’ = $ and occurs in the Rabb. cttation (see exeg. note), but rs not to be 
preferred to the text MANN =‘medicines’] ΡῸΡ So H (τ: 3 aqua amara = $ (amplifying ref. to Exod. xv. 25) 
a Y mg. yyo = G: B vert pyr = ὥ rr %® ἼΠ5 wax 59 yrrnd maya (for Ὁ syaya+if, cp. 1 Chron. 
xix. 3): Gr εἰς ro γνωσθηναι τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτου = S (dut 248 70 +70 [248 απο] avOpwrou [so £|=®) ss So GS: 
® ‘in His (mg. their) mighty work’ (but pl. ἐς required by DNA 7 a) t-t G ev αὑτοις εθεραπευσεν και npev Toy πόνον 
αὐτου (N¢-" 157 307 &c. Syro-Hex Sah Eth αὐτων) = ‘with them doth he heal and taketh away his (their) 


_ pain’: 3» in his curans mitigabit dolorem (Aug. spec. mitigavit dolorem ipsorum) = θεραπεύων ἀνεπαυσεν = QS 


[ἃ may have added \ of 3) to NID] u-u % unguentarius faciet pigmenta suavitatis + et unctiones conficiet 


[xxxiv.] 13 38, 27 mg.) ; the Greek so renders here (ἔκτισεν) ; cp. vii. 15, xxxix. 25, xl. 1,xliv. 2. But in all these 
passages the meaning ‘allot’ or ‘ ordain’ is to be preferred. [The meaning ‘create’ in xxxi. (xxxiv.) 13 may be explained 
from the idea of smoothness, shape, according to Smend.] 

2. It is from God that the physician getteth wisdom... The skill of the physician is derived from God, and 
is not dependent on the favour of earthly potentates for the high estimation with which it should be regarded. This 
seems to be the thought of the couplet. ‘King’ in clause 4 probably means an earthly king, and is not to be regarded 
as a title of God here (the King, i.e. the heavenly King). The verse, however, may not be intended to assert more 
than the fact that the physician derives his skill from God, and at the same time receives recognition and is honoured 


by the highest of earthly potentates. Physicians were regular officials of Oriental courts, and highly esteemed there. 
(ἃ generalizes the statement (‘from the Most High cometh healing’). 


3. lifteth up his head ...stand before nobles. A physician specially skilful may rise to the highest honour. 
For the expression ‘stand before nobles’ (τ. ὦ. ‘kings’) cp. Prov. xxii. 29. 


4. created medicines out of the earth. Herbs used for medicinal purposes are specially in the writer’s mind. In 


the Midrash rabba on Gen. viii (cp. also Ya/gut, Job, ὃ 501) some sayings are grouped together which correspond to 
uv. 44,7, and 8 a here: 


(4a) God causes spices to spring up out of the earth: 
(7) With them the physician heals the stroke, 
(8a) And of them the perfumer compounds the perfume.! 


5. Was not the water made sweet by the wood... The allusion is to Exod. xv. 23f. Ben-Sira rightly 
interprets the miracle to have been effected by the nature of the wood: so Targ. Onq. ad doc. (‘and the Lord 
instructed him (in the properties of) a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters became sweet’: cp. also 
Philo de vita Moysi, i. 33, and Josephus, Azz. 111. 1. 2). F 

That He might make known to all men His power. So # rightly. God is the subject of the sentence (& 
makes the reference to the power (virtue) of the wood). God reveals His power through natural agents and properties. 

6. That they (i.e. men) might glory in His (God’s) mighty works. For the expression ‘glory in’ (2 4N5N7) 
Cp. Xvi. 9, xxxix. 8, 1. 20. ; Ξ 5 

7. By means of them the physician assuageth pain. ‘By means of them,’ i.e. by the forces which God has 
placed in natural objects. The subject of the sentence in the text of # is the physician: (τ (wrongly) makes the 
subject of the sentence God. [€ may have read 1318219 ND) NDI OA (cp. Rabb. cit. above).] 

8. And likewise the apothecary prepareth a confection. Or the clause (#) may be rendered: ‘And likewise 
the perfumer prepareth a perfume’ (μίγμα). In BH Mpiis a professional name = ‘ mixer, perfumer’ (cp. Exod. xxx. 
25,35; Eccles. x. 1, &c.); in 1 Chron. ix. 30 cp. ‘compounders of the ointment’: NOP (the word used here) in 
Neo-Hebrew = ‘ointment’ (ointment-mixture) (so 1 Chron. ix. 30). Thus the line might be rendered : “And likewise 
the apothecary (compounder) prepareth an ointment (ointment-mixture).’ For Ap (Gr. μυρεψός) cp. xlix. 1. The 
offices of apothecary (compounder) and physician were, of course, not distinct. 


1 npn As pnd APT AAD) ADA NN NAW N|NT OWI INA DD ndyn mos 
449 


SIRACH 388, 8215 


ἘΠ That His work may not cease, 
YNor health’ “from the face of His earth. 
9 My son, *in sickness* Ybe not negligent’ ; 

Pray unto God, for He can heal’. 
10 *[ Turn] from iniquity, and ‘purify thy hands!* ; 

And from all transgressions” cleanse thy heart. 
11 <dlGive a meal-offering with) a memorial ?, 

°And offer a fat sacrifice® to the utmost of thy means’. 
12 And to the physician also give a place’; 

Nor should he be far away, for of him there is need. 
13 For there is a time when successful help is in his power ; 
14 For he also maketh supplication to God, 

'To make his diagnosis successful’, 

And the treatment, jthat it may promote recovery). 
15 He that sinneth before his Maker 

kShall be delivered into the hands* of the physician. 


sanitatis (@ doublet) VV 39 MwAN: ( καὶ εἰρηνη [ παρ᾽ αὐτου] (& reading yap for map: pax enim Dei) [ἢ εἰιρηνη = 
mvs for mvrn (Hart): but Smend thinks tt translates Q = ‘ Heil’ | W-W @& map αὐτου ἐστιν emt mpoowrov τῆς 
γῆς = WN 9p dy yD [AwIN] = ‘and that health from him may be upon the face of the earth’ (Smend thinks 
this may be the original tex/): @ DIN 31D WIN, mg. WIN 5D = S (‘from the face of the earth’): 27 classzcal 
Hebrew 35 by would be required x-x So ®: G+ σου (so S 3.) y-y ® Aaynn by = & (see Surther exeg. 
nole): S>(X ne despicias te ipsum) 2 G& -Ἐσε (so L) a-a 3) (at beginning of line) ἐς here defective: (D\) 
pp 32m Sy = ‘flee from iniquity and from respect of persons’ (Schechter): (Dr1 ἐς supplied also by Levi, 
Strack, Peters): 1 mg. has 7D) = ‘prove’. G& αποστησον πλημμελειαν (248 7O—petas) καὶ εὔθυνον χειρας = 


PDS aN) by DN (evdvs = 73 Ps, Ixxviii. 1): so Smend would emend the whole line: DDD 137) Syn mle) s 
this τς confirmed by parallelism of next clause. & has ‘remove iniquity and falsehood’ b-b G apaptias (s7g.) 
cy. 11>8 dd Febr. MS. defective, only the final word of the line, AAS, being legible: (ἃ dos ευωδιαν και 
punpoovvoy σεμιδαλεως : mg. ANADN: Smend remarks that a fem. noun must have preceded this, and he restores 
the whole line: AIDS Ox ANI jn: Lev? ΤΙΣΙΝ nim) Win (cp. xlv. 16) = ‘offer incense and a memorial’ 
e-e 39 Wy jw) = ‘and make fat what is set in order or prepared’ (¢.e. ‘the offering prepared’): cp. nd ny 1. 14 
where (ἃ renders by mpoopopa: Ge here και λιπανον προσφοραν ft ® own ‘p93 (Schechter proposes T\1 %5ID3 
‘according to the savings of thy substance’): @ ὡς μὴ ὑπαρχων =? 78 ‘BD: or as έν suggests ἢ bap: 
perhaps Inn 55 (Lévt) should be read. ἘΣ s-2 So & = 19 (MS. defective): G+ καὶ yap avtov εκτισεν κυριος 


(addition from v. τὴ) h (τ -Ἐ σου : cp. ® mg. ΤΙΝ (corrupted for nN?) i-i awa xb πον avin (AWE = 
Wes ‘solution’, Eccles. viii. ΤῊ: (ἃ ἀναπαυσιν (2 from avadvow : λυσις = WWE Eccles. viii. 1. [ὥ here ‘health "ἢ 
For nbs (read as Hif-) Q mg. has AND (1. ὁ. 10) = S$: UW diriget J) (ἃ χαριν εμβιωσεως = FY: S ‘in his 
hand and life’ Kk So ® mg. Ν" Sy ἼΘ᾽ = & and & (ἐμπέσοι ets xetpas): ἸΗ text pd ἼΞ2Π) ‘is pre- 
sumptuous before’ 1D pr. tit. de exequiis m-m # ΝΠ (7. ‘cause to flow’) = G& καταγαγε : S ‘ multiply’ 


(=395 Har?) nn 39 NA: Ck ws dewa racyov = ΔΓ o-o ® odynn dx (‘hide not thyself’) 
pop 30 onynaa (dul seng. suff. ts required: so read with versions): G& (for whole line) καὶ pn vmepdys την ταφὴν 


That His work may not cease, Nor health from the face of His earth. ‘His (i.e. God’s) work.’ The 
idea is that God’s mighty working manifests itself ceaselessly on the earth in the work of the physician. ‘The reason 
...is a divine design to encourage science, which otherwise would vanish, being useless. ‘“ Miraculous” healing would 
never have suggested a study of botany or mineralogy’ (Edersheim). @ obscures the meaning. 

9. in sickness be not negligent. The Hebr. word rendered here ‘be negligent’ (so &) means ‘to let oneself go’, 
i.e. be careless: so Prov. xiv. 16; Sir. v. 7, vii. 10, 16; cp. xiii. 7, xvi. 8. It is not necessary to alter the text in 
these passages to 13YNN, ‘trouble oneself’. 

Pray unto God, for He can heal. Cp. Exod. xv. 26. 

το. Turn from iniquity, and purify thy hands... The expression ‘clean of hands’ (‘he that hath clean hands’) 
symbolizes innocence or freedom from guilt ; cp. Job xvii. 9, &c. The idea that physical ills are a punishment for sin 
is here emphasized, as often elsewhere in the O. T. ee. 

11. Give a meal-offering with a memorial. The sacrifice as described in Lev. ii. 1-3 is meant; the ‘memorial 
is that part of the hah which is burnt upon the altar. All incense was so burnt (cp. xlv. 16). Lévi restores here: 
“ Offer incense and a memorial.’ : 

offer a fat sacrifice... Cp.vii. 31; Prov. 11]. 9, &c. 

12. And to the physician also give a place. Note the order of Ben-Sira’s thought: In sickness first make thy 
peace with God; resort to prayer and sacrifice ; then call in the physician (‘for verily the Lord hath created him’ is 
an addition in & from v. 1). 

14. To make his diagnosis successful, And the treatment ... For the text see critical note. The word 
rendered ‘treatment’ lit. = ‘ healing’. i 

15. He that sinneth... Shall be delivered into the hands of the physician. This probably means that if a man 
sins against his Maker he will be punished by sickness and ill health, and will then have to depend upon the physician 
for relief—God will not help him (presumably till he has made his peace with God). & (ἐμπέσοι : but 23 55 254 
ἐμπεσεῖται) renders: ‘let him fall!’ but the alternative rendering is to be preferred. 


450 


SIRACH 38. 16-20 


(ὁ XXXVIIT. 16-23. On mourning for the dead (= 2+2+24+2+42 distichs). 


16 !My son, ™let tears fall™ over the dead ; 
»Show thy grief® and wail out thy lamentation. 
In accordance with what is due to him bury his body, 
° And hide not thyself® ?when he expires?. 
17 1Let thy weeping be bitter and thy wailing passionate‘; 
And make mourning such as befits him : 
A day or two on account of *gossip'— 
And be consoled ‘on account of (thy) ‘sorrow!*. 
18*For out of sorrow! proceedeth "bane® ; 
YEven so’ “sadness of heart’ *'prostrateth! vigour*. 
y19 *!Worse than death is abiding sorrow], 
5) And an unfortunate life is cursed by the heart’. 
20 *And let him no more occupy thy thoughts® : 
> Dismiss the remembrance of him, and remember the end”. 


αὐτου ( and neglect not his burial Ἢ 4-ᾳ 35. ἼΞΟΌ (mg. nnn) ann (mg. 993) ΔΖ ἽΠ : Gk πικρανον κλαυθμον και 
θερμανον κοπετὸν = IBD ὩΠΠῚ 33 WN (so Smend restores and reads): JD OA = Δ} ‘make hot lamentation’. 
Lévi keeping ® text TaD ONT renders ‘ accomplis exactement les cérémonies funebres Ὁ, ὁ (reading “WON ‘ wine’ 
for ὙΠ) renders: ‘wine and food for them that lament’ TY G διαβολης = 227 (so read): ®B Ayn (9 ‘ of 
men’ =? oyn from nyor: Lev’) 8-3 ® fext jy Ayr: (ἃ dumps ενεκα = ἢ [VI WAY2: “ὁ read: ¥ ‘on account 
of life’ ὑπὸ So G& 3: ® pan (read pie) 5) u-0 35 ION: G& θανατος V-v ® jD w-w 7p 32> im) (cp. 
Neh. ii. 3) = & X-X κάμψει ἰσχὺν = NDS Ay (so read): WB fext ΤΩΝ 7 Yv. 19> zz 3 ( fusing 
18 Ὁ and 19a) has ‘|for so an evil heart] more than death crushes through anxiety the poor man and brings 
distress, for the life of the poor is for a curse of the heart’: (ἃ (clause a) ev ἀπαγωγῃ (NX A &c. enaywyy) παραβαινει 
(nce A ἄς. Syro-Hex ΨΚ παραμενει) καὶ Aum. Smend proposes Jor this line Wy PI nwo yr. S misread yr as 
δ: (ἃ wgnored yr and read nA) for NY (cp. iii. 28 ἐπαγωγὴ = NID): so Smend. The second clause ts 
im (ἃ καὶ ἥδιος πτωχοῦ κατα (55 248 254 καταρᾳ) καρδιας a-a Wy aS yo avn bx = ‘turn not thy heart 
back to him again’: ® mg. Wy ab wy mvin by ae. as rendered above: & seems to have understood yoy as = 
‘upon it (ἡ δ. sorrow)’ = ‘set not thy heart upon sorrow’ (μὴ dos es λυπὴην τὴν καρδιαν cov which = n> inn by 
JUD), Xxx. 2 Τὴ: S$ ‘upon oaths’ b-b So 38 : & (mitigating the harshness) αἀποστησον αὐτὴν μνήσθεις Ta exxata 


(ὁ) XXXVIII. 16-23. Proper mourning and burial should be bestowed on the dead ; but sorrow, unduly prolonged, 
can only harm the living, and cannot benefit the dead. 

16. let tears fall... Cp. Jer. ix. 17-18. 

In accordance with what is due to him bury ... ‘Perhaps in grave-clothes suited to his station’ 
(Edersheim). For the Greek word here used (περίστειλον) cp. Tobit xii. 12 and Ezek. xxix. 5, LXX. 

And hide not thyself when he expires. So 38 (for the expression ‘hide thyself’, used absolutely as here, 
cp. Deut. xxii. 3). (ἃ ‘And neglect not his burial’: this, perhaps, gives the sense fairly correctly. A passage in the 
Babylonian Talmud, cited by Schechter (JZoed Qatan 27 6), will illustrate the meaning: ‘ Formerly the funeral (lit. the 
bringing out) of the dead was more grievous to his relatives than his death—so much so that his relatives used to leave 
him and flee ; until Rabban Gamaliel came and himself set the example of going forth (in the funeral procession) in linen 
garments,’ &c. The abuse referred to is the burden of expense entailed by extravagant funeral fashions, which caused 
relatives to abandon the dead and take to flight rather than face the requirements. It would seem probable that some 
such abuse is aimed at in the text. Smend explains the verse as referring to the laws of ritual uncleanness in connexion 
with a corpse (cp. Num. xix. 14f.). Rather than incur this impurity people would leave the dying man. But this is 
most improbable. 

17. Let thy weeping be bitter and thy wailing passionate. Lit. ‘make bitter weeping’ (same expression 
Zech. xii. 10): the Syr. variant here, ‘ wine and food for them that lament’ (see critical note), is interesting. It is an 
allusion to the customary funeral feast, mentioned in Jer. xvi. 7 (also ? Tobit iv. 17), but the reading is due to 
misunderstanding of the original text, though some allusion to the custom would have been expected. 

( A re or two on account of gossip. i.e. to avoid slander or public criticism. 3 has ‘on account of people’ 
generally). 

be consoled on account of (thy) sorrow. i.e. after the prescribed days of mourning are ended. These, 
according to the strict letter of the law, were seven, but in ordinary life may have been reduced to one or two days. ὃ 
has ‘on account of life’, i.e. that thy own life and health may not suffer. The duty of burying the dead with proper 
respect is constantly enforced in Rabbinical literature ; cp. also the Book of Tobit. 

18. bane. renders θάνατος. The Hebrew word (ΠΝ) may be understood of sudden death brought about by accident 
or misfortune ; cp. Gen. xlii. 4, 38, xliv. 29; Exod. xxi. 22, 23 (Targ. Onq. renders NN, ‘death,’ in all these passages). 
So again in our book xxxi. (xxxiv.) 21 38 (soSmend). Sorrow unduly prolonged will bring sudden misfortune (death). 

19. Worse than death is abiding sorrow... Cp. xxx.17. The verse is wanting in #: for text see critical note. 
( in clause a (B ἐν ἀπαγωγῇ παραβαίνει καὶ λύπη) is explained by Ryssel to mean: with the departure of the corpse from 
the house, sorrow also passes away (cp. v. 23a). (® for 19 J? ab nbdp 2.5 Π|}}} 

“20. let him no more occupy thy thoughts. 4 ‘give not thy heart unto sorrow’: cp. xxx. 21. 

remember the end. The sense of the whole verse is: Give not up thy life and energies to vain regrets; 

remember thine own end, that thou thyself hast to die, and live thy life, while thou hast it, in the right way. 


451 


B® 


SIRACH 88. 21-25 


21 ¢4Remember him not, for he hath no hope‘; 
Thou canst not profit him, while thou harmest thyself. 
22 “Remember his doom, for it is the doom of thyself— 
°His® yesterday, and thine to-day! 
23 ‘When the dead is at rest, let his memory rest? ; 
And be consoled when his soul departeth. 


(a) XXXVIII. 24-30. The superiority of the scribe over the labourer and artisan 
(= 1+3+3+4+4 distichs). 


24 The wisdom of the scribe £increaseth wisdoms, 
And *he that hath little business" can become wise. 
25 How can he become wise that holdeth ithe goad’, 
And glorieth Jin brandishing the lance/? 
one 


ο ® ¢ransposes (wrongly) vo. 21, 22 (10 22, 21) 4-ὁ So ®: & again diverges, modifying the original sense: μὴ 
emthaby ov yap εστιν emavodos (R.V. ‘forget it not, for there is no returning again’): 3% renders the whole verse : 
“Remember grief and dispel sins, and put not thy trust in riches, for there is no hope in them ; for like a bird 
of the heavens that flieth and alighteth, so is wealth before the sons of men; thee it rejoiceth and another it 
harmeth ’ ee SoQ 3: G eno (so tn clause a Ge has τὸ κριμα pov except B 253 308 which have avrov]): so 
AV Syro-Hex.& ΓΞ γιρ. [721] Maw no maws = G& (but καταπαυσον may = Nw: cp. x.17) δ: So 
= S (+‘for him’): (ἃ ev εὐκαιρίᾳ σχολης (EV ‘cometh by opportunity of leisure ’) hh So ®: (ἃ o 
ελλασουμενος πραξει αὐτου : 85. ‘he who is not busy with vain things ’ (snpnD ΡΞ xo cp. 1 Ani, We ΠῺΣ Pesh.) 
iri} adm = ‘ox-goad’ (cp. Judges iii. 31): G& apotpov: % ‘plough-share’ (c. LXX Theod. Judges iii. 31, 


aparporous: Vulg. vomer) 35) ἸΏ has Wynn nna = ‘(who glorieth) by reason of brandishing with the lance’ 
(cp. 2 Sam. xxiii. 18): G ev δορατι κεντρου = ὃ VIVO NINA: so Smend reads here (Ὁ = B.H. 1277) καὶ 39 
any soya (abs Ps. cxliv. 14 = ΠὉΝ) = (τ Boas ἐλαυνων 1] wa 331} (mg. WwA Iw: over Line 


21, Remember him not, for he hath no hope. So 38. (ἃ ‘forget it (i.e. thy latter end) not, for there is no 
returning’ (? reading ΠΡ for MPN, Lévi) : for this sentiment cp. Job viii. 8 ; Wisd. ii. 1. 

22. Remember his doom... Cp. xli. 2, 3. 

23. When the dead is at rest, let his memory rest... Cp. for the sentiment 2 Sam. xii. 23. 


XXXVIII. 24—XXXIX. 11, with an Appendix, XXXIX. 12-35. This forms an independent section which has for 
its general theme the scribes. It falls into three well-defined subsections (besides an Appendix), the first of which 
brings out the superiority of the scribe over the labourer and artisan (xxxvili. 24-30); then, the place of the 
craftsman in the civic economy is dwelt upon, but at the same time his inability to fulfil the higher offices of counsellor 
and judge is set forth (xxxviii. 31-34); the last subsection gives a glowing picture of the work and activity of the true 
scribe, and of his honourable status (xxxix. I-11). The Appendix (xxxix. 12-25) contains a hymn of praise for 
creation. 

The whole section is extremely valuable for the light it throws upon the position and character of the older 
Sopherim, and also, incidentally, on the trades that flourished in Jerusalem in Ben-Sira’s days. These earlier scribes, 
in contrast with the later Teachers of the Law, appear for the most part to have belonged to the upper and wealthy 
classes (cp., however, xi. 1; Eccles. ix. 16), and to have been separated from the working classes (peasants, labourers, 
and artisans) by a wide social gulf. They were apparently a leisured class, raised above the necessity of earning 
a livelihood, who took the lead in public affairs and counsel, and acted as judges in pronouncing judicial decrees (cp. 
XXxVili. 33). They obviously belonged to the nobility, and perhaps to the noble families of the priesthood (hence their 
position as judges). They appear to have familiarized themselves with foreign affairs and countries, and to have 
sometimes occupied positions under foreign monarchs, in which capacity they would naturally act also as the 
representatives of their own people and state. Smend points out that originally the tradition of the scribes grew out 
of the priestly Zovah, and, consequently, the earlier scribes were drawn from the priestly class. This was still the case 
in the time of Ben-Sira. 

(a) XXXVIII. 24-30. This subsection is particularly interesting as containing a more or less representative 
enumeration of the handicrafts that flourished in Jerusalem, by the side of agriculture, when the author wrote. They 
appear in the following order of precedence: engravers of gems (signets and precious stones), smiths, and potters. 
Some of the more ordinary trades, such as weaving and carpentry, are passed over, as too obvious to mention, 
perhaps. 

24. The wisdom of the scribe increaseth wisdom. Schechter cites Baba bathra 21 a: ‘The emulation of 
scribes increaseth wisdom’ (723M 729N ODD ΓΝ). G& apparently understood ‘ wisdom’ at end of the line to mean 
“learned leisure’. 

he that hath little business... Cp. Pirge Aboth iv. 14: ‘R. Meir said: ‘Have little business, and be 
busied in Torah.’ But the rule in Mishnaic times was that study of the Law should be combined with a trade; cp. 
Pirge Abothii. 2 (‘Rabban Gamaliel said: Excellent is Torah study together with worldly business, for the practice of 
them both puts iniquity out of remembrance ; and all Torah without work must fail at length and occasion iniquity’). 

25. And glorieth in brandishing the lance. The ox-goad is apparently meant here, as in the preceding line (50 
(τ and πεν i restored text; see critical note). [For phrase ‘brandish the lance’ cp. 2 Sam. xxiii. 18 ; 1 Chron. 
xi. 11 and 20. 


452 


SIRACH 88: 25-28 


kWho leadeth cattle* 'and turneth about oxen!, 

™ And whose discourse™ is with bullocks ἢ 
26 ™m He is careful "to harrow 'the seed-strip!*, 
And his anxiety is °to complete the provender®. 
27» Likewise the maker of carving and. cunning device?, 
Who by night as by day “hath no rest‘; 
‘Who engraveth signet-engravings’, 
sAnd whose art it is to make variety of design’ ; 
He is careful tto make the likeness true’, 
[ And his anxiety is to complete his work. 
$)28 So also "the smith" that sitteth ‘by the furnace’, 

w And regardeth the weighty vessels: 
The flame of the fire *cracketh®* his flesh, 
And with the heat of the furnace Yhe gloweth’ ; 
Τὸ the sound of the hammer he inclinéth his ear’, 
And to the pattern of the vessel *directeth® his eyes. 


sw): Gk καὶ avacrpepopevos ev epyos avtwv m-m 35) pnyywy = IVyw = & mm (wrongly) transposes 
clauses a and Ὁ here. In transl. above the clauses follow the right order a-n 30 (defechve) mer a 
π΄΄'.... [π|τὸῦ (most scholars complete by adding oyna [ep. Ge]: but Smend reads yr nd23, cp. 8): 
(ἃ ἐκδουναι αὐλακας : S$ ‘in his seed-row’ (Ay I xnbia = Smend’s reading above: cp. nad in Neo-Hebr.= ‘tow’: 
ΝΠ 771 Targ.) 0-0 35 52 mab (Schechter p31 mibad, ‘to victual the stall DE Ck εἰς χορτασματα δαμαλεων 
᾿Ξ aps (vel b3535 ] box) PP ® (defective: MS. mutilated) 0 ΠῚ w)n Awy AN (point with Peters ὉΠ 
JY: others AWN) wan) : Ge οὕτως mas τεκτῶων και ἀρχιτέκτων 9-4 38 mutilated here: Smend ( following § partly) 
restores [1 ]}}}) = ‘is (are) restless’: G diayer = 38 mg. 143 (occupatus est) = buf 3nd 21 Ὁ. 25 = ‘lead’ (3 for 
v.24 a and Ὁ has: ‘So also all the craftsmen are disturbed together, and night and day on them (ve. cher 
works) they think’: ere ‘are disturbed’ (= ? 1yP) has been transposed to the first clause: so Smend) rr G ot 
γλυῴοντες γλυμματα σῴφραγιδων = (?) ONIN MND nn|D (Smend) 8-8 Gr καὶ ἡ ὑπομονὴ (so B: buf SA Syro-Hex 
x ἐπιμονηῚ αὐτοῦ αλλοίωσαι ποικιλίαν: ἢ επιμονὴ αὐτου = (?) INION and ποικιλίαν = AWN: αλλοιωσαι = AY 
(‘change ἢ ὑπὸ (ἃ εἰς opowoa ζωγραφιαν (ζωγραφειν = APN, ppn Ezek. xxiii. 14, Is. xlix. τό, LXX) [for 
27 c-f $ has: ‘on the work of carvings and signets and of pearls; also their thoughts are needed for the works 
of their craft’ | tt xxxvili. 28—-Xxxix. 14 7s not extant tn ® u-u G& yadxevs=W9N (worker in metal ἐς meant) 
YY G& ἐγγὺς ἀκμονος (* by the anvil’): du/ $ ‘[to sit] by the furnace’ (righily) =? M2 byw (Ge = 240 byw: or as 
akpavos a corruption of καμινου ?) w-w S$ ‘ And to consider closely the implements of the balance’ (reading rightly 
pain >): (ἃ καὶ καταμανθανων apy (so B wrongly ; V epye: 248 Syro-Hex ev py) σιδηρῳ (Vv σιδηρου: δὰ 55 106 
254 308 epya σιδηρου): orig. Hebr.? Spvin saa ynanm (so Smend) XX τηξει (SW A &c.) = ὃ ypa (cp. Micah i. 4 
LXX, where τήκομαι = ypann): = § (‘cracketh’): Β (V 253 308) πηξει (‘stiffeneth’) Y-¥ Gr διαμαχήσεται : S 
(rightly) ‘he burneth’ (G a misrendering of AANNA) 2:2 E own σφυρης (+ axpovos 248) καινιει τὸ ovs αὐτου (‘ The 
noise of the hammer reneweth his ear’): du/ $ (‘ Over against the model he will bend his hand’) suggests κλίνει 
Sor camer: so read (and accentuate pov) a-a Cp. 3 ‘And over against the image of his work his eyes shall 


Who leadeth cattle and turneth about oxen. # mg. gives an excellent sense (‘Who leadeth cattle and 
turneth them about with song’): the construction of the Hebrew is easier, and it may be right (so Smend). 


26. He is careful to harrow the seed-strip. lit. ‘he setteth his heart’ aad me (κα καρδίαν αὐτοῦ δώσει). In 
Palestine the field is arranged in separate seed-strips, which are ploughed and sown separately. See further on this 
point Krauss, Zalmudische Archdologie, ii. 179 f. ξ . F 

his anxiety is to complete the provender. G& ‘his sleepless care is for provender of heifers’; cp. Gen. 
XV. 9, xxiv. 35. See further critical note. ον 

27. Likewise the maker of carving and cunning device. ‘ Likewise,’ i.e. is likewise prevented by the demands 
of his craft from enjoying the leisure necessary for a member of the learned class (a scribe). It is best to regard the 
verse as dealing with one class of workers only, viz. the engravers of precious stones (seals and gems; so 3). For 
this form of art see Benzinger, Avchdol., 258 f., and cp. art. ‘Engraving’ in JE, Smend understands two classes to 
be referred to, the gem-engravers and the weavers of embroidered stuffs; he renders 27 ad ‘and he also whose art it 
is to weave embroidery’ (‘und auch der, dessen [Kunst] es ist, bunt zu weben’). But this is less probable. 

28. So also the smith that sitteth by the furnace. The worker in metals is meant, here denoted by the 
Heb. term Yn probably. The work of the smith, as here described, is more particularly associated with the furnace, 
in which the ore was melted, and the anvil, on which the metal was beaten out (cp. Is. xliv. 12). With the present 
passage cp. also Ezek. xxii. 18-22; and see further s.v. ‘metals’ in £B and /Z; cp. also Krauss, of. cet. 11. 299 f. 
{Gi reads by the anvil’; but the rendering adopted is supported by the context ; see further critical note. ] 

And to the pattern of the vessel directeth his eyes. This clause apparently refers to the hammering, 
Out of the metal according to a model. 


453 


SIRACH 38. 28-33 


& (3) He is careful to complete his work, 
And his anxiety is »to measure it off exactly. 
5. (G&) 29 Likewise the potter who sitteth °at his wheel°, 
And driveth the vessel with the soles of his feet ; 
®Who is all the time in anxiety over his work®, 
f And all his handiwork is §by number®' ; 
30 "His arms are cracked by the clay, 
iAnd ‘before old age! he is bent and bowed!’ ; 
He is careful to complete Jthe glazing§, 
And his anxiety is *for the heating of* the furnace. 


(6) XXXVIII. 31-34. Though unfitted for the highest offices the craftsman fills an essential 
place (ΞΞ2 - 2 - 2 distichs). 


31 All these !are deft! with their hands, 
And each is wise ™in his handiwork™. 

32 Without them a city cannot be inhabited, 
"And wherever they dwell they hunger not”. 

33 °But they shall not be inquired of for public counsel®, 
And in the assembly ?they enjoy no precedence?. 


be directed’ (G> ‘directeth’) b-b & κοσμησαι emt συντελειας (cp. xvii. 10): κοσμειν = Ἰ xiii. 21; cp. xvi. 27 
ce So S (xd39 by): Ok ev epyw αὐτου dd So S$: G καὶ συστρεφων ev ποσιν αὐτου τροχον (NC-2 mov) e-e So & 
(3 >the line) ΓΙῸ (ἃ : S (cn disorder and corrupt)‘ And his eyes are upon the vessels of allhis work’ 5-8 & 
evapiOpos (B &c.), ev αριθμῳ (55 153), ἐν αριθμοις (307) h-h $ ‘ His arms break up (split) the clay’ (¢ransposing 


subject and object) : (ἃ ev βραχίονι αὐτου τυπωσει πηλὸν i-i$ ‘And until he die he is bowed down and bent’: 
Gk και πρὸ ποδων Kaper wxxvv αὐτου | Smend conjectures NW s05 for nid yd in 5] 1) ἃ (NAV ἄς. 3) 
χρισμα = ΤΠ (95 ‘his work’: ? confusing with vy) Kk (τ καθαρισαι : S ‘to build’ (context demands ‘ to 


heat’ = 3yr>: καθαρισαι wrong transl. of Ya in LXX: cp. Hos. vii. 4, Jer. xxxvi. 22) 1-1 & evemorevoay (εις 
χείρας αὐτων): EV ‘put their trust in their hands’ ( probably mtstranslating 128 or PBN: so Smend): % ‘for the 


sake of their advantage ’ (?) m-m & ἐν τῷ epyp αὐτου : 85. ‘in the work of their craft’ on So 3: (ἃ ka ov 
(2 read οὗ) παροικησουσιν οὐδε περιπατησουσιν (Plast two words corrupted from ov pn πεινασωσιν : Edersh. suggests 
confusion between YAY» and \2y>°) 0-0 Gr (Ν 6.8) add εἰς βουλην λαου ζητηθησεται: 7O 248 εν βουλῃ Aaov ov 
ζητηθησεται = S P-P (ἃ οὐχ ὑπεραλουνται = ? YIN νῷ (so 8) a-a This ἐς the order of the clauses in SAV = 
S: Β has them in the inverted order rr % ‘covenants and judgements’ (sugges/s YEW PN, cp. xlv. 17: 
so read with Smend): & διαθηκὴν κριματὸς 8-3 G& expavwow = WI) (cp. xvi. 25): S ‘consider’ (9 reading 122) 
Sor rr) t-t So S (“nan ΒΟ) Ξε δον rp: & (NAV &c. L) παιδειαν (Β 253 308 δικαιοσυνηνὴ: 


to measure it off exactly. R.V. (=) ‘to adorn them (the vessels made) perfectly’; the Greek κοσμῆσαι 
might be understood of the polishing of the metal, but probably =a Hebrew word meaning ‘to measure off’ (see 
critical note). The reference will then be to getting the dimensions of the finished vessel exact. 

29. Likewise the potter. For the work of the potter as here described cp. the art. ‘ Pottery’ in Sand JZ; 
also Krauss, of. cét., 11. 271 f. 

who sitteth at his wheel. Cp. Jer. xviii. 3-4. 

all his handiwork is by number. The meaning seems to be that the potter goes on mechanically 
multiplying his products, which are all of one uniform quality (the reading of some Gr. MSS. ‘ without number’, i.e. 
endless, is a correction). 

30. His arms are cracked by the clay. i.e. his hands are cracked and disfigured by his work. For the 
text see critical note (the correction is necessitated by the context, which describes what the potter suffers from his 
work. @ ‘he fashioneth the clay with his arm’ does not yield a suitable sense : the clay is prepared by stamping [cp. 
Isa. xli. 25], and manipulated on the wheel with the hands). 

the glazing. Probably smearing with paint, which was then polished; see ZZ, s.v. ‘ Pottery’, ὃ το. 

for the heating of the furnace. R.V. (= (πὶ ‘to make clean the furnace’; but the furnace of the potter 
required no cleansing, as the soot was destroyed by the great heat. What was necessary was to raise the furnace to 
the greatest possible heat, and maintain it there; cp. xxvii. 5. 

(ὁ), XXXVIII. 31-34. This subsection follows closely on the preceding in logical order, by bringing out the value 
of the craftsman for the community; but, at the same time, his inability to fill the higher public offices is emphasized. 

32. Without them a city cannot be inhabited. Cp. xvi. 4. 

they hunger not. 1.6. have no difficulty in finding work and bread (& yields no coherent sense). j 

33. But they shall not be inquired of... The clauses that follow refer to the public work of the scribes, who 

must have included priests to some extent (cp. xlv. 17). 


i ng ok 


5 


454 


SIRACH 38. 33—39. 5 


4Qn the seat of the judge they do not sit, 
‘And law and justice’ they understand ποῖ“. 
®They do not expotind’ ‘the instruction of wisdom’, 
* Nor understand the proverbs of the wise" ; 
34 "But they understand the work ‘they have wrought!!, 
And ‘their thought’ is on the practice of their craft. 


(c) XXXIX. 1-11. . The ideal scribe described (= 2+24+24+2+4+42+42 distichs). 


τ Not so he that applieth himself ‘to the fear of God”, 
* And to set his mind* upon the Law of the Most High ; 
Who searcheth out the wisdom of all the ancients, 
And Vis occupiedy “with the prophets of old”; 
2 Who *heedeth® the discourses” of men of renown, 
And ‘entereth® 4into the deep things of parables ; 
3 Searcheth out “πε hidden meaning® of proverbs, 
And ‘is conversant! 8with the dark sayings of parablesé ; 
4»Who serveth among great men, 
And appeareth before princes? ; 
Who travelleth ‘through the lands of the peoples:, 
iTesteth) good and evil among men; 
5 Who is careful *to seek* !unto his Maker!, 
And ™before™ the Most High "entreateth mercy"; 


® here = παιδειαν διδασκαλιας (cp. Xxxix. 8) tt-tt So S: G καὶ ev παραβολαῖς οὐχ ευρηθησονται u-u $ ‘for 
(= %3) they are skilled in the works of the world’: @& adda (= 1D) κτισμα awvos τηρησουσιν (50 B: στηρισουσι, 
στηριουσι NC-2 248): στηρισουσι = 1D), corrupt for \YI (=? S): κτισμα = HYD (so xxxvi. 24): doth G and & 
appear to have read andy, which may have arisen, as Smend suggests, from ddyd (so read) v-v So S (p09): 
(ἃ ἡ δεησις αὐτων (3Η ἢ aN: so Smend) w-w So S (rightly): &> xx So $(= ?yrannd): & και διανοουμένου 
YY (ἃ ἀσχοληθησεται: cp. ἀσχολια xl. 1 = poy: S ‘turns (to the’, &c.) z-z 3. in prophetis (cp. © of xli. 3, 
xliv. 22): cp. $ (‘to the prophets of old’): G& ev προφητειαις a-a Gr συντηρησει = 2" or 2) (‘ treasureth ’): 
cp. Prov. 111. 1: 85. “ learneth’ b-b G& (B 248 308) διηγησεις (dul the rest and & Sah dmynow) τὸ OF συνεισ- 
ἐλευσεται: cp. δὲ Ps. Ixxiii. 17: S ‘thinketh’ d-d & ev erpopas παραβολων : S ‘on what is deep (=? opny) 
corrupted in G's MS. to ΩΡ V apy Aram. " perverse, crooked’: Edersh.) e-e Ck aroxpupa = nnd) (S 
misplaces in next clause) ff (ἃ ἀναστραφησεται : cp. viii. 8, 1. 28 8- (ἃ ev αἰνιγμασι παραβολων b-h 3 (wth 
clauses transposed) ‘and in the midst of the powerful he goeth, and in the midst of kings and of great ones he 
serveth’: (ἃ = /ranslation above iri Ge ev yy ἀλλοτρίων εθνων : 85. ‘through the cities of the world’ (? snbdyr 
Jor s22y3) = H? Myr yaswa = ‘through the land of the peoples’ 34 G& (ayaa) yap... ἐπείρασε (dul δὲ“ 
yap: so): © tentabit (rightly : ἐπείρασε wrong tense): so S K-kK G& ορθρισαι = ἽΠ (XL ad virgilandum 
diluculo) 2&9 SiO) pray x l1S>: & προς κυριον Tov ποιήσαντα αὐτὸν (κυριον prob. gloss : omit) m-m So & (evavre) : 


34. their thought is on the practice of their craft. Their mental horizon is bounded by the requirements of 
their craft. 


(c) XXXIX. 1-11. This, the last of the three subsections (apart from the Appendix), gives a glowing picture of the 
work and position of the ideal scribe. ed 

1. Not so he that applieth himself ... the Law of the Most High. Cp. the description of Ezra, the ideal 
scribe, in Ezra vii. 10. 

Who searcheth out the wisdom of all the ancients ...the prophets of old. One, the principal, source 
of the scribe’s knowledge is thus defined as the Law, the Wisdom books, and the Prophets. The other source of the 
scribe’s wisdom, as described in vv. 2 and 3, is an oral tradition; but the descriptive terms employed do not suggest 
that it was legalistic or halakic in character, but rather of the type embodied in the Wisdom literature (proverbs, 
sententious sayings, maxims for the conduct of life, perhaps (?) allegories). 

2,3. entereth into the deep things of parables ... hidden meaning of proverbs... dark sayings of 
parables. Cp. the description of Wisdom in Wisd. viii. 8 (‘she understandeth subtilties of speeches and interpretations 
of dark sayings’). For ‘deep things of parables’ @& has ‘subtilties (στροφαί) of parables’: cp. Prov. i. 3 (also Wisd. 
viii. 8); what is meant is the process of investigation described in v. 3, by which the ‘ hidden meaning’ is deduced — 
all that is implicit in the sayings. : sin 

4. Who serveth among great men... Cp. xxxi. (@& xxxiv.) 9-12 and notes there. The wisdom of the scribe is 
culture—they are identical—and therefore the scribe has access to royal courts and enters into the service of kings. 
The high estimation of travel and foreign experience is particularly interesting. The education of the ideal scribe is broad 
and humanistic. 


455 


SIRACH: 39: 4-12 


S$ (ἃ) Who openeth his mouth in prayer, 
And °maketh supplication® for his sins. 
6 PTf? 4it seem good to God Most High’, 
He shall be filled™ with the spirit of understanding. 
® He himself poureth forth wise sayings in double measure’, 
And giveth thanks tunto the Lord in prayer‘. 
7 He himself “directeth" Ycounsel and knowledge’, 
wAnd setteth his mind’ on *their* secrets. 
8 He himself declareth ¥ wise instruction Y, 
And glorieth in the law “of the Lord’. 
9 His understanding many do praise, 
@ And® never shall ?his name?” be blotted out : 
His memory “shall not cease’, 
And his name shall live from generation to generation. 
ἢ τὸ 4eHis wisdom® doth ‘the congregation‘ tell forth, 
And £his praise’ the assembly publisheth. _ 
3(&) 11 ἘΠῚ he live long®, ‘he shall be accounted happy’ more than a thousand ; 
And when he cometh to an end, Jhis name sufficeth?. 


(4) APPENDIX. XXXIX. 12-35. Mymmn in praise of creation (= 3+3 and 24+24+3+3+2+2 
+14+2+2+2 and 3+1 distichs). 


12 *Yet again will I fix my thoughts and 'make my doctrine to shine forthl, 
1As the full moon on the twelfth day!. 


§% ‘from before’ ™ SoS: Ge δεηθησεται 9-9 So & (δεηθησεται) : 3% ‘seeketh good’ ( perhaps ‘good’ belongs to 
next verse) EP (ἃ cav (+ yap 106 155 157 296 307 308 L) 9-4 Ge (ear) κυριος o peyas θελησῃ (κυριος o peyas = 
oy by: cp. xlvi. 5): S>(dut ‘good’ at end of previous verse may be a remnant of this clause: then the line may 
have run in 38 my by ‘yA 31 ON: so Smend) rr So (τ: ὁ ‘he shall be made wise’ 8-3 ὁ ‘he giveth 
out parables doubly’ = 3) ov "5 Ὁ wa xin: G& ανομβρησει ρήματα σοφιας autos t-t So &: “ὁ ‘unto 
Him in his thoughts’ (reading Sor wb) u-u Gr κατευθύνει (= 1)3"): 96 ‘ understandeth’ (= 7.2‘) v-v So 
(τ (βουλην αὐτου [Ν 254 39} αὐτου rightly | kat εἐπιστημηνῚὴ : S$ ‘parables of the wise’ W-W kar... . διανοηθησεται = 
ann (vi. 37: xiii. 18) ΣΤΥ (ἃ αὐτου (mzstake for αὐτῶν or avtns) y-y §% ‘instruction of wisdom” 
(= Soy D2): (ἃ παιδειαν διδασκαλίας αὐτου 2- Gr διαθηκης κυριου ( probably διαθηκῃ and νομῳ orzginal variants): 
& ‘ of life’ aa δα AC ἄς, Syro-Hex & have και (ews): 50 3: B>xa b-b So ᾧ (rightly): &> c-e (ἃ 
οὐκ ἀποστήσεται (= 255m wb: cp. Job vii. 16 LXX) d This verse follows xliv. 14 in Q e-e So (τ: ® onyosan © 
ἘΞ ΓῚν Gk εθνη 8-8 So &: 35 onban h-h @& cay ἐμμεινῃ (= 270” ON = ‘if he abide’ [sc. 271 172} 

ti G@ ‘he shall leave a name’ (4ut does not harmonize with the context’) =?786%, a mistake for Wx [so 
Smend | = & (ονομα from next line in &) 1) (ἃ ἐμποιεῖ αὐτῳ (? origin. ἐμποιεῖ ty ovopate αὐτου : cp. xiii. 17 = 
wow PID?) KK G& ere (NS Sah + δε) διανοηθεὶς ἐκδιηγησομαι : S ‘attend (understand) and I will say my doctrine’: 
but the next clause suggests that a verb meaning to ‘ give light’ orzginally stood at end of first line—perhaps, as 
Smend suggests, WX which S$ read WW (so xxiv. 32 G dora = ON m 8): 2? AW WN) PINS TWD | 
1-1 So $ (‘as the moon on the day of the Twelfths’): @& καὶ (248, 70 ov: LZ enim) as διχομηνια ἐπληρωθην (BY ἡ 


5. Who is careful to seek unto his Maker... The note of true piety is strongly emphasized, as always. The 
cultivated humanists of Israel always kept a firm hold on the practical side of religion. 
6. If it seem good to God Most High. Even when the conditions previously mentioned have been fulfilled, special | 
grace is still required to inspire the scribe with the spirit of true wisdom. j 
He himself poureth forth wise sayings in double measure. i.e. he is not merely dependent upon the | 
tradition which he has inherited, but puts forth what is his own: contrast the ideal of the later teachers of the Law— | 
e.g. ‘ Eliezer b. Hyrqanos is a plastered cistern which loseth not a drop’ (i.e. is a mere receptacle of tradition: 2 2746 | 
Aboth, ed. Taylor, ii. 10). The attitude of the earlier Sopherim to tradition was essentially freer and more independent. 
For ‘in double measure’ (a double portion) cp. xii. 5, xviii. 32 in 38. 
8. wise instruction. Cp. |. 27, xxxvill. 33 6. 
glorieth in. Cp., for expression, xxxvili. 6, ]. 20. 

9. his name shall live... Cf. xxxvii. 26, xliv. 14. 5 ἢ 
το. His wisdom doth the congregation tell forth... =xliv. 15 (104 =xxxi. [xxxiv.] 114). @ misrenders ‘congre- 
gation’ (7) here by ‘nations’; so by ‘peoples’ xliv. 15, cp. ‘ people’, xlvi. 7. | 

11. If he live long... i.e. if long life is granted to him his reputation is assured; he reaps fame and honour; } 


and when he dies ‘his name sufficeth’, i.e. in memory—his memory lives on and is cherished. For the text of verse 
see critical notes. The versions misunderstood it. ! 
456 


SIRACH 39. 13-17 


it) 13 Hearken unto me, ™ye pious™, and "your flesh shall grow”, 
Εν °Like the cedar® that is planted Pby streams of water?. 
14 “Your scent shall be sweet as Lebanon?, 
‘And ye shall put forth blossoms as the lily’. 
‘Lift up your voice’ and tsing together’, 
4And?" vblessY the Lord for all His works. 
15 Ὁ magnify His name, 
And acknowledge Him with praise, 
*With songs of the harp* Yand of stringed instruments 9; 
And thus shall ye say’, *with a shout®: 


16 The works of God Pare all good», 
© And supply every need in its season®. 
7121 c) °° None may say: This is worse than that ; 
bird) For everything availeth in its season. 
“(By His word) He ordereth (the luminaries in the heavenly height)?, 
“And by the utterance of His mouth in His treasury®. 


27wy Ὁ Σ xb nv, cp. 1. 6) mm GF vor ὁσιοι (but 248 Syro-Hex>vor; V 253 have οι anstead): 3 SP" 
nD So 3: Gt καὶ βλαστησατε 0-0 & ‘like the lilies’ (from v. 14) ‘and like cedars’: Gr ws ροδὸν =  (? ‘rose’ 
substituted for cedar’) ΡῸΡ & emt ρευματος vypou (so NAC V &c.: but B aypov): = Clem. Alex. ent ρευματων υδατων : 


% super rivos aquarum: $ ‘on the water’ (cp. o> "Sar /. 8) a-a4 $ ‘and like pleasant odours (= nn) 
shall your scent be sweet, like the scent of Lebanon with its cedars’ (a double rendering): τὶ ὃ ΠΥ pr2d3) 
DIMA: G και ws λιβανος ευωδιασατε oc pny tr So (τ: S$ ‘and like the root of the king’s lilies’ s-3 §o S: 


(ἃ διαδοτε οσμην (wrong rend.) tt awecare acpa—but read apa = S a-a Clem, Alex. & here και (so 3): &> 
YY So G& (ευλογησατε = 1393): S$ = 1717) (‘and give thanks ὃ) W-W (τ dore τῷ ονοματι αὐτου μεγαλωσυνην (cp. 
bas yan Deut. xxxii. 3) και εξομολογησασθε ev aveor αὐτου (Clem. Alex. and & have αὐτῷ for ev aweor αὐτου: Eth 


= places avr» after cEopod.: read αὐτῷ ev aweor (so Smend)): 35. ‘recount His mighty deeds with praises Ὁ ΕΣ 2 
ni Say myelin: Ge ev ῳᾧδαις χειλεων (corrupt for xedvov) Y-¥ H 5} et) (ze. 32 for O32 as in Ps. xlv. 9 = 
vel ‘strings Ne so Smend, Strack: Lévi reads "8 39 b3y ‘all kinds of music’: (ἃ καὶ ev κινυραις zz SoG &: 


Ὦ “ΝΠ aa 10 ΠΡ ἼΠΣ : E& ev εξομολογησει b-b So 38: & wavra ort καλα σφοδρα (S$ +‘ together ’) c-e So 
® mg. (Ὦ fexi ‘And He supplieth every need in its season’): $ ‘And they all for their functions were created’ : 


G καὶ παν mpooraypa εν καιρῷ αὐτου εσται ce-ce These two lines misplaced in Q—transposed to follow 21a and Ὁ 
on account of similarity with that verse: with ὦ. 16 they form a sort of refrain, which is repeated in vv. 33-34- 
& has also a misplacement: vv. 16, 21, 17 4- 19 ts here defective (one word, Try, ἐς legible): Ck ev Noy αὐτου 


cor os θιμωνια vdop = ? DD 33D Way 373 (cp. Ps. xxxiii. 7): S ‘at His word the sun rises and at His word it 
sets’: according to Smend 3 read 3 WY? 393 and paraphrased as above: G& read 19 for 13 and thinking of 
Exod, xv. 8, Ps. xxxiii. 7 rendered as above: Smend restores ἘΠῚ 53] a3 py masa (zz xl. rr ann zs 


masrendered in (τ by vdatov): Ryssel DWDY Sy ἼΩΝ) 3 (—‘ He stations [them ] at [their] stations’: cp. 2 Chron. 
xxx. 16; Neh. xiii. rr): Zev? pos qayn am (‘and what wilt thou compare unto Him?’) e-e # YD Ny) 


(d) APPENDIX : XXXIX. 12-35. 

With xxxix. 11 a distinct division of the book ends. The hymn that follows in xxxix. 12-35 may, perhaps, be 
tegarded as an appendix to the preceding section, which extols the wisdom of the ideal scribe. It may be intended 
_ to serve as a specimen of such ‘ wisdom’—an example of the Sopheric teaching. Its theme is the creation and the 
| divine government of the world, which are revealed everywhere as all-wise. vv. 12-15 form an introduction, 16-31 

the song proper, and 32-35 an epilogue. ! 

12, Yet again... my doctrine shine forth... The author means, ‘I will set forth the best doctrine I can 
express.’ For the figure cp. xxiv. 16. ; , 

the full moon on the twelfth day. The reckoning may depend upon an inaccurate observation of the time 
of the new moon (Smend). : : 

13. your flesh shall grow ... i.e. ye shall flourish and prosper (a promise). For the figures in this verse cp. 
| XXIv..17 f.; Hos. xiv. 6 f.; Ps. i. 3, xcii. 13, 14. : 

like the cedar... by streams of water. For cedars by water cp. Numb. xxiv. 6; Ezek. xxxi. 3 f. 

15. and of stringed instruments ([0°3!3| )}2 +59), Gp: Ps. xlv; 9; cli 4. 

16. The works of God are all good. has ‘ exceedingly (σφόδρα) good’. Cp. Gen. i. 31, 33. 

And supply every need in its season. So#mg. W text: ‘He (God) supplieth.’ @& ‘and every command 
(ΝΣ 52) for ΤῊΣ 55) shall be’. 

17 a, 6(= #21 c,d). None may say: This is worse than that; for everything availeth in its season, 
ΟΠ These two lines have been misplaced in 38 (at beginning, cp. v. 21); (τ has them in the right place (in a modified 

form) ; correct (Κα 17 α(τί τοῦτο; εἰς τί τοῦτο ; to τοῦτο τούτου πονηρότερον, aS in τ΄. 34 α). The four lines (beginning 
|‘ The works of God are all good’) thus form a refrain, being repeated in vv. 33-34 at end of the poem. They express 
the burden of the whole composition. ; : 

(By His word) ... treasury. For the text of this difficult verse see critical notes. The meaning of the rendering 
1105 457 Hh 


35" 


k 21 (α) None may say: 'Wherefore is {151} 


18 In His place (Ὁ) His good pleasure attaineth its end‘, 
το » The works® of all flesh are before Him, 


20 'From everlasting to everlasting He beholdethi, 


22 "His blessing” overfloweth as the Nile, 
23 “Even so His wrath dispossesseth nations4, 


24 ‘His paths* are plain for the blameless’ ; 


SIRACH 39. 18-24 


And there is no “restraint® to His deliverance. 
And there is nothing hid from before His eyes. 


jAnd there is nothing small or petty with Him ; 
Is there limit (Ὁ) to His deliverance Ὁ] 
There is nothing too wonderful or hard for Him. 


For everything ™is selected for its use™. 
And °saturateth® the world Plike the River?. 
And He turneth a watered land into salt. 


Even so ‘they offer obstacles* "to the presumptuous”. 


ysis. (‘And the utterance of His mouth is His treasure’): (ἃ kat ev ρηματι oroparos αὐτου ἀποδοχεια ὑδατων (so Smend 
corrects lo ἈΝ) Hf So (9): G& ev προσταγματι αὐτου πασα ἡ ευδοκια &-§ Ok os ἐλαττώσει (cp. 35) : but Clem. 
Alex. ἐλαττωσις (=? OND for Ny) hh So &,  : ® ΓΦ ii So 38 and &: S> J In B® these 
clauses are inverted: probably they should stand as above so that clauses Ὁ and ἃ (as in vv. 18 and 19) may begin 
with PS (js): Ge>clauses Ὁ and ς (? passing accidentally from first js) to second): clause b(c) (‘there ἴδ. 
nothing small’, &c.) ἐς affested by $ as well as ® (against &) k 3 places the two clauses corresponding to this 
verse afler Ὁ. τῇ. 11 ®% ΠῚ Tao ANS Gece cam@s ae se rouro; = “ὃ mm 7 4n3) was: Ge εἰς χρειας αὐτῶν 
εκτισται (= ΝΖ) for N33: so 8) nn So & S: HY m3 (read yn373) 0-0 15 ANI: Ce επεκαλυψεν 
(mistake for ἐπεκλυσεν = & inundavit) P-P 39 ἽΠ)5 : G ws κατακλυσμος (= Sanna : so Peters reads) 4-4 So ® 
and &: Gk ovres opyny (N¢-* Sah Eth r2ghily opyn) αὐτου ebvn κληρονομησει (S for Wry has ‘jadgeth ’) tr So 
&: ἢ [nw oN] nim = ‘the paths of the blameless are straight’ = S (+ ‘ before his face ’) s-3 Read 
ne ond: ® mg. = & (nw Ὁ 05] ymnaN: ‘His paths are straightforward to the straight ’"—no/e word-play) 
tt ® hynny: & προσκομματα uu So GS: 38 om (read ord) v-v So ® (pon): Gk εκτισται (‘are 


here given is that God, the great and all-wise Creator, disposes the heavenly bodies in their due order, and controls | 
their movements. ‘In His treasury’ = in God’s (celestial) treasury ; cp. Deut. xxviii. 12 (‘J. shall open to thee His | 
good treasury, the heaven’) ; cp. Jer. 1.25. The lit. translation of 17 4, as the Hebr. text stands, is ‘and the utterance | 
of His (God’s) mouth is His treasure’: another suggestion is to read ΠΝ) for 17¥IN; then render ‘and (by) the utterance | 
of His mouth they were formed’. Peters reads: 
72 7" py 19273 
ΓΝ YH ΝΣ 


‘ By His word the waters formed a heap (wall), 
And by the utterance of His mouth treasuries.’ 


There is then an allusion to Ps. xxxill. 7 and Exod. xv. 8; cp. & (R. V.). : i 
18. In His place (7) His good pleasure attaineth its end. ‘In His place’ = where He (God) is; cp. for the | 
phrase 2 Sam. iii.12. @ has ‘in (ov at) His command’. Peters, following this, reads: ΠΛ ΝΣ 1030 ina = ‘when He | 
commandeth, His will attaineth its end’ (an excellent sense, which may be right). For the last phrase cp. xi. 174, / 
xlili. 26 a. 
19. The works of all flesh are before Him... Cf. xvii. 15. ἢ 
20. From everlasting to everlasting He beholdeth. Nothing escapes Him—past, present, and future are open | 
before Him. For the thought cp. xlii. 18 f. Ϊ 
Is there limit (lit. number) to His deliverance? Cp. for phrase Job xxv. 3. Wellhausen and others would read | 
imyyind (a formation from YY like NN): then render ‘Is there limit to His vision?’ 
21-27. God's works are a blessing to the pious, but a source of evil to the wicked. ΜΝ 
21. For everything is selected (or created) for its use. Cf. Qod. iii. 7 (‘ He hath made everything beautiful in | 
its season’). 
22. asthe Nile. The yearly overflow of the Nile is meant, which fertilizes the country adjacent. 
like the River. i.e. the Euphrates; also much used for purposes of irrigation. 
23. His wrath dispossesseth nations. The Canaanites are referred to; cp. xvi. 9. 
turneth a watered land into salt. There is an allusion to Ps. cvii. 34 ; Sodom and Gomorrah are referred to. 
24. His paths are plain for the blameless. Cp. Ps. xviii. 25 (26) f. 


offer obstacles. The Hebr. word here abbynp») may be taken to mean ‘lift themselves up as a breastwork’ 


(nbsp) or obstacle; for the sentiment of the whole verse cp. Hos. xiv. 9 ὁ (‘for the ways of J. are right, and the just 
shall walk in them ; but transgressors shall fall therein’). | 


458 


SIRACH 39. 25-32 


25 Good things for the good’ hath He allotted’ from the beginning ; 
Even so to the evil “good and evil”. 
26 *(The chief of all the necessaries)* of life for man 
Are water and fire, and iron and salt, 
xsThe fat of wheat**, milk and honey, 
The blood of the grape, oil and clothing. 
27 All these prove good to the good— 
Even so for the evil they are turned "to evil’. 
᾿ 28 “There are (winds) which are formed (for punishment)’, 
9(And in their fury)* ’remove moun(tains). 
°In the season of destruction they pour out their force, 
And appease the spirit of their creator‘. 
29 Fire and hail, “{famine!¢ and pestilence— 
These also are formed for judgement. 
| 30 °Beasts of prey®, scorpions and vipers, 
And the avenging sword to exterminate the wicked — 
f All these are created for their uses, 
And are in the treasure-house (ready) to be requisitioned in due time’: 
91 When He giveth them the command they rejoice, 
And £in their prescribed tasks disobey not His behest. 


| 32 Therefore from the beginning "I was assured, 
} And when I had considered it I set it down in writing: 


created \=— ὁ (= pon) : 0Q=L8 W-W Of kaka xX 10 defective: Ck ἀρχὴ πασης xpeas (ΞΕ Ἴ ΝΣ $3 wien: so read 
with Peters: Smend [yn b> wen) XESS Ge καὶ σεμιδαλις πυρὸς (= ὃ ΠῸΠ ION: cp. S ‘fat and wheat δὴ) sy 3η 
yd =& (3 ?): ἴῃ meg. sad (Cc ‘to loathing ὅν Cp. XXXxvii. 30) 22 15 defective (ἃ ἐστιν πνευματα a εἰς εκδικησιν 
ἐκτισται (restore Ἰὴ S13 pavind min wr: 50 Lévt, Peters, Smend np) a-a 10 defective: the missing words 
(— Ck και ev θυμῳ avrar) = ODN) 5 cp. xlv. 24, xlviii. ro (Peters) : but Lévt, Smend DDSI} ὉΞ- = ® oon 
ny: Ck ἐστερεωσαν μαστιγας αὐτῶν (= 2ypy ony: cp. Jer. xv. 8, Hos. xi. 9, LXX, and Hebr.: but Smend 
DS, cp. Job xiv. 18, xviii. 4) ce = & = HMw oN. nm war ody da ΠΡ) (Peters) d-d So &: 
Hy (read ayn): cp. xl. 9 (where read IY for ny ) ee ® jw mn (op. xii. 13) = (ἃ θηριων οδοντες (® Ut. 
“beasts of tooth ’) If Clauses c and d are preserved in ®: 
wa ood nds 55 
spa nydt ayiwa nom 
but & in 31 Ὁ (και ἐπι της γῆς εἰς χρείας ετοιμασθησονταιὴ attests the genuineness of the clauses: ent τὴς γῆς = PANI 


| for SINI: and εἰς χρειας = nay>: Gi has shortened and misplaced the lines. 3% attests them partly in τ. 34, also 
shortening and misplacing 8. 39 Opn: (ἃ (enexactly) ev τοις καιροις αὐτῶν b-h ®snaywnn Cowley-Neub. (or 
) Mayan): D8) 7 Meo-Hebrew =‘sure’: so ΣΝ ΠΠ = “1 was assured (or assured myself’) = (ἃ εστηριχθην 


25. Good things for the good... The verse is cited in the Sefer Vesirah in the following form: 
‘Good is kept for the good, 
. ᾿ And evil for the evil’ 

(oynd are yy mad ATHY ΠῚ): see Cowley-Neub., p. xxvi. (τ and § take ® pon in the Arabic sense of 
‘create’ as in xl. 1 (cp. xxxviii. 1 also); but this is unnecessary. 

26. (The chief... necessaries)... water... Cp. xxix. 21. The place of iron in this list is certainly remarkable, 
as Edersheim remarks. 
The fat of wheat. A poetical expression for the choicest wheat; cp. Deut. xxxii. 14; Ps. Ixxxi. 17, cxlvii. 14. 
The blood of the grape. Cp. |. 15 (in &); the expression (= wine) is derived from Gen. xlix. 11; it recurs in 
Deut. xxxii. 14; 1 Macc. vi. 34. 
28. There are (winds)... The action of destructive winds (MINN πνεύματα), not spirits, is meant, as the context 
shows. For the phrase ‘remove mountains’ cp. Job ix. 5 (of God). In Rabbinic Hebr. the phrase (‘ uproot’ or 
i Teémove mountains’) = to accomplish what is seemingly impossible (cp. Edersheim, 1.276 and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 
il. 109, 376, notes). Here probably earthquakes and similar catastrophes are in the writer's mind. : 
29. Fire and hail, famine... judgement. Cp. Ps. cxlviii. 8. The judgements in view are such as are described 
n Gen. xix, Exod. ix, and 2 Sam. xxiv. 
30. Beasts of prey (lit. of tooth)... The forces of judgement here are earthly, in v. 29 cosmic (Smend). For 
beasts of prey ’ cp. xii. 13 (‘wild beasts’ R. V.). 

the avenging sword. Cp. Lev. xxvi. 25. ; 

And are in the treasure-house (ready) to be requisitioned in due time. In xliii. 14 God’s ‘treasury’ is 
Iso the armoury of judgement, as here ; cp. Job xxviii. 22 f.; contrast Deut. xxviii. 12 (‘the good treasury’ of heaven ; 
2€ Ψ. 17 above). 
31. in their prescribed tasks (BPN), Cp. Exod. vi. 14; Prov. xxxi. 15. 


459 Hh2 


SIRACH (39) πη ΤΠ, 


%#° 55 ‘The works? of God are all good, 
JThey supply) every need in its season. 
34 None may say: This is worse than that ; 
For everything ‘availeth* in its season. 
35 And now ring out !whole-heartedly! 
And praise the name of the Holy One! 


(a) XL. 1-17. The woes of humanity and the destruction of evil 
(=3+3+44+24+24+14242+41 distichs). 


40 1 Much occupation *hath God apportioned®, 

And heavy is the yoke upon the sons of men— 

From the day that he cometh forth from his mother’s womb, 

Until the day ?when he returneth® “to the mother of all living : 
ἃ (35) 2%Preoccupation and anxiety of heart, 

And watchfulness for the future, till the day of his death !4 
n 3 From him that sitteth in exaltation on a throne, 

Unto ®him that is clothed® with dust and ashes ; 

4 From ‘him that wearetht diadem and plate, 
Even unto ‘him that weareth a garment of hair®: 


ini Read wyn (for Avy) as in v. 16 (so G, 9) J (ἃ χορηγησει = PED (cp. v. 16: read pi.) I-k 30 mg. 
72x (cp. 21d): ® xt 33) = ‘displayeth strength’: Ge ευδοκιμηθησεται = ? N33 (cp. 21 Ὁ) 1-1 ® BY) boa: 


(ἃ ἐν πασῃ καρδιᾳ και στοματι = ® mg. (+75)) 
aa So: (ἴ εἐκτισται παντὶ ἀνθρωπῳ (εκτισται = pbn as im XXXix. 25: see nole there): 86. ‘hath God created’ 
b-b 30 Ἰ:)ν = (ἃ (248 157) [eos | επιστροφης [nuepas| (δ: ἐπιστραφη: B em rapy corrupted from ἐπιταφης : cp. & 
usque in diem sepulturae) ce # ὙΠ 93 (mg. ΚΝ) ON bys Gas μητερα παντων: & ‘to the earth of the living’ 
(Lev? adopts mg. ‘ earth of all living’) d>®: (ἃ τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς αὐτῶν και φοβον καρδιας επινοια προσδοκιας 
nuepa τελευτῆς : & ‘their praises (reading a derivative of ΤΙ for AWM) and the perception of their heart and 
the last of their words till the day of their death’: perhaps ® underlying & may have been : 
330 max) mavnn 
(ny) on oy sy ΠΡΊΝ nawpm 


the substantives in apposition 10 PdY in Ὁ. τ (ch. v. 5). Peters ( following S mainly) restores : 
pap mswnr aniavino 
ἐ ΠῚ OY Ἵν BAIT NINN) 
[ews nuepas may have stood originally in Gr: 70 155 have npepas | e-e So 38 mg. (read wand) ; Ὦ καὶ wed: 
δι ( freely) τεταπεινωμενου (= n> according to Smend): 8 = 2Wy> (cp. ΠῚ repeated in next verse) ry 
mow... my: dut G dopouvvros . . . περιβαλλομενου (two different words): hence Peters reads ὨΔῚΝ «. . TOY | 
(HUY = περιβ. Job xxiii. 9: Ps. Ixxii. 6) 8-8 30 (Jast word defective) read (vel Wy) WY none (‘a garment - 


33, 34. The works of God are all good... season = vv. 16-17 (refrain repeated). 
35. And now ring out... Cp. Ps. cxlv. 21. 


XL. 1—XLI. 13. With chapter xl a new section begins, which extends to xli. 13. Its contents may be grouped | 
under the following subsections : (a) xl. 1-17; (4) xl. 18-27 ; (c) xl. 28-30; (d) xli. 1-4; (e) xli. 5-13. ) 
(a) XL. 1-17. Following closely on the hymn of thanksgiving for God’s goodness we have here, by way of contrast, | 
a lamentation over the woes of humanity. Suffering is inherent in man’s lot. His life must be passed in restless | 
anxiety and misgiving, and constantly be visited by misfortune. But the godless experience the worst ills, viz. those | 
which are inflicted by God in punishment for sins. What is false and unjust comes to destruction, but what is true 
abides. The two objects of the wicked man’s desire, property (vv. 13-14) and children (vv. 15-16), are referred to, to 
illustrate the writer’s main contention; in the final verse (17) he sets forth the blessedness which results from the fear | 
of God. } 
1. Until the day when he returneth to the mother of all living. For the idea cp. Gen. iii. 19; cp. also in this 
book (Sirach) xvi. 30, xvii. 1 (4 mg. adopted by Lévi = ‘land of (all) living’, cp. Ezek. xxvi. 20, xxxii. 32). The i 
conception of the earth being man’s mother is worked out in 4 Ezra ix. 9-15; cp.also Job i. 21 ; Ps. cxxxix. 15. ᾿ ] 
2. Preoccupation ... death. The substantives are in apposition to ‘much occupation’ in v. 1, the governing } 
verb being ‘(God) hath apportioned’; cp. vv. 5 @ and 6. The text adopted by Peters may be rendered: ‘ Their ᾿ 
thoughts and the imagination of their heart, and their last actions (or their fate) until the day of their death.’ 566. 
further critical note. 


3-4. From him that sitteth in exaltation on a throne... Nobody, high or low, enjoys rest from distracting 
care and peace. 


460 


SIRACH 40. 5-9 


#5 (2) »(Naught but) anger and jealousy", anxiety and fear, 
j Terror of death, ‘strife’, and contention! 
> (4) And what time he resteth upon his bed, 
The sleep of night *doubleth this distraction!*. 
6 For a little, vainly—'for a moment—he reposeth|, 
m And then is disturbed by dreams™ : 
*Deceived" by the vision of his soul, 
He is like a fugitive fleeing °from before the pursuer°— 
7 ®(Now roused he waketh from his sleep!?, 
Wael loves saison @Y 5 6 66a co a 6 τ Ὁ 
8*(There are) with all flesh, both man and beast, 
Yea and upon the ungodly sevenfold’ : 
9 Pestilence and bloodshed, *blight and drought’, 
‘Devastation and destruction, famine and plaguet. 


of hair or skin’): G wpodwoy (‘a hempen frock’ R.V.) 


of hh G& θυμὸς και (dos (1 ANID JN read ANP) AN) 
1 15 mg. ann 


k-k 10 mg. NYT AWN = Ek addoroe THY γνωσιν αὐτου ( read Wy or YVYI: cp. Qoh. ii. 22): 
§ ‘disturbeth them’ FT 15. ype pra: Gr ev ἀναπαυσει (= ya e.g. Job xxi. 13): &>ywpH 2) 
(defective) Bowes... 4 νὸν OMA PAD: Ce καὶ am exewou εν ὑπνοῖς ws ev ἡμέρᾳ axomas (? for koma) (=Arm). Read 
(0) vay mrordma par (P23) = 133}: cf. xiii. 7, Qoh. viii. το, Esther iv. 16: @& καὶ am ἐκείνου = p31, corrupt for 
pan) [v. 6ab>3] on ® yo ὈΝ (Pe read AYOND Hof. part. as in Neo-Heb. = ‘misled’: Smend yoyo 7. ὁ. 
Lhithpalpel of yydo = nyo: cp. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16, same form from yyn: but the extstence of such a root is 
doublful): Peters eliminates wy as intrusion from previous line and reads here yi (= ‘trembling on account 


of’, &c.): Ge τεθορυβημενος S (qdon27) =? pynd = pynn [‘for vision of his soul’ $ has ‘ vision of the night’ ] 


o-0 So ® S: G& azo Tpoowmov πολεμου p-p 3 (}}Ρ 50 0 bin 5, ay [399] = ? (yp) yp monby Τὴν hyp: 
according to Lévi = “ while still preparing to fight he awaketh’: G& ev καιρῳ σωτηρίας αὐτου εξηγερθη : 36 ‘according 


to the wish of his heart he awaketh’ = ? yp 12253 py12. Perhaps ® may be restored: yp nw yi AY = 


‘now roused he waketh from his sleep’: 1p would account for \\87 in 5. (y and ¥ often confused) and for 


Ty τι 3) ALS. : (ἃ apparently read the text yp inywn ny[2] Onywn 2a corruption of nw Wy) a4 3η 
defective (M2 .......N ΠῚ can be made out with difficulty): G καὶ ἀποθαυμαζων εἰς ovdeva φοβον, whence Peters 
restores AN pXd one» ‘And marvels at there being nothing to fear’: S ‘And seeth that there is nothing 
therein’ (= ἢ ΠΣ Ὁ PN 5. ANT: cp. 3) ALS.) rr MS. defective here: G& = TON Ty) DIND wa d5 oy 
pny’ oye dy: $ <All the sons of flesh their care is with them, and wealth driveth away their sleep’ = 


Pam Wyn Awy ony on ra 53 oy (Levt). Gi ts fo be preferred ss ® aM AMIN (forms TV WN: 


3. him that sitteth...onathrone. Cp. Exod. xii. 29. 


him that is clothed with dust and ashes. For the metaphor (‘clothed with’) cp. Job vii. 5 (‘flesh clothed with 
... clods of dust ἢ). 

_ 4. him that weareth diadem and plate. The diadem or turban (JS) of the High Priest is meant, with the 
| metal plate (j°8) attached to it. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 36-39 ; see also Josephus, 4 wt. iii. 7.6, and Jewish War, v. 5,7; cp. 
» further Zech. iii. 5 and Exod. xxxix, 30 f. 

him that weareth a garment of hair. Cp. Gen. xxv. 25; Zech. xiii. 4; Matt. iii. 4. S renders ‘garment of 


poverty’; the mantle of hair was such, and was worn sometimes as a protest against luxury and extravagance, or as 
a badge of simplicity. 


5. Terror of death. Cp. Ps. lv. 4 (5). 
_ what time he resteth upon his bed... 
' words of 5a@=xlvi. 19 a 3. : 

6. And then is disturbed by dreams. For this text see critical note. @ is here obviously corrupt ; if, with the 
Armenian, ἐνυπνίοις and koma be read (for ἐν ὕπνοις σκοπιᾶς) (καὶ ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνου ἐνυπνίοις ws ἐν ἡμέρᾳ koma) it may be rendered 
“and after that he toils with dreams as in the day’, i.e. he works hard during the greater part of the night by dreaming. 
Peters reads a Hebr. text (Y3" nidn2 1)3)2})) which may be rendered, ‘and then he wearies himself from the midst of 
terrors’ (for nibna cp. Jer. xv. 8). ὧν 

7. Now roused he waketh from his sleep. For the conjectural restoration of the text here adopted see critical 
note. The line thus restored affords an excellent sense: distracted by fearful dreams the sleeper at length awakes—the 
disturbance of his rest is complete. τὰ 
_ _ And his vision (?)... It seems impossible to restore # here (but see critical note). But the sense of the verse 
is doubtless well preserved in (ἃ and S: (ἃ has ‘And he marvelleth that the fear is naught’. For the general idea 
(the shock of awaking from the dream) cp. Isa. xxix. 8. 

8-9. (There are) with all flesh, both man and beast ... Pestilence ... The two verses form one long 
sentence. Note that the whole animal world is here included (cp. Gen. vii. 23 ; Exod. ix. 25). : F 

9. Pestilence and bloodshed... destruction. In ® the three pairs of words form a series of alliterations ; 
cp. Is. li. 19 (where, perhaps, 274 ‘drought’ should be read for 227 ‘sword ’). 


461 


Cf. Qoh. ii. 22 f. (‘ Even in the night his heart taketh no rest’). The 


SIRACH 40. 10-15 


®" 10"For the wicked" vevilv is created, 
And on his account “destruction is imposed”, 
11 All things that are from the earth return to the earth, 
* And what is from on high (returneth) on high*. 
ἃ (5) 12¥ All that is false and unjust is destroyed, 
: But what is true abideth for ever’. 
ἘΠ 13 * Wealth unjustly gotten* *fcometh to an end) like a torrent?, 
»And like a water-course that is mighty in a thunder-storm?: 
14 “With its onrush ‘rocks are rolled away! “-- 
4Even so doth ‘plunder! suddenly come to an end‘. 
15 °A branch (sprung) from violence® ‘hath no tender twig)’, 
&For an impious root® is on the point of a crag*: 


msn (2. ayn) (S> che verse) u-u % yor Sy = ( ἐπὶ τοὺς avopovs (= ‘to be a burden upon the wicked’) 


v-v 355 ΠΡ: G& ταῦτα παντα (=? 9D =a variant 123) w-w % ΠῸΣ whion (fo make sense the commentators 
propose to insert 85 = ‘ruin departeth not, but Ἢ: read DWN with Peters = (τ eyevero (IY = γινεσθαι 1 Sam. 
XXX. 25, Job xxxviil. 33, &c.): S>v. το x-x So ® ony by DDD Ws: Ck καὶ απὸ vdatwv εἰς θαλασσαν 
ἀνακαμπτει (=D) Sy pn wy): 3= 3 Y-y >®: (ἃ has παν δωρον και αδικια εξαλειφθησεται και πιστις εἰς Tov 


αιωνα στήσεται (= in Hebrew . 
noes mb tne 55 
(:sayn ndry> anny (so Pefers). 


&: ‘Every one that sins and cheats shall cease, 
But the diligent of the world, even they shall stand’ 


=?navh Syn son 55) 
(symp odwy N01 


S$ may have read Ὑ for NW in line 1: so emend (with Smend) 2-2 3) mg. dyn Syn ‘wealth born of 
wealth (or strength)’: @& χρηματα αδικων (= ὃ ody Syn) : S ‘wealth of deceit’ (2 ὃν Syn): read by on 
(or mb) a-a ® ΣΝ PID = ‘is like a perennial torrent ’—an unsuitable sense | Smend ad loc. argues that 
the meaning ‘perennial’ zs not made out. He thinks the original tdea ts that of strength, then (of a stream) strongly 
flowing—a rushing current. So he retains the word here|: both G& and $ have a verb in place of \n'S: υἱᾶ. 
(ἃ EnpavOnoera (= {D3 according to Peters: cp. Isa. li. 12 LXX): 95. ‘shall be swept away’: read, perhaps, with 
Ryssel DAY (Δ όυϊ, as well as Smend, keeps ins bry = ‘a swiftly flowing torrent’) b-b So ® mg. = & (‘like 
rivers that are full of light clouds’ [reading nidp Sor nidip]): (ἃ καὶ ws βροντὴ μεγάλη ev vero eEnynoe = " And 
shall roar themselves out like great thunder in rain’ (a free rendering) ce mg. yy DYDD INN’ oy (emend 
to ab3 and point DYDD): (ἃ ev τῷ ανοιξαι αὐτὸν χειρας evppavOnoera (read ευφρανθησονταιὴ = 38: S only has one line 
for this verse, which ts usually supposed to represent clause a: but more probably clause Ὁ (see next note) 4- ® 
on’ my ONND 5: (ἃ ovras οἱ παραβαινοντες ΓΞΞ ? BNNB for ὈΝΠΒ) εἰς συντελειαν εκλειψουσιν : S ‘when they are 
taken away they come to an end’ (= 2aDAY PAE 3). Combining ®, G&, and S$ read BM δ} ONND 13 (or 
onn nbn) e-e ® fext DOM III mg. DON ANI: W mg. = & exyova ασεβων: S ‘and offspring to the wicked — 
man’ (= 39 mg.?): read DION WN) ££ ap» xb(=?<shall not be unpunished’): Ge ov πληθυνεῖ kAadous 


1o. For the wicked evil (or calamity) is created... Cp. xxxix. 29. 

11. All... from the earth return to the earth. Cp. Gen. iii. 19; Eccles. xii. 7; Job xxxiv. 15. : 

what is from on high (returneth) on high. ‘The return of the spirit to its Maker is meant; cp. Qo/. xii. 7. 
The prosperity of the ungodly shares the fate of all created things ; it comes to destruction (cp. Ps. xlix). 

13. Wealth unjustly gotten ... torrent ... Cp. Job vi. 15-18 for the image. Just as the torrent suddenly 
swollen in a thunder-storm as suddenly goes down, so wealth unjustly gotten disappears. In clause ὁ ‘ in a thunder- 
storm ’= lit. ‘in flashing of thunder’. For θα see critical note. 

14. With its onrush rocks are rolled away. For the word rendered ‘rocks’ here (0°52) cp. Jer. iv. 29; Job 
xxx. 6. i misread this as ‘hands’ (D°BD), and may be rendered ‘in the opening of his hands one shall rejoice’ (i.e 
when he is made to disgorge his ill-gotten wealth there is general rejoicing). % might be rendered (understanding 
the word in this sense), ‘ when he (the wicked man) lifteth up his hands (sc. as a beggar) men rejoice’; or ‘ when He 
(God) lifteth up His hands (sc. against the wicked man to punish him and reduce him to poverty) men rejoice.’ 

Even so doth plunder suddenly come to an end. For text see critical note. 38 as it stands = ‘for suddenly 
doth he (? the wicked man) come to an end for ever’ (cp. G&). The words cannot be understood of the brook; they. 
must refer to the riches, and this is well expressed by the emended text. ῃ 

15. A branch (sprung) from violence. i.e. the wicked man himself (not his offspring) ; cp. the parallel expression 
in clause ὁ ‘an impious root’. 

hath no tender twig. i.e. has no permanent posterity. For the idea cp. xxiii. 25 ; Job viii. 11 f. olf 

an impious root is on the point of a crag. For S see critical note, and cp. with its rendering Matt. xiii. 5. 


462 


SIRACH 40. 16-20 


16 iLike reed-stalks (?)i jon the bank of a torrenti, 
*Which are consumed before any (other) !plant! ¥. 
171 But kindness shall never be moved}, 

And righteousness is established for aye. 


(ὁ) XL. 18-27. The fear of the Lord is the greatest of all good things (=10 +2 distichs). 


18 mA life of wine and strong drink™ is sweet, 

But better than both is “he that findeth a treasure”. 
10 Child °and city° establish a name, 

PBut better than both is he that findeth wisdom. 
Young cattle and planting make fabundance! to flourish”, 
But better than both 415 a woman beloved ?. 

| 20 Wine "land song!" rejoice the heart, 

But better than both is ‘the affection of lovers’. 


(kAados = npr Hos. xiv. 7, LXX): read 13 prs NO: with Peters, &e. SS Gr καὶ ριζαι ἀκαθαρτοι (ἢ read 
axa@aprov): IN ww 5 τῷὸ, S hh ® = (τ: 9 ( freely) [‘ for the root of sinners] is like an ear of corn 
which sprouts upon a rocky crag’ 1 ®H nw Mp (221. of DMP = καρδαμον, ‘ nasturtium or cress’: Cowley- 
Neubauer suggest M"DP2 ‘like reed-stalks’: pl. of NDP): G& ayer = 39 ὙΠῸ (cf. Job viii. 11): so Peters reads 
here: Hart suggests that 38 may be a corruption of PW2 (PY = 108 in Targ. of Job viii. 11) i ® naa by 
ὑπ) (133 = ‘side’, only here: cp. Syr. ὩΣ ‘wing’, and Aram. Ὁ ‘bank): Ge ἐπὶ (mavros υδατος καὶ) χείλους 

ποταμου (mavros vdaros καὶ} with &): G = ἢ ὉΠ) nay dy k-k ® mg. Ary Tw 52 Ὧ50 (1 text yy): 
(ἃ πρὸ παντὸς χορτου εκτιλησεται : Peters conjectures: ἽΝ) yod b> ὩΞῸ (ἃ παντὸς vdatos in previous line = 
?app b>: fart) 1] So BH: G& xapis ws παραδεισος ev εὐλογίαις = ADVI PIYD IDM) ‘but kindness is like 
a blessed Eden’ (? from xl. 27): S$ ‘ But the works of the pious in season (= [Ἴ}3) are blessed’ (cf. Isa. li. 3) 
mm So # ἼΣΩΣ YN: for ἼΞΦΥ 1” HB mg. has Sow amy ‘wealth of understanding’: @& has ¢wn avrapkous 
ἐργατου (= VY MN: avrapkous probably an addition in &): BH mg. may, as Peters suggests, be an independent 
attempt to emend ® in order to eliminate the offensive expression ‘a life of wine and strong drink’ (ὧν substituting 
‘a life of wealth of understanding’). % ext zs certainly strange, but is supported (partly) by τ: S>line. 
Hart ingeniously proposes to read Sow in ‘grace and understanding’ (jn _for 5») "Π): cp. Prov. iii. 4 n-n 38 
Ws NBD: G rightly takes NSD as participle = ‘one finding’ (so most moderns): a subst, S82 = ‘ finding’ (so 
Peters) ὃς highly doubtful 0-0 39 Wypr: Ge καὶ οἰκοδυμη πολεως P-P G&>19b and c, but the clauses are 
atiested by 3 as well as %: omission in & probably caused by homoroteleuton (so Peters, §c.). Smend, however, 
regards them as not a genuine part of the text, the double mention of ‘a name’ (77 10 ἃ and το c) betng alleged as 
suspicious. The repetition is certainly awkward: probably ‘a name’ in 19 c¢ should be emended to ‘abundance 
(fatness) ’ (Heb. jw) as suggested by Fuchs: nw may easily have arisen out of this (2 through jaw), perhaps under 
the influence of the previous DW 4-4 NP AWN: Ee γυνὴ apwpos λογιζεται (possibly, as Smend suggests, 
λογιζεται = NIWMNI: apwpos an addition) TT G& καὶ μουσικα = WW (cp. for the equivalence Gen. Xxxi. 27, 
Ezek. xvi. 13 7 LXX, &c.): 95. ‘old wine’ = jw» ps: ® “ΣΦῚ % ander influence of v. 18 s-8 35 DTT NAN: 


16. Like reed-stalks... (ἃ may have preserved the true reading here, ‘sedge’ (ayer = 19N; see critical note), 
and also the true construction of the sentence. Then the whole may be rendered, ‘Sedge on a torrent’s bank is 
consumed before any (other) plant: but kindness, ἅς. (so Peters). Cp. Job viii. 12. : 

17. But kindness ... righteousness. Kindness and righteousness as between man and man are meant. # in 
clause a (cp. Prov. x. 30) differs from (ἃ and S (see critical note). If the latter be followed the first line will run: 
‘But kindness is like a blessed Eden’ (cp. v. 27). 

(4) XL. 18-27. In this subsection the various good things of life are enumerated—in a series of ten contrasted 
sets of boons. The climax is that the highest good is the fear of God. Nied 

18. better... he that findeth a treasure. Both Lévi and Peters prefer to render—‘the finding of a treasure’. 
| This certainly suits the construction of the verse, ‘finding’ rather than ‘the finder’ according with the predicate ‘ is 
' sweet’. But there is a grave philological objection to the rendering. ‘Treasure’ here may, perhaps, be explained by 
19 6 as = ‘ wisdom’ (so Peters). : 

19. Child and city. (π᾿5 rendering ‘children and the building of a city’ gives the sense intended correctly. 
There may be an allusion to the building of such cities as were named after their founders (e.g. Alexandria). On the 
perpetuation of one’s name cp. xvi. 1 f., xli. 11 f. , 

Young cattle and planting. Operations which promote natural increase are referred to, breeding of stock and 
sowing of crops being mentioned as typical examples. 
20. Wine and song rejoice the heart. Cp. xxxi. (xxxiv.) 27 f. ; ἢ 

the affection of lovers. Or ‘the love of friends’. i's ‘love of wisdom’ is probably a deliberate alteration due 

to revision; cp. Wisdom ii. 7 f. 


463 


SIRACH 40. 21-27 


21 Pipe and harp make sweet the song, 
But better than both is ta tongue sincere’. 
22 "Grace and beauty" Ycharm the eye’, 
But better than both are “the crops of the field”. 
23 *A friend and companion will each conduct himself opportunely*, 
But better than both is Ya discreet wife’. 
24 “A brother and helper will come to the rescue in a time of adversity’, 
But more than both doth righteousness deliver. 
25 Gold and silver *make the foot stand sure?, 
But better than both "15 good counsel”. 
26 Wealth and strength ‘lift up® the heart, 
But better than both is the fear of οὐ. 
In the fear of Jahveh there is no want, 
And with it there is no need to seek *support®. 
27 The fear of God is a very Eden of blessing, 
And ‘its canopy (stretcheth) Sover® all that is glorious. 


(ἃ ἀγαπησις σοφιας (° a tendency alteration) t-t 35. ΠῚ nw : G& γλωσσα ηδεια (S = 38) u-u 10 defective : 
Gz xapw και καλλος = INN) "5" (Peters), Oy) 5) (Smend), im 8» (Lev) (καλλος — Shy) ΧΙ ΤΩΣ ΧΠΠ 9, 18) 
vv 35. py won: Gk ἐπιθυμησει o οφθαλμος σου (cou>A &c. Syro-Hex 3) wow 359. ay ons (‘ the growing 
things of the field’): @ χλοην (Ὁ. . yon) σπορου ‘the green blade of corn’ (δ ἢ σποριμου) xx BY defective 
way my.......: Ge φίλος καὶ eraupos εἰς Katpov ἀπαντωντες (last word = ? D'Y32): S for last word ‘will receive 
greetings from one another’ ())373n)): read 121)" nyd sam anw and render as above (others render: ‘ friend 
and companion give support at the right time’) y-¥ So = 3S: (ἃ yn pera avdpos 2-2 defective : 
MY 1.......- TN: (ἃ αἀδελῴοι καὶ βοηθεια εἰς καιρον θλιψεως = S: Peters, following Lévt mainly, restores: 
mis nyd yoy any mx: Versions do not support the insertion of verb: Smend restores ANS NYI Di ANA AN = 
“a brother and a partner’, ἄς. (ANY occurs ἐπι Neo-Hebr. = ‘form a partnership or attachment’; 7 occurs again 
in ® mg. xii. 18, xlii. 3) 8-ἃ (ἢ επιστησουσιν moda = 539 (amy) —only last word legible in ® b-b @& βουλη 
(only B* 55 have yun) ευδοκιμειται : S ‘good counsel’ (% consilium beneplacitum): read AID Ayy 9-ὁ The 
word is illegible in ® (MMS. mutilated): Cowley-Neub. read \WY3}) = G& (avvacovow) : Smend iSdy9 (‘make to 
exult’): Lév7 oa ἃ In the MS. of B® there is a marginal note by the side of vv. 22-26 ab, written in vertical 
lines, as follows : 

moa AS DIN ΝῊ 3 DWT ὋΝ 2) 55 

ΣἸΘῚΞ. OF DNA wo bawa 

:pyenad wn ayn = wad oa ADD 


“ΑἹ! the days of the poor are evil. Ben-Sira says, At night also. 
His roof is the lowest of roofs, and his vineyard is in the height of the mountains ; 
The rain of other roofs falls on his roof, and the earth of his vineyard falls on other vineyards.’ 


This citation agrees, with one slight variation (viz. nid» ἘΝ for nda AN), with the passage as cited in 7. 8. 
Sanhedrin 100 Ὁ. It is probably excerpted from some compilation of selected sayings which circulated under the 
name of Ben-Sira, and contained, together with genuine quotations, a number of others which do not belong to 
the genuine text of Ben-Sira’s book. The cttation here given appears to belong to the latter class. A Persian gloss 
zs added in the MS. (written in Hebr. characters) as follows: ‘It is probable that this was not in the original 
copy, but it is used as a proverb’ (see Cowley-Neub., p. 7) e-e Reading yywro ( IS. defective): so Bacher, 
Smend, Peters. €& βοηθειαν = $ [5 here adds a gloss on next verse: ‘the fear of God over everything is exalted ; 
seize it, my son, and let it not go, for there is nothing like it’] ff 10 aAnan = (τ (εκαλυψαν avrov): S “15 
praised ’ 5- Ok και urep = by (so 3): ® 13) (Isa. iv. 5 by »>) h-h 35 5. “5 life of gift’: (ἃ Conv ᾿ 


1. Pipe and harp make sweet the song. i.e. of course through their accompaniment. 
2. Grace and beauty ... crops of the field. For the sentiment cp. Matt. vi. 28-29. 
3. will each conduct himself opportunely. Or ‘will give support’ (and guidance) ‘at the right time’. The 
same verb (373), common in NH, is used in iii. 26. 
a discreet (or prudent) wife. The expression is borrowed from Prov. xix. 14; cp. also Sir. xxv. I. 
24. A brother and helper... Possibly the original form of the sentence was exclamatory: ‘ A brother and helper 
in time of adversity.’ Cp. Prov. xvii. 17. 3 
But more than both doth righteousness deliver. Cp. Prov. x. 2, xi. 4, 6. ‘Alms’ (for ‘righteousness ’) is 
a possible rendering. 
25. Gold and silver make the foot stand sure. i.e. give a sure footing, a firm position. Neubauer cites the 
following from T. B. Pesachim 119 a: in reference to Deut. xi. 6 (‘and every living substance that followed them’ [lit. 
‘was at their feet’]) R. Eleazar says: ‘This means the wealth of a man, which makes him stand firm upon his feet.’ 


464 


bdyn 


SIRACH 40. 28—41. 


to 


(c) XL. 28-30. A beggar’s life no life at all (= 3+1 distichs). 


5 1 Hs {Resin 
28 My son, live not 'a beggar’s life; 


Better is one dead ‘than importunate‘. 

29 A man that looketh to a stranger’s table— 
His life is not to be reckoned as a life: 

JA pollution of his soul) are *the dainties presented‘, 
1And to an understanding man inward torture. 


_ 30™In the mouth of an insatiable (man)™ begging is sweet, 


But inwardly it burneth as fire. 


(4) XLI. 1-4. Two views on death (= 2+2+2+41 distichs). 


il ταν ἈΠ! Death, how bitter is “the remembrance of thee®” 


To him® ‘that liveth at peace‘ in Shis habitations ; 
ΤῸ him that is at ease", and prospereth in all, 

And that still hath strength to enjoy luxury?. 
2 Hail! Death, how* welcome is thy decree! 

™To the luckless man®, and that lacketh strength, 
»That stumbleth and trippeth® °at everything®, 

? That is broken”, “and hath lost hope". 


εἐπαιτησεως ii ® Shymomn : ἡ exatew (35 renders whole verse: ‘him that asks refuse not ; and be not good 
to kill but to keep alive —mzsunderstanding ®) 1} Ὦ was Sy (50 read for ® text Sayn) = GS (possibly 
we also fo be read) Καὶ % mg. I Myon (G& read Ἵ for 3321) 1-1 ® (with mg.) “yor yr wed 
Ὁ: (ἃ misunderstands m-m G ev στόματι αναιδους (so 3) = wD) ty ‘Da (for ® war ny vid) ; so read. 
a Some MSS. of 39. insert the title De memoria et iudicio mortis —-»-b $ Ah! Death, how evil art thou’ ὁ So 
the margin ; the text has ‘ Life’ d-d So tk; the lext of ® ts corrupt e $4 ‘rich’: &#+et iusto ffs 
“sitting ’ s-s Lit. ‘his foundation’; & S ‘his possessions’ b-h & ἀπερισπαστῳ (ευπρεπεστατῳ V 253): 9 
“strong ἡ i & τροφην; read τρυφην (= Ὦ 9) k Reading m2 for 12 (=Ne® 253 $ Syro-Hex): >G 
1 Reading PN for Wn (® marg. pn, pin, and pn) m-m Reading D8 wend (cp. B marg. in v. 10) (‘to 
aman of sorrows’): (ἃ επιδεομενῳ : S$ ‘broken’ u-n Reading with ® marg. wprn Swria: & ἐσχατογηρῳ Kat 
περισπωμενῳ : 96 ‘that is old and stumbleth’ (cp. 3» defecto aetate) 0-0 Of περι παντων iP Reading Vw 
(Ryssel) for IND (= &): B mg. reads ANWN DAN (‘lacking sight’): S ‘lacking wealth’ 9-4 % ‘and is 


26. But better than both is the fear of God. The fear of God is the one all-sufficing and all-important posses- 
sion ; cp. Xxxiv. 10. 

27. its canopy (stretcheth) over all that is glorious. Cp. Isa. iv. 5 (the source of the expression here). 

(c) XL. 28-30. On begging: cp. xxix. 21 f. 

28. live not a beggar’s life... Perhaps this saying of Ben-Sira has influenced the dictum (cited from Ibn 
Gabirol by Cowley-Neubauer, p. xxx): ‘ Better the grave than a fall to poverty’. ‘A beggar’s life’ is lit.in Ha 
‘life of gift’ (or ‘gifts ἢ), i.e. a life dependent upon gifts. 

In 28 4 the word rendered ‘ importunate’ dyno) = lit. ‘to make oneself a mound’ (denom. from mbt ‘a mound’ 
thrown up by besiegers) ; fig. to advance against, beset, cp. xxxix. 24; here ‘to beset’ (with requests) = ‘to importune’ 
(see Driver in the Glossary in Cowley- Neubauer, p. xxxiii). 

29. A man that looketh...asalife. Cp. the citation freely given in 7. δ. Besah 32 0: ‘ There are three men 
whose life is no life. They are these—The man who watches the table of his neighbour, and he over whom his wife 
rules, and he whose body is ruled by pains.’ 

A pollution of his soul are the dainties presented. For ‘ dainties presented’ cp. xxxvi. 19 (24) note. Such 
gifts pollute in so far as they are begged for, not because they have been presented. 

30. But inwardly it burneth as fire. Cp. Jer. xx. 9. 

(4) XLI. 1-4. Death fearful to some, welcome to others, inevitable for all. 

I. the remembrance of thee. Lit. ‘thy memory’ (7751). 

in his habitation. in, cp. Hebr. of xliv. 6, i.e. the conditions under which he is living. 

that is at ease. Cp. Job xvi. 12, xxi. 23. ; 

to enjoy. Lit. ‘to receive’ (cp. Gt ἐπιδέξασθαι), cp. Hebr. of xxxiv. (A. V., R. V. xxxi.) 3. 

2. Hail. MNM, an expression of satisfaction, as in Isa. xliv. 16. 

how welcome. Lit. ‘how good’. 

thy decree. Cp. xiv. 12, and see Isa. xxvill. 15, 18. 

stumbleth. The word >> has in Neo-Hebrew the meaning to be weak or ill (Smend). _ : 

broken. Cp. Ps. Ixix.21 (20 in R. V.), cxlvii. 3, where the same Hebr. word is used of being broken in heart. 
The text of # reads 27D ‘intractable’, or the like (cp. G& ἀπειθοῦντι) ; but this word is out of place in its context. 


465 


SIRACH 43-9 


3 ‘Fear not Death, (it is) thy destiny’, a 
Remember that the former and the latter (share it) with thee. ; 
4 This is the portion® of all flesh from God, 
t And how canst thou withstand" the decree’ oft the Most High! 
“(Be it) for a thousand years, for a hundred, or for ten (that thou livest)™, 
In Sheol there are no* reproaches concerning life. 


(6) XLI. 5-13. The end of the ungodly contrasted with the honour accorded to the name 
of the righteous (= 3+3+1+3 distichs). 


5 An abominable offspring is the generation’ of sinners, 
And “a godless sprout? is *in the dwellings of the wicked*. 
6 *From the son of the unrighteous man °shall the dominion be wrenched away*?, 
4 And want® shall ever abide with his seed%. 
7 A godless father do the children’ curse, 
SFor because of him do they suffer reproach®. 
8 Woe unto you, ungodly men, 
iWho have forsaken the Law of the Most High God'"! 
9 ἘΠ ye increase (it will be) for mischief*, 
1And if ye bear children (it will be) for sighing ; 
If ye stumble (it will be) for everlasting joy’, 
And if ye die (it will be)™ for a curse®. 


unable to work’: (ἃ ‘... patience’: # ... sapientiam IT μὴ εὐλαβου κριμα θανατου 5 (ἃ τὸ κριμα : S ‘the 
end’ tts> u Lit. ‘reject’, or ‘despise’ V (ἃ ευδοκια W-W Q& εἰτε δεκα εἰτε εκατὸν evre χίλια ETN 
x Reading τὰς (8 marg.) for WX y Reading 7 for 727 (Smend) 2-2 Reading SY 732) a-a So & 
(ΞΞ ς 3): ® τ᾽ mutilated, but may perhaps be read yw r Δ b-b (ἃ rexvay apapT@\wy απολειται κληρονομια 
e-¢ Reading yapn advan (Smend) a-d 35 ἡ» almost entirely mutilated © G& oveidos f S ‘his righteous 


sons’ ss ® ἐς almost entirely mutilated: + ‘in the world’ h-h Jy ® only three letters are preserved 
SESS Kk (τ καὶ eav γεννηθητε εἰς καταραν γεννηθησεσθε; pr. cav yap πληθυνητε εἰς ἀπώλειαν 248 (cp. ®) LI G&> 


M (τ μερισθησεσθε n For the whole verse $ has: ‘A fruitful woman is the joy of her people, and if there die an 


3. thy destiny. Lit. ‘thy decree,’ as in v. 2, i.e. to which thou art destined, cp. xxxvill. 22 a. 
the former and the latter. The reference is probably to the generations that have gone before and those that 
will follow after. 
(share it) with thee. The Hebr. might mean: ‘ (are) with thee’, i.e. they will all be together hereafter in Sheol 
(cp. the expression ‘to be gathered unto the fathers’, 2 Kings xxii. 20). 
4. This is the portion. Cp. Job xx. 29, xxvii. 13. ; 
how canst thou withstand... Cp. Lev. xxvi. 15 for this phrase in Hebr. DNDN PHD ON. 
withstand. See critical note. x : ; 
the decree. # reads ‘the Law’, see critical note, but this can hardly be right, because ‘ Torah’ is never used in 
this connexion. 
In Sheol there are... Since in Sheol it will be found that the same fate has overtaken all men, it will be 
immaterial whether one man lived longer on earth than another; men will not quarrel about that. Cp. Eccles. vi. 6. 


(e) XLI. 5-13. Death means far different things to the godless and the pious. In the case of the latter their name 
lives on. 


5. offspring. The Hebr. word 02 occurs in Gen. xxi. 23; Isa. xiv. 22 ; Job xviii. 19; in each case it is the parallel 
to 133 ‘sprout’ in the next clause. 
the generation of sinners. The reference is most probably to the Hellenistic party in Israel (see v. 8), and 
especially to the high-priestly family, as v. 6 seems to show. : 
and a godless sprout... The Hebr. text is mutilated, and it is impossible to reconstruct it with certainty, but 
the general sense is probably as given above. = | 
6. From the son of...  Ryssel renders this clause ‘ Because of an unrighteous son a kingdom falls to pieces 
(reading Y0A), a rendering which the text may quite well bear, but if, as the present writers hold, the reference is to 
the high-priestly family, Ryssel’s rendering seems too general. In the marg. of ® is read bay Pad, ‘from amongst — 
the uncircumcized ’, a term which could well be applied to the Hellenistic ruling party (cp. 1 Macc. i. 48, 11. 46, &c.), 
so that at all events a later scholiast understood the passage as in reference to the Hellenizers. 
the unrighteous man. boy, the regular term for a tyrannical ruler, cp. Job xviii. 18, xxvii. 7, xxix. 17, Xxxi. 3. 
-..Wwrenched away. Cp. 1 Sam. xv. 28 (nsdro-ns mim yap); 1 Kings xi. 11; 2 Kings xvii. 21. 
8. Who have forsaken... This is a clear reference to the Hellenizers, cp. 1 Macc. li. 23, ili. 6, 8, &c. * || 
9. if ye increase... i.e. If they have children, these will likewise be godless. . ΜΝ 
_if ye ἅϊε... The reference is not to anything that would happen after death, but rather to the execration m 
which they will be held at the time of their death. | 


466 


SIRACH 41. 10-17 


10° All that is of naught returneth to naught?, 

PSo the godless man,—from nothingness to nothingness ?. 

11 4Vanity is man (concerning) his body 4, 
*But the name of the pious shall not be cut off?. 

12 Be in fear for thy name, for that abideth longer for thee 
Than thousands of ‘precious treasures®. 

13 tLife’s goods last for limited days ὕ, 

"But the reward of a name for days without number®. 


(2) XLI.14—XLII. 8. Moral duties enumerated under the category of shame. 


(i) XLI. 14-15. Lntroduction to the section on the subject of shame (= 2 distichs). 


14 [v Hidden wisdom and concealed treasure, 
What is the use of either ? 

15 Better the man who hideth his folly, 
Than the man who hideth his wisdom. ] 


(ii) XLI. 16—XLII. 8. */ustruction concerning shame* (= 2+10+1+1+9 distichs). 


16 YHear, O children, instruction concerning shame’, 

And be abashed “according to my judgement?. 
(16) For not every kind of shame is meet to retain, 
; >And not every kind of abashment is to be approved”. 
17 °Be ashamed of a father and a mother of whoredom, 
Of a prince and a ruler“ of lies, 


unrighteous father his righteous sons will not grieve over him’ 0-0 In place of this clause & has a variant of 
ik ie 4: ὥ:» PP (ἃ ovrws ασεβεις ἀπὸ καταρας εἰς an@\av: 86 ‘the end of the ungodly man is for destruction ’, 
so for the whole verse 1-9 S> : (ἃ revOos avOparav ev σωμασιν αὐτῶν rr xc-8 alone among the MSS. of & 
has preserved the right reading: ovopa δὲ ἀγαθὸν οὐκ εξαλειφθησεται (= Arm): Ge ovopa δὲ ἁμαρτωλων οὐκ ἀγαθὸν 
εξαλειφθησεται ss So ® mg., the text reads ‘treasures of wisdom’; & ‘great treasures of gold’ tt (ἃ ayabns 
(ons ἀριθμὸς ἡμερων wu (ἃ καὶ ἀγαθὸν ονόμα εἰς αἰωνα διαμενεῖ: S>from here to xiii. 8, except 19 Ὁ, 20a ν The 
order of the clauses of vv. 14-16 differs in (ἃ (= 14b, c, 15) xx $G> y-Y This clause = 14a in & 
2 & “peace ’ ama & ἐπὶ τῷ ρήματι pov b-b (ἃ καὶ ov παντα πασιν εν πίστει ευδοκιμειται cH mnserts the title 
De omnibus vitiis declinandum ce So 38 mg. (= &) 


Io. the godless man. 537 is often used in reference to one who is an apostate. 


nothingness. Cp.xli. 10. In each case the Hebr. word is 19M (‘tohu’), which in Gen. i. 2 is used of the ‘ waste’ 
of chaos; it is also used in reference to moral worthlessness (cp. Isa. xxiv. 10, lix. 4). Both the words for ‘naught’ 
and ‘nothingness’ occur together in Is. xl. 173; cp. Is. lix. 4. ; 

11. But the name... This thought of the memory of the righteous departed being held in honour was the 
beginning of a development regarding the conceptions about the future life; this memory involved, sooner or later, 
the question as to differentiation between the righteous and the sinners beyond the grave, and when once this point 
was reached further development of thought was inevitable. (Cp. Prov. x. 7; 1 Enoch ciil. 4, civ. 13; Zest. Twelve 
Patr., Naphtali viii. 5.) 

12. Be in fear for thy name. Cp. Eccles. vii. 1, and Pivge Adoth ii. 8: ‘He who hath gotten a good name hath 
gotten it for himself’; iv. 19, ‘Rabbi Simeon said, There are three crowns, the crown of Torah, and the crown of 
Priesthood, and the crown of Royalty, but the crown of a good name mounts above them.’ 


for that abideth. For the Hebr. word ΠῚ cp. Eccles. vill. 15. 

Than thousands of ... Cp. Prov. xxii. 1. 
13. the reward. Lit. ‘goods’ (N210) ; the same word as in ‘ Life’s goods’; in the Hebr. there is a play on the 
double meaning of N20: ‘The good things of life’ = prosperity, ‘the good things of a name’ = its honourable 
remembrance. 


XLI.14—XLII. 14. With xli. 14 a new section begins, which extends to xlil. 14. It contains an enumeration of 
moral duties under the category of shame. It falls into two distinct subsections, (a) xli. 14-xlii, 8 ; (4) xlii, 9-14. 
(2) XLI. 14—XLII. 8. After an introductory piece (xli. 14 4, 15) there follows the main part of the subsection, with 
the heading ‘ Instruction concerning shame’. It enumerates things to be ashamed of, and then the things not to be 
ashamed of. ‘ 

14,15. These verses, which occur also as xx. 30, 31, are evidently out of place here ; possibly they were added 
rom a marginal note (Smend), as seeming to offer an appropriate introduction to the section beginning at v. 16. 

16. The title to this section is found in 38 only. : : ; ’ 

according to my judgement. i.e. in accordance with my teaching concerning this subject ; # paraphrastically, 

‘quae procedunt de ore meo.’ 
17. of whoredom. i.e. guilty of whoredom. 


467 


SURACE ἘΠ 18-422 : 


%#°  184Ofa master and a mistress‘ of deceit, 
Of an assembly and a people of transgression, 
Of a comrade and friend of treachery, 
το And of a place, where thou sojournest, of pride®. 
Be ashamed] to break an oath or a covenant®®, 
To stretch out thine elbow at meat, 
‘To withhold¢ a gift that is asked for’, 
2τα (ἢ) ®To turn away the face” of thy friend, 
21 (&) ‘To cause the dividing of portions to cease’, 
20a(&) To be silent towards Shim that greeteth (thee)/, 
200 (&) To look upon a woman that is a whore, 
G21c | To gaze on a woman that hath a husband, 
22a To be busy with his maid*', 
°220() ™And to violate her bed™, 
22¢ ({π) To [speak to] a friend with reproachful words ;— 
224 (Δ And after giving a gift contemn not,— 
42, 1™To repeat °the word thou hast heard?®, 
And to lay bare any secret counsel: 
So shalt thou be truly ?shamefast?, 
And find favour in the sight of all living. 


“But of these things be not ashamed, 
And accept not persons *unto sin”: 

Of the Law of the Most High, and the statute ; 
And of justice, to do right by the wicked ; 


tN 


d-d azo κριτου και apxovtos © Reading 11 ( mg.) for Win the text: (ἃ περι κλοπης ee-e0 Uk καὶ azo αληθειας 
θεου kat διαθηκης ; ἾΗ ἦν much mutilated 14 G aro σκορακισμου λημψεως και δοσεως 8. Reading YN bh Reading 
(on the Lasts of Cc aro aroorpodns προσωπουὴ 5 ΖΞ ΠῚ (Ryssel) it The text of Wis partly mutilated [τ] So mg. 


Κακ ® ἧς wanting with the exception of two letters at the end of v. 22a ! Reading my) (Cowley-Neubauer) 
m-m 35) 7s much mulated n xiii, 1 a—d = xli. 23-24 7 EV: xlii. 1-8 omitted by 3 0-0 SoH: ( και 
λογου akons p-p & sine confusione: (ἃ αἰσχυντῆρος a Here xlii begins in EV rr Reading SON? = 


G& του ἀμαρτανειν (with Cowley-Neub., Smend): ἸΏ text Nom (=? ‘And accept not persons and so bear sin’: cp. Pefers) 


18. a master and a mistress... Smend thinks that the reference here is to Gentile kings and queens into whose 
service Jews of noble family entered. 

. of treachery. Cp. Lev. vi. 2. 

19. of a place. i.e. the people of a place; like ὋΝ (‘city’), which is often used of the inhabitants of a city, see 
e.g. I Sam. iv. 13, v. 12; Isa. xxii. 2. 

an oath or a covenant. Cp. Gen. xxvi. 28. 

To stretch out thine elbow... Cp. xxxi. (i xxxiv.) 14. Peters thinks that the reference is either to the action 
of the arm when taking an oath, connecting this with the previous clause; or else to the withholding of a gift in the 
following clause. It is, however, best to take the words as referring to behaviour ; the whole passage exhibits a curious 
variety of topics referred to. 

21 a. To turn away the face. i.e. to make him turn away in anger because the gift asked has been withheld ; 
i adds, apparently by way of explanation, ‘ne avertas faciem a proximo tuo’; but the reference is to the turning away 
of the face of the friend, cp. xviii. 24. 

214. To cause the dividing of portions... The reference is possibly to the dividing of an inheritance (see 
xlii. 3), but more probably to the bestowal upon the poor of portions of the offerings for sacrifice, cp.2 Sam. vi. 19 
(Smend). Peters understands the words in a general sense as a prohibition against niggardliness. 

20 a. that greeteth. Lit. ‘that asketh peace’ ; the usual Oriental mode of salutation. 

zo ὁ. that is a whore. Lit. ‘a stranger’, cp. Prov. ii. 16, v. 3, 20, vii. 5, xxii. 14. 

22 ¢, ad. Cp. xviil. 15. 

XLII. 1. To repeat the word... Cp. xix. 7; a warning against circulating mere unsupported rumours. 

lay bare any secret counsel. Cp. xxii. 22 ¢, xxvii. 16 f. 

shamefast. The Hebr. word used (2) occurs only here and in xxxii. (xxxv.) Io in this sense (as an adj. = 
‘ shamefast ’). 

find favour in the sight of all living. Cp. xlii. 8. 

But ... be not ashamed, And accept not persons unto sin. This general exhortation applies to what 
follows: of certain things (following) the injunction is to be not ashamed, while some of the things enumerated also 
involve the application of a judicial and impartial mind. To the latter the injunction ‘accept not persons (i.e. exhibit 
not partiality) unto sin’ (i.e. so as to bring sin upon thyself) specially applies. 

2. Law of the Most High... statute... justice. The ‘Law of the Most High’ = the Law generally, regarded 
as a body of principles invested with divine sanctions ; ‘the statute’ = the particular enactments which result from 


468 


(7 ὁ Ἂν- 


Be 
se 


| 
a Εἰ ὃς. ἃ 


τας δ᾽ ον το ng eee pe γον 
: 23 


ea (a= 


SIRACH 427 3-8 


3 Of reckoning with a comrade Sand (fellow) traveller’, 

And of the division of an inheritance tand a property* ; 
4 "Of the small dust" of the scales and balance, 
‘And “of testing’ measure and weighty ; 


4(2) Of buying whether little or much, 


5 “And of profit from traffick with the merchant ™Y ; 
*Of frequent correction of children, 


And of smiting the side of an evil-disposed servant*. 
6 For an evil wife Ya seal, 


And where *many* hands are, *a key*! 
7°Upon what is deposited make a mark?, 
And let giving and receiving all be in writing.— 
8 Of the correction of the simple and foolish (be not ashamed), 


°Or of the tottering grey-head occupied with whoredom?: 
So shalt thou be truly well-advised, 


And a man (truly) modest before all living. 


58 So 30 mg. NAN) (read MHS) = G καὶ οδοιπορων (3 /ex/ ‘and a master’ 78) ὑπὸ 39 wn (Prov. viii. 21): & 
εταιρων (ἢ read erepov) = Ws [3 mg. WY ? fo be read IM: 50 Ryssel | wu So ® (omitting \ in Sy) = pnw by 
(Isa. x]. 15): G& περι ἀκριβειας : Smend supposes an infin. to be implicit in pr’ (‘to rub off,’ then ὃ «to balance ’) 
5 ὦ wow ® minon (or read ninwn): 2 Neo-Hebr. mm (Amn) = ‘to prove, test’ (cp. ΤΠ = ‘skilled, 
expert, tried ἢ ww-Www 35 (difficult to decipher) 73n q2n[0 | Wd by: Ck περι αδιαφορου (but NAC 155 157 
307 διαῴφορου = ‘difference, profit? = IND) πρασεως (B + cat) ἐμπόρων (C europov): read $73ah 731 ὙΠ by 
=X > 30 (bul 3ἢ mg. 5a Dw points to the lines having been in text originally): G& καὶ ( probably to be omitted) περι 
παιδειας τεκνων TOAANS καὶ οἰκετῃ πονήηρῳ πλευραν αιμαξαι: Srom which restore with Peters (cp. Lévt): 


37 pa ἼΘΙ dy 
yn sayd yds mon by 
(Levi: νὸς mon yr stay) 
ΣῪ ® pan anin (>on as marginal note): & καλὸν σῴραγις (kadrov an addition) 22 So (ἃ = ma which read 


Jor ® mp7 aa ® NaN: (ἃ κλεισον (? orzginally κλεις): read nna (Ryssel), as parallelism demands v-b & 

‘Whatsoever thou handest over (let it be) by number and weight’ (9 eav παραδιδῳς, ev ἀριθμῳ καὶ σταθμῳὴ: 
® apn 1 (mg. TPS) WPAN own dy: ὅτ may have read ὈΡΦῸΥ ἼΒΟΙ Ἢ span Sy το ‘upon a deposit number 
and weight” (1) 125) = ‘what is entrusted to a hand’, ze. ‘a deposit’: cp. 1 MBWN Lev. v. 21): 22 wll be 
nearer 9, however, to read with Peters DDN 3 IPD by ce mg. NINA Ay) SeAD ay (8 xi ww av). 
For ΤΣ Any) & has κρινομενου περι πορνειας (so 253 307 Syro-Hex.) (but B πρὸς veous) 


the application of these principles in practice ; while ‘justice’ is a general term denoting the administration of such 
laws. The injunction is obviously addressed to the Scribes, who are responsible for the administration of law and 
Justice. Smend explains the general meaning of the verse to be an admonition to the Scribes not to be ashamed of 
the Law of their fathers (i.e. their ancestral religion) in the face of Greek fashions and influences. : 

to do right by the wicked. i.e. probably not to hesitate to acquit the ungodly man when he is proved innocent 
of a particular charge. 

3. Of reckoning with a comrade and (fellow) traveller. The meaning apparently is—do not allow feelings 
of false shame and pride to deter from settling accounts, involving mutual indebtedness, where friends and fellow 
travellers are involved. Lévi aptly quotes the French proverb, ‘Les bons comptes font les bons amis.’ Smend 
interprets differently. He takes ‘reckoning with’ to mean ‘demanding from’: ‘Do not be deterred by feelings of 
false shame from asking a companion (on a journey) and a fellow traveller, who is staying for the night at the same 
inn, who he is.’ 

of the division of an inheritance... i.e. of determining exactly the details involved in the division of an 
inheritance or property (for the Hebr. of the last word cp. Prov. viii. 21). , 

4. Of the small dust of the scales... Cp. Is. xl. 15. (ἃ gives the sense well, ‘of exactness of scales.’ Care 
must be taken that the exactness of the balance is not disturbed even by a fleck of dust. The scales, measures, and 
weights used by the trader must be tested (‘measure and weight,’ lit. ‘ephah and stone ἢ). ἢ - ᾿ 

Of buying whether little or much. Contrast xxvi. 29, xxvii. 2, where the dangers involved in buying and selling 
are dwelt upon. 

5. of smiting the side of...servant. Cp. xxxiii. 24 f. (= (τ xxx. 33 ἢ). 

6-7. The construction changes in these verses, but it is not necessary for that reason to transpose them, 

8. Of the correction of the simple... i.e. Be not ashamed to correct the foolish and ignorant, and also to 
correct the tottering grey-beard occupied with whoredom ; for 8 ὁ cp. xxv. 2. Fah ; 

aman (truly) modest. The Hebr. word here rendered ‘ modest’ (Y13¥) = ‘lowly’ in Bibl. Heb. (cp. Prov. xi. 2), 


but ‘pious’ in PBA. Smend renders it ‘ gesittet’. [It is supposed by some scholars that the word ‘ Essene’ is 
equivalent to yuy.] 


469 


SIRACH 42. 9-11 


(6) XLII. 9-14. The care of daughters (= 4+2+2+2 distichs). 


HP 9 4A daughter is to a father °a treasure of sleeplessness’, 
f And the care of her banisheth slumber': 
In her youth, lest she pass the flower of her age’, 
And 'when she is married, ‘lest she be hated ; 
τοῦ i'JIn her virginity, lest she be seduced, 
ik And in the house of her husband*, ™*lest she prove unfaithful ** ; 
In her father’s house, lest !she become pregnant!J, 
m And in her husband’s house”, lest she be barren. 
TI “Over thy daughter keep a strict watch”, 
°Lest she make thee a name of evil odour°— 


ἃ The following version of vv. 9 and 10 ts cited in T. B. Sanh. 100? : 


sw xd mina sw nao maxd na 
wManN Now ΠΌΡΡΩ 

mn Now Any 

wean xd ΝΟ ma 

oa ad ym xd xo news 

.DavD AYN Now Ap 


(=9a) A daughter is a vain treasure to her father: 
(= 9b) ἴοι fear about her he does not sleep ; 
(= το ἃ) inher youth, lest she be seduced ; 
(= 9c) in her maidenhood, lest she play the harlot ; 
when she is marriageable, lest she be not married ; 
(= 10d) when she is married, lest she have no sons; 
when she is old, lest she practise sorcery.’ 


e-e ® ext IPO moo = ‘a deceptive treasure’ (cp. ‘vain treasure’ 7m Talm. citation): G& ἀποκρυῴος ἀγρυπνια: 
read WY for PW (so Peters, Smend): S ‘great honour’ Ef So & S: 18 (defective) :[ 7M) [yn]|an Anas 
(cp. Xxxi. [xxxiv.] 1 G and ®) 8-8 So Ck (παρακμασῃ) = ἢ 33N (cp. ΠΣ ‘when she is marriageable’ zz Zalm. 


cit.): ® vn (‘she commit adultery’) corresponding to nxn in Talm. cit.: % ‘[that she] be not blamed’ 
hh So & ($ ‘and by her husband’) = Apa (so read): MM nari So G&S (B Lex defective) : read NIV fD: 
39 mg. Won ‘she be forgotten’ lili So 1η 3: (ἃ ev παρθενειᾳ ( + avtns Syro-Hex 3) i Transposed in G& 
(right order in ® as given above tn the translation) Ik & text (defective) [apy] mal) (® mg. Ww n33) = 
(ἃ pera avdpos ουσα kk-kk @ μὴ more παραβῃ : ® text lacking read with ἸΏ mg. own 15 (Peters ; and Smend 
with xd for 33) Ll G& ἐγκυος γενηται : lacking (read ANN) m-m $9 38: (τ ‘And when she is married’ 
(συνῳκηκυια = ndyyay) nn # mg. ἜΣ pInn INI Sy oon: Ge em θυγατρι αδιατρεπτῳ στερεωσον chudakny: S with 
30 mg. +‘my son’ (® text defective: rs restored by Lévi (ww "Ὁ [Ὁ jpn [an b[ana by 2) 0-0 39 text defechve— 
the last two words are (2. 7b) AND DY: read MD ov [7d nvyn 15]: 38 σις. ’N? ‘wy ‘yn ‘B= ?avEw JwyN 15 
pannd = G& py ποτε ποιήσῃ σε επιχαρμα (= nynw Exod. xxxii. 25) exOpos: perhaps, however, & read in Exodus 
ΤΠ (= ἐπίχαρμα in Exodus). Levi reads ἢ mg. omnnsd Sun Jwyn jp: S (‘a bad name’) = ® ext 
Ρτν 39 ext py nddpy (so δένει, Peters, Strack): but Smend reads it dy nbnpi = (ἃ (και εἐκκλητον aov: cp. § 


soya wn) 9. B feat (qnawrin) corrected in left margin to JOIN) = G: Win = wan 35 right margin 
nwan (= ἢ nyan)) ror ayy maya: (ἃ ev πληθει πολλων (ἢ read πυλωνὴ 5:8 These two lines (11 e f) are 


(ὁ) XLII. 9-14. The subject of this subsection is the care of daughters. The same subject is touched upon in 
Vil. 24-25, Xxvi. 10-12. 

9. A daughter ...treasure of sleeplessness... Edersheim cites some of the Talmudic dca on the subject 
of daughters and women generally, among others the following: ‘ Happy he that has male children; woe to him that 
has female children’ (Qidd. 82 6; Baba bathra 16 ὁ, &c.); ‘Women are of light mind’ (Sadd. 33 6; Qidd. 806) ; and 
the well-known one in Pz7ge Adoth, ‘prolong not converse with a woman’ (1. 5). The Blessing in the Jewish Morning 
Prayer may also be cited: ‘ Blessed art Thou, O Lord... who hast not made me a gentile...aslave...a woman.’ — 
But the harshness of tone manifest in Ben-Sira towards women generally was much mitigated in later (Rabbinical) — 
Judaism under the influence of the Pharisees. 

... lest she pass the flower of her age. i.e. without being married. Smend prefers to keep the reading of 38 
(13n 15 : Poel of 7793), which he renders ‘ lest she entice (men)’: but ‘lest she commit adultery’ is a more probable 
rendering. 

to. be seduced. For the Hebr. word here used cp. Exod. xxii. 15; Ezek. xiv. 9. 

she prove unfaithful. Cp. Num. v. 12, 19 f., 29 (same Hebr. word ΠΝ = ‘go aside’). 

11, Over thy daughter keep a strict watch. Cp. xxvi. 1o. 

; a name of evil odour. Cp. the Biblical expression ‘to make odious’ (lit. ‘cause to stink’, WNIT e.g. 
*rOV. Xill. 5). j 


470 


SIRACH 42. 11-15 


A byword in the city Pand accursed of the people?— 

4 And shame thee? "in the assembly of the gate’. 

. §In the place where she lodgeth ‘let there be no lattice’, 

"Or spot overlooking the entrance round about”®. 

12 vLet her not show her beauty to any male’, 

w And among wives let her not converse. 

13 For from the garment issueth the moth, 

And from a woman a woman’s wickedness. 

14 *Y Better is the wickedness of a man than the goodness of a woman’ ; 
7And a disgraceful daughter poureth forth disgrace’*. 


In praise of God as Nature's Lord. 
(a) XLII. 15-25. Exordium (=1+2+24+24+242+42+42 distichs). 


15 *I would fain remember* God’s works, 

And what I have seen I would recount. 

*By the word of God His works were formed”, 

¢And what was wrought by His good pleasure according to His decree®. 


lacking in Ux (acctdentally omitted: ? the translator's eye passing from ND) in τὰ f fo ND or PI 271 12 b omitted two 
lines) t-t So ®: S wncorrectly ‘let her not go forth’ u-u SoM DID NID HID MD: S (Preading NID NI) 
33D 1219) ‘ And let her not be round about in houses’ v-V So ®: (ἃ misunderstood the line (mavte avOpore jn 
ἐμβλεπε ev καλλει): as also $ (' Reveal not to every man what is in thine heart’) WW G& καὶ ev μεσῳ = I: 50 S 
rightly: ® m3 XX > y-y So ® mg. = & (η ἀγαθοποιος γυνὴ ὃ an interpretation of NWS AV: but 
Lévt makes it = WW '2001) 2% Reading with ® mg. (correcting nX3) fo NI) A_IN yan n|aND nar: cp. 
(ἃ και γυνὴ καταισχυνουσα εἰς ονειδισμον (e a free rendering of nan pan). Smend reads DN) — ‘ shame causing ὦ 
Jor nband ἅτ So Y = (τ μνησθησομαι δε (δε for dn) b-b So S$: (ἃ ev Aoyous Κυρίου ta epya avrov = 3ἢ Mg. ? 
® text [139 onds awa: read ny YY Jor last word (? = 3): so Peters C-C NCA καὶ γέγονεν ev εὐλογίᾳ 
αὐτου κριμα (Β &e.>): Sah καὶ yeyovey εὐλογία τῶν κριματων αὐτου (ευλογιᾳ Sor evdoxia) : 3 ynpd ws Syyay (read 
pnp Sor inpd, cp. 41): ® mg. has np> which Peters retains: then render ; ‘and teaching (doctrine) is a work of 
His grace’: Cowley-Neub. render ® text ‘and him that doeth His pleasure He hath accepted’ 


Or spot. The Hebr. term (N°3)) has here a general sense as in VA, ‘place’, ‘spot’. Smend suggests MN n)3) 
for 8.3 Na) = and ‘ where she spends the night (let there be) no entrance,’ ἅς. 
12. Let her not show her beauty... Perhaps # (Nin jnNn bs) may be rendered ‘ Let her not give a look to any 


male’, i.e. show herself, be visible to (cp. Smend). NIN has the meaning ‘look’, ‘countenance’ in PH, cp. 
also xvi. I. 

And among wives... 1.6. let her not mix on familiar terms with married women. 
13. For from the garment issueth the moth. The reference is to daughters. If such mix with married women on 
familiar terms, and listen to the conversation of the latter, sexual impulses and desires will be stirred which will lead 
to sin. The sentence is couched in proverbial form. The moth issuing from the garment is a figure of something 
emanating spontaneously from within. S% interprets rather than translates, ‘For as a moth falls upon a garment, so 
doth jealousy upon a woman from the wickedness of her fellow.’ 
14. Better is the wickedness of a man than the goodness of a woman. As Edersheim remarks: ‘ The 
misogyny of the author here reaches its climax.’ 
poureth forth disgrace. Cp. x. 13 (‘poureth forth abomination’). 


XLII. 15—XLIII. 33. This piece forms a distinct division. Its theme is the praise of God—of God as the mighty 
and all-wise Lord of nature. The introduction (xlii. 15-25) sets forth God’s omnipotence and omniscience. The main 
(central) part has for its subject the firmament and the sun (xliii. 1-5), the moon (xliil. 6-8), the stars and the rainbow 
(xliii. 9-12), the storm, the snow and the hoar-frost, the ice, and lastly the sea (xliii. 13-26). A concluding section 
(xhii. 27-33) has for its main thought that the highest praise man can offer to God is inadequate. As Smend points 
out, the question of the origin of the heaven, of the dry land and the sea, does not come into the writer's treatment of the 
theme (cp., however, xliii. 23) any more than the creation of vegetation, of the land animals, and of man. God shows 
Himself to be the Lord of nature in the wonderful adjustment and economy that are maintained in natural forces 
and life. 
With xlii. 15 f. cp. xviii. 1-7. 
(2) XLII. 15-25. ExorRDIUM. 
15. I would fain remember... Cp. Ps. Ixxvil. 12. 
And what I have seen .. . = Job xv. 17. as ; 
And what was wrought by His good pleasure according to His decree. For text see critical note. According 
to Peters’ rendering (‘and doctrine is a work of His grace’) creation and the wisdom-teaching are placed side by side: 
cp. xliii. 33; Ps. xix (the light of creation and the light of revelation set together). 


471: 


SIRACH 42° τὸ 22 


17 The rising sun ‘is revealed? over all things, 
And the glory of Jahveh “15 over all His works’. 
16 ‘God's holy ones have not the power’ 
To recount £His wondrous works of might& ; 
(Though) God hath given strength "to His hosts™ 
iTo endure in the presence of His glory’. 
18 He searcheth out the deep and (man’s) heart, 
JAnd all their secretsi * He surveyeth* : 
1For Jahveh possesseth all knowledge, 
And seeth what cometh unto eternity. 
19 He declareth ™what is past and what is future™, 
And revealeth “the profoundest secrets”. 
20 °No knowledge is lacking to Him®, 
P And no matter escapeth Him?. 
21 The might of His wisdom? ‘is established", 
From everlasting *He is the same’: 
‘Nothing hath been added and nothing taken away (therefrom) *, 
And He needeth none to give counsel. 
"All His works are truly lovely, 
And are ‘like blossoms! to behold®. 


to 
to 


ad SoH: (ἃ (cnexactly) ἐπεβλεψεν e-e So ®: (ἃ (¢nexactly) πληρες to epyov αὐτου ff So: G ove 
ενεποιησεν τοις aytots Kuptos 8-§ $ has ANWIST NMI = ΠΥ 2} mixbp3 (so read with Smend): (ἃ παντὰα τα 
θαυμασια αὐτου: ® fext Ὁ nrwdDd (dut mn here ottose with ὃν in clause a: probably only a variant on by) 
ἈΠΕ So yas: (τ (¢aking Pas obs together) Kupos 0 παντοκρατωρ 11 So 38: Gk στηριχθηναι ev δοξῃ αὐτου to 
παν (bul L> τὸ παν, which τς not orzginal) Jj ἸΏ omnynyo O55): Ge καὶ ev πανουργευμασιν αὐτων k-k 39. pan 
11>: G eye yap o Kupios πασαν ειδησιν και ἐνεβλεψεν εἰς σημεῖον arwvos 15 restored in Hebrew by Peters thus: 


nyt $5 mm yp oD 
δον mms bx pan 


& attests the two lines also, rendering (freely): ‘for before God nothing is hidden, and there lie revealed before 
Him all things that come into the world mm ® (reading nvnn mg. for text nv) nvan man = 
Ge ra παρεληλυθοτα καὶ ἐπεσομενα (so 35 which, however, omits mM) = ‘He declareth’ at the beginning of line) 
nn 39) ΠῚ) APN (Apn=‘ what is to be explored’, ‘the whole range’: cp. Job xxxviii. 16): G& ἰχνη αποκρυῴφων: 
& paraphrases: "πὰ there are revealed before Him] all things that are hidden ” 0-0 So 39: (ἃ ‘no thought’ 
(διανοημα = Srv as ἦι xxxv. 18) ‘escapeth Him’ ($ ‘no wisdom’) P-P So ®: & ‘there is not a word hid 
from Him’: τ ‘word (thing) * $+ ‘of man’ 4.4 39 fext defective: Q mg. NAIA: (ἃ τὰ μεγαλεια της σοφιας 
αὐτου : read INN N33 rr 10 jan (pont 12H: cp. S ‘standeth fast’): Smend prefers to point j= 
‘measured off’, ‘regulated’ (ut parallelism favours j2: so Peters): Ge εκοσμησεν = jpn ss 2) NIT INN: 
Gi (B) καὶ ews, os (A 55 248 &c. Sah Lat Arm), ὡς (8 253 &c.) are all corruptions of an original [ και] as= 
TMS (G+ καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰωνα) tt So Ge: (defective) dyxa wd [Ὑ AO Ν])Ρ (S>21 bed) uu & ws πανταὰ τὰ 


16. The rising sun... i.e. just as the sun shines over everything, so the glory of Jahveh is manifest in all 
His works. 

17. God’s holy ones... ‘God’s holy ones’ here = the angels (cp. Job xv. 15). The meaning of the verse is: 
even the angels are unable to recount God’s wondrous works—they need special strength to be given to them in order 
to stand in the divine presence. Sinful man can do neither. Cp. xliii. 27-33. 

18. He searcheth out the deep and (man’s) heart... i.e. the two inscrutable things. Omniscience = 
Almighty power (Smend). The word rendered ‘deep’ (3 DTN) recalls the stories of the subduing of the monsters 
of chaos (Rahab, Leviathan, the demons) by Jahveh as set forth in the old accounts of Creation (cp. e.g. Is. li. 9-10). 
For our verse cp. Dan. ii. 22 (‘He revealeth the deep and secret things’), Judith viii. 14 (a good parallel), and 
Job xxxviii. 16. 

a Her Jahveh possesseth all knowledge... what cometh unto eternity. For the thought cp. Is. xi. 21 ff, 
xhii. 9 f. 

19. He declareth what is past and what is future... That God knows and reveals to men both the past and the 
future proves Him to be the controller of history and events—again a thought characteristic of Deutero-Isaiah: cp. also 
XXxix. 29 in our book. 

20. No knowledge is lacking to Him... For the idea cp. Ps. cxxxix. 3f. : 

21. Nothing hath been added and nothing taken away (therefrom). i.e. from ‘the might of His wisdom’ 
(v. 20). Cp. xviii. 6; Qo. 111. 14. 

And He needeth none to give counsel. Cp. Is. xl. 10, 14. 

22. All His works are truly lovely ...like blossoms. The beauty of creation is compared to the loveliness of 

flowers. For the text see critical note. The verse is regarded as a gloss by Schlatter (it is absent from 38). 


472 


. SIRACH 42. 23=43) 1 


Τὴ 23 ‘Everything liveth and abideth for ever’, 

“ And to every need all things respond”. 
24 *They are all different, one from the other®*, 
But He hath not made any one of them ‘superfluous’. 
25 *The one exchangeth what is good (in it) with the other’, 
And who can be satiated with beholding *the beauty®? 


(ὁ) XLIIT. 1-26. Recital of the manifestations in Nature of God's might 
(=14+44+1444242+4+44+44+4+3+41 distichs). 


#@°1 >The beauty of the (heavenly) height is the pure firmament?, 
©And the firm heaven® “poureth out light“. 


epya αὐτου επιθυμητα καὶ ws σπινθηρὸς ἐστιν θεωρησαι [here the first ὡς ts probably due to assimilation to the second in 
second clause: so Smend: onwénpos has probably arisen from an original σπινθὴρ os = & tanquam scintilla quam 
(quae): cp. Pelers |: S freely ‘And all His works He establisheth in truth for ever, and in holiness they are all of them 
praised’. ‘in truth’ 27: clause a (= Π2Ν2) may be right. Perhaps ® of first clause may be restored thus: ywyo 5> 
oon ΠΣ. Ln clause Ὁ kar ws σπινθηρ os = WY P8ID according fo Peters (= ‘and are as a spark which can 
be seen’). But yrs) 7s probably corrupt. Read ay py yo (Lev? suggests p82): WD) may easily have 
been corrupted tmlo %33)) vv (ἃ mavta ταῦτα ¢y και μενεῖ εἰς τὸν awva: W (defective) Des 5 soo im Site 
syd Ty) on NIN: so Smend, Lévi: Peters ( following 61) reads San Jor Sia: B® mg. has ap), thus reading the 
Line [ΜΝ] DY NIT (Pelers thinks 8 of B a correction for dogmatic reasons). Between this verse (xlii. 23 a) 
and its next half (23) the Hebr. MS. inserts v.25 and xiii. 1, thus producing the dislocation xiii. 23 a, 25, xliii. 1, 
xlii. 23 Ὁ, 24, xliii. 2. Ad she top of the next folto the Hebr. MS. has against v. 24 (BND AY ΝΟΥ nm ΠῚ ow obs 
«ον Ὁ) the following : 

aw abn ΠῚ by ΠῚ . 


xlii. 25 


syon rand pare on)? 


any Sy ypn ar asin) Ae 
mn) wap ony oxy) 


thus restoring the right order xiii. 24, 25, xiili. 1 w-w ® (feat damaged) can be read: yous don ibs Pil 
(3) mg. yrows): (ἃ ev πάσαις xpecas και παντα ὑπακουει (but & places καὶ at beginning = WB: so Sah): 5. implies same 
text, but paraphrases πὶ So 3) (fext): Ge (misunderstanding) ‘All things are double one against another’ (ravra 
δισσα εν κατεναντι τοῦ evos): SoS (reading Dw for ® ow) Y-Y (ἃ exduvov (B), ελλιπὸν (A): 3 aliquid deesse : 
® ..w read ww by Levi, Peters*(= ‘He hath not made one of them in vain’). Smend restores [WRw po 
2:2 35 (mg. 3) 121 abn mr by ar: G mexactly ‘One thing establisheth (εστερεωσεν) the good things of another’: 
& ‘but one with the other (forms) pairs’ a-a 30 mg. ANin: G& δοξαν αὐτου (= ‘God’s glory’): S (¢nterpreting 
rightly) ‘their glory’, ¢.e. ‘ the glory (beauty) of all things (the whole world)’ b-) $>: 38 mg. yp ond ΝΠ 
ano by: & γαυριαμα vious στερεωμα καθαριοτητος : read (wth Smend) ANY ysp7 DD ASIN ce 35 mg. DW Dy 
(cp. Exod. xxiv. 10 pwn Dyy>) : (ἃ «ios ovpavov (cp. LXX Exod. xxiv. 10 καὶ womep εἰδος orepewpatos tov 
oupavov) d-d 35 mg. ΤΣ Ὁ (fo be emended to ya with Bacher: cp. xiii. 2). 38 text has Wn which 
Peters prefers to keep, reading 177 yy) = ‘bursteth with majesty’: Ge ev ὁράματι δοξης (S>1b as well as τ ἃ) 
23. Everything liveth and abideth for ever. ® has ‘He (i.e. God) liveth and abideth for ever’ (# mg. 
DP) is common in NH, but is always applied to God; often in the Synagogue Liturgy). The text as translated 
(‘everything liveth’, &c.) follows G and 3. It may have been altered for dogmatic reasons in #; so Peters (cp. 
Smend). 

And to every need... Cp. xxxix. 33. : ᾿ : 
24. They are all different, one from the other. The rendering of (τ, ‘All things are double one against 
another’ (see critical note), limits the reference in vv. 22-25 to living organisms that, exist in pairs. But 10 is to 
᾿ ἰδ preferred: in the text of 32 the reference is to nature as a whole. νουγίῃηρ is distinct, but yet all things 

armonize. 

25. The one exchangeth what is good (in it) with the other. ‘All things work together for good.’ There is a 
constant interchange and mutual dependence. 

the beauty. i.e. of the whole of nature. 

(6) XLIII. 1-26. THE MAIN Porm. 


1-5. God’s power manifested in the firmantent and the sun. : 4 ; 

1. The beauty of the (heavenly) height is the pure firmament... There is a clear allusion (cf. 19) to 
Exod. xxiv. 10 (‘as it were the very heaven for clearness’). The subject of the verse is the firmament, as clause 6 
clearly shows: clause a in ® (see critical note) = ‘the beauty of the (heavenly) height is spread upon purity’. This, as 
it stands, might be interpreted of the sun ; but the context forbids it. 


1105 473 1 


SIRACH 438. 2-6 


2 ©The sun when he goeth forth maketh heat to shine °— 
‘How awe-inspiring is the work of Jahveh'! 
3 £At noontide’ he bringeth the world to boiling heat, 
And before "his scorching (ray) who can maintain himself ? 
4 (Like) a glowing furnace which keepeth the casting hot, 
(So) the sun’s dart setteth the mountains ablaze': 
iA tongue of flame consumeth the inhabited (world)!, 
«And with its fire the eye is scorched*. 
5!For! great is Jahveh that made him, 
m And His word maketh His mighty (servant) brilliant™. 
6" Moreover, the moon He made for its due season”, 
©To rule over periods® and for an everlasting sign : 


t 

/ 

᾿ 
e-e Sp 3 mg. which reads WON NNT Wa wow (B vext has VI ΜΔ): ὃ yD confirms Bacher’s emendation | 
in previous clause): (τ ‘The sun when he appeareth bringeth tidings as he goeth forth’ (Atos ev ὁπτασιᾳ διαγγελλων 
ev εξοδῳ) = ® with reading MN8I yD (ANN interpreted by Aram. NON = ‘to see’) ff J wy ND 7 
(read AWD): (ἃ cKevos θαυμαστὸν epyov ὑψίστου read }2 for MD, giving τί τίς Aram. meaning = σκευος &-¢ Lite 
“when he is at noon-tide’ (ASM: denom. from DIAS) = (τ ev μεσημβριᾳ αὐτου (so S$) bh Liz, “his scorching 
heat ’ (129n) i-i ® ἧς very dificult here (mg. PS8VO) P\¥1) DAD MDI WI = kine 1; Line 2: wow (mg. mw) πρὶν 
on (mg. Pd?) pda: Gr καμινον φυσων (so Ne® A Sah: for the erroneous φυλασσων of BNC &c. 39) ev epyos ; 
καυματος τριπλασίιως ἥλιος εκκαιων opyn: & ‘AS the furnace which blows in the work of the smith (so) three times ᾿ 
more doth the sun burn up the mountains’: @& suggests the reading amd, and $ a reading MB (or MBI): | 
in line 2 both & and 3 wrongly read why Sor πρὶ or mov. A possible restoration ts, perhaps : (vel MB'3) MBI W3 
™ mow psa on = ‘ (Like) a smith’s smelting-pot which keepeth the casting hot, (so) the sun’s dart’, &c., or 
(with the reading mp) of ® text) ‘ Like a glowing furnace which keepeth the casting hot’ (so Smend substantzally) : 
perhaps DD of ® mg. (= ‘kindleth’) zs right (cp. v. 21). In line 2 mbvi = it. ‘what is sent’, z.e. mzsszle, dart, 
7s to be preferred. For other possible renderings cp. exeget. nole i ® mg. Ws ned (= aNd): ® text ΠΝ 
(naw ὍΣΣ = the two remaining words in ®): (ἃ (strangely) ατμιδας πυρωδεις εκφυσων (SN AC: but Β &e. 
ἐμφυσωνὴ = ὃ NAW TNO ONY) (Ge zenores WIN): S=& k-k 9 py ADM ANI (= ‘fire’ as m 
Aram.: cp. Dan. iii. 6, &c.): @& ‘And sending forth bright beams he dimmeth the eyes’ (και ἐκλαμπὼν axrivas 
apavpo: oOadpovs) =? Py AIIN A: $= & 115: ἃ S> man 385. pan ΓΝ wma (8 mg. 
ΓΝ) : Ge καὶ ev λόγοις αὐτου κατεσπευσεν πορειαν (‘and at His word he hasteneth his course’): Ge ? due fo reminzscence 
of Ps. xix. 6 (‘the sun rejoiceth as a mighty man to run his course’): so Lévz (so that (ἃ may have read + 
nas yyw wat): Bacher proposes to read YAN = ‘his pinions’: cp. Mal. iii, 20 Hebr. (for the sun's wings): | 
so Peters, who reads the whole line: ἼΣΩΝ AYP 7373) = ‘and at His (Jahveh’s) command he (2 e. the sun) 
stretcheth (171. ?stirreth up) his pinions’: Smend reads the line: WIN NYY 77) = ‘And His word assureth | 
victory to His mighty servant’ (ἡ δ. to the sun): zs may be right. S$ = & (rendering ‘by the words of the Holy ὦ 
One he hastens his march’) nn ® ext MAW nyny A ny on (BH mg. ny ny and ny sy): Ge καὶ ἡ σεληνὴ 
ev πασιν εἰς καιρὸν autns (248 και σεληνὴν εποιησεν εἰς στασιν [ev πασιν of B, &c., corrupt for eromcer): hence Peters 
restores: yny> ΠΡ AY DN (so read): Smend reads: ny ny ΤΠ ΠῚ" Δ) = Κ᾿ Moreover, the moon shines from season 


ae κρίνον "δ: < 


πα υσυσς, τννουν τος στοῶν 


{ 

} 
ΐ | 

2. The sun... maketh heat to shine. (& here (= R.V.) has misunderstood the text; see critical note. 

3. And before his scorching ... who can... Cp. Ps. xix. 7 (‘there is nothing hid from the heat thereof’). The 
sentence may be modelled on Nahum i. 6 (‘ Who can stand before His indignation ?’) | 

4. (Like) a glowing furnace which keepeth the casting hot, (So) the sun’s dart setteth the mountains ablaze. ᾿ 
The ‘glowing furnace’ (lit. ‘furnace blown upon’, i.e. to maintain the flame and heat ; for the expression cp. Jer. i. 13) | 
keeps the metal-casting in a fluid state by its great heat ; in the same way the sun’s dart (lit. ‘what is sent’, ‘ projection’) I 
sets the mountains ablaze with its great heat. This rendering and explanation of the difficult text agrees with that of ᾿ 
Ryssel and Smend ; Peters less probably : ‘A furnace glows with imprisoned heat; the sun, let loose, sets the mountains 
ablaze.’ This does not yield a good comparison; and the same remark applies to other renderings (collected by Lévi). 

5. And His word maketh His mighty (servant) brilliant. His ‘mighty servant’ is, of course, the sun, the most 
wonderful and impressive object in creation, according to ancient conceptions. The creator of such an overwhelming |, 
source of power must Himself be all-powerful. For the alternative renderings see critical notes. In the preceding Ϊ 
description a vivid sense of the searching heat of the Oriental sun is apparent. 

6-8. The Moon. As Edersheim has pointed out, the moon occupied an all-important place in the ancient world, 
and more especially among the Jews, in the reckoning of time. The year was—and is—calculated among them bythe } 
moon. Their festal calendar is also arranged on a lunar basis. Consequently the determination of the new moon—by 
observation—was a highly important matter for the Jewish communities. Symbolically the moon in the Haggada 
represents Israel (the moon is in the sky both by night and by day): while the sun, visible by day only, stands for the ' 
Gentiles, and so on. 

6. Moreover, the moon He made for its due season. # text has: ‘ Moreover, moon by moon the seasons return zs 
which can hardly be right. ] 

To rule over periods. Cp. Gen. i. 16, 18. The Hebr. word rendered ‘ period’ (}*P) = strictly ‘end’, and is used | 
of time in Neo-Hebr.: =the determining point which marks the end of a period of time (long or short). In 
Apocalyptic it bears a technical sense. 


474 


SIRACH 15. 7-13 


7 PBy her (are determined) the feasts and times prescribed ”, 
1A light-giver waning with her course": 
8*Month by month she reneweth herself*— 
How wonderful is she in her changing ! 
*The army-signal of the cloud-vessels on high®, 
'She paveth the firmament with her shining’, 


9"The beauty of heaven, and the glory, are the stars", 
vy And a gleaming ornament’ Win the heights” of God. 
το * At the word of the Holy One* *they take their prescribed place’, 
z And they sleep not? at their watches. 
tr Behold the rainbow and bless its Maker, 
@For* Pit is majestic exceedingly in majesty”: 
12 ¢Jt encompasseth the (heavenly) vault with its glory’, 
And the hand of God hath spread it out ‘in pride®. 
13 His might® ‘marketh out the lightning‘, 
sAnd maketh brilliant "the flashes of His judgement®. 


[S$ omits vv. 11-13.] 


to season’ c-o ® yp nbwnr = (ἃ avaderEw χρονων ( free rendering) PP So ® text (read with mg. 13) O3 
Pn wo Iyw: WH mg. pin 332) Tw 12 = ‘by her is the appointed feast and from her is the prescribed 
ordinance’: (ἃ azo σεληνης σημειον εορτης : S= CG. Smend reads yn and Peters ΓΛ at beginning of line 
τα So Ge φωστηρ pecoupevos exe συντελείας (3 = G) = N]PNI HY YW (s0 Peters reads) : 38 wp pn3 ον)» yom = 
?‘and the good pleasure of her Maker by her circuit’ (Smend proposes an impossible restoration ADY yD 73) 
tr So 35 xt: Qmg. winnd si) ww> win (‘the new moon is like its name in that it reneweth itself’) = 
Gk μην κατα To ονομα αὑτῆς avEavopevn (2 from an original avaveopern: 50 Lévt) this reading ts a good variant on that 
of text ss ® ony ΟΣ) way v2 (cp. Job xxxviii. 37): (ἃ σκεῦος παραβολων ev ὑψει = B wrth 33 omitted : 
S$=G tt ® ana pypr Aya: G ev orepewpare ovpavov exrayrov =? 357 with suppression of the obscure 
WI (9 = (ἃ with particip. at beginning) u-u So ® 339 WT DMW NIN (31D collective: or ὃ read 
D221) = $ (which has ‘stars ἢ : Gk καλλοὸς ovpavov δοξα αστρων Y-V & κοσμος φωτιζων = 38 mg. PWD AY) 
(ἡ. 6. Paw /prv = ‘to be bright red,’ ‘shine’): % δεν MAND YN) (‘and her light shining ’) W-W So ® “ext, 
(τ: ἸΏ mg. 2 (2 for 3): [S>9gb] X-X Or ev λογοις αγιου (B ays) = S: 35 bx ata: read vyrp 3392 
(so Peters) y-¥ So G& ornoovra κατα κριμα = Pn Wy (so read with Smend): Ἰῃ pn Wy" 2-% Of καὶ ov μη 
ἐκλυθωσιν : = ® fext nvr xdy (1. 4. 3NW. = ‘collapse,’ ‘sink down’: cp. Lam. iii. 20, Qer’): 38 mg. wr (read 
ww = ‘sleep [not]’: so S which misunderstood 13, taking it from nw ‘to change’) a-a FD: > 
bb ® (72) MINI WW: so Levi, Peters: Ce cpodpa wpaoy ev τῳ αὐγασματι αὐτου (3ῃ mg. AI for ΠΝ) 
ce ® AMIDA ADA (1. yn) W= & dd Reading \wi1: G&> (encorrecily) e-e So ® (2) : (ἃ προσ- 
τάγματι αὐτου (= ? IN Yi: so Smend reads) ἘΠ So ® pra mn: & κατεσπευσεν (so Bab AC &c. WH: κατεπαιῖσε 
in B* N* 248 &c. ws a mistake) χιονα (ἢ xwova corrupted from yxepwva): G& misunderstood AYN as a syn. of 
ΓΤ (= ταχύνει 771 Ot) 771 next line ὅτ ® myo): (ἃ και ταχυνει (cp. τ΄. 5 Kareorevoer) h-h (τ aorparas 
Κριματος αὐτου (= ἢ DEW NIP or, possibly, HWA): Bvext...... Mpy nym) (HM mg. for the whole verse : 


ἽΡΞ ANN anya) ze. ‘His rebuke maketh signs in the morning, 
“ὯΔ Dyp’ non) And rejecteth what exists in judgement’: 


but pra and nyin) are better readings: ΡΟ also seems to be a corruption from OP (Prov. xxvi. 18) or nip 


7. times prescribed. ‘dates légales’ (Lévi). 
8. Month by month. Cp. Isa. Ixiii. 23 (same phrase). Note the variant to this line (cp. R.V.): see critical note. 
_ The word-play in 38 is marked. 

The army-signal (or beacon) of the cloud-vessels on high. The reference is to the fire-signal or beacon which 
in front of the camp or army serves to control and direct its movements. Edersheim refers to the haggadic story that 
the moon, because she had humbled herself to rule only by night, was, by God’s appointment, to be attended by the 
Stars as a retinue, both when she rose and when she went down. For ‘cloud-vessels’ (lit. ‘ water-skins * [of heaven] = 
‘clouds’) cp. Job xxxviii. 37. Peters conjectures ‘ giants’ (δ) for 22) = ‘cloud-vessels’) and renders the whole line : 
‘Weapons against the host of the giants on high’ (the giants here = the stars as opposed to the moon). 

9-10. The Stars. 
9. in the heights of God. Cp. Job xxv. 2. 
Io. At the word... prescribed place. Cp. Ps. cxix. 91. 
they sleep not... Cp. Baruch iii. 34 (‘And the stars shined in their watches, and were glad; when He called 
them, they said, Here we are,’ &c.). 
11-12. The Rainbow, Cp. Ezek. i. 2. 
13-176. The Storm. The storm-piece in Ps. xxix should be compared. As Smend remarks, the genuine Jewish 


475 Ἐπ 


SIRACH 45. 14-17 


14 1On that account! jHe hath created a treasure-housej, 
k And He maketh the clouds fly like birds*. 
15 'By His mighty power He maketh strong the clouds, 
And the hailstones are broken! 
17 @mHis thunder’s voice maketh His earth to be in anguish™, 
16a ™And by His strength™ °He shaketh mountains°®. 
τό ὁ The terror of Him stirreth up the south wind?, 
174 4The whirlwind of the north‘, hurricane, and tempest’ ; 
’Like flocks of birds He sheddeth abroad ‘ His snow’, 
«And like settling locusts" Yis the fall thereof’. 


(Is. 1. 12): [P1 = ‘fiery arrow, brand, or spark’). Dawa may be right) i 30 mg. yynd = & (ἢ text 1105) 
J Haw Na: (ἃ ( freely) ηνεῳχθησαν θησαυροι HIE τ noo Fy: (ἃ καὶ εξεπτησαν νεῴελαι ws πετεινὰ = 
AWD py Ay (Lev): merewa= Fw im v. τῇ ο, [Peters reads ry] rl So τ: Peters restores ®: 
3732 ΣΝ 3w Ay ΡΠ anya. [75 certain Greek MLSS. the order of the clauses of vv. 16-17 15 confused (as 
in Swete) ; the first line of v. 17 (47 a) ἐς wrongly placed. it should precede 16a and Ὁ: thus the right order ts 
17a, 16ab, 17 bed. The translation in text above gives the correct order, though retaining the Greek numbering 
of the verses | mm 39. fext has this line (tt omits the two following lines = 16ab) in the following form: 
avon diny ἸΌΝ bp: ® mg. supplies the missing clauses, together with 17 a: 


yan bn yoy Sap (17 a) 
DT Dy ἹΠῚ22Ὶ (16 2)| this order vs also found in certain MSS. 
won FANN IN (16 b)F of G: viz. τοῦ, 157, 248, 253. 
mayor mario Siydy (17 »)| 


For Sm & (original reading) has wduncev (so Sah &c. allered to ovadioev i» BNC 7ο 106 157 &c.) 
nn # mg. W)I3): (ἃ καὶ ev οπτασιᾳ αὐτου (= Pa different reading: ἢ ἸΓ ΤΙ.) o-o 35 mg. DT Oy = ‘He 
maketh mountains indignant’: (ἃ σαλευθησεται opn (= DN Dt): read, perhaps, DAN yy P-v So 38 mg. 
(above): Ge ‘at His will the south wind will blow’ (ev θεληματι αὐτου πνευσεται vores, P reading YON or NIN: 
probably & did not understand ®) a-a So 35 “εχ poly npeydt (Zit. ‘heats of the north’) = (ἃ καταιγις Bopeou : 
® mg. Syyby (= ‘storm, whirlwind’: Aram. and Neo-Hebr.: cp. also Job xxxvi. 33, where mbyy-by should 
probably be read mbippy ‘His storm ἐὴ) : read mg. τοῦ 10 AIYD ADD: (ἃ καὶ συστροφη πνευματος (= ΠῚ" n51D)) 
Ss ® mg. WIAD: G ὡς πετεινὰ καθιπταμενα tt So: (ἃ χιονα una 39 fw" AIAN): Gk καὶ ws axpis καταλυούσα 
VV So 35 mg. = & ww 18 mad 3y1n (this may be read mad = ‘its whiteness ᾽) = @& καλλος λευκότητος αὑτῆς 


view of nature is reflected throughout. Every storm may be regarded as in a sense a foretaste and anticipation of the 
world-judgement. 

14. On that account. i.e. on account of His judgement. 

He hath created a treasure-house. ( suggests the reading ‘the treasure-house is opened’ (reading YP2) or Ypa” 
for 811). This certainly accords well with the context. God's treasure-house (or houses), containing the winds, storm, 
&c., is opened, and the storm let loose: cp. Job xxxviii. 22 (‘treasuries of snow... hail’) ; Deut. xxviii. 12 (‘J. shall open 
unto thee His good treasury, the heaven to give thee rain,’ &c.); Jer. li. 16 (‘ When He uttereth His voice... He maketh 
lightnings...and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries’) ; cp. also xxxix. 30 of our book. There is a reference 
to the treasuries of snow, hail, &c., and the chamber of the whirlwind and the storm in 7. 8. Chagigah 12 ὁ. 
like birds. Cp. 17 ¢ (‘like flocks of birds’), The Hebr. word here used (5/1) probably = ‘birds’ (so &) both 

in this chapter (625), and also in Deut. xxxil. 24 Θ = ὄρνεις LXX, aves Vulg.) and Job v. 7 (AW) 32 = in LXX 
νεοσσοὶ γυπῶν) ; possibly also in Ps. xxviii. 48, D°DW72 = ‘to the vultures’ (so it is explained in Exod. γαῤῥαλ, § 12, in 
reference to the Psalm passage): ‘7ésha@fim means birds of prey’ (M)D\YN \N TDWI). The more common meaning of 
the word is ‘flame’, ‘spark’. The conception of the clouds pictured as flying birds of prey may be due to mytho- 
logical associations; cp. Ps. xviii, 10 (‘And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly eagle-like upon the wings of the wind’). 

15. By His mighty power He maketh strong the clouds, And the hailstones are broken. ‘ On the one hand, 
the light and elastic particles of cloud are combined into heavy masses; and, on the other, solid blocks of ice are 
splintered into hailstones’ (Edersheim). 

ne His thunder’s voice... anguish. A reminiscence of Ps. xxix. 8 (‘ The voice of J. bringeth anguish upon the 
wilderness’). 

16 ὁ. The terror of Him stirreth up the south wind. Cp. Ps. Ixxviii. 26. 


17 6. The whirlwind of the north. So ® mg. (f5¥ Syyby), 38 text has ‘the hot north winds’ (/)D¥ mayb, | 


lit. ‘the heats of the north’) ; cp. Ps. xi. 6, ‘a glowing wind,’ i.e. the sirocco. But this does not suit the north, which | 
was a cold wind. 7 


17 ¢c-22. Snow, hoar-frost, ice. ᾿ 
17¢, Like flocks of birds. For this rendering cp. note on 142 above. Cowley-Neubauer render ‘like darting flashes’. 

sheddeth abroad (18 ἢ"}}»). Cp. Ps. Ixviii. 9 (10), of rain (same Hebr. word). 
17d. the fall thereof. Cp. Num. xi. 9. 


476 


SIRACH 43. 18-23 


18 “The beauty of the whiteness” *!dazzleth! the eyes*, 

And the heart ¥'marvelleth)¥ at the raining thereof. 

19 The hoar-frost also *He poureth out? like salt, 

ΓΑ Πα maketh the crystals sparkle! like sapphire*. 

20The icy blast of the north wind He causeth to blow?, 

° And hardeneth the pond like a bottle’. 

Over every basin of water “He spreadeth a crust®, 

And the pond putteth on as it were a breastplate. 

21 “It burneth up the produce of the mountains as a drought’, 
‘And the sprouting pasture as a flame. 

228A healing for all such is the distillation of the clouds®, 

"Even the dew, alighting to bring refreshment after heat}. 

23 ‘By His counsel! i He hath stilled the deepj, 

* And hath planted* !the islands! in the ocean. 


© ® text Dy NAY (Ὁ read ὙΠ)" = " dazzleth’ [Syr. tox,: “4767 ‘to blind’, of the sun]: or read nN = " dim’): 
(ἃ ἐκθαυμάσει οῴθαλμος (Ὁ reading ADM and wrongly making yy subject of verb): WB mg. mn (= ὃ ‘remove, take 
away’: cp. Prov. xxv. 4, 5) ΣῪ Read with & (εκστησεται) MIN: W AN (‘is disquieted ’ ?) zz So 30 meg. 
Tae” = Ge ἐπὶ γης χέει (ἐπὶ ys an explanatory addition): W text ἸῸΝ (copyist’s mistake under influence of τὴ ἃ) 
aa ® ὌΝΩΝ W|ADD psn (‘And maketh it to bloom with flowers like sapphire,’ Cozvley-Neub.): emend with 
Peters DIS WDDI py» (= /ranslation given above in text): G& ‘and when it is congealed it is as points of 
thorns’ (και παγεισα γίνεται σκολοπὼν axpa: the last three words =? DI DYDD). Ln emended text ys 7s Lif. of 
y8) = ‘sparkle’: cp. Ezek. i. 7 (o°2¥ = ‘thorns’ 11) bob ® Dw pay mo ny (ΤῸΝ = nay from may 


‘cold’: the word-play confirms ὌΝ in previous verse): ἾΗ = & ‘the cold north wind shall blow’ (reading iW 
jor 3) ce Reading with Q mg. WIPO NDP’ API’ ( αὶ has wypo 1.6. NP: aip = ‘cold’: Gen. 


Vili. 22): (ἃ καὶ παγησεται κρυσταλλὺς ep (so Syro-Hex 307 &c. Sah &c.: dut B ap) υδατος = APD NDP npr [n4p 
“ice” = κρυσταλλος Ezek. i. 22 2 LXX]. 277 = Aram. apy ‘ bottle’ prodadly in Job xiii, 28. Wellhausen and 
Bacher conjecture ΝΣ (‘and like a metal-plate’): Smend suggests DAp2 (= Aram. NDP ‘skin’, ‘covering’, 
“surface ’) 4-ἃ 12 op (Qal occurs Ezek. xxxvii. 6, 8): (ἃ καταλυσει (= ? DIP) ee ® pw’ 3qn3 ann bya): 
Gr καταφαγεται opn και ερημον εκκαυσει (= Pe ann) On yba) Ff 3 fx? onoy mA (cp. ΝΟΣ ms 
Ps. xxiii. 2): mg. has ἫΝ ‘form’ (Ps. xlix. 15) or ‘rock’: G& καὶ amooBeree χλοην =") ΠῚ) s-s So ® 
ὯΝ Fy 55 NBD: ὅπ wacts παυτῶν κατα σπουδὴν ομιχλὴ (P reading ὩΣ for 573) bh 19 wind ya by 
(m. 2) δ᾽: Ge dpocos amavrwaa amo Kavowvos ‘apace (Sa dew coming after heat shall bring cheerfulness’ 
R.V.) = ? reading yap for yb (so Peters emends) and (?) TWO for Δ γ᾽ : read WD wid ye by = " Even 
the dew, alighting to bring refreshment (or enrichment) after heat’. 30 /ex/ ΝΒ vs dificult: =? ‘hastening’ 
(Aram. sense YB: ‘hastening to revive’) i G& λογισμῳ avrov = InaWNNA (so read): ἸΏ wnawnn, Q mg. 
naw» (? ‘from His quietness ’) 11 ® nr ρῶν") (Lev pre [2]) =? ‘overpowereth the deep’ (but Hif. of 
ΡΩΝ does not otherwise occur): Lév’ ‘he maketh an arsenal of’ (pws denom. from PW): Ek ἐκοπασεν αβυσσον 
(=A yppwa: so read with Peters). 77 ts determined by own in next clause (= 727 AN): Smend alters 
unnecessarily to IN kK (ἃ και εφυτευσεν = yo (50 read): HO: (Bacher proposes Sey ‘and uplifteth islands’ 
after Isa. xl. 15) 11 So 39 ON (dui 38 mg. WIN) = G moors (so 23 55 106 155 157 248 253 254 308), 


18. The beauty of the whiteness. Or ‘of its whiteness’ (i.e. the snow’s whiteness) ; see critical note. 
19. The hoar-frost ... like salt. Cp. Ps. cxlvii./6 (‘like ashes’). Cp. Ps. cxlvii. 16-17 for vv. 17-19 generally. , 
And maketh the crystals sparkle like sapphire. The sapphire, as Peters remarks, besides blue, flashes with 
other colours, such as red, green, &c. The sense is: God makes the crystals of the frost sparkle with all sorts of 
colours. For the comparison to sapphires cp. Lam. iv. 7; Cant. v. 14. For & see critical note. [For ® text = 
‘And maketh it to bloom with flowers like sapphires,’ cp. Num. xvii. 8 (= 23 in Hebr. text).] 
20. The icy blast. Lit. ‘the cold’ (cp. 73 Prov. xxv. 13). 
like a bottle. For this rendering see critical note. [In Joshua iii. 16 1] = ‘heap’ (cf waters) 1s rendered 


N3pY) in the Targum (Strack) : cp.? 1)) = ‘bottle ’.] For the conjectured alternatives see critical note. 

as it were a breastplate. Cp. Isa. lix. 17. ᾿ ᾿ ᾿ 
21. It burneth up the produce of the mountains as a drought. ‘It’=the north wind. The cold of the north wind 
. is as destructive in its ravages as the heat of the east wind (sirocco). For ‘ produce of the mountains cp. Job xl. 20. 
22. A healing... distillation of the clouds. For the expression (‘distillation’) cp. Deut. xxxii. 28. 


Even the dew, alighting to bring refreshment after heat. ‘ Dew’ (50) and ‘heat’ (AW = ‘dry heat’ in VH) 


are contrasted : in VH ‘the time of dry heat’ (117 NyW), i.e. noon-day, is opposed to ‘the time of dew’ (bon ny). 
23-26. The Sea. The passage shows reminiscences of Ps. civ. 25 ff. : ν 
23. By His counsel He hath stilled the deep. One of the mightiest evidences of Jahveh’s power is that He tamed 
monsters of the deep; cp. Job ix. 13, xxvi. 12 (some scholars would read *‘Rahab "in our passage for * deep’). 

And hath planted the islands in the ocean. Apparently Ben-Sira shared the belief that the islands in the 
sea arose as the result of Jahveh’s conflict with the dragon of the sea (Tiamat, Rahab). When the sea was overcome 
and sank, the islands appeared. 


477 


SIRACH 438. 24-30 


24 They that go down to the sea tell of ™its extent”, 

n And® when our ears hear it we are astonished. 
25 Therein are marvels, the most wondrous of His works, 

° All kinds of living things®, ?and the monsters of Rahab?. 
26 By reason of Him “'business! prospereth4, 

And at His word 'what He wills is done’. 


(c) XUIII. 27-33. Conclusion (=3+2+2+4+1 distichs). 


27 *More like this we will not add’, 
And tthe conclusion of the matter’ is: He is all. 
28 "We will sing praises, because we cannot fathom" ; 
’For greater is He’ than all His works. 
29 Terrible is Jahveh “exceedingly”, 
* And wonderful are His mighty acts*. 
30%Ye that magnify Jahveh, 7lift up your voice’, 
As much as ye can®, "for there is still more 
°Ye that exalt Him’, “renew your strength‘, 
And weary not, °for ye cannot fathom (Him)°! 


1 


which has been corrupted into Inoovs in BRAC Eth &c. mm So 30 \nyp (‘its bounds’: /7. ‘its end’): 
Ge τὸν κινδυνον avrns (2 interpreting: Lévt suggests that (ἃ read \ns8) nn G+ καὶ (so read): Y> 0-0 35 
an] b> PD = (ἃ ποικιλία παντὸς ζῳου Ρτρ 35 739 NII: G κτισις κητων (WAC κτησις κτηνων): κητὸς = ΠῚ 


Job xxvi. 12 2 LXX: nyn133 20 be taken in a concrete sense (cp. Isa. iii. 25: JWI = o ἐσχύοντες ὑμων : Pelers) 
1-4 ® ἼΝΟΡ nby)=evoda ο ἀγγελος αὐτου (Cod. 248): Β &c. evadia τελος αὐτου (τελος arose from ἈΠΠΈΕΙΟΒ mzsread 
ATELOS): Ὁ read noxbdi ‘ work, business’ (= mond wy Ps. cvii. 24) mr 39) yy Sym ( potnt bye): 
Gk συνκειται παντα ss % AD NO ΠΌΝΘ ny: G& ‘we may say many things yet shall we not attain’ (πολλα 


ἐρουμεν kar ov μὴ αφικωμεθαὴ, 2. ὁ. reading ἢ) xb) and interpreting this to mean ‘to attain the end’ (ΠῚ : φῴ. 
Dan. iv. 30): /hen # would = ‘even more things like these (we might say) and not attain the end’ (so Smend): 


an excellent sense, and suiting the next clause admirably: but \D3 ts doubtful tt 39 7390 yp: G& συντελεια 
λογων u-u 315 pnd xb 3 Ty (mg. nd33) nb[sa]: (ἃ δοξαζοντες που ισχυσωμεν ; = VPNI xb 3 n5323 (xd | 
rendered by rhetorical question) : so read with Peters: Wy probably intruded into ® text here from previous line 
( mg. ΠΟ.) = Ὁ ΤΌΣ) “we will exult’) v-v 320 Syty NM: Ge αὐτὸς yap o peyas wow ἸΏ ND IND]: 
(τ ( freely) και opodpa peyas xx ® fext 37 mydan (® mg. wnN23 read YNINII, pl. demanded by nixbp3): 
G καὶ θαυμαστὴ ἡ δυναστεια αὐτου = emended text  (δυναστεια = ΓΔ xv. 18) y here in ἸΏ four distichs are 
compressed tnto two lines: cp. χὶν. 26, xlvi. 17 Ὁ foll. in same Hebr. MS. (B) 2-2 ® Sy wenn: & (abbre- 
viating) ὑψώσατε a-a 15 5). 523 = G& καθ οσον av δυνησθε b-b 359 ἫΝ wD: Ge freely ‘for even yet will 
He exceed’ (υπερεξει yap kat ert) c-e ® OMI: Ce καὶ (L>xar) ὑψουντες avrov: read with ἸΏ mg. yD (so 
Peters, Smend) d-d 39 ma dn: Ge πληθυνατε ev ἰσχυι ee 39 mg. [pn ΝΟ 5: (ἃ d/ranslates yapnn by 


the same word as §D\) (=? D2) 7 Ὁ. 27 above, viz. [οὐ yap μη] αφικησθε tf Wy (defect.) ΠΌΝΟ. νυ νων ὃ mm 


24. They that go down to the sea. Cp. Ps. cvii. 23 (same phrase). 

25. Therein are marvels... This and the following verses reflect the phraseology of Ps. cvii. 23f. ‘Therein’ (ov) 
may be due to Ps. civ. 25 (which passage has also influenced Ben-Sira here). 

26. business. A reminiscence, perhaps, of the phrase ‘they that do business in great waters’ (Ps. cvii. 23), and so 
to be interpreted here (Lévi). Cp. Wisd. xiv. 2f. (the vessel sailing for trade). The alternative rendering (cp. # text), 
“by reason of Him angels prosper’ (i.e. in their various missions, which are controlled by God), introduces a more gener. 
thought, which not inappropriately concludes the section (cp. also clause 4). It should be noted also that the angels, 
as God’s ministers, are referred to in the Psalm (civ) which is in the author’s mind here (‘who maketh His angels of 
the winds, His ministers of the flaming fire’, v. 4). 

(ὦ XLIII. 27-33. CONCLUSION (CP. THE EXORDIUM, xlii. 15-25). 

27. More like this we will not add. The sense is rather lame. Note the alternative reading : ‘ Even more such 
things we might say and not attain the end,’ i.e. fail to exhaust the catalogue of God’s mighty works—an excellent sense. 

And the conclusion of the matter is: He is all. For the phraseology cp. Eccles. xii. 12, 13. The 
originality of this clause is guaranteed by 38, though it sounds very Hellenistic, and, in fact, was regarded by 
Dr. Edersheim as ‘evidently a spurious addition by the younger Siracide’.. The whole context shows that the words 
must not be interpreted in a pantheistic sense, though, taken alone, they might be so interpreted. What Ben-Sira 
means is that God is manifest in all His works (cp. & ‘ipse est in omnibus’): cp. Col. i. 17 f.; Heb. i. 3. 

28. We will sing praises (lit. magnify) ... all His works. Cp. Ps. cxlv. 3. 

29. Terrible is Jahveh... Cp. Ps. xcvi. 4f. 

30. renew your strength. Cp. Is. xl. 31, xli. 1. 


478 


SIRACH 438. 31—44, 2 


31 Who hath seen Him, that he may tell thereof? 
And who shall magnify Him as he is? 

32‘ The number of things mysterious is greater (even) than these‘, 
sAnd I have seen (but) few’ of His works. 

33 "Everything hath Jahveh made, 

‘And to the pious hath He given wisdomi, 


iPraise of the fathers of oldi. 
(a) XLIV. 1-15. General introduction (=2+7+3+3+3 distichs). 
*Let me now hymn the praises* !of men of piety!, 
™QOf our fathers™ in their generations. 


2™No little glory™ did the Most High °allot® them, 
P And they were great? “from the days of old®: 


Cz πολλα aroxpupa εστιν μειζονα τουτων: read πον [δγ ΓΛ ΠΟ 1) 2. (so Peters) 8- 9 NNT Oy: G+ γαρ 
(odrya yap κτλ.) hh 30 Son DN: (ἃ παντὰ yap Hi SoG: 38 (defective) [ADIN in3 pron) i The 
title appears as a superscription in ®: DY MANX Nw, and in G& as πατερων vpvos (but Codd. 23 [V] 106 252 
and Complut.>): tt rs probably not original Καὶ 1 yo mdSaN: G& αἰνεσωμεν δὴ 1] ® son ὌΝ = ὅ: 
(ἃ adpas evdo€ous (= ἢ NAD ‘WIN — 33? tnfluenced by 2a: buf = WIN according to Peters, who so reads) 
m-m So 35 : G+ καὶ n-n # 4) 35 0-0 35. pop (mg. +nnb) = (ἃ ἐκτισεν (see notes on xxxix. 25). [For 
indy nbn of ® text & has simply ‘He hath appointed to them’ = ὃ pm y pdm: so Peters reads + mn | pp ® 
yaa) 7. 6. 1; but Cx την μεγαλωσυνὴν αὐτου = on : so Peters reads γ51}) — lig No little glory did the Most High 
allot them] and His greatness’ ($ ‘and all their greatness Ἢ a-a ® ody mo: (ἃ ( freely) am αἰωνος : 85. ‘to 


31. Who hath seen Him... Only extant in (πὰ (# omits). The verse is regarded as a gloss by Ryssel (cp. 
xlii. 15). 

32. The number of things mysterious (hidden)... Cp. xvi. 21. Κα 

33. Everything... God has created all things; true wisdom consists in the fear of God (piety)—the two chief 
affirmations of the Jewish faith. 


Chapters XLIV—XLIX form a well-knit and distinct division of the book, having for their theme the praise of 
the fathers of old. The heroes enumerated range from Enoch to Nehemiah (in a series of well-defined sections), The 
connexion with the preceding division is a natural one; God, whose glory is manifest in the mighty forces and 
phenomena of the natural world (xliii), is also worthy of praise both for and in the lives of the great heroes and pious 
men that shine through history. An appendix (]. 1-24) sets forth the praise of the high-priest Simon, who can 
hardly be reckoned, as Smend points out, with the fathers of old. 1 he ᾿ ἢ 

The whole forms a historical retrospect of Israel’s history from the earliest age; cp. similar surveys in the O.T. in 
Psalms Ixxviii, cv, cvi, cxxxv, cxxxvi, and Ezek. xx; in the apocryphal literature, Wisdom x ff., 1 Macc. li. 51-60 ; 
and in the N.T., Heb. xi, &c. The subject throughout is Israel, regarded as the chosen and truly representative race. 
All that is best and highest in humanity is reflected in the Israelitish race, and comes to glorious expression in the 
long line of patriarchs, pious kings, heroes, prophets, and teachers, which stretches from the beginnings of history. 

Ben-Sira lays special emphasis on the duty and privilege of the community to remember the pious of the past 
(cp. xliv. 9, 13, 15, xlv. 1, xlvi. 11, xlix. 1, 9, 13). He also lays stress upon the splendour of the cultus as the 
visible expression of Israel’s unique relation to God. Thus Moses is subordinated to Aaron in importance, and David’s 
greatest glory is that he was the founder of the Temple music and psalmody (xlvii. 8-10). This is all the more 
remarkable, as Ben-Sira was inclined, if anything, to depreciate the efficacy of sacrifices fer se. Throughout Ben-Sira 
closely follows the narrative given in the canonical Scriptures, and reminiscences of scriptural phraseology are of 
frequent occurrence. It is clear that he values highly the written word (cp. xlviii. 10 = Mal. iil. 23, 24), which he 
obviously regards as among the most precious possessions of the chosen community of God. _ It is interesting to note, 
in this connexion, that the author shows clear indications of acquaintance not only with the Law (Pentateuch) and the 
Prophets (including Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), but also with Chronicles (xlvii. 8 ff.), Nehemiah (xlix. 13), 
the Psalms (xliv. 5, xlvii. 8 ff.), Proverbs (xliv. 5, xlvii. 17), Job (xlix. 9), and perhaps Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) (xlvil. 
23). No allusion is made to Daniel, which was not yet extant when the author wrote; and it is uncertain whether 
Ruth, Lamentations, and Canticles were yet regarded as sacred Scripture, as he makes no clear allusion to any of them. 

The whole forms a carefully articulated composition, falling into strophes, and consisting of 211 distichs. 


(a) XLIV. 1-15 forms an introductory section to the enumeration that follows, setting forth, in general terms and 
under twelve categories, the different classes of eminence into which Israel’s heroes fall. The reference is to Israel 
only, and does not include the heathen (see on vv. 3-6). [The title is extant in 30 and G, but is absent from certain 
Greek MSS. (see critical note). It is probably secondary, though the possibility remains that it may be an original 
feature due to the author (so Smend); Peters thinks it original in the form ‘ Praise of the Fathers’ (omitting ‘of old 
= poy 3; cp. &).] 

I. men of piety. So (probably rightly). It is piety in its broadest sense of duty rendered to God that Ben-Sira 
sees manifested in various types of character and achievement. For the alternative reading (‘famous men’) see 
critical note. 

in their generations. i.e. in chronological order. 


479 


38" 


SIRACH 44. 3, 4 


3 (Men) who wielded dominion’ over the earth *in their royalty’, 
And men of renown in ‘their’ might ; 
"Counsellors" in their discernment, 
v And all-seeing in their prophetic (power)” ; 
4 Princes of nations *in their statesmanship*%, 
y And (trusted) leaders in their penetration’ ; 
“Clever of speech” *in their (scribal) instruction *, 
>And speakers of wise sayings in their tradition” ; 


eternal generations ’ HT 30 mg. PAX WA: G& κυριεύοντες [S>v. 3. ἃ Ὁ ο] =s% ὨΠΊΞΟΙΩΣ : & ev ras 
βασιλειαις αὐτῶν ὑπὸ > ther uu 38 mg. ΝΜ" (Ώ text + article) : (ἃ βουλευοντες (65 106 155 157 248 
254 Compl.: v./. βουλευταὶ 296 308 Eth: she βουλευσονται of B is a mastake for βουλευοντες): “x | prudentia 


sua] praediti γτν # Dnsi23 53 nm (cp. $5 mn xv. 18): Ge amnyyedkores ev προφητειαις (Jul 8* 155 253 
308 &c. and H+ev προφηταις), misreading NM as MIN and omitting b3: p. d‘ And they declared by their 
prophecies signs’ w-w 10 Dy IY: Ge ἡγούμενοι Aaov: S ‘and kings’ (ome/ing Ὁ 10 avoid reference to 
heathen: so Peters) x-x ® ono. (‘in their prudence,’ Cowley-Neub.) = S: (ἃ ev διαβουλίοις yy 18 
onipnna Ds: S>: Ok και εν (so 248 ἄς. Sah Eth: bul B ἄς. > εν) συνεσει γραμματειας (x γραμματειαῖς : 
Sah Eth γραμματεις)ὴ λαου =? ONIN ὮΝ 3) z-2 1η mw wIn = Ek codor λογοι (? or7ginally λογῳ: note 
variants λόγοις 296, εν Noyas A &c.): S ‘the wise taught’ a-a 32 ὩΠΊΒΟΞ (cp. Weo-Hebr. ΠΥ ΒΟ = ‘ offic 
of scribe’): ® mg. has “DIDI te. 77D or DIDMZ (Job xxxiii. 16) or DIDWR= & ev παιδειᾳ avrov: 86 ‘in 
their wisdom ’ b-b ® ὈΠῚ 05 adv: G> : S (combining 4d and 5a) ‘And the rulers have explored 
their praises on lutes and harps’. or other possible renderings of ἸΏ cp. exeget. notes. Bacher emends second 


word fo ono (= ‘in their parables ’) e-e 30 pin by ὙΠ pI (ποίο the word-play: PN... .. 7PM) 
(‘who sought out music according to rule,’ Cow/ley-Meub.): Gk εκζητουντες pen μουσικὼν (2gnoring Pn by: cp. 
XXxii. [xxxv.] 6 where “912 bip is rendered μελος μουσικων) d-d Ὡπ53 Sep ἽΝΌΝΣ (+) wth best MSS. of &: 
και διηγουμενοι ἐπὴ εν γραφῃ) e-e 35 bn WN = Ok ανδρες πλουσιοι ἘΓῚΒ ΓΞ "5 Ὶ : read "ὩΣ ὩΟῚ = Uk και 
(so 155: others > ) KEXOPNYLEVOL ἰσχυι s-8 38 ὩΣ) ὃν ὉΣΡῚΦῚ Ξξ (ἃ ( point hab) ta) = G& ev παροικιαις αὐτωνῚ 


3-6 (7). Twelve categories of men are here enumerated (for the number twelve in such a connexion cp. xxiv. 13-17 
and 1. 6-10); of men who ‘ were honoured in their generation and in their days had glory’ (v. 7; it should be noticed 
that vv. 1-7 form a single logical period). It is then stated (vv. 8 and 9) that some of these have left a name which 
deserves to be honoured and remembered, while others have left no memorial. In other words, some were pious, and 
are remembered as such by posterity (the enumeration of these is introduced in v. 10), while others were not, and are 
deservedly forgotten (v. 9). Lévi and Ryssel think that the reference in vv. 3-6 is to heathen heroes—the great 
men of the pagan world—conquerors, warriors, counsellors, poets, writers, ἅς. ; and that Ben-Sira draws a deliberate 
contrast between these and the heroes of Israel. The former are only partly remembered by their own people, while 
the memory of the pious in Israel never fades. But the terms of v. 3d (ref. to the prophets) and v. 4c, d (ref. to 
the scribes) can hardly be made to apply to the heathen ; and it is doubtful whether Ben-Sira would have reckoned 
any heathen heroes among the truly pious. The terms used can all be applied more naturally to the heroes and 
great men of Israel. The absence of any specific mention of priests in these verses may be explained by supposing 
that Ben-Sira intends to include them among the princes and teachers. 

3. (Men) who wielded dominion ...of renown... Rulers like David and Solomon and warriors like 
Joshua are meant. 

Counsellors... all-seeing in their prophetic (power). i.e. such men as Elisha and Isaiah, who were at once 
counsellors of the nation and prophets. 

4. Princes of nations in their statesmanship (lit. in their devising), And (trusted) leaders (or potentates). 
‘Princes of nations’ such as Joseph (a viceroy); leaders of Israel (‘trusted leaders’) like Zerubbabel and 
Nehemiah.  misunderstands 4 ὁ (rendering, according to the probable original Greek text, ‘scribes of the people in 
understanding’ (see critical note); ‘scribes of the people’ = DY OW; cp. for the expression 1 Macc. v. 42). The 
Hebrew word rendered ‘in their penetration’ (ANI7PMD2 lit. ‘in their searchings out’) does not occur again, apparently, 
in this sense (in Ps, xcv. 4 Pi) = ‘a place to be searched out’, i.e. remotest part); but a form of the same word is 
used in Prov. xxv. 2 of the activities that characterize the life surrounding a royal court, ‘It is the glory of God to 
conceal a thing: but the glory of kings is to search out a matter’ (123 1PM). Cowley-Neubauer render here ‘in 
their care’. : 

Clever of speech in their (scribal) instruction. The Hebr. word here rendered ‘(scribal) instruction’ does not 
occur in this sense in Biblical Hebrew (in Ps. lxxi. 15 ΠῚ ΒΟ = ‘numbers’; but LXX γραμματεία : TDD = 18D 
‘book’, if it be a genuine form); but it can be justified from Neo-Hebrew (cp. SOMIED (AND) = ‘the office of 
scribe’; navad = ‘the art of the scribe’). The reference in our text is doubtless to the work of the scribes as 
instructors, in which Ben-Sira was so deeply interested. 

And speakers of wise sayings in their tradition. Lit. ‘ proverbialists (δ᾽ δ 9) in their keeping’ (viz. of 
the tradition) ; for the translation ‘speakers of wise sayings’ or ‘proverbs’ cp. Num. xxi. 27; and for ‘ keeping’ 
used in this sense (viz. guarding a tradition) cp. Prov. iv. 21, vii. 1, xxii. 18. Lévi objects to this rendering on the 
ground that it anticipates v. 5 ὁ, where ‘ the makers of proverbs’ are the subject (thus involving an awkward repetition), 
but the objection is not a fatal one ; in our present verse the author is thinking of the wise as a class of men who 
expressed their wisdom in proverbial form orally (in their teaching) ; in v. 5 ὁ he refers specifically to the authors of 


480 


SIRACH 44. 5-12 


5 ‘Devisers of psalms according to rule®, 

4And authors of proverbs in books®; 
6 °Men of resource® ‘and supported with strength‘, 

*And living at ease in their dwelling-places?: 
7 All these "were honoured? ‘in their generation’, 
jAnd in their daysi had glory*. 
8 Some of them there are who have left a name, 
!1That men might tell of their praise!: 
9 And some of them there are who have no memorial, 
™So that there was an end of them when they came to their end"; 
» They were as though they had not been, 

And their children after them». 

roANevertheless° these were men of piety, 

P And their good fortune shall not come to an end? ; 
τι With their seed “their prosperity? remaineth sure, 
"And their inheritance to their children’s children’. 
12 *In their covenant their seed abideth, 

And their children’s children for their sakes®; 


hh So ® mg. = GS: Wexi> ΓῚ 3 OWI: G& ev yeveas (70 4+ avtwv): 85. ‘in their generations’ Ji So 
H mg. (oD) = G and 8: 18 text a K-k ἸΏ onntsan = S: & καυχημα 1 (ἃ tov εκδιηγησασθαι 
enawous = $(+‘their’): 32 ondnoa (mg. miynynd) ΡΝ (‘That men might tell of it in their inheritance,’ 
Cowley-Neub.): read ontana mynwad (with Smend: so Peters, omitting Δ) [Ayn = Aram. ‘YRWS ‘to 
narrate’, ‘tell ’| mm 35 nav AWN naw: && ( freely) και ar@dovvto ws οὐχ umap£ovres (S$ = 3) nn So 53) 
and &: S> (?for dogmatic reasons) 0-0 15 obwx) = Gi adn’ p-P 9 nL awn xd onipn): & (< whose 
righteous deeds have not been forgotten’) ὧν av δικαιοσυναι (248 Sah + avrav) οὐκ ἐπελησθησαν (reading DNPIs) 
for anypny): S ‘and their goodness shall not come to an end’: reading onary} (so emend ®) 9-2 35. O31» = 
BI, ze. ‘their prosperity’ or ‘their goods’, ‘property’ (parallel 10 ‘their possession’ next line): Ce ayaby 
(9 ΞΞ 8) τὴν 35 (O32 ya ondnn = ὦ (‘and their root to their children’s children): Ge κληρονομία exyova 
αὐτῶν 7s obviously wn disorder (° read κληρονομία αὐτῶν τοις εκγονοις autor) : x (Codex Sang.) hereditas nepotum 
illorum Ss Q> ; but the verse ts attested by (ἃ and S$. (ἃ has ev ras διαθηκαις (70 - αὑτῶν = 35) comm σπερμα 
αὐτῶν και Ta Texva αὐτῶν δι αὐτους, 1. 6. ὮΠ)Σ OWNIYI) OVA Wy? on 33: S 221 second line reads [raw] ΓΙ ΠΣ.) 
for DWI and (3) ὉΠ.)3 833 for D3 (Peters follows S in line 2, and renders ‘and their children in their works ’) 


certain books (Solomon and others) who have reduced this proverbial wisdom to writing. The alternative rendering 
adopted by Lévi and others makes the line refer to governors or officials. Thus Cowley-Neub. render 4¢ and d: 


‘Wise of meditation in their writing, 

And governing in their watchfulness.’ 
Lévi: ‘Wise orators for their instruction, 
And officials for their offices ’ 


(the reference, according to Lévi, being to heathen orators and officers). 
5. Devisers of psalms according to rule. Lévi, ‘ perfecters of poetry according to rule.’ The reference is to the 
composition of psalms set to traditional melodies. In this connexion David and the guilds of temple-singers would be 
thought of primarily. 
6. Men of resource. . . living at ease in their dwelling-places. The patriarchs, and perhaps Job, were in the 
writers mind (so Smend). 
8. Some... have left a name. Such are again referred to in wv. 10 f. 
g. And some ... who have no memorial... The reference is to godless kings, doubtless of the northern 
kingdom. As the Chronicler, so Ben-Sira passes these over in silence. 

They were as though they had not been. For the expression cp. Job x. 19; Obad. 16. 
10. Nevertheless these were men of piety. Cp. v.1. This introduces the enumeration that follows of great 
and pious men in Israel. 
And their good fortune shall not come to an end. Not only were they happy and fortunate in their lives, but 
their happy estate (reading ONPI3¥) with G and $; ΠΡῚΝ = ‘good fortune’, ‘prosperity ’ sometimes) lives on in their 
descendants’ happy and prosperous lives (this is further developed in vv. 11 f.). The reading of & affords a good 
sense—‘ their righteousness shall not be forgotten’ (but anticipates v.13 ὁ). 39 has ‘their hope shall not come to 
an end’. 
11. With their seed their prosperity remaineth sure. Cp. Job xxi. 8, 16; also xlv. 26 of our book. 
12. In their covenant (or covenants)... Though this verse is absent from ® the variants in ὅτ and 5S (see 
critical note), which can only be explained by a Hebrew original, show that it must have formed part of the original 
Hebrew text. ‘Covenant’ in Ben-Sira’s phraseology means always a gracious promise by God. The covenants in the 
| author’s mind are not only those with Abraham and Noah, but also those with Phineas, Aaron, and David (cp. xxiv. 25, 
xlv.15). So Smend. 


481 


SIRACH 44. 13-16 


i" 13 Their memory* abideth for ever, 
«And their righteousness shall not be forgotten"; 
14° Their bodies were buried in peace’, 
“ But their name liveth unto all generations. 
15 *The assembly recounteth their wisdom, 
And the congregation declareth their praise*. 


(6) XLIV. 16-18. Enoch and Noah. 


16 ¥2ENOCH walked with Jahveh [and was taken]*, 
2A miracle of knowledge to all generations*. 


t-t So 39 S: G ro σπερμα αὐτων (Dyrt for D751) u-u ® defective ,..., . 3 DNpPIsi: (ἃ καὶ ἡ δοξα αὐτων 
οὐκ εξαλειφθησεται : read (?) Π| Ξ: ΝΡ ὈΠΡῚΝΙ: so Lévi (Smend thinks there are faint traces of a 7 [which 
may be ΓΙ] at end of line): Smend reads nnn: Peters, following πα, Wy xd ona v-v ® defective 
᾿Ξ) oy b[ws sees? (ἃ τὸ σώμα αὐτῶν ev εἰρηνῃ eradn: read with Peters : \DDNI pvdvia on} (so 9) wow Ἢ 
defective 0) [ap ee ee et (ἃ καὶ τὸ ovopa avtay ζῃ εἰς yeveas: read )N) ay Mm Ὁ Ξξξ ὅ : x-x 30 fex/>: 
but ® mg. has Sap spp’ ondany ΓΝ wn on = & (λαοι = AI): S>lne 1: im line 2= and B (the 
whole verse = XXXix. 10) Y uv. 16 wanting in & 7-2 3 ΠΡΌΣ) oh) toh) sbanm ΘΠ x[ yoo] qm (here | 
ἡ Dvn ΝΙΝ) must be deleted: came in from next verse): genuine Hebr. text: ‘Enoch walked with Jahveh ee 

was taken ’] = (ἃ Evoy ευηρεστησεν Κυριῳ (so LXX Gen. v. 24) και peteTeOn (the last word ‘and was taken’ zs 
probably an addition to the original text: see exeget, note). aa Sy 39. ay ΠΡ ΠΡῚ mw: G& ‘An example of 
repentance to all generations’ (umodevypa μετανοίας Tats yeveas ) b-b 35 fext AID nyd (Ώ ΡῈ Ξ Cae nya): 
(ἃ ἐν καιρῳ opyns eae Be) sonn : (ἃ ἀνταλλαγμα ($ ‘he was taken in exchange for the world’) d-d So 


13. Their memory abideth for ever. Cp. xxxix. Ἂς, d. 

14. But their name liveth unto all generations. = xxxix. 9 d. 

15. = χχχίχ. 10 (see notes there). 

(6) XLIV. 16-18. ENOCH AND NOAH. 

16. Enoch walked with Jahveh [and was taken]. The phraseology is a reminiscence of Gen. v. 24 (for the 
text cp. critical note). The last word rendered ‘and was taken’ is probably an addition to the original form of the 
text ; it overloads the line and spoils the rhythm (so Schlatter and Smend ; the latter scholar points out that xlix. 10, 
which uses the same phrase of Enoch, implies that his being ‘ taken’ has not previously been mentioned. See further 
notes on xlix. 10). 

A miracle of knowledge to all generations. So. @& has ‘an example of repentance to the generations’. 
The translation of & reflects in an interesting way the influence of controversy. At an early period Enoch lived in 
popular legend as a heroic figure whose destiny was glorified by God. These features received elaborate and 
exaggerated development in the circles of the apocalyptists: thus Enoch’s wisdom, a feature that belongs to the oldest 
form of the tradition (cp. Ezek. xxviii. 3 ἢ, where read ‘Enoch’ for ‘Daniel’; so also in Ezek. xiv. 14, 201), receives 
elaborate development in the apocalyptic Enochic literature (cp. especially 2 Enoch), and Enoch becomes the exemplar 
of piety and wisdom, the friend and confidant of God, and the accredited revealer of divine secrets to men.’ 
Against this, as it seemed, exaggerated estimate there was raised a protest in Rabbinical circles which is reflected 
in some of the early Rabbinical literature. Thus in the WZdrash rabba on Gen. ν. 24 the idea that Enoch was 
translated without dying is expressly refuted® (contrast the Christian view in Heb. xi. 5). Another view, reflected 
in Wisd. iv. 10-14, was that Enoch had been inconsistent in his piety, and was removed (? by death) before his time, 
in order that he might not fall into further sin (‘he was caught away lest wickedness should change his understanding’). 
Cp. also Philo, de Advahamo,§ 3, where ‘he was not’ is explained to mean that his former blameworthy life was wiped out 
and effaced, being no longer‘ found’. In @&’s version of our text, therefore, the influence of a later exegesis which had 
made its way to Alexandria is traceable. In 38, on the other hand, which represents the text of the original author, one 
primitive feature of the Enoch-tradition has been retained, viz. his wonderful knowledge. Ben-Sira, like some of the 
later Rabbis, would not have been predisposed to exaggerate unduly the claims of Enoch in the apocalyptic direction. 
Nor, in fact, has he done so. See further on xix. 14, and cp. Frankel, Ueber den Einfluss der palastinischen Exegese, 


[It should be added that in the Targ. of Pseudo-Jonathan (on Gen. v. 24) the old popular view of Enoch reappears. 
He is represented as a pious worshipper of the true God, who was translated to heaven, and received the names and 
offices of metatron and ‘great scribe’ (Safra vatba). This doubtless was made possible after controversy (with 
Christians) had ceased. ] 


1 Cp. on this point ZB, 5. v. ‘Enoch’. 

* As Cheyne points out (ZB, s.v. ‘ Enoch’), the Enoch-tradition shows traces of solar origin: ‘A child of the 
“‘all-seeing” sun must be wise as well as pious.’ This primitive idea will account for the later developments according 
to which Enoch was the inventor of writing, arithmetic, and astronomy (cp. /wdz/ees, ch. iv). A 

* In the same passage it is said that he had been reckoned among sinners, and was still inconsistent in his piety, 
and that God said if he continued pious He would take him out of the world. Cp. Wisd. iv. 10-14. Targ. Ong. says: 
“God made him to die.’ 


482 


SIRAGH! 44°. 7-21 


17 NOAH the righteous was found blameless; 

>In the season of destruction” he became ‘the continuator® ; 
4For his sake there was a remnant", 

¢And by reason of the covenant with him the Flood ceased’. 
18 ‘ By an eternal sign* (God) concluded it with him, 
Not to destroy (again) all flesh. 


(c) XLIV. 19-23. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (3+3+1+3 distichs). 


19 ABRAHAM, ‘the father: of a multitude of nations’, fe 
iTarnished not his glory/; 
20 Who kept the commandment of the Most High, 
And entered into a covenant with Him: 
"Tn his flesh* He engraved him an ordinance, 
And in trial he was found faithful. 
21 Therefore with an oath ! He promised him! 
τὰς ΤῸ bless™ "the nations” in his seed’, 
°To multiply him ‘¥as the dust of the earth?”, 
And to exalt his seed ‘ as the stars’ ; 
4To cause them to inherit ‘from sea to sea, 
And from the River to the ends of the earth ’. 


H=S: (ἃ δια τοῦτο (for δια τουτὸν = 32 ways) ἐγενηθὴ καταλιμμα τῇ yn (? τῇ yn originally after ἀνταλλαγμα: 
cp. ὥ above) e-e ® dap ban 22) : (ἃ δια rovro (reading ΡΠ ΞΕ) Sor 5) 22) ἐγένετο κατακλυσμος (Θ para- 


phrases) HE So ® ody mwa: & διαθηκαι acwvos (= odiy m3) (S may zmply also N73: rendering ‘ oath’) 
ὅ- ® text N73) = (ἃ ἐπεθησαν : ἢ mg. nD [3 renders the line: ‘an oath God sware to him in truth “| hG@+ 


κατακλυσμῳ i Gr+peyas (μεγας πατηρῚὴ JJ So ® (27. ‘ Put not in his honour any blemish’) 199323 jn3 xd 
DY): S ‘and there was not put any blemish in his honour’ = ®: (ἃ καὶ οὐχ evpeOn oporos (read popos) ev τῃ δοξῃ 
[38 mg. ‘BIT for DY cp. Ps. 1. 20] KK G+ καὶ (και ev σαρκι avrov), but & and a number of Greek codices (106 
155 157 248 253), also Syro-Hex, >xa (so also Wand 9) 1-1 39 95 op = & ἐστησεν αὐτῳ = ? ‘assured 
him’: τι Aram. ὯΝ = ‘to swear’: so S here ‘God sware to him’ m-m So 35: Ck ενευλογηθηναι, so S (but 248 
ενευλογειν = 3η) nn So 30 and (τ: 95 ‘all the peoples of the earth’ 0-0 So (ἃ and 3: but x* >the line 
with ® P-P So G (cp. Gen. xiii. 6): S$ ‘as the sand of the sea’ (cp. Gen. xxii. 17) 4 G+ καὶ (preceding) : 
but 38 S> και 


17. Noah the righteous. Cp. Gen. vi. 9, vii. 1 (Heb. xi. 7). ‘ 
In the season of destruction he became the continuator. (% renders ‘he became a substitute ’ (ἐγένετο 
ἀντάλλαγμα). The exact meaning of the Hebrew word rendered ‘continuator’ has been the subject of much discussion. 


Its form (ardnn) is similar to, such Hifil noun-formations as T25N (‘disciple’), and it seems best to explain its meaning 
from the Hifil of the verb (yoni) as it is used in Job xiv. 7 = ‘to put forth fresh branches’, ‘sprout again’. So here the 
noun would mean ‘continuator ’, ‘renewer’ (one who starts the race afresh). Cowley-Neubauer render ‘successor’, and 
in the Glossary this is explained as follows: ‘i.e. humanity at large perished, but Noah was spared to carry on the 
succession and keep the race alive’: cp. xlviii. 8 (in xlvi. 12 ΛΠ is probably a verbal form). With this meaning 
cp. the use of the verb in Hebrew 42M = ‘to cause to come in place of’, ‘to make to succeed,’ Is. ix. 9; in Aram. 
N5)2nN = ‘substitute’, ‘representative’. S. Krauss in /QA, xi. 156 f., discusses the word and proposes to render our 
passage: ‘At the time of destruction there was a change (a reward, a compensation)’. See further Cowley-Neubauer 
in JQR, ix. 563. ‘ E 
ceased. i.e. probably ceased to come any more, was not to be repeated (so S$ understands the meaning rightly). 
18. By an eternal sign... Cp. xliiil. 6; Gen. ix. 12f, xiii. 17. 
Not to destroy (again) all flesh. Cp. Gen. ix. 15. 
(ὃ XLIV. 19-23. ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB. 
19. Abraham, ‘the father of a multitude of nations’. Cp. Gen. xvii. 4f. (xii. 2 ἢ, xv. 5). (ἃ (‘Abraham was a 
ἊΣ father of a multitude’, &c.) combines with this the other explanation of the name Abram = ‘exalted father’ 
so Hart). 
Tarnished not his glory (or honour). The same phrase (cp. critical note) occurs in xlvii, 20. 
20. And entered into a covenant with Him. Cp. Gen. xvii.10; and for the phrase Ezek. xvi. 8 (1.33 NJ). 
In his flesh... Cp. Gen. xvii. 9-11, 24. 
And in trial... Cp. Gen. xxii. μ᾽ ΤΡ 
21. Therefore with an oath...seed. Cp. Gen. xxii. 16-18 (also xii. 3, xviii. 18) : see also Gal. iii, 8. 
To multiply him ‘as the dust of the earth’... his seed ‘as the stars’. Cp. Gen. xxil. 17. : 
... to inherit ‘from sea to sea...earth’. Cp. Gen. xviii. 18; Exod. xxiii. 31; Deut. xi. 24; Joshua i. 43 
Ps. Ixxii. 8; and Zech. ix. 10. ‘The River’ (i.e. the River far excellence) is, of course, the Euphrates. 


483 


38" 


45 


22 


to 
Ww 


= 


SIURANCIS] 4b aaah. i 


And to ISAAC also ‘He promised it? ‘likewise’, 
For his father Abraham’s sake ; 

‘And the blessing of all predecessors 
Rested upon the head of ISRAEL'; 

"And He titled him with the dignity of firstborn", 
And gave him ‘his inheritance’ ; 

w And He set him in tribes, 
So as to be divided into twelve. 


(ὦ) XLIV. 23—XLV. 5. Moses (=2+2+2+43 distichs). 
*And He caused to issue* Yfrom him 7a man? 

“Who found favour® in the sight "of all living”. 
°Beloved of God and men® 

Was MOSEs ®of happy memory? 


rt 15. Dp = && eornoev 5:8 ® mg. 3 = Ge ovras: 38 lexi 13 ts a copyist’s mistake (‘He raised up a son’) 

tt So $=: 595k we by an owe 55 nana: & (ευλογιαν παντῶν ανθρωπὼν Kat διαθηκην καὶ κατεπαυσεν emt 

κεφαλὴν Τακωβ) supports the reading suggested partly: ἀνθρωπὼν may have displaced an earlier ἀρχαιων. text has 
wna pwan 55 na 

Syn wa Sy ans al 


‘The covenant of every ancestor (predecessor) He gave him, 
And the blessing rested on the head of Israel’. 


It τ noticeable that & lke ἸῺ has the two words ‘covenant’ and ‘blessing’, only im the reverse order. This 
suggests a double reading in the Hebr. text used by G, viz. NINA and nn), the latter a variant on the former 
(perhaps originally ΓΞ). Line 2 of ® zs overloaded. WN was probably written in abbreviated form for 
DNWNI: 19N3, which zs not attested in either U& or S, is probably a varvant on ANI u-u So 38 mg. ADI WD": 
 fex¢ 73733 37533") ‘and He confirmed (established) him in the blessing ᾿ς (ἃ ἐπέγνω avTov εν εὐλογίαις αὐτου ? 
reading NWI (cp. xv. 18) for WIND (so Smend—then render: ‘and He (God) recognized him (ἡ. 6. singled 
him out) in blessing’ (S = ® mg. freely rendered) v-v So ®: Ge ἐν κληρονομιᾳ (κληρονομιαν 248 = & 8) 
ww So 30 may Le rendered (see exeget. notes): G& misunderstanding ® renders: ‘and divided his portions ; among 
twelve tribes did He part them’: $ ‘He made him father to the tribes, and they went forth and He divided unto 
the twelve tribes’ xx So G= Nyy: so W (which ts defective in this word partly) is to be read (note the 
assonance with S32 which follows at the beginning of next line) y-y So ® Ge: but Sah Eth εξ αὐτῶν (sc. 
‘the tribes ’—zurongly) 2-2 So ®: Ce avdpa edeous (=1DN WN: so Peters): S ‘righteous men’ (but original 
reading probably ‘righteous man’): 3» Eth read avdpas edeous (50 70) a-a ® JM NW (wo/e NSW a play on 
nv) b-b ® on 55: & πασὴς σαρκος c-e So ® DWIN) pad(s DAIS: G yyarnpevov .. . [ Μωυσην ] wrong 
construction (making the clause dependent on preceding): & ‘beloved was he of God and also in the sight of men’ 
4-ὁ ®% Aad wat: G& ov τὸ pnpoouvoy ev εὐλογίαις : Pefers reads masa yt (cp. Ixvi. 11); so apparently 3 here 
(20d N21 not uncommon in Neo-Hebrew) e-e ® text defective: BY marg. Νὴ YD): G wpotwoev αὑτὸν δοξῃ 


2. é. 


22, And to Isaac... likewise... Cp. Gen. xxvi. 3-5, where the covenant and the promises made to Abraham 
are repeated. 


22-23. And the blessing of all predecessors Rested upon the head of Israel. i.e. the blessings promised 
to Abraham and Isaac, and possibly also those promised to Adam and Noah. For text cp. critical note. ᾿ 
23. And He titled him with the dignity of firstborn. The foundation-passage is Exod. iv. 22 (cp. also Hos. xi. 1): 
cp. further xxxvi. 12 (17) of our book. See further critical note (for variant forms of the text). 
And He set him in tribes, So as to be divided (pnd = pon> for pong? : so Peters) into twelve (reading 
sey pw for text, which omits 5: with Smend, Peters). Smend, however, renders substantially the same Hebrew 
text: ‘and He assigned it (i.e. the inheritance) to the tribes to be a portion (pond) for the twelve’ (18 oad [jas 


sy Ὁ" 5] pond). For the division by Jacob cp. Gen. xlix. But more probably God is here the subject of the 


sentence, in which case the laws issued by divine authority for the division of the land into twelve parts are in the 
writer’s mind. 


(4) XLIV. 23—XLYV. 1-5 (ΜΟ5Ε5). 
He caused to issue. Cp. Isa. xv. 9 (same verb ΝΥΝ ἽΠ). 


from him. viz. from Jacob: Jacob’s sons receive no further attention (but note the reference to Joseph, ch. xlix. 15). 


found favour in the sight of all living. Cp. Exod.xi.3. The author has also in mind, doubtless, the daughter 
of Pharaoh and the priest of Midian. 


XLV. 1. of happy memory. The Hebrew expression used here (nad 721) is varied from the one commonly 
employed, ‘ his memory (be) fora blessing’ (narad y731 575), which, in an abbreviated form , is often used, as a pious 


interjection, after the mention of dead Israelites: e.g. ‘our Rabbis of blessed memory’ ὦ Ἰ 12), &c. The full 
phrase (in its usual form) occurs in xlvi. 11. 


484 


SIRACH 45, 2-7 


2 °And <He made him glorious as? God’®, 
And mighty ‘in awe-inspiring deeds’. 
3 By his words’ "he brought? <signs”! swiftly to pass", 
JAnd He emboldened him) in the presence ‘of the king*. 
And He gave him a charge ‘unto his people>}, 
And showed him ™SHis glory?™. 
4 For his faithfulness and meekness™ 
He chose him out of all °<flesh?®. 
5? And? 4He caused him to hear His voice‘, 
And let him draw nigh “into the dark cloud”. 
*And He placed§ tin his hand* "the commandment, 
Even the Law of life Yand discernment’ ; 
That he might teach ἡ His statutes” *unto Jacob®, 
yAnd His testimonies and judgements’ “unto Israel”. 


(e) XLV. 6-22, Aaron (34+44+4+44+44+4444342 distichs). 
6 And He exalted a holy one *‘like unto him>®, 
Even AARON of the tribe of Levi. 
7»And He made him an eternal ordinance’, 
And bestowed “upon him His majesty°: 


apov = ὃ DMNA ID (so Smend: cp. xxxvi. 17 where opowwoas = ΠΤ) : S has ‘and He made him great in 
blessings’: Peters restores: ODN. WII (doth (ἃ and & paraphrase ἸΏ in order to mitigate its boldness) 
ff So ® marg. ONWHI = S$; cp. (ἃ ev φοβοις ἐχθρων : 10 fea/ D021 s-s So & = y9293: ® marg. 353 


(® text defective) hoh 10 3D: & κατεπαυσεν (a mistake for κατεσπευσενὴ ii So & = nim: 38 defective [9 
>3a| 33H wpinn: (ἃ εδοξασεν (248 pr. και): S ‘and set him’ Kk So 3) : (ἃ βασιλεων (but 53 254 
Bacihews) = S (Peers reads nnd) 1] SoG: 30 defective: S$ = nyn (so Peters reads) m-m Reading 
maa ΠΝ = GS: B defective [S+v. 5a misplacing | "(ἃ  ηγιασεν (δ 248 &c. L Sah+avrov) wrongly 
0-0 So (ἃ = awa: S ‘sons of men’ pp So ® (> &) 9-4 S>whole line rr So ® (ἃ : S$‘ His dark 
cloud’ s-s 35 /ex/ Dw, 38 marg. jn ὑπὸ So®: (ἃ αὐτῷ Kata προσωπον -ξΞ S (ΞΞ 24055) u-u So 38 ΓΝ: 
(ἃ ἐντολας: S> v-v So 38 nn) = Ge: S ‘and blessings’ (mzsreading 38) ww So 30 YPN: (ἃ διαθηκην: 
S ‘His laws’ ss So ® marg. (W αὶ Apy2): S ‘those of the house of Israel’ ΣΤΥ So ® ΒΦ ΟῚ yyy: 
§ ‘and His laws and His covenants’ wz So ® G&: S ‘unto Jacob’ a-a So & S(= +1003): 3» 


b-b So 38 = (ἃ ἐστησεν αὑτὸν (2nfertor reading avr) διαθηκην αἰωνος : S reads Dy for ody (?.an intentional altera- 
tion) τὸ ® text voy: ® marg. ὙΠ 1%: read with Peters ynnvoy: & tepaterav λαου (explanatory paraphrase) 


2. And He made him glorious as God. The author has in mind Exod. iv. 16 (‘he shall be to thee a mouth, and 
thou shalt be to him as God’); cp. also Exod. vil. 1. 38 mg. (which is adopted by Smend) has: ‘And He titled him 
by the name of “‘God”’’: the boldness of the expression has led to its mitigation in the versions (see critical notes). 

awe-inspiring deeds. i.e. the wonders performed in Egypt (see Exod. vii-xi) ; cp. Deut. iv. 34, xxvi. 8, xxxiv. 12 
(‘great terrors’ = ‘ awe-inspiring deeds’). 

3. he brought signs swiftly to pass. There is a corruption here in & which has obscured the meaning (see 
critical notes), As Smend points out, vv. 2-3 a, ὁ set forth Moses’ power in the face of the heathen. 

in the presence of the king. Cp. Exod. vii. 1. 

And He gave him a charge unto his people. Cp. Exod. vi.13. In vv. 3¢, αἰ and 4 the pre-eminence of Moses 
among his own people is set forth. 

showed him His glory. Cp. Exod. xxxiii. 18, xxxiv. 6. 

4. his faithfulness and meekness. Cp. Num. xii. 3, 7, also i. 27 of our book 

out of all flesh. ‘All flesh’ here means, apparently, all Israel (not all mankind): cp. 1. 17 (39) : so Smend. 

5. His voice. Cp. Deut. iv. 36. 

let him draw nigh into the dark cloud. Cp. Exod. xx. 21, xxiv. 18. 

placed in his hand the commandment... Cp. Exod. xix.7; Exod. xxxii. 15; Deut.vi. 1. The Decalogue is 
referred to. 

the Law of life. Cp. xvii. 11. For ‘life’ in this connexion cp. Ezek. xx. 11. 

teach His statutes unto Jacob... untoIsrael. Cp. Ps. cxlvii. 19. 

(e) XLV. 6-22 (AARON). The great length of this section, which is devoted to Aaron, and the abundance of its 
detail, suggest that the subject of the Aaronite priesthood, as embodied in the High Priest, was one which specially 
interested Ben-Sira. See further the discussion in the General Introduction, § 9 ii. 

6. aholy one. Cp. Ps. cvi. 16; Num. xvi. 3, 5, 7. : , 

7. And He made him an eternal ordinance. In the Pentateuch the phrase ‘an eternal ordinance’ (BY pn) 
is always applied to the rights, laws, and privileges of the Aaronite priesthood ; here it is applied to Aaron himself ; 
in the possession of the glorious priesthood he is himself an ‘eternal ordinance’; for a similar turn of expression cp. 
Is. xlii. 6, xlix. 8 (“I make thee a people’s covenant’): so Smend. 

bestowed upon him His majesty. . Cp. Num. xxvii. 20; 1 Chron. xxix. 25. (ἃ has ‘the priesthood of the 
people’; but such an expression is doubtful, as the ‘priesthood’ is always spoken of in the Bible as God’s, not 
the people’s. 


485 


7p” 


8 


9 


Io 


wit 


SIRACH 465. 7-11 


4And He blessed him °with His glory®, 
And girded him fwith beauteous magnificence‘? : 
And He clothed him with the perfection of adornment”, 
iAnd adorned him‘ with splendid vestments) *— 
1The breeches}, ™the tunic and robe™2— 
And encompassed him °with pomegranates, 
And with resounding bells® round about, 
? That he might make music? with his steps, 
So as to cause the sound of him to be audible “in the inmost shrine‘, 
For a memorial for the children of his people : 
‘(With) the holy garments of gold and violet 
And purple’, the work of the designer ; 
(With) the breastplate of judgement, *(with) the ephod and waistcloth’, 
t And (with) scarlet’, the work of the weaver ; 
(With) precious stones "seal-engraven" 
YIn settings’, “<the work of the stone-engraver ’* ; 


a-d Reading AAW = Ce ἐμακαρισεν αὐτὸν (so S$): ® has NAW) = ‘and He ministered unto him’ 9: So 35 δα 
222: ® mg. 73732: (ἃ ev εὐκοσμιᾳ tf Reading with ® mg. ANN nrpyinsa (so Smend): ἸΏ text 
ONT maya (ὁ under influence of Num. xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8): LXX περιστολην δοξης: % ‘in the height of His 
glory’ & H+o mys wmvrady (a doublet made up of 8a+gqa to make up stichot of verse after 4a and ἢ ὁ 
had been fused into one line) h-h %} mA NaN bsb5 = (& συντέλειαν καυχήματος : % “ with garments of purple’ 
ii 10 YIN]: Ge καὶ ἐστερεωσεν avrov (read eotepavocey = WL coronavit): % ‘and honoured him ’ ii Reading 


ny 553 (for ® ny 393) = & and S k Verses 8 c-14 ὦ are lacking in 85 1115 mp3: Ck περισκελη 
mm Reading Soyo) nn (@ mins): G καὶ ποδηρὴ Kar enopida (επωμις offen in LXX for WAN: Smend and 


Peters regard ἐπωμιδα as an error for (3) διπλοιδα which often = Saya mm LXX) n Atv. ga in the margin the 
note occurs in Persian: ‘This MS. reaches thus far’: see Cowley-Neub., p. 25 0-0 Reading (Noldeke, Peters) 
OA WDD) D4: cp. G ροισκοις xpvoos κωδωσιν πλειστοις : W PIN DIVA DWwydD bp ® AD yI nnd: 
(τ (freely) nxnoa horny [MY only again in Neo-Hebrew = ‘chant’, ‘music Ἵ q-a 39 WAIT: (ἃ εν ναῳ 
TF So ® (+) defore nbsn: cp. Gk): (ἃ στολῃ aya, χρυσῳ και νακινθῳ και moppupa 5:8. So 19 TIN) TIAN: Ge δηλοῖς 
αληθειας = DYN) DIN (so Peters reads, but ® to be preferred ; see exeget. noles) tt % nydin wh = & 
κεκλωσμενῃ κοκκῳ (72 Bible always in reverse order, ")} nydin) u-u = # oni ᾿ΓῚΠΞ = & γλυμματος σφραγιδος : 
this is given in next line in 18 which adds here the incorrect gloss jwnn by VME ἢ [or na = (ἃ ev δεσει χρυσιου 
(cp. Exod. xxxix. 13 7 LXX) W-W Gk ἐργῳ (so read for epywv) λιθουργου = jAX WIN nwy (Exod. xxviii. 11): 
so read with Smend Χ 1 ἘΠῚΡ" jax bs (a gloss: &>) y-y Reading (NDI) Dy = G&: ® nan dyn 
zz Hwa... ων νιν PIS). Zhe missing words in & = oni nina: but this does not suit the traces that 


And girded him with beauteous magnificence. For text see critical note. text has ‘and girded him about 
(as) with the towering horns of a wild-ox’, under the influence of Num. xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8. The word rendered 
‘towering horns’ in the Numbers passages (N)DYIN) means here apparently ‘magnificence’—a meaning for which there 
is some support in the LXX rendering of the word in Numbers (viz. δόξα). 

The breeches. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 31. 

the tunic. i.e. the ordinary outer garment: cp. Exod. xxviii. 39. 

robe. i.e. the violet robe (ndan Ssyn9) which was always worn with the ephod ; cp. Exod. xxviii. 31. 

9. with pomegranates, And with resounding bells. For text see critical note. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 33 f. 

to cause the sound of him... audible... i.e. ‘they were to call God’s attention to Aaron as the representative 
of his people’ (McNeile on Exod. xxviii. 33); cp. Exod. xxviii. 35 (‘And the sound thereof shall be heard when he 
goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not’). It has also been thought 
that their purpose was to apprise the people when Aaron had reached the Holy Place. They were probably a survival 
(some form of charm), the original meaning of which was forgotten. According to Josephus, δ. Z, v. 5.7, ‘the bells 
signified thunder and the pomegranates lightning.’ 

το. (With) the holy garments. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 2-6. Here the ephod, girdle, and ‘ breastplate’ are specially 
meant (see following verses). 

the breastplate of judgement. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 4,15. ‘Breastplate’ is a somewhat misleading translation 
of the Hebrew word (jn), though it has become consecrated by usage. It probably denoted a bag or pouch of some 
kind, in which were contained the Urim and Thummim (= ‘of judgement’). 

the ephod. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 6-12. 

waistcloth. Otherwise spoken of as the ‘girdle’ (338) ; cp. Exod. xxviii. 4, 39, 40. 

10-11. the designer...the weaver. The division is only rhythmical—the same craftsmen are meant in each case. 
scarlet ... precious stones. Here. again, the division is rhythmical: ‘scarlet’ entered into the making of the 
‘breastplate of judgement’, as well as of the ephod; and similarly precious stones (of both). 

seal-engraven. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 21. The engraven stones (twelve) of the breastplate of judgement, inscribed 
with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, are meant. 

In settings. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 17. 

486 


SPNAGEH. 45)" 11—16 


For a memorial in graven writing, 
According to the number of the tribes of Israel. 

12 (With) the crown of pure gold *<(resting) upon? the mitre’, 
The diadem engraven, ‘ Holy to Jahveh ’?— 

“Majesty most glorious, praise most puissant®, 
>The desire of the eyes, and the perfection of beauty” ! 


13 °Before him there was nothing like them‘, 


dAnd no stranger shall He clothe therewith for ever @: 
©So <He trusted him and? his sons®, 
And ‘his sons’ sons?! throughout their generations®. 


14 His (Aaron’s) meal-offering is wholly consumed 


» Twice every day as a continual sacrifice». 


15! Moses consecrated him’, 


And anointed him with the holy oil ; 

And it became for him jan eternal covenant), 
kAnd for his seed*, !as Jong as the heavens endure! 

™To minister (to God) and for Him to execute the priest’s office™, 
And to bless His people in His name®. 

16 He chose him out of all living, 

To bring near °the burnt-offering and fat pieces®, 


remain in MS.: read with Lévi wap »> myn [ys] a-a | ry ndamy Na. ἼΠ b-b Reading with & 
(επιθυμηματα οφθαλμων κοσμουμενα wpaa: last word belongs fo τ. 12 not to 13. a—so Syro-Hex.) bb>99) py sone 
ἘΠΕ ὁ Reading (1p An ΝῸ (MBO = GE 4A Reading my drab: xb ody ayn (cp. Ge) ἀὅὁ ὁ 39 defective 
ma yd... . «NT: Cowley-Neubauer suggest MD pad) 95 penn (so read): (ἃ πλὴν των wey αὐτου povoy (50 
Peters, reading oS yI2 ἽΝ) ff Reading "32 ya) (cp. Gk και τα exyova avtou) : 38 92 13] 8-Ξ 38 (restored) 


m5}: Ge δια παντὸς h-h ® pyoys aan ov day (>1 defore 52 with &) i 10 ὙΠῚΝ nD NPD = 
% (‘And Moses placed upon him his hand’): G& emAnpooev..... tas xetpas (+avrov 70 248 30) 11] 
phy ma: & εἰς διαθηκὴν αἰωνιον = "mead: so 88 Καὶ 3 ὙΠΟ) = 3: (ἃ και ev τῷ σπέρματι αὐτου ll 15 


Ὁ oD τ-ὄ S: (ἃ εν ἡμεραις ουρανου m-m 15 ἢ ἡπ5) nov: (ἃ λειτουργεῖν αὐτῳ aya και teparevety : 5»Ὁ minds, 
“omitting the eternal priesthood here ascribed to Aaron and his seed’ (Hart) n-n So HS: (τ ev τῳ ονοματι 
(+avrov Ne? &c. Syro-Hex. 3. : ΒΝ ΤΑΝ 155 >avrov) o-o So 38: S ‘burnt-offerings’: (ἃ καρπωσιν Κυριῳ 
(=?onbyd aby) 


For a memorial . .. According to the number of the tribes of Israel. Cp. Exod. xxviii. 21, 29 (‘And Aaron 
shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgement upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the 
Holy Place, for a memorial before the Lord continually’). 

12. the crown of pure gold... Thediadem. The terms are in apposition and synonymous ; the ‘ plate’ or ‘diadem’ 
which was fastened on to the ‘mitre’ or turban is meant: cp. Exod. xxviii. 36f. For text of second clause see critical 
note. Cp. also Josephus, &. /., v. 5.7, and Avz., iii. 7. 6. 

Majesty most glorious ... This emotional touch reveals the feeling of the writer that all the majesty and glory 
of Israel were embodied in the High Priest. 

13. Before him. i.e. before Aaron was thus invested. 

there was nothing like them. i.e. like the holy vestments. ee 

no stranger. i.e. no unconsecrated person of another tribe in Israel. The emphasis laid on this point is 
noticeable. Evidently Ben-Sira would not have tolerated any breach in the legitimate succession to the High- 
priesthood, such as, as a matter of fact, occurred shortly after the period when he wrote. 

shall He clothe therewith. ‘He,’ i.e. God. ; 

So He trusted him and his sons. The text is uncertain (see critical note). That adopted might, perhaps, be 
rendered (following a Neo-Hebrew usage): ‘Such He entrusted to him and his sons,’ i.e. such a position of honour 
and responsibility. La ἢ 

And his sons’sons... The High-priesthood was to be maintained perpetually by legitimate succession. 

14. His (Aaron’s) meal-offering ...as a continual sacrifice. The daily meal-offering of the High Priest was 
offered half in the morning and half in the evening; and it was specially distinguished by being wholly burnt upon the 
altar; cp. Lev. vi. 19-23 (= vi. 12-16 in Hebrew). 

15. Moses consecrated him, And anointed him... Cp. Lev. vili. ν 

And it became for him an eternal covenant... The anointing with the holy oil of Aaron was a solemn 
guarantee that the priesthood should remain perpetually in Aaron’s line. 

as long as the heavens endure. The same phrase recurs in 1. 24 (‘as the days of heaven’); cp. also 
Ps. Ixxxix. 30; Deut. xi. 21. τος 

To minister . . . execute the priest’s office... bless... Cp. Deut. x. 8; Exod. xxviii. 41, 43, &c.; 
Num. vi. 23, 27. Ἔ 

16. He chose him out of all living. Cp. v. 4 above; also Num. xvi. 5, 7, xvii. 20. ; 

the burnt-offering and fat pieces. The burnt-offering was, of course, wholly consumed upon the altar; in the 
case of animal-sacrifices which were not wholly burnt the fat pieces were reserved for burning on the altar. 


487 


SIRACH 45. 16-21 


HP P And to burn a sweet savour and a memorial”, 
And make atonement “for the children of Israel". 
17*And He gave him His commandments’, 
sAnd invested him with authority over statute and judgement’, 
‘That he might teach His people statutes, 
And judgements unto the children of Israel*. 
18 “But strangers were incensed against him", 
And became jealous of him in the wilderness ; < 
The men of Dathan and Abiram, ᾿ 
And the congregation of Korah Yin their violent anger’. 
1g And Jahveh saw it “and was angered “, 
xy And consumed them’ in His fierce wrath ἢ: 
And He brought a sign to pass* upon them 
xa And devoured them® ?with His fiery flame?*. 
20 °And <He increased?® Aaron’s glory, 
And gave him ¢his inheritance*: 
(20c) °<The holy contributions?® ‘He gave him! for sustenance, 
εἴτα) »And!* the fire-offerings of Jahveh they might eat : 
(21d) <The presence-bread?! is his portion, 
(214) jAnd the gift-sacrifice) for him and for his seed. 


pp So WH: CG θυμίαμα και evwdiay εἰς μνημοσυνον : S ‘and sacrifices and incense’ τα So 38: G& περι tov 
λαου σου (N* 248 >c0v: 70 V & have avrov): 85 ‘for all Israel’ rr So ® S: (ἃ eSoxev αὐτὸν (so B Syro- 
Hex V 253: she other MSS., also &, read avr@) ev evrodats αὐτου ss So 38: G εξουσιαν ev διαθηκαις κριμάτων 
(reading DEVI ῬΠ3): S = ® (though pointed as plural nouns) ὑπὸ Verses τῇ σα > in S: & has διδαξαι τον 
Ἰακωβ τὰ μαρτυρια (NC%-+avrov) καὶ ev νομῳ αὐτου φωτισαι (enferior reading φωνησαι) Ἰσραηλ: this may be more 
ortginal than ®, and suggests : :Syabesne ΠΥ ΠΟ ynsiny yyy apy bd (so Smend) u-u So 35 13 ΠῚ) 
ΣΙ 2 ΞξΞ S$: (ἃ επισυνεστησαν αὐτῳ αλλοτριοι (using the LXX word from Num, xvi. 19, XXvi. 9, ΧΧΥΙΪ. 3) 
ντν ® DDN Mya: (ἃ ev θυμῳ καὶ opyn: S ‘in strength’ w-W So 30 S: G καὶ οὐκ evdoxnoev s-x (x-x) These 
clauses are transposed in 3 yy So ® S: G& καὶ συνετελεσθησαν (= soa) Sor 05.) Zé Reading ΝΖ ( for 
NIN) = & S (cp. Num. xvi. 30) [G& has τερατα: S$ ‘a blow’ for nin ‘sign’| a-a So ® (DdaN) = ῷ and 
2% (consumsit eos): Gr καταναλωσαι αὐτοὺς b-b 39 ἸΒΝ Wawa = ev Proye πυρὸς αὐτου (so 55 254 i): others 
ev mupt proyos αὐτου: & ‘with flame’ ce Reading ΘΝ (Levi, Peters) = Cx και προσεθηκεν : 95 ‘and He put 
(upon Aaron)’ [Send n3v ‘and He doubled’ | dd So ® S: G& κληρονομιαν e-e Reading nynn]} 
w[ 4p: Gk ἀπαρχας πρωτογενημάτων = ὃ MWA ΠῚ ΤΙ (a conflation) : S=wap mvs 1; apparently there were two 
readings, viz. WIP MYDNAN and WIP NWN: the former τς supported by Num. xix. 18 Hf So: (ἃ ἐμερισεν 
auto (B against all other MSS. and %& avros) 8. 10 has the clauses rightly in this order: & (wrongly) 20¢d 
21ab: S compresses the four clauses tnto two, rendering : ; 


* The holy first-fruits and the presence-bread 
To him and to his seed.’ 


hh So ὅτ: H> Hi Reading pa ond with Peters (Noldeke naryo ond): cp. S (the translator of $ 
apparently passed accidentally from ond af end of 2ος 10 the ond af beginning of 20d: & ev πρώτοις ητοιμασεν 
πλησμονὴν (pr. εἰς 70 τοῦ &c. 248 &c. Sah ev πλησμονῃ) =? paw Jy ord (e the first two words a corruption 
of nay ond): for ev πρωτοις = od: cp. iv. 17 1) ἸῺ monn: Ee as cdoxev [arte | kk Reading 


to burn a sweet savour and a memorial. The former (‘to burn a sweet savour’) is the technical term applied 
specially (but also in other connexions) to the burning of the sacrificial pieces and the fat upon the altar (cp. Lev. i. 8, 9); 
the latter (‘a memorial’) is applied specially to that portion of the meal-offering which was burnt upon the altar (cp. 
{παν 1 2540) 

17. And He gave him His commandments... Cp. Deut. xxxiii. 10, xvii. 10 f., xxi. 5. Ben-Sira evidently applied 
Deut. eat 8f.to Aaron. The divine authority of the priesthood in religious (ceremonial) enactments is emphatically 
asserted. ‘ 

18. But strangers were incensed against him. In Num. xvi. 40 (Hebr. xvii: 5) ‘stranger’ is explained as = one 
‘who is not of the seed of Aaron’. Men not of the priestly tribe are here meant. 

became jealous of him. Cp. Ps. cvi. 16. 
The men of Dathan and Abiram. Cp. Num. xvi. 

19. with His fiery flame. Cp. Job xviii. 5. ΐ 

20. And (He increased) Aaron’s glory. Not only did the abortive rebellion of Dathan and Abiram result in 
the Aaronite priesthood maintaining its position triumphantly (cp. Num. xvii), but the privileges of the position were 
strengthened (cp. Num. xvili. 1-7). 


The holy contributions. Or ‘offerings’. 1. 6. those parts of the sacrifice which were contributed to the priest 
(the ‘ heave-offerings’ so called); cp. Num. xviii. 8 ἔν, 
488 


SIRACH 456. 22-25 


22 Only *<in the land of the people?* might he have no heritage, 


1And in their midst divide no inheritance!; 
™Whose portion and inheritance is Jahveh™ 
»In the midst of the children of Israel ?. 


(f) XLV. 23-26. Phinehas (3+4+3 distichs). 


23 Moreover PHINEHAS the son of Eleazar 


°<Was glorious? in might “as a third??, 
In that he was jealous ?for the God of all”, 
And stood “in the breach for his people‘; 
tWhile his heart prompted him’, 
sAnd he made atonement® tfor the children of Israel*. 
24 Therefore for him, too, "He established an ordinance’, 
YA covenant of peace to maintain the sanctuary”: 
That to him and to his seed should appertain 
The High-Priesthood for ever. 
25 “Also His covenant was” with David, 
*The son of Jesse*, of the tribe of Judah ; 
y<The inheritance of the king is his son’s alone?’, 
While the inheritance of Aaron (belongs) 2to him? and to his seed. 


oyna ΚΝ = (ἃ : S$ ‘in their land’ I] So: Gk και μερις οὐκ ἐστιν avT@ ev haw (cp. Num. xviii. 20): S$ ‘And 
they did not divide a portion with them’ m-m Reading yndan ypbn om awe: cp. {ὰ αὐτὸς yap pepis σου 
(248 70 Syro-Hex. & avrov) και (B N* 248)» και) κληρονομια : Y= 3 u-n So 30 (cp. 8): &> 0-0 3) 
(defective) =. ...+4. NII: G& τριτοὸς as Sofay: S$ ‘in his power received three honours’ (= ὃ wrby Sms 9233) : 
read (with Smend) :*>w 37) AI v-p So 39 53 mdxb: (Οἵ ev φοβῳ κυριου: 5. ‘in the matter of the 
Midianitish woman and the son of Israel’ (from Num. xxv. 6 ff.) 4 39 wy ἼΞ3 : (ἃ ev τροπῃ daov (155 
ἐντροπῃ : 3» reverentia): $= oyn y D3 tr So 38: G& ev ἀγαθοτητι προθυμίας Ψυχῆς αὐτου: S > s-s So 
%# = G: S$ ‘and he prayed’ {τὸ So: G περι tov Ισραηλ = (ὦ u-v 39. Pn oA: (ἃ ἐσταθὴ (egnoring pn 
which vs regularly rendered διαθηκη, in order 10 avoid repetition of the word [ διαθηκη] ; see following clause): $ ‘with 
oaths God sware to him’ VV So 39: Gk διαθηκη εἰρηνης (22 previous stichus). mpoorarew (50 106 157 254 Sah: 
other MS. mpoaTatny) aywwv καὶ aov (so 70 253 V N&® &c. Sah LH: ofhers Aa@) avrov—the last clause vs an 
addition of (τ: & ‘that he should build for Him an altar’ (9 explanatory paraphrase) W-W So: Ge καὶ διαθηκην 
(read και διαθηκη nv—7O 106 Sah καὶ διαθηκη) xx SoD: (τ υιῳ (70 Nea 30. -ΕἼεσσαι) s-y Reading 
vad yaad bn nina: ἢ) MS. has Ὑ325 105 we nbmr—which is obviously corrupt: WS ts regarded as a mis- 
written WX by some scholars: then (reading wad Sor 250) the sentence means: ‘The heritage of a man (passes) to 
his son alone’: S$ fas: ‘The heritage of kings he alone inherited ’ rt So S$: 3) and &> 


21. the fire-offerings of Jahveh they might eat. Cp. Num. xviii. 9, 18, &c. 
{The presence-bread) is his portion. For the text see critical note. According to the Mishnah (Sw. v.7 f.), 
"" the loaves were eaten by the priests, one half by the outgoing division for the week, the other half by the incoming 
ivision. 
the gift-sacrifice. The word rendered ‘gift’ (73M) is twice applied (in the form [1}2) to sacrifices in the 
Pentateuch; cp. Num. xviii. 11 (Gen. xxxiv. 12). The usual word is govbanx (13). It is a comprehensive term. 
22. (in the land of the people) might he have no heritage... Cp. Num. xvili.20; Deut. xviii. 1; Joshua xiii. 14. 


(f) XLV. 23-26 (PHINEHAS). 

23. Phinehas the son of Eleazar. Cp. Num. xxv. 7 ff. 

{asathird). It is significant that Phinehas is set beside Moses and Aaron as ‘third’; this may possibly point to 
disputed succession to the High-Priesthood (cp. 1 Macc. ii. 54: ‘ Phinehas our father . . . obtained the covenant of an 
everlasting priesthood’; cp. also 4 Macc. xviii. 12). 

In that he was jealous... Cp. Num. xxv. 11, 13. 

24. A covenant of peace... High-Priesthood for ever. Cp. Num. xxv. 12f. 

to maintain the sanctuary. (see critical note) has a significant addition here ; it renders [‘to be leader of 
the sanctuary] and of his people’; i.e. not only leader in ecclesiastical but also in political affairs. When the grandson 
of Ben-Sira wrote, the political power of the High Priest had been strongly asserted. The High Priest had become 
ethnarch. One consequence was that the office became the sport of constant political intrigues. 

25. (The inheritance of the king is his son’s alone), While... For the text see critical note. It is difficult to be sure 
what the exact point of the couplet is. Apparently the second line forms the antithesis to line one. If so, the meaning 
may have been: the power and privileges of the king, as sovereign, are transmissible only to his son, viz. by direct 
succession ; whereas the power of the priesthood belongs to, in a sense, and is inherent in every member of the 
priestly tribe, all Aaron’s descendants, in fact, together with Aaron himself. Others (cp. & and S) see no antithesis, 
but, on the contrary, a parallel statement to the effect that in each case the dignity is only transmissible in direct and 

1105 489 Kk 


SIRACH 45, 25—46. 3 


® =» And now bless ye Jahveh”, 
Who has crowned you with honour? ; 
26 °May He grant® you wisdom of heart, 
4<To judge His people in righteousness? ; 
That your prosperity® ‘may never cease’, 
£Nor your power "for perpetual generations. 


(g) XLVI. 1-10. Foshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Fephunneh 
(=3+3+4+3+2+3 distichs). 


46 1A mighty man of valour* was Joshua ?the son of Nun”, 
ed A minister of Moses in the prophetical office®, 
®Who was formed to be® according to’ his name® 
» A great salvation for his chosen®®, 
iTo take vengeance upon /the enemy!? 
k And to give an inheritance * to Israel’. 
2 ™How glorious was he when he stretched forth "his hand™”, 
°And brandished the javelin against the city®! 
3 ? Who was he that could stand before him ?? 
4For he fought the wars of Jahveh*. 


a-a So ®: τ» last line] b®H+ aun: S> ce 35 jn: Ce bon = jn» (so W, ch. 1. 23.2): S ‘that giveth’ 
d-d So G& = & (with ‘in His name’ for last words): ἴῃ» : supply text: Pasa wy paw ee ® asap =—=4: & 
τα ayaéa αὐτων f-f I ποῦν sb an error for NW nb: cp. & wa pn αφανισθῃ : $= 18 8-8 Gr καὶ την δοξαν 
avrov: 85. ‘their power’: ® defective: read ?oan Wan: Pefers DNANAN: Smend DINAN bh So ®: cp. 
& ‘for all generations for ever’: G& εἰς yeveas αὑτῶν 

aa (τ κραταιος ev πολεμοις (πολεμῳ NA C 155 248 = iL) b-b G& Ναυη, 8* o Ναυὴ (N&* 248 ο Tov Navn), 
AV γο 155 Syro-Hex Sah Eth wos Ναυη (= S% 35) c-e S ‘By prophecy he was reserved to become 
like Moses the great one, to bring salvation by his hand to them that love him’ d-d && και διαδοχος Μωσῃ 
ev προφητειαις : % successor Moysi in prophetis ee (ἃ os ἐγένετο: & qui fuit magnus ἔ G& κατα (= L) 
& Reading, with Smend, yw. (= (ἃ L) for WI hob (πὶ peyas exe σωτήριᾳ εκλεκτων αὐτου: % Maximus in 
salutem electorum Dei i ἐκδικῆσαι ἐπεγειρομένους (reading “OPI for 2p) «xOpovs (= 3) 2: 3 ‘the 
hateful men’ kk G om@s KAnpovopnoy (karakA. δὲ Α 55 157 248 254 Syro-Hex): &% ut consequeretur 
haereditatem 1 $ ‘the children of Israel’, and adds ‘the land of promise’ m-m Qf ὡς εδοξασθη 
εν τῷ ETFapat χειρας αὐτου nn § ‘the spear that was in his hand’ 0-0 OF καὶ τῳ εκκλιναι ρομῴφαιαν emt πολεις 
Pb (τ τις mporepov αὐτου οὑτως etn (S = 3η) 4-4 (τ τοὺς yap πολεμίους Κυριος (V N&® 7o 248 253 


legitimate succession, from father to son. In this case the external position and power of the High Priest is primarily 
thought of, not his spiritual authority. There is probably some allusion intended to contemporary events—the intrigues 
against the legitimate holder of the position of High Priest (Simeon, who would be regarded as a descendant of Phinehas) 
by the Tobiadae. For the covenant with David cp. 2 Sam. xxiii. 5; Jer. xxxiii. 21; Ps. lxxxix. 4; 2 Chron. xiii. 5, 
xxi. 7; Isa. lv. 3. See further in ch. xlvii of our book, especially vv. 11 and 22. f 
And now bless ye Jahveh. Cp. 1. 22a. 
Who has crowned you with honour. Cp. Ps. viii. 6. 


26. May He grant you wisdom of heart. Cp.1.23. The reference is to the legitimate representative of Phinehas 
the High Priest. 


(g) XLVI. 1-10 (JOSHUA AND CALEB). 
1. A mighty man of valour. Cp. Judges vi. 22, and 2 Chron. xxvi. 12 (Sept. and Hebr.). 

A minister of Moses. ΠΟ NW); cp. Exod. xxxiii. 11 ; with @& cp. 2 Chron. xxvili. 7 (den mw ,..). Gis 
explanatory; the prophetic minister becomes in due course his successor, as in the case of Elisha, see 1 Kings xix. 21. 
For the prophetic succession see further the note on xlvii. 1. 

the prophetical office. N12) may rightly be rendered here ‘ prophetical office’, though in the O.T. it is not used 
in this sense; it means ‘prophecy’ in 2 Chron. xv. 8 (genuine prophecy), Neh. vi. 12 (false prophecy), and 
‘prophetical writing’ in 2 Chron. ix. 29. With & cp. xliv. 3 ¢. ἡ 

Who was formed to be according to his name. The emended reading is preferable, especially as it 15 
supported by & ; Joshua (= ‘ Jahveh is salvation’), as the leader of the Israelites into the Promised Land, would be 
appropriately called the saviour of his nation. For a somewhat similar word-play in the Hebrew see xlvii. 18. 

for his chosen. Cp. xlvii. 22; Num. xi. 28 (Sept.). 

To take vengeance upon the enemy. The reference is to Joshua x. 13. 

to give an inheritance... Cp. Deut. i. 38, iii. 28. 
. How glorious. 177372; cp. 1. 5. 

when he stretched forth his hand. See Joshua viii. 18, 26. 

against the city, i.e. Ai. 
3. Who was he... Cp. Joshuai.5. The rendering of & seems to have been based on Joshua x. 14. 


the wars of Jahveh. Cp. Joshua x. 146; 1 Sam. xviii. 17, xxv. 28; and ‘the book of the wars of Jahveh’, 
Num. xxi. 14. 


[Ὁ] 


490 


SIRACH 46. 4-8 


Ἡ 4 Was it not through him that the sun stood still’, 
(And) one day *became as two 5 
5 *For he called upon the Most High God", 
vYWhen he was in sore straits (and) his enemies around him’; 
And “the Most High God answered him* 
yWith hailstones and bolts?’ ; 
2°] 6*He cast them down upon the hostile people’, 
And in the going down? he destroyed ‘them that rose up°, 
Β΄ In order that all? the nations °(devoted to) destruction® might know 
f That Jahveh was watching their fighting’: 
s And also because? he fully followed after God?, 
, And ‘did an act of piety‘ in the days of Moses, 
He and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, 
kIn that they stoo firm when the congregation broke loose*. 
1To turn away wrath from the assembly, 
™ And to cause the evil report to cease™— 
8 "Wherefore also they two” were set apart° 
From among the six hundred thousand footmen?, 
To bring them into their® inheritance, 
(Into) a land flowing with milk and honey". 


Syro-Hex πολεμοὺς Kuptov, A πολεμίους Ku) emnyayev  & ἀνεποδισεν (A ενεποδισθη = LL) s-s Reading 
mr ows (= ἃ D, cp. xxv. 19) following Smend; Peters reads paws mn: % ‘And one day became 
two days’ tt S$ ‘For he prayed unto (//. before) the Lord’ ἃ Gk δυναστην v-v Reading 
pap ΔΝ 1S ASDND (Smend): S$ ‘And He heard him and put strength into his hand’, cf. xlvii. 5 Ww OF 
μέγας Κυριος: 3> x G® αὐτων ΣῪ S ‘And He cast down sulphur from heaven’ % (ἃ duvapews κραταιας 
a-a Reading INN DY by pwn (cp. (ἃ xateppagev ἐπ εθνος πολεμον [read πολεμιον = S UL Eth| and see Joshua 
x.11). Jn ® the text of this and the following clause ts almost wholly obliterated b-b 3> c-e Reading 
DP (= (ἃ ἀνθεστηκοτας) ; Smend reads 19}5 (‘Canaan’), which (κα, he thinks, intentionally paraphrased: 85. ‘them all’ 
d &> e-e pan, which Smend thinks that G& misread as \29N (‘his sword’) and paraphrases by rendering 
πανοπλιαν, or that perhaps πανοπλίαν 7s an error for απωλειας ΤῸ (ἃ ort evaytiov Κυριου o πόλεμος αὐτου : 85. ‘ that 
God Himself was fighting against them’ ὅτ Ge καὶ yap: S$ ‘and he also’: %> h (τ δυναστου ii & 
εποιησεν εἐλεὸς KK Gk ἀντιστῆναι ἐναντι εχθρου ( 248 253 Syro-Hex εκκλησιας) 1-1 G@& κωλυσαι λαὸν απὸ 
ἀμαρτιας : S “ΤῸ turn back the assembly’ ( a compromise between Ux and ἸΏ ᾿ [ Smend |) mm Qf καὶ κοπάσαι yoy- 
γυσμον πονηριας : S+ ‘from the land of promise’ nn (ἃ καὶ autor δυο ovres: S ‘and they alone’ op yyw, 
which G& (Secwnoar) read as oy = 9 P S>(cp. Num.i. 46) ας» τ In ἸΏ 8cd form a single clause 


4, that the sun stood still. follows Joshua x. 13 (Hebr. and Sept.) ; with & cp. xlviii. 23; Isa. xxxvili. 8. 
5. For he called upon... Cp. xlvi. 16, xivii. 5, xlviii. 20. 
the Most High God. The expression ’£/‘E/yon occurs here, as far as we know from the Hebrew text now 
extant, for the first time in the book; it is used again in this verse and in xlvii. 5, 8, xlviii. 20; ἴῃ 1. 15 d, where ® is 
wanting, & has ...tWior@ πανβασιλεῖ, which probably represents ’£/‘Elyox. The name ‘£/yox alone occurs nine 
times. Both these names for God are, as far as can be seen, used only in chapters xli to the end ; elsewhere in the book 


3 
either Elohim or Jahveh is used; the latter is abbreviated as a rule in the MSS. thus: δὴ or”. 
When he was in sore straits. Cp. Prov. xvi. 20; Smend says that the noun M238 in the Talmud means 
‘oppression’ or the like. 
his enemies around him. Cp. v. 16. 
With hailstones... Cp. Joshua x. 11. 
bolts. vraids, cp. xliii. 15 ; Ezek. xiii. 11, 13, ‘lumps of ice.’ 
6. He cast them down... ‘ The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them,’ Joshua x. 11. 
in the going down. Or ‘descent’, i.e. the pass of Beth-horon (the ‘ hollow way’). 
(devoted to) destruction. Cp. xvi. 9; Joshua vi. 17. 
That Jahveh was watching their fighting. Cp. Joshua x. 14. 
he fully followed after. ‘TN xdn, cp. for the expression Num. xiv. 24; Joshua xiv. 8, 9, 14. 
7. did an act of piety. DN Ny, cp. xlix. 3; the reference is to Num. xiv. 6-Io. 
In that they stood firm... Cp. Num. xiv. 1 ff. 
broke loose. Or ‘cast off restraint’; for Y15 cp. Exod. xxxii. 25 ; Prov. viii. 23, xxix. 18. 
to cause the evil report to cease. Cp. Num. xlv. 3. 
8. were set apart. For the root Oy see Ezek. xlii. 6, and cp. Gen. xxvii. 36; Num. xi. 17, 25. 
the six hundred thousand. Cp. xvi. 10; Num. xi. 21, xiv. 38, xxvi. 65; Deut. i, 36, 38. 
To bring them into... The subject, i.e. God, is understood. 
their inheritance. Cp. Joshua xi. 23, where Joshua, as God’s instrument, is spoken of as giving the whole land 
for an inheritance unto Israel. 
a land flowing with milk and honey. The stereotyped description of the promised land: see Exod. iii. 8, 17, 
and often in the Pentateuch: cp. Jer. xi. 5, xxxii. 22; Ezek. xx. 6-15. 
401 Kka2 


38" 


35" 


SIRAGH 46°, 9-13 


9 And He! gave strength unto Caleb, 
And unto old age it remained with him, 
ΤῸ cause him to tread* "upon the high places" of the land ; 
And also his seed obtained” a heritage, 
το In order that Wall *the seed of Jacob” might know 
yThat it is good “to follow fully” after Jahveh.¥ 


(A) XLVI. 11,12. The Fudges (=3 distichs). 


11 Also the Judges, each with his name, 
2 All whose hearts were not beguiled®*, 
Nor turned back from (following) after God?. 
May their memory be “for a blessing®. 
12 4May their bones flourish again out of their place?, 
¢And may their name sprout afresh for their children”. 


(ἢ XLVI. 13-20. Samuel (= 2 Ἑ3- 4.4 distichs , +1 later add.]). 


13 ‘Honoured by his people and loved by his Maker’ 
8 Was *‘he that was asked for’ from his mother’s womb ; 
Sanctified ‘of Jahveh? in the prophetical office,— 
Samuel, who acted as judge and priest. 
By the word of God ‘he established the kingdom‘, 
And anointed princes! over™ the people®. 


8 (ἃ o κυριος t-t Reading yd Sor pan (cp. (ἃ επιβηναι avrov) u-u (ἃ em ro (B* art.) υψος 
Υ Hwy: G& κατεσχεν : S has the future W-W G& πάντες οἱ vioe Ἰσραηλ xS> y-y $ ‘Who had fulfilled 
the law of Jahveh and His judgements ἡ 2% (ἃ τὸ πορευεσθαι (cp. v. 6 ὁ where the same Hebr. word ἐς differently 
rendered) a-a (ἃ οσων οὐκ εξεπορνευσεν ἡ καρδια b-b G& ἀπὸ Κυριου: & ‘from the law of God’ τὸ (ἃ ev evdoytats 
(cp. Sept. of Zech. viii. 13) d-d Wanting in ® (see, however, xlix. τὸ 6): & ‘ May their bones shine like lilies’ 
(cp. XXXIX. 14) e-e (τ καὶ τὸ ονομα αὐτῶν αντικαταλλασσομενον ef τῇιοις δεδοξασμενων αὐτων : S * And may they 
leave their good name behind for their children, and their glory for the whole nation’: % et nomen eorum 
permaneat in aeternum permanens ad filios illorum sanctorum virorum gloria. In 32 11 cd and 126 form one 
clause tf Reading, with Smend, WAY WAX wy IAD (the text has WeAy NY WY ITN): Ce ηγαπημενος ὑπὸ 
κυριου αὐτου αὶ A C+3apound: 6 “and loved by his Creator’ 8: (τ mpodntns Κυριου κατεστησεν βασιλειαν (Β 
βασιλεα) και ἐχρισεν ἀρχοντας emt τὸν λαὸν αὐτου h-h 35 Seow, Jor which Smend reads Seer & he that was 
lent’) after 1 Sam. i. 28 I SS Καὶ $ ‘the kingdom was established’ 1S ‘governors and kings’ 


9. And He gave strength... Cp. Joshua xiv. 6, 11. 


the high places of the land. i.e. the fortified places, cp. Deut. xxxiii. 29; and for the rendering of @& cp. 
Joshua xiv. 12. 


And also his seed... Cp. Num. xiv. 24; Joshua xv. 16 ff.; Judges i. 11 ff. 
10. to follow fully. See note on v. 6. 
(1) XLVI. 11, 12 (THE JUDGES). 
11. each with his name. Ben-Sira desires to make some reference to the names of the Judges collectively without 
mentioning each by name. 

All whose hearts were not beguiled. Cp. Is. xix. 13; the reference is to such passages as Judges xvi. 16-18 
(Samson), viii. 27 (Gideon), &c. 

May their memory be fora blessing. Cp. xlv. 1 note. 

12. May their bones... See xlix. 10. 

And may theirname... Cp. Tob. iv. 12, ‘we are the sons of the prophets’; a spiritual relationship is, of course, 
meant, and in that the good example of Israel’s saints and heroes is emulated by succeeding generations it can be 
said that their names sprout afresh. See further xliv. 9, 13, 15, xlv. 1, xlix. 1, 9, 13. 

sprout afresh. For the Hebr. ἢ ΠΗ cp. xliv. 17. 

(2) XLVI. 13-20 (SAMUEL). 


13. ‘he that was asked for’. Note the word-play in 38 Sewn (‘he that was asked for’) and Syynw in 13a 
(‘Samuel’). Smend’s emendation (see critical note) is most probably right. 
Sanctified of Jahveh. % 11), cp. ponds 713 in Judges xiii. 5, xvi.17; Ben-Sira interprets 1 Sam. i. 11 as though 
it referred to the Nazirite vow. 
the prophetical office. See note on v. 1. 
By the word of God. Cp. 1 Sam. ix. 27. 
princes. 0°73; cp. 1 Sam. ix. 16, x. I, xiii. 14, &c. 


492 


ἢ 


SIRACH 46. 14-20 


14 "By means of the commandment” °he commanded the congregation®, 
P And he mustered the tents of Jacob?. 
15 °* Because of his truthfulness they sought the prophet’, 
’And the seer* was also found reliable in his words*4. 
τό "ἡ And, moreover, he called upon God” 
“When his enemies surrounded him on every side", 
In that he offered up a sucking lamb, 
x[And cried unto the Lord]*. 
τῇ *And Jahveh thundered from heaven’, 
zWith a mighty crash His voice was heard’, 
18 *And He subdued the garrisons of the enemy’®, 
>And destroyed? all the princes® of the Philistines. 
το “And at the time when he rested upon his bed, 
He called *Jahveh and His anointed to witness°®: 
**From whom have I taken a bribe, Seven a pair of shoes?’s* 
And no man accused him. 
{And also to the time of his end he was found upright 
In the eyes of Jahveh and in the eyes of all living .] 
᾿ 201?Moreover after he died he was enquired of’, 
He declared unto the king his way* ; 


m ὁ ‘for’ mun Reading Mor (the word is quite mutilated in 10}: G& ev νομῳ Κυριου 0-0 Of expwev συναγωγὴν : 
S ‘he commanded the congregation’ P-P Ok καὶ ἐπεσκεψατοὸ Κυριος τὸν Ιακωβ (cp. 1 Sam. vii. τό, 17, 
2 Chron. xvii. 7 ff.): S ‘And the Lord commanded Jacob’: ® reads apy mds span (‘and he visited the gods 
of Jacob’); ¢hzs 7s an obvious error which Peters emends by reading py ond: pp" (‘and God visited Jacob’), 
but this sudden change in the subject of the sentence makes such an emendation improbable ; it ἐς better to read 
apy day IPE (δέν, Smend),; see further exegetical note. The corruption must have found its way into the 
Hebr. text very early, since it was read by & qa S> tr The text of ® τς considerably mutilated ; Smend 
reconstructs wt thus: MIN ΦΥΥῚ YD nrwNIa; Peters would read: AN w II wn3VNA (‘ Because of his reliability 
the seer was enquired of’); df, according to Smend, there ts not room for \NIVONI, while the upper halves 
of the letters of YD are quite visible; wir7 ts to be seen on the MS.; the form wr), which occurs in Ὁ. 20, 
has a different meaning : (τ ev moter αὐτου ἠκριβασθη προφητης S38 (ἃ καὶ εγνωσθὴ ev πιστει (NAC τοῦ ρημασιν = 
HH: ρηματι V 55 248 253 254 Syro-Hex) avrov πιστὸς ορασεως t Reading ΠΝ (for ΝΥ) u-u % ‘And 
moreover he conquered the enemies on all sides’ V-V Gt καὶ ἐπεκαλεσατὸ Tov κυριον δυναστὴν W-W Qk ἐν τῳ 
θλιψαι (70 248 Sah Eth+avrov: N* + avrov) exOpous αὐτου (N* > αὐτου) κυκλοθεν s-x A fourth clause ts 
required, but tt 1s wanting in ® as well as in all the Versions ; the above ts supplied from τ Sam. vil. 9 y-y This 
clause ts almost wholly mutilated ; Smend reconstructs tt thus: ΝΥ DWN PD DyW from Ck καὶ eBpovtrnoev am ovpavou 
Kuptos 2-2 G& και ev ny μεγαλῳ ακουστὴν εποιησεν την φωνὴν αὐτου ama Gr καὶ εἐξετριψεν nyoupevous Τυριων 
(reading “8 [= 5] for “ν) b-b &> © Ge apyovras (in the Sept. catpamns ts used for 72). In ® 
17 ὁ and 18 form one clause d-d (χὰ καὶ προ καιρου κοιμησεως αἰῶνος e-e Of evarte Kuptou και χριστου (= 8): + 
αὐτου NC-2 70 248 ff Oe χρηματα και ews ὑποδηματων απὸ πασὴς σαρκος οὐκ edna 8-8 S> hh & $>; 
α later glossator added these two clauses (cp. 1 Sam. xiii. 8-15, xvi. 1 ff., xix. 18 ff.) ii (ἃ καὶ μετα To ὑπνωσαι 
autov ἐπροφητευσεν (Β προεφητευσεν) Kk (ἃ τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτου 


πον σον 


os 


Se te ee 


14. By means of the commandment. # 7183, cp. xliv. 20; the reference is to 1 Sam. vil. 2 ff. 
the tents of Jacob. Cp. Num. xxiv. 5, ‘ How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob.’ 
15. truthfulness. i.e. reliability; cp. 1 Sam. ix. 6. 
prophet ...seer. See 1 Sam. ix. 9. 
in his words. Cp. 1 Sam. iii. 19. 
16. he called upon God... Cp. τ Sam. vii. 5, 8, 9. 
he offered up a sucking lamb. Cp. 1 Sam. vii. 9. 
17. And Jahveh thundered... Cp. 1 Sam. vii. 10; 2 Sam. xxii. 14. 
crash. YP5 is Neo-Hebraic; it does not occur in the O. T. 
18. He subdued. Cp. 1 Sam. vii. 13. ; ; 
the garrisons. 2.2) means in the first instance a ‘pillar’ (Gen. xix. 19), and then a small garrison or fore-post 
of which a pillar marks the site; cp. 1 Sam. xiv. 1, 4, 6, 11, 12, 15. 
the princes. {7D is the special term used especially in Judges and 1 Samuel of the Philistine ‘lords’ or ‘tyrants 5 
five in number, who ruled over the five chief Philistine cities; cp. Judges ill, 3; 1 Sam. vi. 17. _ 
19. And at the time... his bed. The identical words occur in xl. 5c. Cp. 1 Sam. xii. 2 ff. 
Jahveh and His anointed. See I Sam. xii. 5. Ἶ a a : 
even a pair of shoes. i.e. something of a trifling nature; cp. Amos ii. 6, viii.6. Both 2) and & follow the Sept. 
of τ Sam. xii. 3, and depart from the Massoretic text. 
20. he was enquired of. Cp. 1 Sam. xxviil. 7 ff. 
his way. i.e. his destiny. 


493 


SIRACH 46. 20—47. 3 


#® And he lifted his voice from the earth, 
'To blot out iniquity by prophecy. 


(7) XLVII. 1-11. David (= 24+3+3+24+3+2+2 distichs). 


47 1*And moreover after him* stood up Nathan, 
To serve” “in the presence of David. 
2 4For as‘ the fat is separated ® ‘from the offering?, 
So was David (separated)f from® Israel. 
3 He played® with lions as with kids’, 
And with bears as / with calves of Bashan). 


1-1 Jn ® only one word (ΠΝ }3)3) ἧς preserved in this clause: (τ ev προφετειᾳ εξαλειψαι ἀνομιαν Aaov: 856 ‘to destroy sins 
by prophecy’ a-a Gr καὶ pera tovtoy (C 55 248 254 τουτοὴ: % post haec (= Sah) Ὁ Ge προφητευειν (70 
248 οπροφητης = SX): S ‘to cause to hear’ c-c (ἃ ev ἡμεραις (3 = 3) dd (τ worep: Het quasi enn Zz. 
‘lifted up’: (ἃ αφωρισμενον : © separatus (Gr 3 = 38) ΓῈ & ano σωτηριου (= ddw, cp. Lev. vi. 12): Hacarne 
ff Expressed in 3 5 (ἃ L+ των vier h Gr ἐπαιζεν (Bab καὶ ἐπαιξεν, C ἐπαισεν, 70 248 254 επεξενωσενὴ : S ‘he 
slew’: 30 lusit 1 Reading OV) (= & 8) for 11; the plur."’s required to correspond with the plur. in the next clause 
J) jwa 3a which Haléoy, Peters, Smend, and others emend 10 W833; cp. & ev apvact προβατων (cp. LXX of Ps. cxiv. 14, 


To blot out... The reference is to the fact that by announcing the approaching death of Saul, Samuel prophesied 
the blotting out of the sins of the people, of whom Saul was the representative; Saul’s death atoned for the sins of th 
people as well as for his own sins. : 


(7) XLVII. 1-11 (DaAvID). 

1. stood up. 2Y, asin v. 12, in the sense of ‘ appear upon the scene’; this is also frequently the force of the word 
as used in the later books of the O. T., especially in Daniel ; see e.g. viii. 22, ‘. . . four kingdoms shall stand up [i.e. 
appear] out of the nation’ (cp. Dan. xi. 2—4, xii. 1), almost equivalent to ‘arise up’ (O)P); see also Ezra ii. 63; 
Neh. vii. 65; Ps. ον]. 30. 

Nathan. It is noticeable that Ben-Sira lays stress on the succession of the prophets, cp. xlvi. 1, xlviii. 1, 12, 22, 
xlix. 8; his is the conviction of earlier writers and prophets, that the line of prophetical teachers in Israel has been 
uninterrupted since the time of Moses (cp. Amos ii. 10, iii. 7, 8; Hos. xii. 13; Jer. vii. 25, xv. 1, &c. &c.). As 
A. B. Davidson well says (Old Testament Prophecy, p. 16f.): ‘The real history of Israel is a history in which men 
of prophetic rank and name stand at the great turning-points of the people’s life, and direct the movements. The 
inner progress of the people was throughout guided by prophets who fertilized the religious life of the nation with new 
thoughts, or nourished the seeds of truth and higher aspirations already planted in the heart of the people into fuller 
growth and fruitfulness. ...’ This offers a good comment on Ben-Sira’s point of view in these chapters. 


To serve in the presence of David. ... ΣΡΩ ayn, lit. ‘to present oneself before’ some one with the implica- 
tion of readiness for service (cp. e.g. Job i. 6, 11.1; Zech. vi. 5). In 1 Kings i. 26 Nathan speaks of himself as the 
‘servant’ of David; but this is exceptional: the true prophets are normally not the servants of any one but Jahveh ; 
their unfettered freedom of speech and independent attitude towards those in authority were among their leading 
characteristics. It is probably owing to this that the Greek renders ‘ prophesy’ instead of ‘serve’. The reading of 
is, however, to be retained, as it more literally accords with the O.T. narrative. On the verse generally see 
2 Sam. vii. 2 ff. 

2. as the fat is separated. The reference is to the intestinal fat of the sacrificial victims (oxen, sheep, and goats), 
cp. Exod, xxix. 13, 22; Lev. 111. 3 ff., vii. 22 ff.; see also 1 Sam. ii. 15 ff. It is this part of the victim, ‘the fat of the 
omentum with the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, which the Hebrews were forbidden to eat, and, in the case of 
sacrifice, burned on the altar... . The point of view from which we are to regard the reluctance to eat of them is that, 
being more vital, they are more holy than other parts, and therefore at once more potent and more dangerous’ 
(Robertson Smith, Ze Religion of the Semites*, p. 380f.) The prohibition is only in regard to the fat about these 
more holy parts, and does not extend to the ordinary fat of an animal referred to in Neh. viii. 10, ‘Go your way, eat 
the fat (Ὁ ΟΦ, i.e. the tasty fatty morsels), and drink the sweet .. .’ 

separated. Lit. ‘lifted up’, the technical term used in Lev. iv. 8, 10, 19, &c. for separating the fat from the flesh. 
Schechter (Zhe Wisdom of Ben-Sira, p. 31) pointedly refers to Ps. Ixxxix. 20 (19 in EV): DY ANI "2 ἽἼΠ, which 
may well have been in the mind of Ben-Sira. 

from the offering. Lit. ‘from the holy thing’, cp. Lev. iii. 3 ff., xxi. 22; Num. v. 9, xviii. 17, 2 Chron. xxix. 333 
Ezek. xxxvi. 38. 


So was David... Cp. 1 Sam. xvi. 4-13. 
from Israel. With the rendering of (τ (see critical note) cp. 1. 20. : 
3. He played... > pnw in the O. T. means to ‘laugh’, usually in derision (cp. Ps. xxxvii. 13, lix. 9), whereas 3 Pn’ 
eee play’; e.g. with beasts, in Job xli. 5 (xl. 29 in Hebr.). With the verse before us cp. 1 Sam. xvii. 34-36; 
5: xi. 6 ff. 


calves of Bashan. Properly ‘bull-calves of Bashan’, which is inappropriate as the parallelism requires 
a harmless and weak animal of some kind to correspond with ‘kids’; it is scarcely to be doubted that (ἃ $ reflect the 
right text here. 


494 


ΘΙΚΑΓΗ 47. 4--Ὁ) 


ἸΡ΄ 4 In his youth* he slew the giant*, 
‘And took away" the reproach from the™ people’, 
"When he swung his hand with® the sling”, 
And broke? the pride of Goliath. 
5 For ‘he called unto God* Most High’, 
And He gave strength ἴο δ᾽ his right’ hand, 
So that he struck down" ‘the hero versed in war’, 
~ And*® exalted the horn of his people*. 
6 °* Therefore the daughters sang of him, 
And honoured him with: ‘{Slayer] of ten thousand ’*. 
When he had put on the diadem” he fought, 
And subdued the enemies on all sides, 
*And plundered* the Philistine cities >’, 
And broke their horn unto this day°*. 


7 


16): S ‘with lambs’: L cum agnis Kk Ge ovye amexrewev yeyavra (= 1): 7O 248 > οὐχι: S=B 
14 Reading ny Syo mann apy (following 1 Sam.' xvii. 26 Ν᾽ Syn naan wom); she text, somewhat 
mutilated, reads apparently ndy main... (cp. Jer. xxiil. 40 ody mann ody ΠΩ and the same in Ps. 


Ixxvili. 66) ll (χα εξηρεν τὰ κὁ ‘his’ un & ev τῷ ἐπαραι χειρα (A V χειρας) ev λιθῳ σφενδονὴης OLE 
‘upon’ P (τ καταβαλειν (WC 155 κατεβαλεν = i) 9 (τ γαυριαμα: 35. ‘the whole (pride) ’ tr $ ‘he 
prayed in the sight of God’ (perhaps in reference to 1 Sam. xvii. 45, 47), cb. 39 invocavit Dominum (a/. Deum) 
omnipotentem 8 Gr Κυριον ss Zt. ‘into’ tZ> ἃ Gr εξαραι VN) mondy PI WN: 
G ἀνθρωπον δυνατὸν (B* > δυνατον) ev πολεμῳ (Sah wodepurs) : S ‘the mighty man’ WoW (τ ανυψωσαι (B ανυψωσει) 
WW Gr S> (expressed in 254 3)) x $+‘ Israel’ y-s (τ has mistaken the connexion between these verses and 


renders freely: 


ουτως ev μυριασιν εδοξασεν avtov 
καὶ ἥνεσεν αὑτὸν εν εὐλογίαις Κυριου 
ev τῷ φερεσθαι αὐτῳ διαδημα δοξης. 
εξετριψεν yap €xOpovs κυκλοθεν 
και εξουδενωσεν Φυλιστίειμ τοὺς ὑπεναντιοὺς .. . 
In the last clause G& = ® zz S$ ‘Therefore the women praised him in myriads’ zz 5. ‘crown’ 


aa Reading 11 (so Peters): ἸΏ text has jn which Lévy adopts, as well as Cowley-Neubauer (‘and set 
nakedness among the Philistines’); uf the clause ts corrupt ; Halévy suggests tas). See further exegetical note : 


3. extirpavit: S ‘he took vengeance on’ Ὁ py (& read DY, which Smend and Halévy adopt, Cowley- 
Neubauer emend to dy ‘naked’) ὁ © in aeternum 
4. In his youth he slew the giant. Cp. 1 Sam. xvii. 40 ff. 
And took away... Cp. in addition to the references in the critical note, Isa. xxv. 8. 
When he swung... Cp. 1 Sam. xvii. 49, 50. 


And broke... Lit. ‘broke in pieces’; referring to the cutting off of Goliath’s head and the taking of 
his armour. 
5. he struck down. In the O.T. 477 means to ‘thrust out’ or ‘ push away’ (cp. 2 Kings iv. 27); in Is. xxil. 19, 
to ‘ depose’ (in reference to Shebna). 
the hero versed in war. With the Hebrew (see critical note) cp. the words in I Sam. xvii. 33 319 none WN. 
And exalted the horn of his people. The figure is taken originally from that of the wild-ox holding up his head 
in conscious strength, well illustrated, e.g., in the oracle of Balaam (Num. xxiii. 22), ‘He hath as it were the horns of 
the wild-ox’; cp. for the expression 1 Sam. ii. 1; Ps. Ixxxix. 17, cxlviii, 14; 1 Macc. 1]. 48. , 
6. Therefore the daughters... Cp. 1 Sam. xviii. 6,7; Ps. Ixviii. 12 (Hebr.). 
And honoured him. For 3 733 cp.xlv.2; the word means properly to ‘ give a title’, cp. Job xxxii. 21; Is. xliv. 5, 
xlv. 4; this seems to be the way in which it is used here. ot 
When he had put on the diadem. 52¥ is used in the O. T. of the high-priestly ‘turban’, see Zech. ili. 5; it is not 


used of a king’s crown (the nearest to this being the metaphorical phrase nad ἘΝ, ‘a royal diadem,’ in Is. Ixii. 3), 
for which the words ΠΝ (e.g. 2 Sam. xii. 30; 1 Chron. xx.2; Esther viii. 15) and 7¥3 (e.g. 2 Sam. i. 10; 2 Kings xi. 12; 
2 Chron. xxiii. 11; Ps. cxxxii. 18) are used. It is possible that the term which Ben-Sira employs points to the idea of 
the high-priestly as well as the royal character of David, and this is not without significance from the point of view of 
the Messianic thought of his times. On the other hand ἢ" is used quite generally in xi. 5, xl. 4. 

he fought. i.e. he fought as the leader of the armies of Israel; he had, of course, fought before this on his own 
account many times (e.g. 1 Sam. xxiii, I-5, xxvii. 7-12, xxx. 17-20); but Ben-Sira lays stress on the fact of David 
having fought because he was essentially a fighting king (cp. 1 Chron, xxii. 8). ἧς 2 : 

7. And subdued the enemies on all sides. Viz. the Philistines (2 Sam. v. 17-25, viii. 1, xxi. 15-22); the Moabites 
(2 Sam. viii. 2); the Syrians (2 Sam. viii. 5-13, x. 1ff., xii. 26-31); the Edomites (2 Sam. viii. 14) ; the Ammonites 
(2 Sam. x. 1 ff., xi. 1). ᾿ 

And plundered the Philistine cities. See critical note. The Philistines were the most inveterate foes of the 
Israelites during the early days of the monarchy; hence the special mention of them here. ᾿ 
unto this day. Ο. Τ. phraseology. The rendering of 3} (sce critical note) would be really more to the point. 


495 


SIRACH 47. 8-11 


®® 8 4eTn all that he did® ‘he gave thanks‘ 
Unto God Most High’ ® with words of glory™®. 
iWith his whole heart he lovedi his Maker’, 
k And sang praise every day continually*. 
9 ‘Music of stringed instruments he ordained™ before the altar, 
And set "the singing? of psalms to harps™’. 
& 10?He gave comeliness to the feasts, 
And set in order the seasons throughout the year 
x rpaFor that he gave praise’ to His Holy Name; 
Before morning" the sanctuary® resounded' (therewith)?”. 
11 Jahveh also" put away his sin’, 
And lifted up his horn for ever. 


4-ὁ Jn the margin of ® ‘David’ 7s inserted: 3‘ Therefore he gave forth his voice in words of thanksgiving and honour’ 
e-e ΖΔ ‘in every work of his’ (= &) {τ Reading MYM Ini for MIN. ,.: Cx ἐδωκεν εξομολογησιν (= 3) 
8- (τ ayw Ὑψίστῳ (= 3") h-h The text ἐς mutilated ; reading 5 NA (Smend) following & ρηματι (155 
ρημασινὴ δοξης + % laudavit dominum et dilexit deum, qui fecit illum et dedit illi contra inimicos potentiam 
i Read τὰ for INN: E& ὑμνησε και ἡγαπησε: 70 -᾿ κυριον K-k The Hebrew text ἐς much mutilated ; Smend 
emends as follows : ἽΝ bay ow 33) (of which the text above ts the rendering) ; Peters emends YA bom ow 555) 
which vs based on the addition of 70 248 to v. 9, an addition which, as Schlatter has shown, belongs here, v12. 
καὶ καθ ἡμεραν awecovow ev wdas αὐτων : Cr >the whole clause, unless we are to discern a remnant of tt in ὑμνησε και: 
ΞΘ joins the clause on to Ὁ. 9, see next note 1-1 § ‘and every day he sang praise (= 8 @) in a continual offering’ ; 


perhaps in reference fo 1 Chron. Xvi. 6, 37 ... j)8 ΒΟ on, avd wa oy 3395 ὙΠ (Smend): G has: 


και eotnoev Wadt@dous κατεναντι Tov θυσιαστηριου 
και εξ ἡχοὺυς avt@v yAvKawew pedn 


(For the addition here of 70 248 see preceding note) m So the marg. of ® on ® marg. Dy ayo dyp 
© Lit. ‘voice’ pp Lhe text of ® τς wholly mutilated ; Peters, on the basts of &, reconstructs ut as follows : 


10 ond in3 (εδωκεν εν εορταις εὐπρεπειαν) 
mw np pn yw jpn (και εκοσμῆσεν καιρους μεχρι συντελειας (ΞΞ ΠΩ 3 ΓΦ) 


S ‘he offered (ΜᾺ gave) great songs of praise year by year’ PP-PP 3> 4-ἃ Ge ev τῷ awew avrovs (Eth 
avrov): & laudarent Tr GE καὶ απὸ πρωι (πρωιας NAC &c.): + porn NO* 5. 248+ avrov: & dei sanctitatem 
ὁ (ἃ nxew (70 nye): H amplificarent ug i> Υ (ἃ ras apaptias (= 9) W-W (ἃ διαθηκην βασιλεων (55 


8. he gave thanks. Cp. Joshua vii. 19 77)N 112. 
With his whole heart. Cp. Deut. vi. 5. 
every day continually. For the phrase cp. xlv. 14 (Hebr.). 
9. Music of stringed instruments. 7°? 121); cp. the titles to Ps. iv, vi, liv, lv, Ixi, Ixvii, Ixxvi, and cp. Is. xxxviil. 20; _ 


Hab. iii. 19. Cp. VY %S> in 1 Chron. xvi. 42, and Sao ΠῚ in xxxix. 15 above. From the time of David onwards 
stringed instruments seem to have occupied the most important place among musical instruments in the Temple 
worship; the £zmor (‘lyre’) and zebe/ (‘harp’) are the only two stringed instruments mentioned in the O. T. outside 
the Book of Daniel. 

And set the singing of psalms to harps. Cp. 2 Chron. xvi. 4,5. The meaning seems to be that David composed, 
or at all events introduced, harp accompaniments to the psalms when sung; ]P>'N means lit. to ‘arrange’ or ‘ put in 
order’; cp. Eccles. xii. 9, ‘. . . he set in order ({?M) many proverbs.’ 

Io. He gave comeliness to the feasts. The Zadokites of this period had become lax in the conduct of public 
worship ; it was probably for this reason that Ben-Sira laid stress on David’s work in this direction, and made special 
mention of the feasts (Smend). 

And set in order the seasons. Cp. 1 Chron. xxiii. 31; i.e. the festive seasons. It is probable that Ben-Sira is 
reading back into earlier times the developed musical service in the Temple, of which details are given in the Mishnah ; 
in Voma iii. 11, Tamid vii. 3, e.g., we are told that there was a special Temple official whose duty it was to superintend 
the psalmody; there were under him a large number of musicians, including singers and instrumentalists; these had 
to accompany the daily burnt-offerings, as well as the solemn festival services, with the singing of psalms and playing 
on stringed instruments. 

Before morning... Cp. Ps. lvii.8 (9 in Hebr.), ‘I will awake the dawn’; cxix. 62, ‘At midnight I will rise to give 
thanks to Thee.’ In reference to Ps. |xxii.5 (‘ They shall fear Thee while the sun endureth’) R. Jochanan taught that it was 
meritorious to worship at dawn. ‘The Wetigin (Κ᾽ ΤῊ = “the ancient pious”) watched for the first rays of the sun to 
begin the “Ammidah (Berakhoth 96,296). There are now several societies of We¢igin in Jerusalem who worship at that 
hour. They. have prepared tables of the sunrise for the year round from special observations taken from Mount Olivet.’ 
JE, x. 168 a. 

11. put away. 133M, lit. to ‘cause to pass away’; see 2 Sam. xii. 13, }YWD WAY 7M DI, which is quoted here | 
almost verbatim, and cp. 2 Sam. xxiv. 10 (= 1 Chron. xxi. 8), 

his horn. Cp. Ps. Ixxxix. 23, cxxxii. 17. 


496 


ΘΙ ΘΕ 44 τὶ τὸ 


Also He gave to him “the decree of the kingdom”, 
x And established his throne* over Israel’. 


(k) XLVII. 12-22. Solomon (= 3+4+14+3+2+42 distichs). 


12%And “for his sake* there stood up after him’ 
>A wise son who dwelt in safety”. 
13 Solomon reigned in days of peace’, 
4And* God gave him® rest round about‘, 
Who prepared! a house for “His name’, 
h And set up*® a sanctuary for ever*. 
14 How wise wast thou in thy youth’, 
JAnd didst overflow like the Nile with instruction": ! 
15 !™Thou didst cover the earth with thy soul}, 
»And didst gather parables like the sea®™. 
16 °P Thy name reached unto the isles afar off”, 
1And they listened’ for the report of thee?” 


254 βασιλεως, 70 248 βασιλειας = Syro-Hex #): S ‘the throne of kingship’ X“¥ Gr καὶ Opovoy Sons (cp. 
msam. ii, 8, Is, xxii. 23, Jer. xiv. 21, xvii. 12): S> y So & S$ 3» (G ‘ Jerusalem’): $+‘ for ever 
a mighty king : 2-2 O& μετα τουτὸν ανεστὴ vios ἐπιστήμων (= 3) aa (δ. b-b O& καὶ δὲ αὐτὸν κατελυσεν 
(N 70 κατεπαυσεν, ch. Ὁ. 13) εν πλατυσμῳ (=? INWSI, cp. Ps. cxviil. 5): WH et propter illum deiecit omnem 
potentiam inimicorum, οὗ. v. 8 (critical note): S$ ‘and Solomon dwelt in peace’, jorning this verse 10 13a 
© 70 248+ καὶ εδοξασθη 4- % cui subiecit deus omnes hostes: 248 + αὑτὸν dd & > 9 N* ὡς (& @) 
ff wa στησῃ ff (ἃ ex: Hin 8 $4‘for ever’ h-h 5.» bh & ἐτοιμασῃ i $+‘ Solomon’ 
J Ge και ἐενεπλησθης (εσοφισθὴ C*, -σθης C®) ws ποταμὸς συνεσεως k S ‘wisdom’ Il & alters the construction, 
γὴν ἐπεκαλυψεν ἡ ψυχὴ σου (70 248 + πασανὴ m-m 3, 201)17|0 this verse on to v. τό, ‘through thine 
understanding and through the height of the honour of kings ’ n-n Reading aAnw ov wa vdpmi (Smend) for 


mw ora dpm (‘And didst gather songs in the height’); she Hedr. text rs mutilated ; Peters, following &, 
would read AN wna xdonr (‘And didst fill it with dark speeches Ἢ: Ge καὶ everAnoas ev (248>) παραβολαις 
αἰνιγμάτων 0-0 35.» Wa) eye (U5 4-4 Ge καὶ nyannOns ( probably mistaking Is’ for IAN) εν τῇ εἰρηνῃ 
σου (mistaking Ἵν for bw) r Lit. ‘yearned for’ 


the decree of the kingdom. i.e. the decree of perpetual sovereignty to David and his house; cp. v. 22; 
gam, Vil. 12 ff. ; Ps. ii. 7, lxxxix. 28, 29. 

And established his throne. It is possible that & read 1123 ND2) (see critical note). 

over Israel. This is preferable to ‘over Jerusalem’ of the Hebrew text, which is possibly due to the influence of 
Messianic thought ; cp. Is. xxiv. 23. 

(6) XLVII. 12-22 (SOLOMON). 

12. And for his sake. i.e. for his father David’s sake ; cp. xliv. 12, 22. As Solomon was not truly faithful to Jahveh 
(cp. 1 Kings iii. 3, xi. 1-8) his prosperous and peaceful reign is ascribed to the merits of his father David (cp. 1 Kings 
xi. 12, 13, 32-6). This doctrine of the merits of the fathers (M128 M3!) was much developed in later Jewish teaching, 
though one can see from a passage like that before us that the essence of the later teaching was already in existence 
long before. The thought of the solidarity of Israel often finds expression in Rabbinical writings; Israel is one 
self-contained organism, all the component parts of which are dependent upon each other in spiritual things, so that 
whatever may be lacking in righteousness to one can be supplied by others who are more righteous. Naturally those 
who were regarded above all others as righteous were the patriarchs of old, whose good deeds were so great and so 
Many in number that some of them could be imputed to men of later generations, whose lives were not so rich in 
well-doing ; cp. e.g. the words in the Midrash Shir ha-shirim (‘Song of Songs’) oni. 5 (‘I am black but comely’): 
‘The congregation of Israel says, “1 am black through my own deeds, but comely through the work of my fathers ”.’ 
It is said of Solomon that before he sinned he had accumulated much merit; but after he sinned all the blessings 
which he received were due to the merits of his fathers (Midrash Qoheleth rabéa to i. 1); it is precisely the same 
thought which lies at the base of the verse before us. 

A wise son. Cp. 1 Kings ii. 3, iv. 21 (v. 1 in Hebr.). 
who dwelt in safety. Cp. 1 Kings v. 4 (v. 18 in Hebr.). 


13. peace. i117, lit. ‘ prosperity’ (cp. Job xii. 5; Ps. cxxii.6; Jer. xii. 1), but peace and prosperity are closely allied ; 
the peace which Solomon enjoyed owing to his father’s victories enabled him to live in prosperity. 
And God gave him rest. Cp. 1 Kings v. 4 (v. 18 in Hebr.). 
And set up a sanctuary for ever. Cp. Ps. Ixxviii. 69, 70. 
14. How wise wast thou... For this direct address cp. xlviii. 4-11 ; with the words cp. I Kings iii. 12, iv. 29 ff., x. 1. 
like the Nile. Cp. xxiv. 27, xxxix. 22. 
15. A continuation of the simile in the preceding verse. 
with thy soul. i.e. with his influence; Smend compares the phrase WD) JAW (‘to pour out the soul’) in 
I Sam. i. 15; Ps, xlii. 5. Cp. also the words of the queen of Sheba in 1 Kings x. 6; 2 Chron. ix. 5. 

16, the isles afar off. Cp. Is. xli. 5, and especially Ixvi. 19 O'PIN7 DYN; ΟΝ is not necessarily an island in the 
usual sense, indeed very rarely so in the O. T. (cp., however, Is. xl. 15); it refers originally to any land which a mariner 
can make for in order to gain shelter and rest; later on in the more general sense of ‘border’ or ‘region’. 

the report of thee. Cp. 1 Kings x. 1. 


497 


SIRACH 47. 17-22 


17 *By thy songs, parables, dark speeches’, 

* And satires" thou didst cause astonishment to the peoples‘. 
τ8 Thou wast called by the glorious name 

Which is called over Israel’. 


Thou didst heap up gold like tin, 
And *abundance of* silver like lead’. 
το *But thou gavest” thy loins* unto women, 
»And didst give them to rule over thy body”. 
20 Yea®, thou broughtest a blemish upon thine honour, 
And didst defile ‘thy bed4, 
So as to bring wrath upon thy progeny’, 
"And sighing concerning thy bed? ; 
21 850 the people became®£ two sceptres*, 
And out of Ephraim ‘(arose) a sinful) kingdom‘. 
22 Nevertheless* God! did not forsake His™ mercy, 
"Nor did He suffer any of His words to fall to the ground”. 
°He will not cut off the posterity of His chosen”, 
Nor will He destroy “the offspring* of them that love Him!; 


<8 Gr ev ῳδαις καὶ παροιμίαις καὶ παραβολαις : S ‘he interpreted proverbs of wisdom ina book’ t-t Ge και εν (248 
L>) ερμηνιᾳ (SC -ἰαις) ἀπεθαυμασαν σε (248>) xopa ἃ 75 the text of ἸΏ this rs jorned to the first clause YY && 
ev ὀνόματι Κυριου του θεου (70 248 Kuptov maons τὴς yys) του επικεκλημενου Θεοῦ Ἰσραηλ, joining 1] on to the rest of the verse: 


S ‘Thou wast called by the name of God, whose is the glory’ Reading ὅν 135 (= (ἃ 8) for S429 (‘like iron’) 
xx S> y S ‘like dust’ (cp. Job xxvii. τό, Zech. ix. 3) 7-2 (ἃ παρανεκλινας ἃ 248 τὰ σπλαγχνα σου: 8 
‘thy strength’ (cp. Prov. χχχὶ. 3) b-b Gk καὶ ἐενεξουσιασθης ev τῷ σωματι cov: © potestatem habuisti in corpore tuo 
© &>(hab 253 Syro-Hex) d-d G& τὸ omeppa σου (reading yur for ἽΝ", but cp. Ezra ix. 2, Mal. ii. 15) 
Θ $ ‘thy children’s children ’ ff Oh καὶ κατενυγὴν ἐπι tn αφροσυνῃ σου 5: (τ γενεσθαι diya τυραννιδα 88 3 
‘ divided itself into’ h $ ‘kingdoms ’ Hi G& ἀρξαι βασιλειαν απειθη JS ‘heathen ’ k Reading ΟΝ 
(cq. xliv. 10): &> 1 G& ὁ δε Κυριος m 19.» (hab & 5) nn Gf καὶ ov μὴ διαφθαρῃ (A Ne-* διαφθειρῃ) απὸ 
τῶν epyov αὐτου: 3» et non corrumpet nec delebit opera sua 0-0 Reading 1") yond mas xd (Smend) ; 


Peter's reconstruction runs + 33 2) YAN WAN? uy: the text of ® rs much mutilated: Ex ουδὲ μὴ εξαλειψῃ ἐκλεκτοῦ 
αὐτου ekyova p-p $ ‘the seed of those that love Him’ 4-4 Gt omeppa tov ἀγαπήσαντος avrov: 85 ‘the sons of 


His pious ones’ t In the text of ® this ts joined to the preceding clause ss Reading with Smend apy in 

17. By thy songs... Evidently Prov. i. 6 was in the mind of Ben-Sira, where several of the same words occur 
(natn, adn, dwn). Rae 

thy songs. Cp. Cant. i. 1, ‘The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s’; 1 Kings iv. 32, ‘and his songs were a 
thousand and five.’ “) is used of both secular (e.g. Amos ν. 23; Isa. xxiv. 9) and religious songs (e.g. Ps. xlii. 9, 
Ixix. 31, &c.), and also specifically of the songs of the Levitical choirs in the Temple worship with musical accompaniment 
(e.g. 1 Chron. vi. 16, 17, xiii. 8; Neh. xii. 27, &c.). 

parables. Cp. Prov. x. 1, xxv. I (andy Sw) ; Sun is ‘a sentence constructed in parallelism, usually of Hebrew 
Wisdom, but occasionally of other types’ (BDZ, s. v.). : 

dark speeches. ΠῚ is a saying the meaning of which is not apparent on the surface; cp. Judges xiv. 12 ff.; 
1 Kings x. 1; in Ezek. xvii. 2 it has the sense of ‘allegory’; something that needs interpretation. 


satires. ΠΥ ; cp. Hab. ii. 6 (‘a taunting riddle’, nN nsdn) ; the root yo means to ‘scorn’. 4 
18. Thou wast called by the glorious name... Cp. Deut. xxviii. 10; Amos ix. 12; and the Greek of James ii. 7. 
The reference here is to the original name given to Solomon, according to 2 Sam. xii. 25, viz. Jedidiah, ‘ Beloved of 
Jahveh’; see Ryssel ‘7 /oc. (& did not see the point, and probably altered the phrase deliberately, which it regarded 
as irreverent. 
Thou didst heap up... Cp. 1 Kingsx. 21, 27. 
like lead. ‘Like stones’ in 1 Kings x. 27. 


19. But thou gavest... Cp. 1 Kings xi. 1-3. 
20. thou broughtest a blemish... Cp. xliv. 19. 
And didst defile... Cp. Gen. xlix. 4. 


And sighing concerning... i.e. Solomon’s lax morality caused grief to men. It is strange that Ben-Sira 
makes no direct reference to Solomon’s idolatry (cp. 1 Kings xi. 4-8), though it is implied by 21 a. ὃ 
21. So the people became two sceptres. Cp. 1 Kings xii. tL 
a sinful kingdom. Lit. ‘violent’; in Amos ix. 8 occurs ANONT 770. 
22. did not forsake His mercy. Cp. 2 Sam. vii. 15; Ps. Ixxxix. 33 (34 in Hebr.). : 
Nor did He suffer any of His words... For the phrase cp, e.g. 1 Sam. 111. 19; 2 Kings x. 10, ἃς. a 
posterity. j)),cp.xli.5; the word isa rare one, occurring only three times in the O.T. (Gen. xxi. 23; Job xvill. 195 
Is. xiv. 22). 
His chosen. "ὙΠ is used in reference to Israel in xlvi. 1. 


498 


rs FS 


5 


“σ΄ πε, ἘΠ ῈΉΤ 


= 


ey 


STRING 7 25. 48) 1 


*And He will give to Jacob a remnant’, 
‘And to the house of David "a root from him"*. 


(2) XLVII. 23-25. The wickedness of the people under the kings who succeeded 
Solomon (= 2+ 3 distichs). 


23 And Solomon slept’ Yin Jerusalem™, 


And left after him *one that was overbearing*. 
YGreat in folly¥ and lacking in understanding 
2(Was) he who’ by his counsel made the people revolt. 
® And (then) he arose—of him let there be no memorial*— 
»Who sinned and made Israel to sin”, 
¢And put 4a stumbling-block (in the way) of Ephraim®®’, 


24 ‘To drive them from their land; 


# And their sin became very great®‘, 
+ And they sold themselves to (do) all manner of evil. 


(m) XLVIII. 1-11. Eljah (= 3+34+3+4+3 distichs). 
1 Until* there arose” a prophet like fire, 
Whose* word? was “like a burning furnace’. 


nN (the text of 38 rs much mutilated) = & t-t Reading with Smend wre ye I 125) (the text of ® is 
again almost wholly obliterated): €& καὶ τῳ Δαυειδ εξ αὐτου ριζαν wu $ ‘a great kingdom’ Υ (ἃ ἀνεπαύσατο 
w-w Reading with Peters "envi (abbreviation for ὈΝΟΦΥΣ, see exegetical note below) ; only the last letter (wv) 
of the word is preserved ; Smend proposes werd (‘ despairing’, cp. Eccles, ii. 20): Gt pera τῶν πατέρων ( + αὑτοῦ 
NA Sah # = "ΣΝ Dy): > x-x Reading yD (see fLebr. of Prov. xxix. 21 [.Smend |) : (ἃ ek Tov σπερματος 
αὐτου (cp. LXX of Gen. xxi. 23 = p10 [Smend]): S> YY (τ Aaov αφροσυνην (Syro-Hex λαὸν αφροσυνηςῚ) 
2.2 Reading Ws; the present text has nyann, but this cannot have been the original reading as clauses c and d 
are enclosed within ἌΓ, and dy; this play on the name of Rehoboam makes it in the highest degree improbable that 
the name itself would also appear : & reads os, which reflects the original text, but places before it ‘Rehoboam’. 
For another word-play see x\viii. 17, 22 aa Reading with Smend 72% om by op for “" bs OP WS Ty 
3) j2 Dyan ἽἼΞΙ ὦ; apart from the fact that this makes the clause too long, the mention of ‘ Jeroboam the son 
of Nebat’ can hardly have originally stood together with ‘of him let there be no memorial’. Zhe words DP AWN ἫΝ 
presuppose a connexion with the preceding clauses which would give no sense ; they are evidently taken from x\viii. 1. 
The present text has clearly suffered at the hands of a glossator: G& καὶ lepoBoau wor (δὲ wos) Ναβατ: % ‘let there 
be no memorial to him, (even) to jeroboam the son of Nebat’ b-b G& os εξημαρτεν τον Ἰσραηλ c-e Although 
these words are considerably mutilated in the text of ἸΏ sufficient remains to decipher them with reasonable certainty 
4- (χὰ odov auaprias © S$ ‘the house of Ephraim’ ff wrongly transposes these two clauses S-8 Gr και 
ἐπληθυνθησαν av ἀμαρτιαι avrwv opodpa: S$ ‘ And he made their sins many’ h-h @& καὶ πασαν πονηριαν εξεζητησαν + 
ews (A ws) εκδικησις ἐλθῃ ἐπ αὐτοὺς : 70 248 - opyy καὶ εκδικησις : H+usque dum perveniret ad illos defensio et ab 
omnibus peccatis liberavit eos (dominus), cf. v. 11 and xlviii. 1-15 ἃ G& ‘and’ b @+‘ Elijah’ e Lit. 
‘And his’ 4 Reading 737 (= (ἃ 3) for 735 €-€ Ok ws λαμπας exaceto: 3S combines & ® ‘ burned like 


aremnant. Cp. xliv. 17. 
...aroot. Cp. Is. xi. 1, 10; a reference to the Messianic hope, cp. 1 Kings x1. 39. 

(2) XLVII. 23-25. 

23. slept. 13 standing alone as here never has the sense of ‘dying’ in the O. T.; it is always followed by some 
words which explain it as referring to death, e.g. in 1 Kings xi. 43, ‘he slept with his fathers’; in Isa. xiv. 8 the context 
shows that death is meant ; otherwise it means simply to ‘sleep’ or ‘lie down’, &c. 

in Jerusalem. Every suggested emendation must from the nature of the case be hypothetical; the one adopted 
in the text is that proposed by Peters; it commends itself on account of 1 Kings xi. 42, 43: ‘And the time that Solomon 
reigned in Jerusalem... And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David...’ The abbreviation 


“YY might, apart from other reasons, conceivably have been suggested by the false etymology ndw yn (‘ possession 


of peace’), which has been one of the etymologies put forward in the past (cp. /Z, vii. 119 a). The rendering of t (see 


critical note), which would commend itself on account of the phraseology, is ruled out because of the absence of a final 
Δ involved, which is clear in the text; the omission of μετὰ τῶν πατέρων in S is also against these words representing 
| the original. 
made...revolt. Lit. ‘throw off restraint; cp. Prov. xxix. 18; with the whole clause cp. 1 Kings xi. 8, 13, 14. 
and made Israel to sin. Cp. 1 Kings xiv. 16. 
And put a stumbling-block... Cp. 1 Kings xii, 28. i 
24. To drive them from their land. Cp. 2 Kings xvii. 22, 233 Jer. xxvii. 10. 
And they sold themselves... Cp. 1 Kings xxi, 20. ' 
(m) XLVIII. 1-11 (ELIJAH). f 
I. a prophet like fire. Cp. Mal. iv. 1, 5 (ill. 19, 23 in Hebr.). 
like a burning furnace. Cp. 2 Kingsi. 1off. 


499 


iH” 


SIRACH 48. 2-10 


2! And he broke for them the staff of bread‘, 

* And by his zeal" imade them few in number?é. 
3 By the word of God* "he shut up the heavens! ; 

Fire™ also” descended thrice®. 
4? How terrible wast thou, Elijah? ! 

And he who is like thee shall be glorified". 
5 Who didst raise up a dead man "from death’, 

And from Sheol'*, "according to the good pleasure" of Jahveh ¥ ; 
6 Who broughtest down “kings to the Pit*, 

And¥ them that were honoured from their beds” [of sickness] ; 
7 *Who heardest® rebukes? in Sinai, 

¢ And judgements of vengeance in Horeb*. 
8 Who anointedst kings °for retribution ®, 

‘And a prophet as successor in thy place?. 
9 Who wast taken upwards £in a whirlwind, 

4 And by fiery troops to the heavens”. 
το 1Who art ready for the time, as it is written’, 

kTo still wrath before the fierce anger of God!*, 


a burning furnace ’ Tf Ge (= 5) os (S καὶ) ἐπηγαγεν ex avtovs λιμὸν (-Εἰσχυρον 248) s-s & et inritantes 
illum invidia sua pauci facti sunt+non poterant enim sustinere praecepta domini h + uyupo 70 ini 3 ‘he 
rent them asunder’ K Ge Κυρίου 1-1 G& ἀνεσχεν ovpavoy m 70 248: S Syro-Hex Eth+‘ from 
heaven’: £-+ terrae 1 Gr ovras (>NC* 70 248 253) © $+4*upon the altar and upon the godless men’ 
Ρ-Ρ (ἃ ws εδοξασθης HActa ev τοις θαυμασιοις cov: W& sic amplificatus est Elias in mirabilibus suis ᾳ Lit. “ shall 
glorify himself’: Gr καυχασθαι (δ A τοῦ 155 296 καυχησεται --- H): 3. potest gloriari Rae SSS 83> 
t 7o 248 253 Syro-Hex + ψυχην uu 77 ἧς possible that ® read Δ instead of 3 (= 3): ( εν Roya, οὗ. Ὁ. 3 
Vv 3 (ἃ ‘the Most High’: 3» domini dei WW (ὁ. X (ἃ εἰς ἀαπωλιίαν : + et confregisti facile potentiam 
ipsorum y 3 ‘thrones’: G& κλινης 2 ® transposes vv. 7, 8 a Reading yown (= &) for youn (= 3 
‘who proclaimed ’) b 3 ‘in his temptation’ (msunderstanding the whole verse): (ἃ ἐλεγμὸν : 70 248 253 
Syro-Hex + Κυρίου ce $> 4 Reading 52 (= & 8) for ΝΟῸ e-e So G& εἰς ἀνταποδομα (B 
modwn ὃ, ὃ ) Ef Gk καὶ προῴητας Siadoyous per avrov: W et prophetas facis successores post te 8-ὃ (ἃ ev 
λαιλαπι πυρὸς h-h OF εν appatt ἱππὼν πυρινων : & ‘ by fiery horses to heaven’: ® zs mutilated at the end of the 
verse, ‘to the heavens’ zs added on the basis of S (cp. 2 Kings ii. 11 DWN AAYD3) i-i 15 “1. ‘Who art written 
(as) ready for the time’: G ο καταγραφεις ev ἐλεγμοις (ελλεγμουις (sz) N, ἐλεγμοὺς 248, edeypos A) εἰς καιροὺς (V 55 
254 Syro-Hex καιρὸν = 3η); εν ἐλεγμοῖς 7s probably a corruption of eroos: ‘And he who is ready to come’ 
kk The end of this line in ἸΏ vs mutilated, though the ὃ of by zs veseble according to Smend and Peters: & κοπασαι 
ὀργὴν (+ κρισεως Kuptov 70 248) προ θυμου: & ‘before the day of Jahveh comes’ (= Mal. iii. 23 [iv. 5  EV]) 
1% domini m-m $> nn @& πατρὸς πρὸς υἱὸν : % ‘the children unto the fathers ’ 0-0 $ 27}. ‘to proclaim’ 


τ 


. he broke for them... Cp. Is. iii. 1; Ezek. iv. 16; Ps. civ. (cv.) 16. 
And by his zeal... Cp. 1 Kings xix. 10, 14, 18. 
3. he shut up the heavens. Cp. 1 Kings xvii. 1; James ν. 17. 
Fire also descended thrice. Cp. 1 Kings xviii. 38; 2 Kings i. 10,12. For the addition of S$ (see critical note) 
cp. I Kings xix. 38. 
4. How terrible wast thou... For this direct address cp. xvii. 14. 
5. Who didst raise up... Cp. 1 Kings xvii. 17-24. 
adead man. For the Hebr. Μὴ} cp. viii. 7. 
6. Who broughtest down kings... Cp. 1 Kings xix. 17, xxi. 109 ff. 
the Pit. See ix. 9, li. 2 (Hebr. and Gr.) ; cp. Ezek. xxviii, 7. 


And them that were honoured... i.e. these he brought down to the Pit; the reference is to Ahaziah, 2 Kings 
1 2. τὸς 178 ΑΝ 
7. Who heardest rebukes... Cp. 1 Kings xix. 9 ff., 15 ff. As in τ. 6 the two clauses say the same thing in ἃ 


different way. Ben-Sira regards Sinai and Horeb as identical, but it is questionable whether he was correct in this, 
though many modern scholars regard the two as identical. On the other hand, Cheyne (ZB, iv. 4643) says that originally 
they were distinct : ‘ Horeb lay in the Sinaitic peninsula, Sinai in Midian, on the west coast of Arabia’ (cp. Wellhausen, 
Prolegomena’, p. 359; Moore, Judges, pp. 140,179; Stade, Entstehung des Volkes Israel, p. 12). Von Gall regards the 
ἘΠΡΟ ΒΟΟΣ of the two as ‘a post-exilic confusion’ (A/éisraelitische Kultstatten, p. 15). See further Driver on 
xod. iii. 1. 
8. Who anointedst kings. i.e. Hazael and Jehu; cp. 1 Kings xix. 15, 16. 
retribution. Cp. xil. 2, where the Hebr. word is used in the sense of ‘ recompense’. 
a prophet. Cp. 1 Kings xix. 19-21. 
as successor. Cp. xliv. 17 (Hebr. and Gr.). 
in thy place. Cp. 1 Kings xix. 16, ‘and Elisha... shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.’ 
9. Who wast taken... Cp. 2 Kings ii. 1, 11. 
10. Who art ready... Cp. Mal. iii. 23, 24 (iv. 5, 6 in EV). 


5.00 


25 


8 


SIRACH 48. 10-12 


To ™turn the heart of™ the "fathers unto the children”, 
And °to restore the® tribes of Israel”. 
11 4Blessed is he that seeth thee, and dieth®, 


Τ a 5 Yr 


(z) XLVIII. 12-16. Elisha. The sinfulness of the people and their punishment 
(= 2+ 3+4 distichs). 


G 12 ‘Elijah was hidden in the [heavenly] chambers’, 


*Then was Elisha filled with his spiritt®. 
vIn double measure did he multiply signs, 

And marvellous was all that went forth out of his mouth’. 
All his days he moved “before no man”, 

*And no flesh* exercised authority over his spirit’ ; 


(te. fo preach the Gospel fo; due to Christian influence) Ρ (ἃ Ιακωβ (= 2), cp. Isa. xlix. 6 4-4 Ge μακαριοι οἱ 
ἰδοντες σε και οἱ εν ἀγαπήσει (read εν ἀαναπαυσει) KEKOO [LN LEVOL (248 253 254 κεοιμημενοι): 5S ‘Blessed is he that hath seen 
thee and is dead’ rr This line ts almost wholly obliterated in %; Smend, on the basis of G& 55, proposes to read: 
mnn mn 5 Paws (‘And [more] blessed art thou thyself, for thou livest’), making the words refer to Elijah ; 
Peters, also following G, would read: ΡΤ 7M NIN Di 5 (‘ For we too shall live [again]’), as hough the words 
referred to Ben-Sira’s readers (see further exegetical note): Ge καὶ yap npets fon (N*A Cons, 70 Conv) ζησομεθα: 
= ‘nay, he dies not but lives’: % post mortem autem non erit tale nomen nostrum (cz reference fo Elijah) 
8-8 7s much mutilated, the text represents Smend’s reconstruction: AND) 7\NIw mx, based tn part on G& and 
& ; Ηλειας os (7o>) ev λαιλαπι ἐσκεπασθη (7x LXX σκεπαζειν = ND): S ‘ Elijah was gathered into the chambers in 
Heaven’: Pelers reconstructs: 7nd) ΠΡΌΣ Ww dN t-t ® vs again almost entirely obliterated, only three letters 
remaining ; the above ws the rendering of &: %‘ And Elisha received a double (portion) of prophecy’ uA 7o 
248 Syro-Hex + ay.ou γτν & >: S ‘And many wonders and signs did his mouth utter’ W-W Gi ὑπὸ (55 
248 aro) ἄρχοντος (70 248 ἀρχοντωνὴ X-X Oi και... ovders Σ (ἃ avrov (= 9) 


... And to restore the tribes of Israel. With & καταστῆσαι φυλὰς ᾿Ιακώβ cp. Mark ix. 12 ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς ᾿Ηλείας 
μὲν ἐλθὼν πρῶτον ἀποκατιστάνει πάντα, with which Weber compares the \NT ΠΡ by which Rabbi Sa‘adya Gaon 
expresses Elijah’s activity preparatory to the coming of the Day of Jahveh (/vidische Theologte, p. 353). 

This is one of the few passages in which Ben-Sira refers to the Messianic Hope (see also xliv. 21, xlv. 25, 
xIvil. 11, 22, xlvili. 24, 25, xlix. 12, |. 24, li. 12) ; but neither the nature of the book nor the historical circumstances of 
the time, by which Messianic conceptions were always conditioned, were such as to lead one to expect much stress to 
be laid on this subject. During the third century B.C. the Jews lived in quietude and prosperity, and the hopes 
concerning the Messianic Age seem to have dropped into the background ; not that the Jews ever really abandoned 
(until quite modern times) their Messianic expectations ; these only ceased, for the time being, to play an important part. 

11. Blessed is he... 1.6. those that saw Elijah in the flesh were blessed, though they died. The next line of this 
verse is almost entirely obliterated in # (see critical notes). Peter’s suggested reading can scarcely be right, as it 
presupposes conceptions concerning the future life which are too advanced for the time of Ben-Sira. By the time the 
Greek translation was made the beliefs regarding this subject had greatly developed. The rendering of S is due 
to Christian influence. As regards Smend’s proposed reading, the point is that Elijah was still alive, i.e. he had never 
died ; the reference is not to life after death. 

Elijah has been glorified in Jewish legend more than any other biblical personage. ‘The Haggadah which makes 
this prophet the hero of its description has not been content, as in the case of others, to describe merely his earthly life 
and to elaborate it in its own way, but has created a new history of him, which, beginning with his death, or “translation”, 
ends only with the close of the history of the human race. From the day of the prophet Malachi, who says of Elijah 
that God will send him before “the great and dreadful day”’, down to the later marvellous stories of the Hasidic rabbis, 
reverence and love, expectation and hope, were always connected in the Jewish consciousness with the person of Elijah. 
As in the case of most figures of Jewish legend, so in the case of Elijah, the biblical account became the basis of later 
legend. Elijah the precursor of the Messiah, Elijah zealous in the cause of God, Elijah the helper in distress—these are 
the three leading notes struck by the Haggadah, endeavouring to complete the biblical picture with the Elijah legends’ 
(JE, v. 122 a). 


(z) XLVIII. 12-16 (ELisHa, &c.). ; 

12. hidden in the [heavenly] chambers. Smend is probably right in his reconstruction of the Hebrew text; the 
‘chambers in Heaven’ of $ doubtless reflects the original Hebrew, though ‘in Heaven’ may well be an explanatory 
addition, and ‘ chambers’ was most likely in the singular in the Hebrew as Ben-Sira speaks elsewhere of only a single 
‘chamber’ in the realms above (see xxxix. 17, 30, xliii, 14); the division of the heavens into various departments of 
which the innermost is the J/ehiza, or dwelling-place of the Almighty, is a later development (cp. 1 Enoch xxii. 9-12, 
4 Ezra iv. 35, 41, v. 37, vi. 22; see also 2 Cor. xii. 14; Medarim 32 a [T.B.], Shabbath vi. 8d [T.J.], Midrash Bereshith 
Rabbah, 1. \xviii). 

was Elisha filled... Cp. 2 Kings ii. 9, 13. ho ; ᾿ 
In double measure... Cp. 2 Kings ii. 9, 20-22. Peters thinks that the omission of these two lines in & (see 
critical note) may be due to the fact that they seem to give more honour to Elisha than to Elijah; the omission may, 
however, be merely due to an oversight. 
Allhis days... Cp. 2 Kings iii. 13-15, vi. 15, 16, 30 ff. ; 
moved. Cp. Esther v. 9, ‘... that he stood not up nor moved for him.’ 
501 


SIRACH. 48. 13-138 


13 Nothing was “too wonderful for him’, 

zz And *from his grave® his flesh ** prophesied”, 
14 In® his life he did wonderful acts, 

And in his* death marvellous works. 


15 For all this the people turned® not, 
And ceased‘ not from their® sins® ; 
Until they were plucked» from their land, 
And were scattered in all the earth. Ὁ 
i And there were left ‘unto Judah but a few"! ; 
1But still a prince was left unto the house of David’. 
16 Some among them did ™that which was right™, ᾿Ξ 
And some “among them” °committed fearful sin®. 


(o) XLVIII. 17-25. Hezekiah and Isaiah (= 24+2+2+4+2+42+43 distichs). 


17 Hezekiah fortified” his‘ city, 
‘In that he brought" water’ into the midst thereof, 
t And hewed through the rocks with iron‘, 
«And dammed up the pool with mountains". 
18 In his days Sennacherib came up’, 
And sent Rabshakeh ¥, 
«And stretched forth* his hand’ against Zion, 
And blasphemed? God in* his arrogancy. 


2-2 (ἃ umepnpev avrov: S ‘was hidden from him’ w-wh. S> a-a yn, 11). ‘from his place beneath’: (ἃ ev 
κοιμησει aa ( τὸ copa αὐτου b Reading with Smend and Peters $1) (= (1) for 8723 ὁ (ἃ και (7O>) ev 
4 G&> (70 248 = 38) ὁμί -Ἐ αὐτου after ‘ works’ © (ἃ μετενοησεν (cp. Xvii. 4) f (ἃ ἀπεστησαν e=BAC> 
2g S‘evildeeds’ Gr empovopevOnoav: S ‘went into captivity ii S$ ‘And Judah alone remained a small dominion 
to the house of David’ k-k G& 0 λαὸς ολιγοστος I-l (ἃ και αρχωὼν (wee apxovres) ev (> BiG 55) τῷ οἰκῳ Δαυειδ 
m-m (& τὰ ἀρεστὸν : S repentance’ wan (US 0-0 9 21}. ‘did iniquity wondrously ’: S$ ‘added sins unto 
sins’: Gr ἐπληθυναν ἀμαρτιας bp S ‘built’ « 5.» IT Or και εἰσηγαγεν (= 3) 8 BC τὸν yoy, N* V 
253 τὸν nwy (Νο:ἃ τὸν aywyor), 70 Syro-Hex τὸν νηωρ (A 248 = 39); probably corruptions of v8paywyov (‘a conduit’) 
tt S>: (ἃ ὠρυξεν σιδηρῳ axporopoy uu S>: Ck καὶ ὠκοδομησεν κρηνας (/. κρημνουςῚ es vdara v $+ ‘against 
them’ W 70 248+ εκ Aayes (cp. 2 Kings xviii. 17, xix. 8): Cr+xav ἀπηρεν (dittography): %&+ et sustulit 
manum suam contra illos (a variant of the third clause) S-X Ge καὶ emnpev y BNC η χει (A 70 248 χειρα 
[= 3: Syro-Hex Sah Eth]) 2 (ἃ ἐμεγαλαυχησεν ἃ &>(hab Ν 70 ἄς.) b-b $> ο So Gr, and 


13. Nothing was too wonderful... i.e. too hard; cp. Gen. xviii. 14, ‘Is any thing too hard (lit. too wonderful) 
for the Lord?’ 


And from his grave... Cp. 2 Kings xili. 20, 21. 
- Peeper i.e. exercised prophetic powers, though of course in a different way from that recorded of Samuel in 
xlvi. 20 d. 
14. Practically a repetition of the preceding verse. 
15. For all this... Cp. Is. ix. 12. 

And ceased not from their sins. The repentance recorded in 1 Kings xviii. 39 was but of short duration. 

Until they were plucked... Cp. Deut. xxviii. 63. 

there were left unto Judah but a few. Cp. Is. xxiv. 6. 

16. did that which was right. Cp. the oft-repeated formula in Kings, e. g. 1 Kings xv. 11, ἄς. 
(0) XLVIII. 17-25 (HEZEKIAH AND ISAIAH). 
17. Hezekiah fortified. Note the word-play in Hebrew PIN itn’. Cp. 2 Chron. xxxii. 5, 30. 

In that he brought water... Cp. 2 Kings xx. 20; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 30. 

And hewed through the rocks. The reference is evidently to the boring of the tunnel from the Gihon to the 
Pool of Siloam ; see Driver, Votes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, pp. xv, xvi, who says in reference to 
the inscription in the tunnel which leads to the Pool: ‘ The inscription will not be later than the time of Hezekiah, who 
‘is stated to have “made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city ”, in terms which appear exactly to 
describe the function of the tunnel in which the inscription is.’ On the inscription the word 2M, ‘ hew through’, here 


used occurs twice in the sense of cutting through a rock; and V¥, ‘rock’, which likewise occurs twice on the 
inscription, is the word used in the text. 


And dammed up... Cp. Is. xxii. 11; Ezek. xxxix. 11. 
18. Sennacherib. Cp. 2 Kings xviii. 13 ff.; 2 Chron. xxxii. 1 ff; Is. xxxvi. 1 ft. 
stretched forth his hand... Cp. Is. x. 32; and for the expression see Job xv. 25. 


blasphemed God... Cp. 2 Kings xviii. 22; 15. xxxvii. 6, 23. 


502 


SIRACH 48. 19—49. 1 


» 19 >Then® were they shaken ‘in the pride of their heart“, 
And they writhed as °a woman in travail®?; 
20 And they called unto God Most High®*, 
5 And spread out their hands unto Him? ; 
iAnd He heard the voice of their prayer*', 
And saved! them by the hand of Isaiah™ ; 
21 And He smote” the army of Assyria, 
° And discomfited them by the plague®. 


22 ?For Hezekiah did? “that which was good‘, 

—And was strong’ in the ways of David*— 
‘Which Isaiah the prophet" commanded _him*, 

Who was great and faithful in his vision. 

23 “In his days the sun went backward *, 
And he added life unto the king. 

24 By a spirit of might he saw the future®*. 
And comforted Ythe mourners of Zion’. 

25 Unto eternity he declared the things that shall be, 
And hidden things before they came to pass’. 


(2) XLIX. 1-3. Fostah (2 - 2 distichs). 


! 1 The name? of Josiah is as sweet-smelling incense, 
That is well mixed, the work? of the apothecary. 
©The mention of him® is sweet 4in the palate? as honey, 
And as music at a banquet of wine. 


probably 38, but the text ts mutilated d-d (ἃ καρδίαι και χειρες αὐτων e-e Ok αἱ τικτουσαι ἘΞῈ CS 
ξ-ὃ Uk τὸν κυριον τον ἐλεημονα h-h § ‘And Hezekiah spread out his hands before the Lord’ i-i Qf και o 
aywos εξ ovpavov ταχυ (V 248>) επηκουσεν αὐτῶν k-k S$ ‘And God quickly heard their prayer’: 30 vocem 
ipsorum + non est commemoratus peccatorum illorum neque dedit illos inimicis suis 1 purgavit m+ 
sancti prophetae n $ ‘broke up’ 0-0 Gk καὶ εξετριψεν αὐτοὺς ὁ ayyedos αὐτου : S ‘And smote them with 
a great blow’ p-P So (τ 3; the text of ® ts mutilated 9-4 (ἃ τὸ ἀρεστὸν Κυριῳ (N* >) τ S ‘walked’ 
5 (τ (s* >)+rov πατρος αὐτου (cp. 2 Kings xviii. 3) t In ® the remainder of this verse and τ᾿. 23 τς wholly 
mutilated ἃ $+ ‘the most praiseworthy of the prophets’ . SoS L(G>) w-w % ‘For by his hand 
the sun stood still’ Χ Qt ra ἐσχατα Y-Y Gk τοὺς πενθουντας εν Serwv 2-2 3‘ And as long as he was in the 
world he saw signs and wonders before they came to pass’ (a misunderstanding, or conscious alteration of, the 
Flebrew text): & = BY ἃ G& pynpoovvoyv: % memoria >» B ‘by the work’ (A = ®) ὅτ &> 
dd && ev παντι στοματι 


19. they writhed... Cp. 2 Kings xix. 3; Isa. xiii. 8. 
20, spread out their hands. Cp. 2 Kings xix. 14, 15, where, however, only Hezekiah does so. 
He heard the voice... Cp. 2 Kings xix. 20. 
And saved them... Cp. 2 Kings xix. 20 ff. 
21. And He smote... Cp. 2 Kings xix. 35. 
And discomfited them... For & (cp. critical note), which has perhaps the better reading, see 2 Kings xix. 35 
(Hebr. and Sept.), and cp. 1 Macc. vii. 41, 2 Macc. viii. 19. 
22. Who was great... Cp. Is. vil. 
23. the sun went backward. Cp. 2 Kings xx. 9-11; Is. xxxviil. 7, 8. 
he added life unto the king. Cp. 2 Kings xx. 5, 6; Is. xxxviil. 5. 
24. a spirit of might. 1712) ΠῚ, cp. Is. xi. 2 7732) AYY NV. 
the future. NM’ MN, lit. ‘the end’; the reference is to the return from the Exile (Is. xl. 3-11), and to the glorious 
future in store for Jerusalem (Is. Ixi. 1-7). 
And comforted the mourners... Cp. Is. xl. 1, lxi. 2, 3. 
25. With this and the preceding verse compare what is said in 7716 Martyrdom of Isaiah, ch. iv. 
(2) XLIX. 1-3 (JostaH). 
I. as sweet-smelling incense. Lit. ‘incense of spices’, cp. Exod. xxxvil. 29. 
That is well mixed. Lit. ‘that is salted’, cp. Exod. xxx. 35. For the use of salt in the cultus cp. Lev. ii. 13 
(‘With all thine oblations thou shalt offer salt’), see ZB, iv. 4249. 
in the palate. Cp. Prov. xxiv. 13. 
asmusic... Cp. xxxii. 5, 6 (= ὑπ xxxv. 5, 6). 


oS 


SIRACH 49. 2-7 


#” 2 ©For he was grieved? at our backsliding®, 
And put an end to £the vain abominations? ; 
3 And he *gave his heart wholly® unto God?, 
And in days of violence* 'he practised piety’. 


(gq) XLIX. 4-7. Fudah’s evil kings ; the persecution of Feremiah (%+2+2 distichs). 


4 Except David™, Hezekiah, "and Josiah, 
They all dealt utterly corruptly”, 
And? forsook the Law ?of the Most High P— 
The kings of Judah, till [they came to] their end ; 
5 And their might? was given” unto others*, 
And their glory to a strange’ nation ; 
6 And so "the Holy City" was burned, 
And the ways thereof laid waste 
Through’ Jeremiah; 7. because they had persecuted* him, 
And he a prophet formed from the womb, 


€-@ αὐτὸς κατευθυνθὴ ev επιστροφῃ λαου (δὲ αὐτου) Ck f Reading mbna Sor bmp (Simend) 8- (ἃ βδελυγματα 
ἀνομίας h-h G& κατευθυνεν τὴν καρδιαν αὐτου: 3» et gubernavit, &c. i (ἃ ® ‘the Lord’ k && 
avopwv (= tL) 1-|Ὲ G& κατίσχυσεν την ευσεβειαν (= 35) ™ G& 3+ καὶ (so Peters) n-n  fext makes 
the second line begin with ‘and Josiah’ (innwn obs wwN), dul rt ds better to keep ‘and Josiah’ in the previous 
line and emend the second line by adding inf. abs. (= (8), reading inne nnwn nd> (so Peters) ο & ‘For’ 
p-p S$> a Lit. “horn’ t Zit. ‘he gave’ 8 Reading DNS (znstead of ΠΝ Ὁ) Ξε (ἃ 5 t %+5a) 


(variant from |, 26 (?)) u-u @& ἐκλεκτὴν πολιν αγιασματος v Lit. “ΒΥ the hand of’ (= &); ‘In the days of’ 
S, a correction from x\viil. 18, 23 ΣΧ 35. ΠῚ} : (ἃ εκακωσαν Υ & ‘sanctified (cp. Jer. i. 5) % (ἃ ‘to harm’ 


2. he was grieved... ® (bn3) = he entered upon his inheritance’ (?), yields no satisfactory sense; the reference 
is doubtless to the effect produced on Josiah by the newly-discovered Book of the Law, cp. 2 Kings xxii. 11 ff. For the 
Hebrew as emended cp. Amos vi. 6. The Greek (‘He behaved himself uprightly in the conversion of the people’) 
means that he showed his uprightness by converting the people to obedience to the Law; but possibly & should be 
emended, ἀποστροφῇ for ἐπιστροφῇ (=). 

put anend to. Cp. 2 Kings xxiii. 5, II. 
abominations. Cp. 2 Kings xxiil. 13. 

3. gave his heart wholly. Or ‘ perfectly’; the expression is formed on the model of such expressions as 

‘integrity of heart’, cp. Gen. xx. 5. For the verb (Hiph‘il form) cp. Job xxii. 3. 
he practised piety. For the term as applied to Josiah see 2 Kings xxiii. 3, 25. 


(g) XLIX. 4-7 (JUDAH’s EvIL KINGs). 

4. Except David... Ben-Sira definitely excludes all other kings except the three mentioned ; contrast, however, 
the representation of the Chronicler, according to whom Asa (2 Chron. xv. 8 ff.) and Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. xvii. 5 ff.) 
ought to be reckoned among the pious reforming monarchs. The Book of Kings also speaks favourably, though not 
with such marked emphasis, of these two rulers (see 1 Kings xv. 11 ff., xxii. 43). 

the Law of the Most High. For Ben-Sira’s attitude towards the Law see Introduction, ὃ 9 ii. 
till [they came to] their end. 1.6. until their death, or, perhaps, until their line came to an end. The Hebrew is 
ambiguous; the context (see next verse) rather favours the latter. 

5. And their might was given. (& ἔδωκαν γὰρ τὸ κέρας αὐτῶν: for the phrase cp. 1 Macc. ii. 48, also Ps. Ixxv. 5. 

others ... strange nation. i.e. the Babylonians. By their sins the kings brought about the ruin of the nation, 
culminating in the Babylonian Exile. 

a strange nation. 3) "11; cp. 173) DY, Exod. xxi. 8; apparently the combination 133 "3 does not occur 
in the O. T. elsewhere. 

6. the Holy City. wP NP; the designation of Jerusalem as the Holy City (W777 WY) occurs first in Is. xlvili. 2, 
lii. 1, also in Neh. xi. 1,18; cp. Dan. ix. 24; MP is a poetical variation on the common VY (‘city’). For & (a refine- 
ment) see crit. note. 

was burned. Cp. 2 Kings xxv. 9. 

the ways thereof. Cp. ‘the ways of Zion’, Lam. i. 4. 

laid waste. Cp. 2 Kings xxv. 10; the same root is used in reference to the gates of the city in Lam. i. 4. 

Through Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, cp. e.g. Jer. xxxvi. 29; the actual 
fulfilment of this prophecy is regarded by Ben-Sira as the inevitable result of the prophet’s prediction; the prophecy 
produced its own fulfilment. From another point of view the prophet may be regarded as having been inspired 
to foresee the result which was inevitable from other causes. Ben-Sira here seems to regard the prophecy of woe as 
being invested with the same fatal power which, according to ancient ideas, belonged to the uttered curse. 

7. because they had persecuted him. For the persecution of Jeremiah see Jer. xxxi-xxxviii. Because they 
persecuted God’s chosen representative and servant (the prophet) they brought upon themselves destruction. 

And hea prophet... Cp. Jer. i. 5. 


504 


SIRACH 49. 7-10 


ΤῸ pluck up, to break down’, and to destroy, 
And likewise to build, and to plant, “and to strengthen*. 


(r) XLIX. 8-10. Ezekiel, Fob, and the Twelve Prophets (2 +2 distichs). 


8 Ezekiel saw a vision, 
And described the different beings of the chariot. 
9» He also made mention of Job “(among the prophets)*” 
deWho maintained “ fall the ways of righteousness “αὶ 
το And, moreover, as for the Twelve Prophets,— 
® May their bones (flourish in their place) 8, 
Who recovered Jacob to health®, ὃ 
iAnd delivered him (by confident hope)‘. 


(_ yan, cp. Jer. xxxi. 28) 8-ὃ > b-D (χὰ καὶ yap ἐμνησθὴ των exper ev ομβρῳ ὁτὸ Restoring “S12 i.e. 
DINDI: G mzsread Δ), cp. Aquila, Ps. Ixxvii. 2 for ομβριω (= yan); 3) ALS. has space Jor this but τς tllegible : 
SS d-d 55. ‘Whose ways were all righteousness ’ 9:9 (τ και ἀγαθωσαι, but V κατορθωσαι, 248 ἄς. κατωρθωσε 
(= Syro-Hex.) If ῥα τοὺς evBuvovras odovs Ἐ- ® (defective)... ONY Nn; supply oNNN nw (so Smend 
and Peters) = @& ta oota ἀαναθαλοι εκ του τοπου αὐτων (= 45) h-h & mapeKaheoey (-cav A 55 155) δὲ tov Ιακωβ 
(jo S$ Ἰσραηλ) 1 35 (defective)... MY: (ἃ καὶ Avtpwcaro (-σαντο A 254 ) avrovs ev morer ελπιδὸς (the 


‘To pluck up...’ Cp. Jer. i. Io. 

and to strengthen. These words were added to the citation by Ben-Sira in order to fill up the line. 

(vy) XLIX. 8-10 (EZEKIEL, JOB, AND THE TWELVE PROPHETS). 

8....vision. Cp. Ezek. i; see also Ezek. x. 

the different beings of the chariot. Lit. ‘the sorts, or kinds, of the chariot’, The term ‘chariot’ here is 
a technical one to denote Ezekiel’s picture of the heavenly beings who support Jahveh’s throne-chariot. This is the 
earliest use of the term (7355) in this technical sense of a sacred mystery. In early Rabbinical literature the term 
ernployed is 12351) NYY, and it was laid down that it ‘should not be taught to any one except he be wise and able to 
deduce knowledge through wisdom of his own’ (Mishnah, JZegid/ah iv. το, Hagigahii.1). The study of it was laterdeveloped 
into a whole system of theosophy. In its earliest form the conception of Jahveh riding on Cherubim upon the clouds seems 
to be a genuinely Hebrew one; cp. Ps. xviii. 11, [ν 11]. 5; Deut. xxxiii. 26. In 1 Chron. xxviii. 15 the Ark with the 
Cherubim is called the ‘Chariot’; the story of Elijah riding to heaven (2 Kings ii. 11) may have been suggested by 
the Assyrian sun-chariot drawn by horses (cp. 2 Kings xxiii. 11). Ezekiel, in his vision, apparently saw Jahveh riding 
on the throned chariot, supported by the Cherubim, when leaving the doomed Temple at Jerusalem. It is worth noting 
that the term ‘ chariot’ does not actually occur in Ezekiel’s vision, though it became the technical term describing it; 
nor must a chariot in the ordinary sense be thought of in this connexion. The divine ‘chariot-throne’ represents a 
transformation of the original conception, and has become something quite transcendental. 

g. He also made mention of... Ezekiel (xiv. 14, 20) mentions Job in company with Noah and Daniel as one of 
the prophets, if this reading can be accepted as correct (see critical note). It is significant that Ben-Sira brings in the 
mention of Job in this way ; he deliberately calls attention to the Job of older tradition as this is embodied in Ezekiel ; 
in this tradition Job figures with Noah and Daniel, or possibly, in the original text of Ezekiel, Enoch (instead of Daniel). 
In the apocalyptic sense Noah and Enoch were certainly ‘ prophets’, and a reflection of this view may perhaps be seen 
in the opinion held by some Rabbis that Job was one of the prophets of the Gentiles (Seder Olam Rabba xxi). 
A possible inference from the way and the position in which Ben-Sira mentions Job is that he was not acquainted with 
a canonical Book of Job, though he may have known some form of our Book of Job not yet canonical. 

...all the ways of righteousness. Ezekiel in the two passages referred to above speaks of Job, in company with 
Noah and Daniel, expressly as a type of righteousness (‘... by their righteousness’). 

1o. the Twelve Prophets. It is interesting to note that the Twelve Prophets are treated as a single book ; this 
implies, probably, that they had already assumed essentially the form in which they appear in the Canon ; note, too, that 
they follow Ezekiel, as in the Hebrew Canon. 

May their bones(fiourish...) Cp. xlvi. 12, where this curious expression also occurs; there is, of course, no 
teference to a resurrection here. The word means literally ‘to send out shoots’; here it has, no doubt, a metaphorical 
meaning such as, ‘ May their memory flourish,’ or the like ; but originally the idea of the bones ‘sprouting’ must be 
connected with some old-world superstition. Among the ancient Semites it was a regular custom to pour water on the 
graves, which suggests the idea of causing something to grow. Among the Arabs one of the usual prayers for the dead 
was that Heaven might send rain upon their graves (cp. Wellhausen, Res/e avabischen Heidenthums, pp. 182 ff.). For 
the belief that the life of the deceased lies dormant in his bones, see Tylor, P7zmitzve Culture, ii, pp. 150 ff. ; Jevons, 
Intr. to the Hist. of Rel., p. 56; Spencer and Gillen, Northern Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 530 ft. 

Who recovered...(hope). This is an interesting summary of the outstanding teaching of the book of the Twelve 
Prophets, as Ben-Sira conceived it. Their book is to him essentially one of consolation and hope. This was also the 
view of the Rabbinic teachers who, in order to avoid a gloomy and threatening conclusion to the whole book (Malachi 
ends with the words, ‘Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse’), directed (see the Massorah) that the last 


verse but one should be repeated in reading. This is also the case with the books of Isaiah, Lamentations, and 
Ecclesiastes. 


1 So as to follow the actual last verse. 
1105 505 iby 


SIRACH 49. 11-16 


(s) XLIX. 11-13. Zerubbabel, Foshua the son of Fosedeg, and Nehemiah (3 +2 distichs). 


11 * How shall we magnify Zerubbabel— 
He, indeed was as a signet on the right hand ;— 
121And also! Jesus, the son of Josedeq ? 
Who in their days™ built the House™*, 
And set up on high “ἴῃς Holy Temple°, 
Which was prepared for everlasting glory. 
13 P Nehemiah,—glorious is his memory?! 
Who raised up “our ruins‘, 
© And healed our breaches, 
And set up gates and bars’. 


(ὃ XLIX. 14-16. Conclusion (Enoch, Foseph, Shem, Seth, Enoch, and Adam) (3 distichs). 


t4 * Few like® Enoch have been created on earth ; 
tHe also was taken up" *(from off the face thereof) **. 
15 “Like Joseph was ever a man born ὃ 
His body* also Yendured a visitation’. 
16 Shem, Seth?,*and Enoch were (/zgh/y honoured) ὃ: 
But above every living thing »was the beauteous glory of? Adam. 


last words perhaps = nos mypna [Smend] or mpn ΤΟΝ [ Perers]) καὶ τὸ ALS. damaged ; restore with 
Smend (cp. Peters) = & substantially : 
Saant ΓΝ ΠΟ) m9 
spor cy Sy onina sim 
ΓΝ ja yw’ ns Oo 
7M3 13 OND. IWS 


14 So S: (ἃ and Sah ουτως m A Β΄ πυργον (?) (Bt οικον) n S$ ‘who in their poverty’ 0-0 @ λαὸν (A vaov) 


αγιον Κυριῳ P-P Gr και νεμουσιν (No A Νεεμιου) ἐπὶ πολυ τὸ μνημόσυνον, 70 248 και εν εκλεκτοις nv Νεεμιας 
(70 Τερεμιας) ov ἐπι πολυ τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτου (0 aura) τὰ Ge ἡμιν (δὲ nov) τειχη (N* χείλη, NC-® τείχη) πεπτωκοτα 
rt (τ ¢ransposes these two clauses 5:3 G& οὐδε εἰς ὑῦ ὦ; u A μετετεθη (Gk ἀανελημφθηὴ v-v Reading 


with Bacher (JQR, xii. 281) mB Sy (cp. Gamo τῆς yns) for DID (= ὃ ‘in person’ [Smend] or ‘within’ [Schechter ]) 
W-W ( οὐδε ws (B 68 0 de) Ιωσηφ εγενηθηὴ (Textus Receptus εἐγεννηθη) avnp: S ‘A mother’ (mzsunderstanding DS) 
‘like Joseph was not born’: G& + nyovpevos αδελῴων otnprypa Aaov (=1. τὰ, ® 8) Χ (ἃ ta οστα y-Y 70 248 


(s) XLIX. 11-13 (ZERUBBABEL, JOSHUA, AND NEHEMIAH). 

11. asa Signet... See Hag. il. 23; cp. Jer. xxii. 24 for the full phrase, 

12. Jesus. Or Joshua, cp. Ezra ili. 2, 3. 

the House. As Smend points out, οἶκον may be a correction of πύργον, which can be used of any lofty building ; 
cp. Josephus (Bed/. Jud. vii. 10. 3), who speaks of the temple of Heliopolis as πύργῳ (παραπλήσιος). 

set up on high... For the Hebrew phrase cp. Ezra ix. 9. 

...for everlasting glory. An echo of the Messianic Hope, cp. Hag. ii. 7, 9. 

13. glorious is his memory. The warmth of the terms with which Ben-Sira speaks of Nehemiah contrasts 
significantly with his silence regarding Ezra; apparently the latter did not occupy so high a place of estimation within 
the circle of the scribes to whom Ben-Sira belonged as was the case with the later scribes. These earlier Sofherim were 
profoundly affected by the spirit of the Wisdom-Literature, and had an altogether wider outlook. There is a marked 
contrast in this respect between Ben-Sira and the generality of the later Rabbis, with whom in so many other respects 
he has such striking marks of affinity. It would seem that Nehemiah’s pious aspiration that he might be remembered 
for good (Neh. xiii. 14, xxii. 31) has met with a sympathetic response on the part of Ben-Sira. 

Who raised up our ruins. See Neh. ii, passim. 
gates and bars. Cp. Neh. vi. 1, vii. 1. 


(¢) XLIX. 14-16 (CONCLUSION). 

14-16. In order to provide a fitting conclusion to the Praise of the Fathers, and at the same time to mark it off from 
the hymn in praise of Simeon which follows (ch. 1.), Ben-Sira reverts to the most glorious of the Fathers of old. With 
the object of enhancing Israel’s glory, Joseph is bracketed with Enoch, and Shem, Seth, and Enoch with Adam,— 
Israel’s ancestors with those of the human race (Smend). 

14. Few like Enoch. Enoch has already been referred to in xliv. 16. (ἃ ‘not one...’ involves a difficulty, seeing — 
that Elijah was also taken up without dying (2 Kings ii. 11) ; # removes the difficulty (‘Few.. .’). 

He also was taken up. Cp. Gen. v.24. The omission of this whole clause by % (see crit. note) may be due to 
dogmatic reasons (36 also omits xliv. 16, see notes 27 /oc.). 

15. His body also... i.e. a providential visitation in being transported from Egypt to the land of promise — 
(cp. Gen. 1. 25; Exod. xiii. 19; Joshua xxiv. 32). Enoch was translated into heaven in a wonderful way, but shared this 
distinction with Elijah; Joseph, however, enjoyed the unique distinction of having his body transported long after 
death from a foreign country to the Holy Land. 


506 


SIRACH 49. 155—50. 4 


XLIX. 156 and L. 1-24. Jn praise of the High-Priest, Simeon, the son of Fochauan. 
(1+ 341434+24243434342424+24+3+142+43 distichs). 
154*Great among his brethren and the glory” of his people 
) 1 Was Simeon, the son of Jochanan® the priest**. 
®In whose time’ the House was renovated?®, 
And in whose days the Temple was fortified ; 
2 4iIn whose days the wall was built+, 
k(Having) 'turrets for protection! like™ a king’s palace* ; 
3™™In whose time a reservoir was dug, 
A water-cistern™ °like the sea°® in its abundance™. 
_4?He took thought for his people [to preserve them] ‘from robbers®, 
And fortified his city against the enemy"?. 


++ uro Κυριου : S ‘ was buried in peace’ 22 fr SUL aa (τ ev avOporas εδοξασθησαν : S ‘and Enoch among 
men were created’: # wpb) (v. 15) wn), for which read 132). ..: Ὁ combines G& and ® and misreads \12) 
as \(S)133 b-b (ἃ ev τῃ κτισει (= MNIII for NANDN) 

aa |. , ἡγούμενος αδελῴων στηριγμα λαου Σιμων Orrov (B* ΝΕ Tovov) vos ἱερεὺς ὁ peyas b Hn asan: S ΝΣ 
(= ny ‘ crown i) ¢ $ Syro-Hex ΝΠ) ἀ S++ (= Cr) 9: (ἃ os ev (wn αὐτου ὑπεραψεν otxov 
f $3 hit. ‘generation; in his days’ & Reading P1213 (Schechter) for ἽΡΒ) (‘visited’): S Π)3) (‘was built’) 
h ® places v. 3 before v. 2 Mi (τ καὶ um αὐτου εθεμελιωθὴ vos διπλης Καὶ (ἃ ἀναλημμα ὑψηλον περιβολου tepou 
I Reading ΓΞ Sor yo Ἔ m Reading Ὁ for 3 (‘ in ἢ mm-mm (ἴ ey ἡμεραις αὐτου ἡλαττωθη (read 
ἐλατομηθὴ with Fritzsche) arodoxeov vdatwv χαλκὸς woer θαλασσης τὸ περιμετρον: S ‘ He dug a well’ n Reading 
MUN for MWS 0-0 Reading DD (= &) for ἘΞ p-p 3 ‘And he saved his people from the enemy’ 
(4 Garo πτωσεως: Ha perditione T . . . ἐνπολιορκησαι « to besiege =) 


16. Shem... For this juxtaposition of Shem, Seth, and Adam, cp. 1 Chron. i. 1. Shem, Seth (and Enoch) 
“represent the ancestors of the pious part of the post-diluvian and antediluvian world respectively’ (Edersheim). 

But above every living thing. The thought implicit here seems to be that Adam, in virtue of having been 
directly created by God without human parentage, enjoys a glory which is not shared by any other member of the 
» human race (cp. Luke iii. 38). This idealization of Adam is a notable feature, and occurs here for the first time in 
Jewish literature ; it played Jater an important part in the development of Messianic doctrine (the Second Adam); but 


| itis precarious to impute such an idea to Ben-Sira, whose thought here may merely have been that Adam in his ideal 
___ | aspect was only adequately and worthily represented in his pious descendants, i.e. the Chosen People. 
Ay ὃ. XLIX. 15 6+L. 1-24 (IN PRAISE OF THE HIGH-PRIEST SIMEON). : ; 4 
ΤΙ XLIX. 15 ὁ. Great among his brethren. Cp. Lev. xxi. Io, ‘ He that is the high-priest among his brethren. . .’ 
dd the glory of his people. M N5N is used in Esther i. 4 in reference to the majesty of King Ahasuerus. 
4d L.1. Simeon. The second of the name, who lived at the beginning of the second century B.C.; it was this Simeon, 
_ | not Simeon I, who was surnamed ‘the Righteous’, a title given, according to Smend, because he was the last of the 
_ | house of Zadok to observe the Law. Josephus speaks of his father as Onias (Az. xii. 4. 10). 
ἢ _Jochanan. }3M\' is a shortened form of ᾿Σ ΠῚ ΠΡ; cp. PDN (Ezek. i. 2) for [3 Πὴ, which is also contracted to 
$M) (Jer. xxvii. 20) and 39D (Jer. xxii. 24,28). For the Greek "Iovias cp. the form 131’, which occurs on an ossuary 
_ jinscription found at Gezer (see PE FQ, 1904, p. 342). 
uk _ In whose time. i.e. Simeon was no more living when this was written; the Greek makes this still clearer, see 
 jcrit. note. 
oe) i the House. Used in reference to the Temple in Ezek. xl. In the earlier literature it does not, as a rule, stand 


alone, but ‘of God’ or ‘of Jahveh’ is added; in 1 Kings vi (cp. also 2 Chron. i. 18, ii. 3, &c.), however, it 
stands alone. 

3 renovated. Lit., according to the emended reading (see crit. note), ‘to breach up’; the verb occurs in 2 Chron, 
_ \kxxiv. 10 as parallel to pif ‘to repair’, also in reference to the ‘ House’; this is its only occurrence in the O.T., 
_jhough the noun P73 (‘a breach’) is found fairly frequently. 


oh} the Temple was fortified. Cp. Josephus, «172. xii. 3. 3. 

_ | 2. turrets for protection. i.e. battlements placed at intervals along a wall, cp. v. 4 ὁ. 
>| Tike... i.e. as in a king’s palace. 

_ } 3. areservoir. 7\pp, cp. Isa. xxii. 11. 


A water-cistern. The Hebrew as it stands has MUN (¢1 will talk’), which is clearly corrupt. Schechter, 
llowed by Ryssel, reads MM, as in Jer. xviii. 22 (the Qév7 has MW); but this does not account for the presence of 
ε δ, Bevan, followed by Smend, suggests mvs, citing line 9 of the Mesha Inscription (MWN7 12 VYN) tyodya NS JAN), 


And I built Baal-Meon and made therein a reservoir’; cp. also line 23: pind nhwsn ΝΟΣ ΤΩΝ JIN), “And I made 
tices (?) for the reservoir for water’); this seems to be preferable. The word does not occur in the O.T.; cp., 
»wever, ΠΝ ‘a pit’, Jer. ii. 6, xvili. 20, and NNW, with the same meaning, in Ps. lvii. 7, cxix. 85. 
in its abundance. i271 in reference to a mass of water occurs in Jer. x. 13, li. 16; cp. also I Kings xviii. 41. 
4. He took thought. For the expression [2 4N7 in the sense of being concerned about something cp. Ps. xxxviii. 19. 
from robbers. *NN lit. ‘from (becoming) a prey’; cp. Prov. xxili. 28, the only other occurrence of the word in 
HORA “δ 
| fortified his city. Cp. xlviii. 17. : 
_ | against the enemy. Smend, on the basis of what was probably the text before the Greek translator, reads 


507 112 


“a 


SIRACH 50. 5-11 


5 How glorious was he ‘when he looked forth from the Tent’, 
And" when he came out from the sanctuary ! 
6 Like a morning-star Yfrom between the clouds’, 
And like the full moon “on the feast-days” ; 
7 *Y Like the sun shining upon the Temple of the Most High’, 
And like the rainbow *becoming visible” in the cloud*’; 
8 ‘Like a flower on the branches° in the days of the first-fruits?, 
*And as a lily by the water-brooks’®, 
As the sprout’ of Lebanon on summer days, 
9 And £as the fire of incense’ in the censer? ; 
Like a golden vessel’ ‘beautifully wrought?*, 
Adorned with ™all manner™ of precious stones ; 
το Like a luxuriant™ olive-tree °full of berries °, 
And like an oleaster? “abounding in branches‘. 
11*When he put on his glorious* robes’, 
And clothed himself in perfect* splendour, 


ss (ἴ ev περιστροφῃ Aaov t $ ‘Temple’ usG> V-V (ἃ ev μεσῳ vepedns W-W (ἃ ev nuepas: 70 248 
+ αὐτῆς (deg. eoptns): S ‘in the days of Nisan’ x ® WD msert ‘and’ y-y The clauses are transposed in V 
70 248 253 Syro-Hex 2So (ἃ: 38 ‘king’: 3> aa (τ φωτιζον ev νεφελαις δοξης b-b > οτο Reading 
DDI 725. (znstead of DIYDYID): Ck ὡς avOos ροδων: S ‘like spikenard’ d-d Reading pn \23n (Peters) for 
IYI: Gr νεων : S ‘of the field’: # vernis e-e (ἴ ws kpwa ex εξοδων vdaros f' > “trees } &-2 Ok ws πὺυρ και 
λιβανος : S ‘as the smell of incense’ ἢ Reading ΠΙΓΙΩΠ (= 9 &) for ANA iS ‘necklace’ kKSo S: 
the Hebrew text ts much mutilated: (τ ὁλοσφυρητον (‘all of beaten [gold]’) 1 Zz#.‘enamelled’ ™™ Reading 
bs Sor by 1 G&> : 70 248 evmpenns (= 3) 0-0 (ἃ ἀναθαλλουσα καρποὺς : S ‘great with branches” 
P Gk κυπαρισσος 4-a Reading ὩΣ 71412 zslead of 43y ΠΥ (‘ giving its branches to drink’ = 5): G υψουμενη 


‘against a siege’ (reading 7)¥!2'D instead of 1¥!2). S renders according to the present Hebrew text. With regard to 
the text of (ἃ Smend says: ‘The infinitive is meaningless, for ἐμπολιορκῆσαι cannot well=rov μὴ ἐμπολιορκηθῆναι.᾽ It is 
true πολιόρκησις does not occur elsewhere, but ἐμπολιορκεῖν is also rare and is not found in the Bible. In any case & did 
not read ἽΝ, but ΝΠ, i.e. ΝΞ or DWN. 

5. How glorious. Cp. xlvi. 2. 

when he came out. Ben-Sira is referring to the moment when the High-Priest, after having taken the ritual bath 
and being robed in the special garments, comes forth to offer the burnt-offering in atonement for himself and the people. 
It is the Day of Atonement that is referred to, the ritual of which is described in Lev. xvi; see especially vv. 23-25. 
Many further details of this ceremony are to be found in the Mishnic tractate Vowa; an English translation of this 
tractate with full notes by G. H. Box is published in Church and Synagogue, xi. 139 ff., xii. 49 ff. 

from the sanctuary. M375 N°), lit. ‘from the house of the veil’ (i.e. the Holy of Holies), so called because 
of the veil of blue, purple, and crimson which separated the Holy of Holies (Dedir) from the Holy Place (Hék/a/) ; but 
there was also a veil in front of this latter, separating it from the Court of the Priests; it must, however, be the former 
to which reference is made here, because the veil is spoken of as the Pavoketh, whereas the veil before the Holy Place 
was known as the AM/asakh. 

6. amorning-star. Lit. ‘a shining star’; cp. Ps. cxlviii. 3. 

...feast-days. It was full moon at the two chief feasts, Passover and Tabernacles. 

7. Like the sun shining. The Neo-Hebrew word (Ὁ Hiph.) occurs in xliii, 9 inthe margin; it is not found in the | 
O.T. Josephus thus describes the effect of the sun shining on the Temple: ‘ Now the outward face of the Temple in 
its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise either the minds or the eyes of men ; for it was wholly covered with | 
plates of gold of great weight; and when the sun arose it reflected back a truly fiery splendour, and caused those who 
jorced hen to look upon it to turn away their eyes, just as they would have done at the rays of the sun itself” 
(Be 1. Iud. v. 5. 6). ; { 

And like the rainbow... Ben-Sira evidently had the words of Ezek. i. 28 in mind: ‘As the appearance of the | 
bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain.’ 

8. Like a flower on the branches. Cp. the Midrash .5 12). ha-Shirim to ii. 3: ‘Just as the apple-tree first brings | 
forth the bloom and then its leaves.’ 1 

in the days of the first-fruits. Cp. Num. xxviii. 26 (Hebr. and Sept.). 
asalily. Cp. xxxix. 14. 
by the water-brooks. Cp. Is. xxx. 25, xliv. 4. 
the sprout of Lebanon. The same words (fiaad M18) occur in Nahum i. 4; the reference is to the cedars on 
Mount Lebanon. : ᾿ 
Ὁ: ἘΞ" ΠΙῸ.-- Gps ΚΟΥ 11:1, ν᾿. 8: see 5150 ΧΠΧῚ ΤῸ 
Adorned... Cp. xlv. 11. 
10. a luxuriant olive-tree. Cp. Ps. lii. 10; Isa. xi. 16. 
full of berries. Cp. Is. xvii, 6. { 
oleaster. In Neh. viii. 15 the oleaster (the wild olive-tree) and the olive-tree are also mentioned together. See 
further Nowack, Hebraische Archaologie, i, pp. 66, 238. 


eG, 
508 


SIRACH 50. 11-15 


When he went up "to the altar of majesty", 
*And made glorious the court of the sanctuary * ; 


12 When he took the portions from 7the hand of his brethren’, 


While standing *by the blocks of wood, 
Around him the garland? of his sons°, 
deTike young cedar-trees® in Lebanon ; 
And ‘like willows by the brook‘ did they surround him‘, 
» All the sons of Aaron in their glory, 
And the Lord’s? fire-offering * in their hands, 
In the presence of the whole congregation! of Israel. 


14™Until he had finished the service of the altar™ 


2And arranging the rows of wood of the Most High”, 
15 °(And) stretched forth his hand to the cup, 
P And poured out of the blood of the grape? ; 
Yea, poured (it) out at the foot® of the altar, 
A sweet-smelling savour *to the Most High, the All-King'® 


. 


ev (248>) vepedas (= py opin) ΤῸ (τ ev τῷ avadapBavew αὐτὸν στολὴν do€ns 83+ ‘holy’ t Reading 
bibs for 731 (Smend) u-u 3 ‘to receive the songs of praise’ ν & ‘holy (altar) ’ x-x § ‘In the beauty 
of the might of the sanctuary’ y $ ‘the pieces of flesh’ 2- (ἃ εκ χείρων ἱερων τῷ (τ map ἐσχαρᾳ βωμου 
b Lit, ‘ crown’ ¢ $ G& ‘ brethren’ ἀ-ἃ 8». &-€ E& ὡς βλαστημα κεδρου (referring to the High-Priest) 
ff (ἃ στελεχη φοινικων (6 stems of palm-trees a) h G+ καὶ igs> K Ge mpoopopa 1 3 ‘people’ 
M-M QF καὶ συντελειαν λειτουργων ἐπὶ βωμων nn € κοσμησαι προσῴφοραν Ὑψίστου Παντοκρατορὺς : 3 ‘and to serve 
the Most High with holy joy’ °° > /hrough homototeleuton, both this and the preceding verse ending presumably 


with yoy (‘Most High’). p-p S* And took old wine’ 4 Lit, ‘foundations’; 3 ‘side’ tr 55» 


11. glorious robes. For the description of the High-Priest’s attire see Exod. xxviii. 36-42, xxix; cp. Sirach 
xlv. 6-13; Yoma vii. 5; also Josephus, Amz. ili. 7. 4-7, Bell. [ud.v. 5. 7. 
When he went up... Cp. Lev. xvi. 18, ‘And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the. . .’ 
the altar of majesty. 117 (‘majesty’) is not used in the O.T. in reference to the altar. 
And made glorious the court of the sanctuary. ΠΝ (= περιβολή, precincts’) is used of the ledge (R.V. 


‘settle’) surrounding the altar of Ezekiel, see Ezek. xliii. 14,17, 20,xlv. 19; but YP is never used of the altar, always 
meaning ‘sanctuary’; we must, therefore, take 7 in its later meaning, as in 2 Chron. iv. 9, where it is used in reference 
to the great, i.e. the outer, court; it is also used in this sense in the Mishnic tractate Vora, where details concerning the 
ritual on the Day of Atonement are given; e.g. in i.8 mention is made of the ΠΝ being ‘full of Israelites’, and in iv. 3 
there is a reference to ‘the pavement which is in the court’ (7MWYaY 73199), 
12. When he took the portions. i.e. of the animals to be sacrificed; see the details in Yowa ii. 5-7. For nn) 
used in the sense of portions of sacrificed animals cp. Exod. xxix. 17; Lev. 1. 8, vill. 20, 1x. 13. 
blocks of wood. ND 7p, lit. ‘rows’, i.e. the pieces of wood laid ready for use. The word comes from the root 
WY ‘to lay in order’, which is used technically for laying the wood in order for the burning of the sacrifice ; cp. Gen. 
xxli. 9; 1 Kings xviii. 23. According to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrqanus, who lived during the first century A.D. (JZegzllath 
Ta‘ anith v), the fifteenth day of Ab was the great day for wood-offering, ‘when both priests and people brought kindling- 
wood in large quantities to the altar, for use in the burning of sacrifices during the whole year’ (EA, i. 26a). Josephus 
(Bell. ud. \i. 17- 6) refers to this when he says: ‘ Now the next day was the festival of Xy/ofhoria, upon which the 
custom was for every one to bring wood for the altar, that there might never be a want of fuel for that fire which 
was unquenchable and always burning.’ 
Like young cedar-trees. Cp. the somewhat similar expression in Ps. cxxviil. 3 O'N Sonya. 
like willows by the brook. Cp. Lev. xxiii. 40; Job xl. 22; Is. xliv. 4; for the rendering of & (see critical 
note) cp. Exod. xv. 27; Num. xxxilil.6; Ps. ΧΕΙ]. 12, 13. 
13. In the presence of... Cp. the same phrase in 1 Kings vill. 22. 
14. the service of the altar. Lit. ‘to serve the altar’ Nat mid ; cp. the similar phrase in Joel !. 13 Mand Nw. 
the rows of wood. See note on v. 12 ὁ. toupee les : ᾿ 
15. poured out of the... Cp. Josephus, 477. 111. 9.. 4: ‘They bring the same quantity of oil which they do of wine, 
and they pour the wine about the altar.’ See Num. xxviii. 1-8 ; cp. Yoma 111. 4. For the expression ‘blood of the 
grape’ cp. xxxix. 26; Gen. xlix. 11; Deut. xxxii.14. The stress laid upon the drink-offering is noteworthy; in the 
Mishna ( Yoma) it is merely mentioned, nothing more. ; 
A sweet-smelling savour = 1.) 0", the technical term for an odour soothing to God ; it is usually employed in 
reference to burnt-offerings (cp. Gen. viii. 21; Exod. xxix. 18; Lev. 1.9; Num. xv, &c., ἅς.) ; in, e.g., Exod. xxix. 41 
the drink-offering is mentioned together with it; in Ezek. xvi. 19 it occurs in reference to offerings of flour, oil, and honey 
to idols; but in Ezek. xx. 28 it says: ‘... there they presented the provocation of their offering, there also they made 
their sweet savour, and they poured out there their drink-offerings.’ 


veo 


16 


17 


18 


το 


SIRACH 50. 16-21 


Then the sons of Aaron® sounded 
With the trumpets tof beaten work'; 
Yea, they sounded and caused a mighty blast to be heard 
«For a remembrance before the Most High”. 
’(Then) all flesh“ hasted together” 
And fell upon their faces to the earth, 
To worship *before ¥the Most High*, 
2Before the Holy One of Israel*’. 
“And the sound of the song was heard®, 
And over the multitude” ‘they made sweet melody°; 
4° And all the people of the land cried 
In prayer before the Merciful, 
‘Until he had finished Sthe service of the altar®', 
4 And His ordinances had brought him nigh unto Him?. 


20 Then he descended, and lifted up his hands 


21 


Upon the whole congregation of Israel}, 
k And the blessing of the Lord (was) upon his lips*, 
And he glorified himself with the name of the Lord!. 
™And again they fell down™, (now) to receive” 
°The pardon? of God from him°*. 


8 #+‘the priests’; G+ ‘shouted and’ ὑπὸ S ‘before all the people of Israel’ u-u S ‘in order to bless 
before all the people’ VA ES W & ‘the people’ s-x (ἃ ‘their Lord’ Yay eo God: 2-2 (ἃ 
‘the Almighty God Most High’ a-a 10 vt, “And the song gave its voice’: & ‘ And the singers praised (Him) 
with their voices’: S$ ‘They gave their voice to thanksgiving’ bb (ἃ ev πλειστῳ oxo c-e Reading 
pa way (= 61) zstead of 7) 1D yn (‘they arranged his lamp’) d-d @& ‘And the people besought the 
Lord Most High’ ee S> ff See note on 14 a above S-£ Gr κοσμος Κυριου hh (τ καὶ τὴν λειτουργιαν 
αὐτου ετελειωσαν i (τ wey Ισραηλ kk && δουναι ευλογιαν κυριῳ (Ν V 70 253 Syro-Hex kuptov) εκ χειλεων 
αὐτου 1 (ἃ avrov (157 κυριουὴ mM (ἃ καὶ εδευτερωσεν ev προσκυνήσει n Reading nawd (= &) for mw 
(Smend) 0-0 Oe τὴν εὐλογιαν παρα Ὑψιστου » Reading ΤΣ (Smend) ; the text τς somewhat mutilated, but 
Smend says that the letters ‘3, namentlich », sind kaum zweifelhaft ; von nm ist anscheinend der linke Fuss 


16. With the trumpets... Cf. Num.x. 2(R.V.marg.); for NWP (‘beaten work’) cp. Is. 111. 24. 
For a remembrance... Cp. Num. x. to. 
17. To worship... Cp. 2 Chron. xxix. 28. 
18. over the multitude... i.e. the prostrate congregation. 
19. And His ordinances... The Hebrew word 05vD, which often has the sense of ‘judgement’, is also used as 
a technical term expressive of something that is due to somebody ; thus in Deut. xviii. 3, ‘this shall be the priest’s due 
from the people .. .’, cp. Deut. xxi. 17; in Num. xv. 24 reference is made to the offerings to the Lord ‘ in accordance 
with what is due’, or, as the R. V. renders it, ‘according to the ordinance’ (25.222), cp. Job xxxvi. 6, Prov. xviii. 5. 
20. Then he descended. According to Lev. ix. 22, Aaron does not descend from the altar until after he has 
pronounced the Blessing, and Yomza vi. 2 seems to agree with this. 
And the blessing of the Lord... Cf. Yoma vi. 2,‘ And the priests and the people who are standing in the 
court (70Y3), when they hear the “Ineffable Name” (W75197 Dv’) proceeding out of the mouth of the High-Priest, then 
they bow themselves down and worship, falling down upon their faces, and say: ‘‘ Blessed be the Name of the glory of 
His Kingdom for ever and ever.” ’ This was the only occasion on which the Holy Name was pronounced. As is well 
known, in the Hebrew text of the O. T. the name 17) (‘Jehovah’= Jahveh) is written with the vowels of Adonaz 
(‘Lord’), and pronounced so ; if the title Adowaz precedes 717 (i.e. if the text has ‘the Lord Jahveh’) it is written 
with the vowels of E/ohim (‘God’). This was done in order to avoid pronouncing the Holy Name. In the Hebrew 


of Sirach, Jahveh is always written or ὡς This non-uttering of the Holy Name was not always due to reve- 
rential fear, but often also because of superstitious dread. ‘The names of supernatural beings, such as gods and — 
spirits, are commonly believed to be endowed with marvellous virtues, and the mere utterance of them may work 
wonders and disturb the course of nature’ (Frazer, Ze Golden Bough’, i, p. 441). This must certainly have applied 
at one time to the mass of the uncultured among the Israelites. There is a curious passage in Pzrye Abdoth v. 14, 
where it is said that ‘Noisome beasts come into the world for vain swearing, and for the profanation of the 
(divine) Name’. 
he glorified himself. i.e. because he was privileged to utter the Holy Name. 

21. And again they fell down... The verse presents us with the picture of the whole congregation falling 
down for the second time; the first time it was in order to receive the High-priestly blessing, now it is in order 
to receive divine justification, implying pardon for sin, through God’s minister; cp. the somewhat similar thing 
mentioned in Lev. ix. 24, ‘And there came forth fire from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt- 
offering and the fat; and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell down on their faces’; the acceptance of 
the offering was an earnest of divine forgiveness which the whole congregation received prostrate. In Ben-Sira’s 
day, apparently, the ‘ absolution’ was pronounced by the High-Priest. 


510 


SIRACH 50. 22-27 


22 Now ??bless ‘the God of all4?P, 
"Who doeth wondrously® on earth’, 
Who exalteth man* from the womb, 
And dealeth with him according to His will”. 
23 May He grant you wisdom’ of heart, 
And may there be peace ‘among you”. 
24 May His mercy be established * with Simeon’, 
*xy And may He raise up for him the covenant of Phinehas; 
May one never be cut off from him’; 
2 And as to his seed**, (may it be) as the days of heaven?**. 


L. 25,26. Three Detested Nations (2 distichs). 
25 For two nations doth my soul feel abhorrence, 
(Yea), and (for) a third, which is not a people ; 
26*The inhabitants of Seir? and* Philistia, 
And that foolish nation that dwelleth in Sichem*. 


SUBSCRIPTION TO) GHE BOOK 


L. 27-29. The Concluding Words of Feshua’, the son of Eleazar, the son of Sira (%+2 distichs), 
27 4Wise instruction and apt proverbs*4 
eefeOf Jeshua’, £8the son of Eleazar£2, the son of Sira’, 


erhalten’: (ἃ τὴν εὐλογιαν : WH virtutem rp-pp & ‘bless ye all God’ a-4 ‘the Lord God of Israel’: 
5S ‘and the people of the land praised God’ rT G τῷ μεγαλοποιουντι παντὴ 5 Reading ΕΝ Sor xdapn 
ὑπ ‘our days’ u ΛΔ ‘favour’: Ge ‘mercy’ Y (ἃ ‘joyfulness ’ Ὑτν (ἃ ‘in our days in Israel (7o> 
in Israel) for the days of eternity ’ XS Gr μεθ μων xx-xx $ ‘and with his seed’ IY & > 271 0g 
και εν Tals ἡμεραις αὐτου λυτρωσασθω nuas (70>) τὰ (τ ov καθημενοι ev oper Σαμαρειας (A 155 Ἔ και): © in monte 
Seir b S ‘Gebal’: 70 248 Syro-Hex+ καὶ avdpes ot κατοικουντες © (ἃ εν Σικιμοις dd (ἃ παιδείαν συνεσεως 
και επιστημης : 55 ‘all the proverbs of the wise and their riddles’ e Reading wy Sor bern ee-ee S “are 
written in this book’, omztting all the rest of vv. 27 bcd f pr. ‘of Simeon the son of’ S-S Q& “ Jesus the 
son of Sirach, Eleazar the Jerusalemite’: 2η Gt this and the next line are transposed 88-88 70 248 L> 


The pardon. See crit. note. The reading of (τ, ‘blessing,’ can scarcely be right, as the preceding verse has just 
dealt with the High-priestly blessing. 


22. Now bless... Martin Rinckart composed his hymn ‘Nun danket alle Gott’ (‘ Now thank we all our God’) 
on the basis of this text. 
doeth wondrously. Cp. Judges xiii. 19 (reading xbapn= Sept.). 
23. May He grant... The clause also occurs as xlv. 26a. 

24. with Simeon. The alteration in & is evidently intentionai, and the same applies to the omission of the two next 
lines; the ‘covenant of Phinehas’ had come to an end by the time that Ben-Sira’s grandson made his translation, so that 
_} the passage as found in 35 would have appeared inappropriate. The mention of Simeon does not necessarily mean that 
ΟΠ he was still living when Ben-Sira wrote (see note on v. 1) ; ‘Simeon’ stands here for his house and lineage. 

| the covenant of Phinehas. Cp. xlv. 24, 25. 

May one never be cut off... i.e. May his line always have a successor. 
as the days of heaven. i.e. endless’ 
L. 25, 26 (THREE DETESTED NATIONS). ὃ 
25, 26. These verses must probably have been added at the close of the book (if not by the author himself, which, 
however, is likely enough, then by a contemporary) with the special object of warning readers against those belonging to 
the three races mentioned. There was ample ground for the utterance of these words; the inhabitants of Seir, i.e. the 
Idumaeans (Edom), had been the bitter enemies of the Jews ever since the Return from Babylon; see e.g. Obad. 11-14; 
Ps. exxxvii. 7; Lam. iv. 21; Ezek. xxv. 12-14, xxxv. 14, xxxvi. 3; Mal. i. 2-5; Judith vii. 8, 18: according to 1 Macc. 
v.65 Hebron, and the villages thereof, were in possession of the Edomites (‘the children of Esau’) in the days of Judas 
|| Maccabaeus, cp. Josephus, Azz. xii. 8. 6, Bell. Jud. iv. 9.7; they had probably occupied this territory, which was less 
unfertile than their own land, ever since the Captivity. The antipathy which Ben-Sira had for the Philistines is easily 
ΟΠ understood when it is remembered how strongly Hellenized their country had become ; in the centuries following the 

} Macedonian conquest the influence of Greek civilization was profound and wide-reaching (for details see ZB, iii. 3725). 
| But the most hated of all were the people of Sichem, i.e. the Samaritans, as is well known ; they were, as Smend points 
_ j out, especially dangerous to their neighbours at this time, because the Seleucidae had made common cause with them 
_ | against the Jews. 

that foolish nation. 5123 J, cp. xlix. 5; Deut. xxxii. 21. 
L. 27-29. SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BOOK. a aan) 
27. apt. OI5\N; cp. Prov. xxv. 11; PIDN~DY 927 ἼΔῚ ‘a word aptly spoken’ (Symmachus renders it ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ). 
: /Smend thinks that both here and in Prov. xxv. 11 the reference is to metrical form. 
Jeshua‘... 18 inserts ‘Simeon the son of’, so also in the two subscriptions at the end of the book; but 
5r1 


SIRACH 50, 27—51. 3 


18" hiWhich he declared in the explanation of his heart", 
And which he taught with understanding. 
28 Blessed is the man® who meditateth* on these things}, 
ἢ And he that layeth them up in his heart shall become wise". 
& 29™For if he do them, °he shall be strong for all things”, 
30" ?For the fear of the Lord is life?®. 


APPENDIX TO THE BOOK (LI. 1-30) 


(a) LI. 1-12. A Prayer (24+24+24+34+2+242+42+43 distichs). 
51 1 22°T will thank Thee, ‘Jahveh, O King,° 
4J will praise Thee, O God “οἵ my salvation®??, 
I will declare Thy Name‘, £(Thou) strength of my lifes; 
2 "For Thou hast redeemed my soul from death, 
i'Thou didst keep back my flesh from the Pit’, 
k And from the power of Sheol Thou didst deliver my foot*; 
'Thou didst preserve me™ from the scourge of a slanderous tongue, 
And from the lips ®of them that turn aside to lies™ ; 
°Thou wast Pon my side?® in the face of those that rose up against me ; 
3 ‘Thou didst help me, according to the abundance of Thy mercy, 
Out of the snare ‘of those that watch for my stumbling’, 
And from the hand of those that seek my life ; 
From manifold troubles didst Thou save me%, 


h-h Reading NBA (so Smend for yw) xv 125 WE ii (ἃ exapaka τῳ βιβλιῳ τουτῳ [here follows 27 ὁ], 
os ανωμβρησεν σοῴφιαν aro καρδιας αὐτου ii (τ os k & ἀναστραφήσεται 1 % + bonis m-m 5 
‘and learneth them and becometh wise in them’ n-n 38» o-o $ ‘the height of the fear of the 
Lord is excellent above all things ; take hold thereof, my son, and let it not go’ PP Tn ® these words form 


one line with li. tba; (ἃ ore φως (106 φοβος) Κυριου ro txvos αὐτου: 55 70 248 254 Syro-Hex +xa τοις evoeBeow 
edwxe goquav: 55 70 248 254 + εὐλογητὸς κυριος ets Tov αἰωνα γένοιτο yevotto: 7O + δοξα σοι o Geos ἡμων Soka σοι 
4 70 Syro-Hex >ch. li. 

a-a Transposed in ® Ὁ προσευχὴ ἴησου wov Σειραχ rnserted as title by & ee So & S: ® ‘my God, my 
Father ’ d-d 3 ‘Every day will I praise Thy Name, O Lord’, mésplaced after v. 11 e-e @& ‘my Saviour’ 
f 3+ ‘in praises’ 5- Gr >: S ‘my trust is (in) the Most High from everlasting’ hoh (χὰ ore σκεπαστης 
kat BonOos eyevou μοι i Gt καὶ ελυτρωσω to copa pou εξ απωλιας k-k G@> II S>: (ἃ καὶ εκ mayidos S:aBodns 
γλωσσης m 35 + ‘from the slander of the people’ nn (τ ἐργαζομενων Ψευδος 0-0 & > p-p Lit. ‘for me’ 
4-4 (ἃ eyevou βοηθος, kar ελυτρωσω pe κατὰ τὸ πληθος ελεου και ὀονοματος Gov εκ βρυγμὼν ετοιμος εἰς βρωμα, (δὲ και) εκ χειρος 
ζητουντων τὴν Ψυχὴν μου εκ πλειονων θλίψεων ὧν εἐσχον tr Reading spby ‘EY (Schechter) 


Ben-Sira’s grandson, in the Prologue to his Greek translation of the book, calls the writer Jeshua‘, the son of Sirach. 
It is probable that the mention of Simeon here is due to the occurrence of this name in vv. I, 24. 

28: Blessedtismerms Gp ΒΞΙΙ 1: 

29. For ifhe... There can be no doubt that originally # had this clause in some form. 

= dite. (Gp Ετον: πα 27. ἘΠΕ: 28: 

LI. 1-30 (APPENDIX TO THE BOOK). 

(a) LI. 1-12 (A PRAYER). 

LI. τ. Jahveh, O King. Cp. Ps. cxlv. 1. The consensus of both (τ and $ against # favours the reading in the 
text ; for my God, my Father of ® cp. Exod. xv. 2, and the Adinu Malkenu prayer in the Jewish Liturgy (Singer's ed., 
ΡΡ. 55-57), as well as the Shemoneh ‘Esreh (‘ The Eighteen Benedictions’) (see, further, Taylor’s edition of Pirge Aboth, 
Excursus v, p. 124; the Hebrew text of Shkemonch ‘Esreh is given by Dalman in Die Worte Jesu, pp. 299-304). 

O God of my salvation. Cp. Ps. xviii. 46, xxv. 5. 
I will declare Thy Name. Cp. Ps. xxii. 22, cil. 21. 
(Thou) strength... Cp. Ps. xxvii. 1. 

2. Thou hast redeemed. Cp. Ps. xlix. 15, lv. 18, lvi. 13, Ixix. 18. 
Thou didst keep back... Cp. Job xxxiii. 18; Ps. xxviii. 50. 
Thou didst deliver my foot. Cp. Ps. xxv. 15. 
that turn aside to lies. Cp. Ps. xl. 5. 

... that rose up against me. Cp. Ps. iii. 1, lvi. 9. 

. the abundance of Thy mercy. Cp. Ps. v. 7, Ixix. 13, cvi. 7, 45. 
of those that watch for... For the Hebrew (see crit. note) cp. Jer. xx. Io. 
that seek my life. Cp. Ps. xxxv. 4, xl. 14, ]xiii. 9, Ixx. 2. 

512 


os 


STRACEH 61. 4=11 


4 And from the straits of the flame round about (me), 
stFrom the midst of the fire that I kindled not’, 
5 "From the deep of the belly of Sheol"’, 
YFrom the lips of wickedness, and from the framers of lies’, 
6 *And the arrows* of a deceitful tongue. 
My soul drew nigh’ unto death, 
And my life” to the nethermost* Sheol”. 
7°And I turned about on every side‘, “yet there was none to help me®?, 
ee And I looked for one to uphold”, but there was none. 
8 Then did I remember ‘the loving-kindnesses of Jahveh‘, 
And SHis mercies§ which have been from of old, 
Who delivereth them that trust in Him», 
i And redeemeth them ‘from all evil*'. 
g And 1 lifted up my voice! ™from the earth", 
"And cried out for help from the gates of Sheol”. 
10 °Yea, I cried: ‘O Jahveh?, my Father “art Thou?®, 
*For Thou art the hero of my salvation’ ; 
™Forsake me not™ in the day® of trouble, 
*In the day of wasteness and desolation‘. 
111 will praise Thy Name continually, 
«And will sing Thy praise in prayer’. 


ss $> tt Reading (it. ‘ that was not kindled’) Anas xd uN yuna: (ἃ καὶ ek μεσου πυρὸς ov οὐκ εξεκαυσα 
u-u Reading Sie on pany (= &) Y-VY G καὶ aro γλωσσης αἀκαθαρτου και λογου ψευδους xX G& βασιλει 
diaBory: ‘which presents a gloss (“arrows of the tongue” = slander) fogether with a corruption of an original 
Bodies (Jer. ix. 8) 07 βελη (cp. Job Xxxix. 22, βασιλει B: Beda δοιὰ A = ®)’ (Hass) YB ηνεσεν (NAV = 
53) 5): Ξ3., laudabit dominum 7, 5.6 spirit’ : (ἃ -Ἐην συνεγγος ἃ NCA 248 κατωτατου (& κατω) b $+ ‘and 
my spirit draweth near unto death’ τὸ (& περιεσχον pe παντοθεν 4-ὁ $ ‘in order that I might be upheld’ 
©& 3 >‘me’ ee-ee OF ἐμβλέπων (A εβλεπον, 248 ἐπεβλεπονῚ εἰς αντιλημψιν ανθρωπὼν ΓΕ G& τοῦ εἐλεοὺυς σου κυριε 
8- (τ της ἐργασιας σου h-h (τ ore εξελη τοὺς ὑπομενοντας σε Hi (χὰ καὶ σωζεις αὐτοὺς εκ χειρὸς εθνων (NA ἐεχθρων, 
V πονηρωνῚ k-k 3 ‘from him that is stronger than they’ 1 Ge uwerecay m-m B ἐπὶ γην, NA aro yns (cp. 248 
amo opyns) un Gf καὶ ὑπερ θανατου (A aro afavarov) ρυσεως εδεηθην : S ‘and I made supplication’ C505 Oy 
εἐπεκαλεσαμὴν κυριον πατερα κυρίου μου 00 Reading δὰ ΡΝ. (= & 3) for on) (‘ Yea, I exalted ’) Ὁ 45)» 
4-ἃ $ ‘from on high’ tr Gr >: 3 ‘mighty Lord and Saviour’ Tr-rr Qf μη με εγκαταλιπειν 5 Gr ev ἡμεραις 
(248 253 εν npepa = iL) tt Gr ev καιρῳ ὑπερηφανιων αβοηθησιας : S> wu Reading JIN) (Smend) = & 
for 728) («And I will remember thee ’) Vv (ἃ ev εξομολογησει : S ‘in praises’ 


4. the straits of the flame. Cp. Is. xlvii. 14. 
that I kindled not. Cp. Job xx. 26; a figurative way of expressing the presence of troubles not of one’s 

own making. 

5. From the deep... This rendering is uncertain, as O97 does not occur in this connexion in the O.T.; cp. 
Jonah ii. 3; note, however, {1 (‘belly’) is not used elsewhere in a similar connexion. 

the framers of lies. Lit. ‘them that plaster lies’, cp. Job xiii. 4; Ps. cxix. 69. 
6. And the arrows... See crit. note. Cp. Ps. lii. 2. 

My soul drew nigh... Cp. Ps. Ixxxvili. 3. 

to the nethermost Sheol. Cp. Ps. Ixxxvi. 13, Ixxxviil. 6. 
7- Iturned about... Cp. Ps. cvii. 12; Is. Ixiii. 5. 
8. ... the loving-kindnesses... Cp. Ps. xxv. 6. 

...them that trust in Him. Cp. Ps. xvi. 1. 

And redeemeth them... Cp. Gen. xlvili. 16; Ps. cxxi. 7. 


from all evil. 97 S30, for which Smend would read 1 ἢ2)2 (=x) ‘from the hand of evil’, cp. Hab. 11. 9; which 
Peters reads ἫΝ 7°D (‘from the power of the enemy’); @ possibly read this, cp. I Kings XXviil. 18. 
9. from the gates of Sheol. Cp. Is. xxxvili. 10; Jonah ii. 3. 


Io. ...my Father art Thou. See note onv.1; cp. Ps. Ixxxix. 26. The rendering of && (see crit. note) is probably 
due to Christian influence. Cp. Ps. ii. 7, cx. I. ἡ 
the hero of my salvation. Cp. ‘the rock of my salvation’ in Ps. ἰχχχίχ. 26 (cp. Ps. Ixil. 2), and ‘the strength 
of my salvation’ in Ps. cxl. 7 (cp. Isa. xxxiii. 6). 
In the day of wasteness... See Zeph. i. 15, from which this is quoted. 
11. I will praise... Cp. Ps. cxlv. 2. KI 
And will sing Thy praise. This rendering of & is preferable to that of #3; the two verbs Vt and « 7 occur 
together in Ps. cxxxv. 3. 
in prayer. Cp. 1. 19. 


ous) 


38" 


STRAGC EN “bien τ 


‘¥ Then did Jahveh hear my voicewy, 
And gave heed to my supplication ; 


12 ~ And He redeemed me from all evil” 


x And delivered me* Yin the day of trouble’. 
Therefore will I give and offer praise’, 
And bless the Name of Jahveh”?:— 


(6) τοῦ χνὶ (Extant only in Hebrew): A Thanksgiving (=1+4+4+443 distichs). 


i. Give thanks unto Jahveh, for He is good ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
ii. Give thanks to the God of praises ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
iii. Give thanks unto Him that keepeth Israel ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
iv. Give thanks unto Him that formeth all ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
v. Give thanks unto the Redeemer of Israel ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
vi. Give thanks unto Him that gathereth the outcasts of Israel ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
vii. Give thanks unto Him that buildeth His city and His Sanctuary ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
viii. Give thanks unto Him that maketh a horn to sprout for the house of David ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
ix. Give thanks unto Him that chooseth the sons of Zadok to be priests ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 


VAP (ice W-W (ἃ ἐσωσας yap pe εξ απωλειας XX (τ καὶ ἐξείλου pe: V και εξελου μαι Y-Y (ἃ ex καιρου 
πονήρου A + και εξιλου (516) μαι: 55.“ from all trouble’ 2 (ἃ - σοι zz-tz 248 ‘Thy Name, O Lord’: ῷ ‘ Thy 
holy Name’ 


gave heed to my supplication. Cp. Ps. cxl. 6, exliii. 1. 
12. from all evil. Cp. v. 8 @. 
in the day of trouble. Cp.v. toc; Ps. xli. 1. 


(ὁ) 1: πανὶ, (EXTANT ONLY IN HEBREW) : A THANKSGIVING. 

The Psalm which is here inserted is formed on the pattern of Ps. cxxxvi, that is, if this latter is prior in date; the 
possibility, however, of both having been composed on an earlier pattern (Peters) must be allowed for. It is probable 
that this Psalm is an amalgamation of two poems, a shorter one, vv. vi-ix, and a longer one, vv. i-v, x-xvi 
(=twelve verses). The first clause of each verse of the shorter poem is longer than the corresponding clauses of the 
longer poem. The place in which vv. vi-ix are inserted is the natural one, the word ‘Israel’ being the point of 
attachment. The omission of the whole by @ 55 favours the opinion that it did not form part of the original book ; but 
Smend, who regards the whole as original, accounts for the omission by saying that (ἃ took exception to its ‘ un-Greek 
character’, as well as to the words in v. ix, while $ followed & in omitting it because of the anti-Jewish tendency which 
is characteristic of $. This explanation seems inadequate, for the ‘un-Greek character’ would apply to the whole 
book, while the natural objection to v. ix (the downfall of the house of Zadok had taken place by the time the translation 
was made) would not account for the omission of the whole section. It seems more likely that vv. vi-ix are original, 
and that the rest was subsequently added, the amalgamation of the two taking place as suggested above. See, however, 
the discussion in the Introduction, § 3, iii. 

i. Give thanks... This verse is identical with Ps. cxxxvi. 1; cp. the refrain at the’end of each verse in this 
psalm as well as in Ps. cxxxvi. 

ii. the God of praises. Cp. Ps. xxii. 3, Ixxi. 6; and see also the Shemoneh‘Esreh (cp. note on v. 1 above) iii: 
“The holy ones praise Thee every day.’ 

111, that keepeth Israel. Cp. Ps. cxxi. 3-8. 
iv. that formeth all. Cp. Jer. x. 16, li. 19. 

v. the Redeemer of Israel. Cp. Is. xliv. 6, xlix. 7, and Shemoneh “Esveh vii: ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the 
Redeemer of Israel.’ 

vi. that gathereth the outcasts... Cp. Ps. cxlvii.2; Is. xi. 12, xxvii. 13, lvi. 8; and Shemoneh “Esreh x: 
“Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who gatherest the outcasts of Thy people Israel.’ 

vil. that buildeth... Cp. Ps. cxlvii. 2; Isa. xliv. 28; and Shemoneh ‘Esreh xiv : ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the 
Builder of Jerusalem.’ 

Vill. that maketh a horn to sprout... Cp. Ps. cxxxii. 17; Ezek. xxix. 21; and Shemoneh ‘Esreh xv: ‘Do Thou 
speedily cause the shoot of David to sprout forth, and do Thou lift up his horn through Thy victorious salvation; every 
day do we hope for Thy salvation. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who causeth the horn of salvation to sprout forth’ _ 

ix. that chooseth the sons of Zadok... Cp. 1.24 (83) ; 2 Sam. viii. 17; 1 Kings i. 26; 1 Chron. vi. 8 (v. 34 in 
Hebrew), xxix. 22; Ezek. xl. 46, xliv. 15, xlviii. 11. 


514 


SUA HP ole, 1254-13-15 


x. Give thanks unto the Shield of Abraham ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
xi. Give thanks unto the Rock of Isaac ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
xii. Give thanks unto the Mighty One of Jacob; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
xiii. Give thanks unto Him that hath chosen Zion; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
xiv. Give thanks unto the King of the kings of kings ; 
For His mercy endureth for ever. 
_xv. And He hath lifted up the horn for His people ; 
The praise of all His pious ones, 
xvi. For the children of Israel, a people nigh unto Him, 
Hallelujah. 


(c) LI. 13-30. A Poem describing how Ben-Sira acquired Wisdom (= 1449 distichs). 


τ \13 *When I was yet young, before I wandered abroad’, 
Ἶ ΝῚ desired her and sought her out?. 
t4°In my youth I made supplication in prayer‘ ; 
4And I will seek her out even to the end. 
τ She blossomed like a ripening grape’, 
My heart rejoiced in her®. 
My foot trod ‘in her footstep‘, 
From my youth 51 learned Wisdom®. 


“| *? 19 ws mutilated ; all that is left τ NYT YI ὋΣ (‘I was young’)=S. From here to v. 15 a incl. 9 
| is wanting b-b G& εζγτησα σοφιαν mpodavws ev προσευχῃ μου ὅτ [yn ® this clause stands as v.16 a, which 

wt has displaced: Ge evavte vaov ἠξιουν περι αὐτῆς ἀ-ἃ Wanting in ® e-e Reading ἐξήνθησεν ὡς περκάζουσα 
ΠἘ σταφυλή (Bickell, cp. Sept. of Amos ix. 13) for εξ avOous ὡς περκαζουσης σταφυλης: cp. & et effloruit tanquam 
ΠῚ praecox uva ft Reading AWN (Smend) for ANNA: G& ev εὐθυτητι: HS+‘O Lord’ 


5-Οὁ Gk cyvevoy αὐτὴν 


x. the Shield of Abraham. Cp. Gen. xv. 1; Ps. xviii. 2, and Shemoneh ‘Esreh i: ‘Blessed art Thou, the Shield 
| of Abraham.’ 

| ‘xi. the Rock of Isaac. Cp. Deut. xxxii. 4; 2 Sam. xxiii. 3; Ps. xviil. 2, xlii. 9, Ixxi. 3; Is. xxx. 29, li. 1; in She- 
moneh ‘Esreh xviii the expression ‘ Rock of our life’ occurs. 

xii. the Mighty One of Jacob. Cp. Gen. xlix.24; Ps. cxxxil. 2, 5; Isa. i. 24, xlix. 26, Ix. 16, and Shemoneh ‘Esreh 
| i: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the 
ΟῚ great, the mighty, and the fearful God, 
| ΧΙ. that hath chosen Zion. Cp. Ps. Ixxviii. 68, cxxxii. 13, cxxxv. 21, and Shemoneh ‘Esveh xvii: ‘Be pleased, 
| O Lord our God, with Thy people Israel, and their prayer; and set up again the sacrificial service for the altar 

| of Thine House ... And may our eyes behold Thy merciful return to Zion. Blessed art Thou who restorest Thy 
| Shekinah to Zion.’ (On the withdrawal of the S#esinah from earth, and the reasons for this, see the Midrash 
_ | Bereshith Rabba, c. 19; the passage is given in the authors’ Zhe Religion and Worship of the Synagogue, p. 219.) 

xiv. King of the kings of kings. Cp. the title ‘God of gods, and Lord of lords’ in Deut. x. 17. In Shemoneh 
‘Esreh the title ‘King’ is applied to God five times, and in xi occur the words: ‘Reign Thou over us, O Lord, 
alone in loving-kindness and mercy. In Pivge Adoth iv. 32 occurs the expression: ‘The King of the kings of 
kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.’ 
Xv, xvl. These two verses are identical with Ps. cxlviii. 14. 


| (Ὁ) LI. 13-30 (A Porm). Ξ 
The Poem (vv. 13-30) which follows is an acrostic, each verse beginning with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet 


_ jin their order ; this had already been discerned by Bickell before the discovery of the Hebrew text (see the Zedtschrift 
ur katholische Theologie, vi. 326-330; 1882). 
13. When I was yet young. Cp. vi. 18; Wisd. viii. 2. ; 
before I wandered abroad. For this use of πλανᾶσθαι cp, xxxiv. 11 (= (ἃ xxxi. 12); Ben-Sira refers to his travels 
Aso in xxxix. 4. : 
14. Inmy youth. Smend is probably right in regarding ἔναντι ναοῦ of (τ as a mistake for ἐν νεότητί μου (= 39). 
in prayer. ἐν προσευχῇ pou of (τ belongs here, notin v.132. ἃ 
15. My heart... This clause was probably longer originally ; it is unduly short as it stands. 
in her footstep. See critical note; @, as Smend points out, may have read ΠΝ 3 (‘in her footstep’) but 
lsunderstood it ; cp. Job xxiii. 11, ‘ My foot hath held fast to His steps’; for ® as it stands cp. Ps. xxv. 5, xxvi. 3. 
Ilearned. Smend suggests the reading ‘N7PN (‘I tracked’) ; cp. (πα, which certainly gives a better parallel to the 
receding clause. For ¥ as it stands cp. Ps. Ixxi, 17; Prov. xxx. 3. 


os) 


SIRACH 51, 16-23 


& 16I bowed down mine ear a little and received her?, 
10" And much knowledge did I find’; 
17 “And! her yoke was glorious to me*, 
m™ And to my Teacher do I offer thanks ™. 
18 5] purposed to do good” “with her?°, 
°° And PI was not put to shame?, for I found her°°. 
19 My soul was attached‘ to her, 
"And I turned not away my face from her’ ; 
& “I spread forth my hands to the heaven above’, 
38" ‘And for ever and ever I will not go astray from her‘. 
"My hand opened her gates, 
And [| entered unto her, and looked upon her". 
20 YI set my soul aright” “after her”, 
*And I found her in herY purity *; 
. ἢ gat me understanding *through her guidance’. ᾿ 
G “Therefore I shall not be forsaken”*, ἽΝ 
18" 21 My inward part was troubled®¢ “like an oven’ “to look upon her®, Lh 
Therefore have I gotten® a good possession. 
22 Jahveh gave fme the reward of my lips‘, 
And £with my tongue£ do I praise Him. 


23 Turn in® unto me, ye unlearned, 
And lodge in my house of instruction. 


bh This clause has been displaced by 14a in ® i {τ -Ἐεμαυτῳ : Sah+‘because of her’ (Smend) k-k & 
προκοπὴ EyEVvEeTO μοι εν αὐτῇ 11η», but the Ὶ ἐξ required as the sixth letter of the alphabet, this being the sixth clause 
mm G τῳ διδόντι por σοῴφιαν δωσω δοξαν n-0 Q& διενοηθην yap του ποιῆσαι αὐτὴν ° A word has fallen out here 
00-00 (τ καὶ εζηλωσα ( perhaps a mistake for εζητησα = ®) To ἀγαθὸν και ov py αισχυνθω P-P Reading WIN (= &) 
for Jan xd (‘I will not turn back’) 4 Gr διαμεμαχισται (reading AP wy for ApPwn): ¥ ‘clave’. τοῦ Gr καὶ 
εν ποιήσει λιμου διηκριβασαμὴν s-s Wanting in 38, 20 α stands in place of tt t-t Gr καὶ ta ἀγνοήματα avtns ἐπενθησα 
uu &> v-V Reading *wp) N33 (=) for 5) snn3 W-W (ἃ εἰς αὐτὴν xx Gk wrongly transposes this and 
the next clause ¥ στ 3 >‘her’ 2-2 Reading, with Smend, andanny Sor andnnn (‘from the beginning ’ 
= t 3) a-a Only the first word and one letter of the second word are left in 18 b-b 3 “1 shall not 
forsake her’ ο 3 ‘burned’ φτοῦ > d-d G& εκζητησαι αὐτὴν € ® S+‘in her’ If & γλωσσαν 
μοι μισθον μου 85- (ἃ ev αὐτῇ h Reading ὙΠ (= 9) for Ὧ)3 : & ἐγγισατε 


16. 1 bowed down mine ear. Cp. iv. 8, vi. 53. 

17. her yoke... Cp. vi. 24, 30, and v. 26 of this chapter. 
to my Teacher. The Teacher is, of course, God. 

18. The text is very corrupt here, and must be emended with the help of &. 

19. In this verse & apparently had a text before it which in part differed from that of # as now extant. Ϊ 
My hand opened her gates. For the thought of Wisdom having her dwelling-house cp. xiv. 23-25, Prov. ix. 1 ἢν 
and looked upon her. Cp. xv. 7, ‘Sinners shall not see her.’ F 

20. understanding. Lit. ‘heart’; cp. Prov. xv. 32, xix. 8, where the same verb as here is used (JP). 

21. My inward part was troubled. Cp. Jer. xxxi. 20. 

Therefore have I gotten... Cp. Prov. iv. 7. 

22. the reward of my lips. i.e. success as a teacher. 

23. Lurnin.. . (€p: Prov. ix. 4), 16. Ϊ 
house of instruction. The Beth ha-Midrash, or Beth Midrash, is the technical name for the ‘house’ where | 

students gathered together for instruction in the Law. Great scholars had their own ‘houses’ where they gathered | 
pupils together. The Beth ha-Midrash of Ben-Sira is the earliest of which we know; in Yoma 35 ὁ (T. Babli) 

mention is made of the one in which Shemaiah and Abtalion taught, and which Hillel, when a youth, could attend only ᾿ς. 
after having paid an admission-fee to the janitor; ‘ whether or not this charge of a fee, so contradictory to the maxim of 
the men of the Great Synagogue (Ado¢/i.1,‘‘Raise up many disciples”), was a political measure of the time, it seemingly | 
stands in connexion with a principle pronounced by the Shammaites (Ad. 2). N., A. iii, B. iv, ed. Schechter, p. 14) that | 
‘‘ only those who are wise, humble, and of goodly, well-to-do parentage should be taught the Law”. On the other hand, | 
the Hillelites insisted that “all, without exception, should partake of the privilege, inasmuch as many transgressors in 
Israel, when brought nigh to the Law, brought forth righteous, pious, and perfect men”’ (7,2), iii. 117 δ). Ben-Sira 

says distinctly that the wisdom was to be acquired ‘ without money’; see v. 25 and cp. Wedarim 36 a (T. Babli): “As | 
I have taught you without payment, saith God, so must you do likewise.’ Reference is made (Zauma debe Eliyahu Re 
ix [x], xvi, and elsewhere) to the Beth ha-Midrash in the Temple (cp. Matt. xxi. 23, xxvi. 55; Luke ii. 46, xx. 1, ΧΧΙ, 37: | 
John xviii. 20), which was called Beth ha-Midrash ha-gadol, ‘the Great house of instruction.’ | 


516 


ἡ: 


SIRACH 51. 24-30 


24 ‘How long will ye lack ‘these things*'? 
And (how long) shall your soul be so! athirst ? 
25 | open my mouth and speak “of her™, 
Acquire Wisdom” for yourselves without money. 
26 Bring® your necks under her yoke, 
PAnd her burden let your soul bear? ; 
4She is nigh unto them that seek her4, 
- ‘And he that is intent (upon her) findeth her’. 
| 27 Behold with your eyes that ‘I laboured but (little) * therein’, 
«And abundance of peaceY have I found®. 
28 ἡ Hearken to my teaching, (though ye be but) a few*™, 
And much Ysilver and¥ gold shall ye acquire thereby. 
) 29 May my” soul delight *in my Veshzbah*; 
And ye shall not be put to shame "in singing my praise». 
30 Work your work °in righteousness °, 
And He will give you“ your reward in its time. 


*[Blessed be Jahveh ; and praised be His Name to generations. 

Thus far the words of Simeon the son of Jeshua‘, who is called Ben-Sira. 

The Wisdom of Simeon, the songof Jeshua‘. the son of Eleazar, the son of Sira. 
May the Name of Jahveh be sii: from now and unto eternity.]° 


i G& καὶ (τι 8 A) ore υστερεισθαι (υστερειτε N A) λέγετε ev τουτοις καὶ it. ‘from these things and those things’ 
1 Lit. ‘ very’ mm & > n> ° (ἃ υποθετε bP Gr καὶ επιδεξασθω ἡ Ψυχὴ ὑμὼν παιδειαν (= 9) 
τὰ Ok eyyus εστιν evpew αὐτὴν rt G&> Ss Reading, with Smend, snbny {op {{ΞΞ (τ 8) Sor NTDy\ NYA ip 
{ (‘I was small and I persisted’) tG&> uvu Reading, with Smend, ANID NN AIAN for... WAND 
2 (‘ and I found her,-—peace ) Υ G + ἐμαυτῳ w-w # pr Ὁ" (΄ many ΠΕ (ἃ μετασχετε παιδειαν ev πολλῳ αριθμῳ 
ἀργυριου x Reading ΒΟΌΣ (= &) for ὙγΠ}03 (‘in my youth’) yY &> 2 (ἃ S ‘your’ ana (ἃ ev 
τῇ ἐλέει αὐτου: 55. ‘in my repentance’ b-b @ ev αἰνεσει αὐτου c-e Smend would read ny nba, Peters 


ny sad (= G8) d SoG S: L> e-e (ἃ ‘Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach’: 55 70 248 254 ‘Blessed 
be the Lord for ever; Amen, Amen’: 3 ‘ Blessed be God for ever, and praised be His Name to generations. 
Thus far the words of Jeshua‘ the son of Simeon that is called the son of Asira [so also Syro-Hex, but some 
Syriac MSS, read Sirach|. The writing of the Wisdom of Bar Sira is ended’. Zhe subscription varies in the 
Syriac MSS. 


24. shall your soul be so athirst. Cp.Is.lv.1; Amos vili.11. Cp. Pivge Abothi.4: ‘ Let thy house be a meeting- 
house for the wise, and powder thyself in the dust of their feet ; and drink their words with thirstiness.’ 

25. without money. Cp. Is. lv. 1, 2, and the Talmudic quotation in the note on v. 23. 

26. her yoke. Cp. v. 17, vi. 25. 

he that isintent. 1/5) jN)3, lit. ‘that giveth his soul’. 

27. (little). For the use of {OP in a temporal sense cp. Is. liv. 7. 

28. (though ye be but) afew. For this use of 15D1 cp. Gen. xxxiv. 30; Deut. iv. 27. 

And much silver... Cp. Pivge Adoth ii. 19: ‘If thou hast learned much Torah, they give thee much reward ; 
and faithful is the maker of thy work, who will pay thee the reward of thy work ; and know that the recompense of the 
reward of the righteous is for the time to come.’ 

29. Yeshibah. i.e. Circle of hearers, later an Academy of learning. ‘At first the Beth ha-Midrash was the place 
where the Yeshibah assembled. ... Later, when the number of students increased, it became necessary to hold the 
sessions in a separate large hall adjoining the Beth ha-A/¢drash, and this hall was known by the name of Veshzbah’ 
(JE, xii. 595 a). For nv". (τ read "3 (‘in His salvation,’ referring it to God), while S read "NW (‘in my 
repentance ’), neither understanding, presumably, what was meant by the Ves/zdah. 

in singing my praise. ‘N12. 

30. Work your work. i.e. the work of seeking wisdom. 

in righteousness. The reading of & S, ‘before the time,’ is probably the correct one, the reference being to the 
time of final reckoning ; cp. John ix. 4. 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


INTRODUCTION 


δι. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK. 


Tur Book of Wisdom has long enjoyed the reputation of being the most attractive and 
interesting book in the Apocrypha. Nor is the reputation undeserved if attention is confined 
to the first ten or eleven chapters. In these chapters both thought and expression are of a high 
order. The thought, it is true, is not that of a systematic or consistent thinker, but of a writer 
imbued with a strongly religious spirit ; one who felt the stress and perplexity of life and suffering, 
and yet resisted the temptation to abandon—like many of his co-religionists—his ancestral belief 
in a God of righteousness. These thoughts are expressed in the ancient Hebrew style of parallelism ; 
in spite of rare words, the languagé is vigorous and the construction simple: the impression that 
he was well acquainted with the literature and philosophy of Greece grows upon one the more the 
book is studied, and he is not without boldness in revising some of the traditional beliefs of his 
religion. 

The work falls naturally into three sections: (1) cc. i to vi. 8; (2) vi. 9 to xi.1; (3) xi. 2 to xix. 
The first section has been well called ‘the book of eschatology’; it portrays in vivid contrast the 
different destinies which await the righteous and the ungodly who oppress them. The impious 
and defiant speech of the ungodly, the picture of their despair and remorse after death, and the 
description of the divine vengeance upon them are the outstanding literary features in this part of 
the book. The religious teaching also of this section is interesting and important. The writer 
enunciates the doctrine of immortality immediately after death, denies that suffering presupposes 
sin, refuses to admit that early death is necessarily a calamity, or that childlessness is a mark of 
divine displeasure. It would be difficult to find five other chapters in the Old Testament Scriptures 
with so much departure from traditional views. 

The second section consists of the panegyric on Wisdom which gives its name to the book. 
In beautiful and eloquent language the attractions of Wisdom as a heavenly Being are set forth. 
‘Wisdom is radiant and fadeth not away’; she seeks to know those that are worthy of her, and 
leads them to the enjoyment of immortality in the presence of God. According to the testimony 
of Solomon, who now speaks, her treasures are bestowed upon mankind in answer to prayer. The 
fine description of Wisdom is continued, and culminates in the statement that ‘she is a breath of 
the power of God, and a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty’ (vii. 25). Solomon is not the 
only one who has been favoured by her. She guided the great ones of old, rescued them from all 
their troubles, and finally brought the holy nation itself out of captivity and ‘ prospered their works 
by the hand of a holy prophet’ (xi. 1). 

From this point onward a great change takes place. We have no longer a poem extolling 
goodness and celebrating Wisdom, but a Midrash in glorification of the Jews. 

From xi. 2 to the end of the book we have an historical retrospect of Israel in Egypt and in the © 
wilderness, broken by a dissertation on the origin and evils of idolatry in cc. xiii, xiv, xv. Chapters x1 
and xii with xvi to xix contrast the lot of Israel in the wilderness with that experienced by the 
Egyptians during the plagues. The writer sets himself to prove the two propositions that ‘ By 
what things a man sins, by these he is punished’ (xi. 16), and ‘ By what things their foes were 
punished, by these they in their need were benefited ’ (xi. 5). First, the punishments of the Egyptians 
are said to have been framed in accordance with a variety of the /ex ¢alionis.— This is shown most 
clearly in the plagues of frogs, lice, and flies. Because the Egyptians worshipped despicable animals, 
by despicable animals they were punished. But the writer's power of drawing parallels does not 
end here. He goes further and gives examples to prove his other contention that what was noxious 
to the Egyptians was beneficial to Israel. Historical facts are ingeniously selected and opposed to 
one another; if the main facts are intractable, the details are made to furnish the required lesson. 
If he cannot get a positive comparison, a negative one will do. The comparisons are mostly forced, 
except in the case of the last plague, where the slaying of the firstborn had a double effect. It 
punished the Egyptians and at the same time freed Israel. The first of these ideas, appropriateness 
of retribution, was doubtless based on Exod. iv. 22-23: ‘Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, 
my firstborn: .. . (because) thou hast refused to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, thy firstborn.’ 
The second seems to be peculiar to this book. 

518 


INTRODUCTION 


In cc. xiii-xv the author discourses on idolatry and its attendant evils. He treats the worship 
of the heavenly bodies with some leniency, only marvelling that the worshippers did not go a step 
farther and find the Sovereign Lord of all through His works.- He then turns to idolatry proper, 
and following Isa. x] pours scorn and sarcasm on those who worship a crooked piece of wood for 
which the workman can find no use save as an object of worship: a piece of wood not sound 
enough to be used for the building of a ship. The origin of idolatry is sketched after the manne 
of Euhemerus, and the methods of a second idol-maker—the worker in.clay—held up to derision. 7 
After this digression the writer turns once more to the Egyptians; and from here to the end 
the contrast between Egypt and Israel is resumed... The work concludes with a repetition of 
a favourite theme of the writer, that the world fights for the righteous: the elements by their 
transmutation into one another are used by God to punish the Egyptians and defend Israel. 

The book is included in the so-called Wisdom Literature of the Hebrews, the chief object of 
which is to discuss the problem of life and its conditions. Some of the writers limited their teaching 
to directing men aright in their social relations. They saw that much of the failure and unhappiness 
of life arose from disregard of prudential considerations and rightly laid emphasis on this. Small 
troubles were the result of imprudence; serious troubles the result of deliberate wrongdoing ; there- 
fore, to avoid trouble small or great, be prudent and abstain from wrongdoing. We have examples 
of this teaching in Proverbs and Sirach. But the teaching of experience showed that this doctrine was 
very imperfect. The rich oppressed the poor, however prudent and pious the poor might be; and 
in times of religious persecution or national trial the theory broke down utterly. Some teachers 
faced these perplexing facts and tried to account otherwise for the mystery of suffering. Here they 
deserted the réle of the sage inculcating prudential precepts, and became religious rather than moral 
teachers (though the difference would hardly be recognized by a Jew), endeavouring to penetrate the 
mysteries of God and explain them to suffering humanity.- We have examples of this in Job, 
Ecclesiastes, and the well-known Psalms, xxxvii, xlix, and lxxiii. It is to this last division that the 
| writer of Wisdom, cc. i-x, belongs: the later chapters, xi to xix, have nothing in common with either 
' class of Wisdom literature. 

The authorship of the book is unknown. It is perhaps the work of more than one writer, and 
_ dates probably from after 50 B.C. St. Paul undoubtedly knew and used the book, Romans and 
| Ephesians showing clear traces of its influence; some other parts of the New Testament also 
show points of contact with it. 


§2. TITLE. 


The earliest mention of the book is perhaps found in p. 11 a, line 8 of the Muratorian Canon 
(A.D. 200). There the title is ‘ Sapientia’, with the added words ‘ ab amicis Salomonis in honorem 
ipsius scripta’. Clement of Alexandria, head of the Catechetical School A.D. 190-203, speaks of it 
under the title Wisdom of Solomon. Tertullian (cca 250) quotes it as the Wisdom of Solomon. 
Origen (d. 250) speaks of it inthe same way as Clement. Cyprian (d. 258) quotes it as Solomon or 
the Wisdom of Solomon. The Latin version has ‘ Liber Sapientiae’; the Peshitta, ‘The great Wisdom 
_ | of Solomon.’ 

‘Inthe fourth-century MSS. s and B the title is Σαλομωντος and Σαλωμωνος respectively. The 
Alexandrine fifth-century MS. has Σολομωντος. Jerome (d. 420), who recognizes that the book is 
| pseudepigraphic, says it was entitled ‘Sapientia Salomonis’. Only the Latin omits the name of 
Solomon, and this may be due to Jerome’s influence: although he did not alter the translation— 
“calamo temperavi’ he says—he may have altered the title. 


$3. THE MSS. 


The most important uncials, * A and B, contain the book in its entirety. C (Codex Ephraim) 
| ontains viii. 5—xii. 10, xiv. 19—xvii. 18, xviii. 24—-xix. 22. V (23), eighth-ninth century, contains the 
hole. The cursives mentioned in Holmes and Parsons are numbered 23 (but this isa mistake: 23 
¥S an uncial and is now called V), 55, 68, 106, 155 (omits vi. 22-xvi. 19), 157, 248, 253, 254, 261, 296. 
|According to Klostermann (Axalecta, Leipzig, 1895) 55 does not contain Wisdom. Klostermann has 
Pxamined 248 and 253, while Nestle (Urtext und Ubersetzungen) has investigated the readings of 68, 
706, 157, 253, and 296. Of the cursives 248 seems to be the most important. It is frequently 
juoted by Prof. Margoliouth in RAS, 1890, and Sanday and Headlam (Komans, p. 51 note) say, 
Cod. 248 embodies very ancient elements.’ Grimm and Feldmann quote certain Parisian MSS. 
ollated by Thilo of Halle, who contemplated an edition of the book (c, 1825). ; 
The text of B is given in Swete, O.7. iz Greek, with the variants of’ Aand C. Many interesting 
ariants in the cursives are given in Grimm, Holtzmann, and especially Feldmann. Feldmann’s 


519 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


investigation (Zexrtmaterialien z. B. der W., Freiburg im B., 1902) is by far the most thorough yet 
published. 
§ 4. THE VERSIONS. 


The Latin version is the Old Latin; Jerome did not touch it: he says ‘calamo temperavi’. It. 
is generally faithful to the Greek, but includes several lines not in any Greek MS., one of which 
(ii. 8) is undoubtedly, another (i. 15) possibly, genuine; a third (v. 14) a very intelligent gloss: 
others, e.g. ii. 17, vi. I, 23, viii. 11, ix. 19, xi. 5, are glosses pure and simple. The text has been 
exhaustively examined by Thielmann in the Archiv fiir lat. Lex. und Gram., 1893, pp. 235-277.! 
Like previous investigators, Thielmann comes to the conclusion that the home of the version is North 
Africa. This he proves by full lists of words and constructions in Wisdom, only found elsewhere 
in North African Latin. A short list of such words is given in $4 of Westcott’s article on 
Wisdom in Smith’s DB; a longer list may be found in Deane, /zdex //. As Tertullian and 
Cyprian used it, the version is placed by Thielmann in the latter half of the second century. 

The Syriac (Peshitta) version is full of mistakes and paraphrases, but is of great interest on 
account of its striking relationship to the Latin. Prof. Margoliouth points out that the Peshitta 
agrees with the Latin ‘in a way which cannot be the result of chance’. This relationship is 
probably that of assistant to the Latin translator. The reverse could not be the case, since, if 
the Syriac translator had had the Latin to refer to, he would have made far fewer mistakes. 
Both the Latin and the Syriac are from earlier Greek MSS. than any we now possess. 

Some interesting instances of agreement between the Syriac and Latin, besides those mentioned 
by Prof. Margoliouth on p. 279, FRAS, 1890, are as follows: v. 14, x. 5, 12 (see note), xiv. 2, 
and especially xiv. 19, of which Prof. Margoliouth says ‘the Latin rendering can only be accounted 
for as a rendering of either the Syriac or the (supposed Hebrew) original’. 

There are numerous additions in the form of explanatory glosses, e.g. the proper names in 
c. x, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob and Joseph, are inserted, and in xix. 17 (Syr. 16) ἐκεῖνοι 
rightly explained as the men of Sodom. 

The text has been thoroughly examined by Joseph Holtzmann, Die Pesch. z. δ. der W., 
pp. 152, Freiburg im B., 1903. Of his conclusions, the two following deserve mention here: (1) 
the language of the copy before the translator was Greek, as is shown by mistranslations which could 
only have arisen from a misunderstanding of the Greek; (2) the Syriac version was used by the 
translator of the Latin version, therefore its date must be earlier. 

The other versions (except the Arabic—which is said to be very late——twelfth century or later) 
have been examined by Feldmann, who has collated the Coptic (Sahidic), Syro-Hexaplaric, and 
Armenian, and given the variants of each. He then (pp. 41-84) gives a most useful enumeration, 
with frequent discussions, of the various readings throughout the book. 


ὃ 5. DATE. 


The difficulty of arriving at a satisfactory date for the book is seen from the differences which 
exist between scholars as to the period of its composition. Grimm dates it 145-50 B.C., Thackeray 
130-100 B. C., Gregg 125-100 B.C., Gfrérer 100 B.C., Bousset under the Empire, Farrar 40 A.D. 

An indisputable terminus a quo is obtained from the fact that the writer made use of the | 
LXX version of Isaiah, but that may be no later than 200 B.c. By common consent this date | 
is far too early. It is, however, possible to get a later date for the ¢erminus a quo. If the line | 
in 1 Enoch v. 7 is the source of Wisd. iii. 9 the book must be later than the translation of Enoch | 
into Greek, which was probably undertaken as a whole, seeing that the fragments which survive | 
include chapter 1xxxix. The latest part of Enoch consists of chapters xxxvii to ]xxi, and the date 
of this according to Charles is 94-79 B.C. We may suppose Enoch to have been translated at | 
some date between 70 and 50 B.C. and adopt this period as the terminus a quo. 4 

Mr. Thackeray dates the book 130-100 B.C. on the ground that the two forms οὐδείς and | 
οὐθείς occur in it, a characteristic which he would assign to that period (Gr. of O. T. Gk., p. 62). | 
On the ground, however, that only the ὃ forms of οὐδείς occur in LX X Proverbs, he assigns that book | 
to about 100 B.C., making it later than Wisdom. But it is difficult to believe that the author of | 
Wisd. i-xi was not acquainted with LXX Proverbs. If he was not, we must delete iii. 11 and | 
vi. 12 ¢ as interpolations based on Prov. i. 7 and viii. 12 4. It is no doubt possible that these lines | 
may be interpolations, but it is more difficult to get rid of πάρεδρον yap εὑρήσει τῶν πυλῶν αὐτοῦ 
(vi. 14), which seems to be a reminiscence of Prov. i. 21 ἐπὶ δὲ πύλαις δυναστῶν Tapedpever, and Vili. 2 
παρὰ yap πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει. Possibly, too, ἀγρυπνέω in Wisd. vi. 15 is a reminiscence of the } 


1 There is an earlier work by Thielmann, Die dat. Ubers. d. Buches der Weisheit (Leipzig, 1872). 
520 


INTRODUCTION 


same word in Prov. viii. 34. _ Moreover, the general description of Wisdom in c. vi. 9-16 seems 
based on that in Prov. i and viii. 

Further, if the LXX version of Proverbs was not in existence when Wisdom was written—and 
this would be the case if Mr. Thackeray’s dates are accepted—we must assume that the author was 
able to consult Proverbs in the Hebrew, and yet that he resorted to the Greek for such an important 
book as Isaiah. It seems impossible to deny that in c. ii. 12 he accepted the erroneous LXX trans- 
lation of Isa. iii. 10 (as the writer of the second part accepted that of Isa. xliv. 20). This would bea 
strange circumstance if he were able to read the original. 

The evidence, therefore, is strongly in favour of assuming the dependence of Wisdom on LXX 
Proverbs. We may, however, with Mr. Thackeray accept a date for Proverbs subsequent to Sirach, 
i.e, subsequent to 130 B.C., and take the order as Sirach, Proverbs, Wisdom. This would strengthen 
the conjecture made above that the date of Wisdom is not earlier than the middle of the first 
century B.C. 

The serminus ad quem depends on the undoubted use made of the book by St. Paul: this 
would require a date not later than the first few years of our era: it would take some little 
time for the book to acquire a reputation and get into circulation. Grimm points out (page 34) 
that the writer’s apparent ignorance of the Alexandrine doctrine of the Logos points to a date 
earlier than Philo. More than that, as Philo did not expound his doctrine of the Logos as though it 
originated with him, the date of Wisdom must be earlier than the acceptance of this doctrine by the 
Jewish scholars of Alexandria. This argument is no doubt valid, but it only means that the book 
must be earlier than the student life of Philo, which may be placed from 5 B.C. to A.D. 5. To place 
the book on this account a hundred years earlier than Philo, as Gregg does, seems quite uncalled for. 
But ignorance of the Alexandrine Logos doctrine can only affect the date of the first part of the 
book ; the second part may with Bousset (Religion des Fudenthums, p. 35) be dated after the beginning 
of the Empire (say 30 B. C.), on account of xiv. 17, where the likeness of an adsev¢ ruler is mentioned. 

The present writer inclines to a date between 50 and 30 B.C. for the first part of the book, and 
30 B.C. to A. D. 10 for the second part, which was written in continuation of part 1. 


$6. ComposiTE NATURE. 


The unity of the book was carly disputed. In the eighteenth century the French scholar 
Houbigant pronounced the work to be composite, and was followed by Eichhorn, Bretschneider, and 
others. Houbigant divided the book at the end of ch. ix ; Eichhorn, whose position is here adopted, 
at xi 1; Bretschneider, at vi. 8 and xii, taking ch. xi as the work of a redactor. Gfrdérer (1835) 
and Grimm (1860) upheld the unity of the book, the former speaking with scorn of Eichhorn, 
the latter with respect; and the deservedly great influence of Grimm caused subsequent scholars 
to accept his decision. In 1900 Siegfried called it ‘the well-arranged product of a single author’. 

In 1903, however, Lincke in Samaria und seine Propheten divided the book into two parts. 
He attributed cc. i-xii. 8 to a writer living in Samaria in the time of the Seleucidae. It was a 
polemic against the hierocracy at Jerusalem. Ch. xii. g to the end is Alexandrian. 

In the same year Stevenson, in lVisdom and the Fewish Apoc. Writings, a little volume in the 
| Temple Bible Series, offered another division of the book. He agrees very nearly with Eichhorn 
in making the first part end at xi. 4; but in the remainder of the book he sees three different 
compositions—viz. (1) cc. xiii-xv, the section on idolatry; (2) xi. 21—xii. 22, the section on the 
love and mercy of God; (3) the strictly historical part, xi. 5-20, xii. 23-27, Xvi-xix. 

In 1904 Weber, in Hilgenfeld’s Zeztschrift, attempted another analysis. He also divided the 
book into four parts: cc. i-v, the book of eschatology; cc. vi-x, the Book of Wisdom proper ; 
c. xi to the end, the book of the method of retribution; in this last part the chapters on idolatry 
.(xili-xv) are an insertion. Feldmann, in 7b. Zeitsch. 1909, pp. 140-150, criticized and rejected 
Weber's attempt, scarcely noticing Lincke’s work. 

Kohler in the ¥ezzsh Encycl. maintains the composite authorship, apparently following Eichhorn. 
Toy in the Eucy. Bid. and Ency. Brit. thinks that the question admits of no certain answer. 

The arguments for the unity of the book (some of which are given by Grimm) may be set 
forth as follows: (1) Use of certain unusual words and expressions throughout the book—e. g. the 
word μεταλλεύω is used in the same evroncous meaning in both parts, iv. 12 and xvi. 25; ἀπότομος, 
a word which occurs nowhere else in the Greek Bible, is found in v. 20, 22, vi. 5, Xi. 10, Xii. 9, 
Xvlii. 15; ἀνυπόκριτος inv. 18, xviii. 16, nowhere else in the Greek Bible; κίβδηλος, ii. 16, xv. 9, only 
twice besides in the Greek Bible ; συγγνωστός, vi. 6, xiii. 8, nowhere else in the Greek Bible. The phrase 
ἐν ὄψει is found in iii. 4, vii. 9, viii. 11, xiv. 17, xv. 19, but nowhere else in the Greek Bible (but see 
below) ; θηρίων θυμοί, vii. 20, xvi. 5, and λογισμοὶ ἀσύνετοι, i. 5 and xi. 15, both seem to be unique 
1105 521 Mm 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


phrases; πανταδύναμος, vii. 23, Xi. 17, Xvili. 15, γεώδης, ix. 15, XV. 13, διέπω, ix. 3, ΧΙ. 15, διερευνάω, 
vi. 3, xiii. 7, occur nowhere else in the Greek Bible; κακότεχνος, i. 4, Xv. 4, only once besides, 
4 Mace. vi. 14. (2) The same extensive vocabulary, the similar use of compound and poetical 
words, assonances, and the like. (3) The rhythmical structure (see Thackeray, 77S, vol. vi, 
p. 232) throughout the book. (4) The use of philosophic theories in both parts—e.g. in part 1 
the Stoic doctrine of the world-soul, in part 2 the Stoic doctrine of the metabolism of the four 
elements. (5) Omission of proper names in both parts.’ (6) The occurrence in both parts of the 
striking conception of the ‘ world fighting for the righteous’, which is found in v. 17, 20, xvi. 17, 24, 
xviii. 24 (perhaps), and xix. 6. The most formidable argument is the first. Many scholars would 
feel that the use of μεταλλεύω alone decides the question. 

The arguments for the composite nature of the book are :— 

(1) The difference in style, presentation, and tone. 

(2) The omission of all reference to Wisdom in xi. 2 to the end, except in one doubtful 
passage. 

(3) The abandonment of the transcendental view of the Deity. 

(4) The absence of any reference to the doctrine of immortality, except a passing reference 
In XV. 3. 

(5) Abandonment of parallelism. 

(6) The numerous and striking linguistic differences. 

The first five points may be explained away ; it may be said that the writer is a philosopher 
in the first part, a preacher in the second ; the sixth point, however, is more troublesome. 

The most striking linguistic difference is found in the very different proportions in which 
certain particles are used? in the two parts—e.g. μέν is used three times only in the first part, 
v. 13, vii. 1, 30, and twenty-seven times (according to Swete’s text) in the second, xi. 6, 10, 
SSI) MOH τῇ, Σὶν. Σ, toh II), Ἐν. Ὁ; Τῇ, Bais 2) Ὁ; ΤΆ, 18; 21: ΣῊ I my, SQN TB, vl, FW, WG UP 
xix. 5, 10, 14. δέ is also unequally distributed, with fifty-two occurrences in part 1, eighty- 
two in part 2. ἵνα occurs seven times in the first part, viz. ii. 19, vi. 9, 21, ix. 2, 10, x. 8, 12, and 
twenty-one times in part 2—e.g. xi. 16, xii. 2, 7, 8, 13, 22, xiii. 9, 16, xiv. 4,17, xvi. 3, 11, 18, 19, 
22, 23, 26, xviii. 6, 19, xix. 4,6. ἀλλά occurs four times in the first part, vi. 22, viii. 16, x. 8, 13, 
and seventeen times in part 2, viz. xi. ΤΌ, 20, xii. 8, xiil. 2,16, xiv. 22) 51, xv. ἡ, 9 12) νυ ἢ 
18, 26, xviii. 20, 22, xix. 15, and in connexion with this μόνον is of course more frequent in the 
second part than in the first. γάρ occurs 52 times in the first part, as against 102 in the second; 
καὶ γάρ twice in the first part, twelve times in the second. 

In addition to these considerable differences the following smaller differences in the use of 
particles exist :— 


ἄνευ, XiV. 4, XIX. 13. }{ὅπε- 15. Ὁ; ΧΙ Ὁ; 15, ΣΙ Gy ows, ἘΠῚ ΤΠ, 

εἶτα, XIV. 16, 22, xvil. 16. 4 ore, V. 3, XIV. 15, ΧΥΪ 18, 19, XVill. 20. 

ἐπεί, XVIli. 12, Xix. 15. (Tore, V. I, Xi. 8, XIV. 15, XVi. 25, XVill. 17, 20. 

ἔτι; X. 7, Xili. 6, XIV. 24, XIX. 3, TO. TOS, V- 5, Vi. 22, x1. 8) 9, 25, Xill. 9, XVi. 4, xix may 


πάλιν, X. 4, Xill. 8, XIV. I, XVi. 23, xix. 6. 
ἀνάπαλιν, XIX. 21. 
This gives seven of these particles in part 1 to thirty-six in part 2. 


The distribution of some other words is worthy of notice. The following occur only in the 
first part :-— 


ἀρετή, IV. I, V. 13, Vill. 7. σημεῖον, V. 11, 13, viii. 8, x. 16. 
παιδεία, 1. 5, li. 12, ili. II, Vi. 17, Vil. 14. κινέω, V. 11. 
τρίβοι, in a metaphorical sense, ii. 15, v. 7, Vi. 16, κίνησις, il. 2, Vil. 24. 

ix. 18, x. τὸ (in xiv. 3 the singular is used in a ] ,κινητικός, vil. 24. 

literal sense). εὐκίνητος is in both parts, vil. 22 applied to Wisdom, 
ἐνθυμέομαι, 111. 14, VI. 15, Vil. 15, 1X. 13. Xili. ΤΙ applied to a tree, nowhere else in the 
ἔσχατος, li. 16, lil. 17, 1V. 19. Greek Bible. ‘ 
(συνίημι, iil. 9; Vim ΠΣ ΤΠ παροδεύω, 1. 8; 11. 7, VY. 14, Vi. AR, Te te 


ἰσύνεσις, IV. 11, ix. 5. 


πολύς is evenly distributed, but the compounds (seven) are all in part 1: πολυτελής ii. 7, 


1 The singularity of this largely disappears when we notice that Philo often omits the names of historical characters? 
see Vita Mosis, Bk. i, c. 42 (Caleb and Joshua), 43 (Edom), 59 (Reuben and Gad); Bk. ii, c. τὸ (Lot) ; Bk. iii, cc. 21 ἢ 
and 38 (Korah, Dathan, and Abiram). 7 
* It must be stated that the proportion of matter in the two parts is 11} to 13, or 23 to 26: the second part may 


be taken as one-eighth longer than the first: but in considering the particles it should be noticed that there arein | 
B 556 stichoi in part 1, to 568 in part 2. 
522 


INTRODUCTION 


πολύγονος IV. 3, πολυετής iv. 16, πολυμερής Vil. 22, πολυπειρία Vili. 8, πολύφροντις ix. 15, πολυχρόνιος 
ii. 10, iv. 8. 


The following words occur in the second part only :— 


apapravw, X1. 16, ΧΙ: 2, IL, XIV. 31, XV. 2, 13. ἰσχύω; ΧΙ. 21, ΧΙ]. τ, 9, XV. 16, Xvi. 20, xIx. 20. 
ἀρνέομαι, Xi. 27, Xvi. 16, xvii. Io. μεγαλύνω, XIX. 22, μεγάλως, Xi. 21, XIV. 22, peya- 
δεῖ, zecesse est, Xil. 19, XV. 12, xvi. 4, 28. λωσύνη XVill. 24. 

ἐπιταγή, XIV. 16, Xvill. 16, XIX. 6. τρύχειν, ΧΙ. 11, XIV. 15. 


The following differences occur in the two parts :— 
ἐπισκοπή, li. 20, ill. 7, 9, 13, iv. 15, all in a favourable sense ; xiv. 11, xix. 15, in an unfavourable sense 
(pointed out first by Weber). 


Kav γάρ, 1V. 4, 1X. 6; Kal yap ἐάν, Xv. 2. 


ἴδιος occurs eleven or twelve times: two of these occurrences being in part 1, the remaining 
nine or ten in part 2. This difference could hardly be connected with difference in subject- 
matter. 

The word ὄψις occurs three times in the first part, eight times in the second. In the first part 
it is used in a metaphorical sense in the phrase ἐν ὄψει; in the second, seven times literally, the 
eighth being doubtful. This should be considered with the similar cases of ἐπισκοπή and τρίβος. 

The distribution of βίος and ζωή is worth noticing. βίος occurs ten times in the first part and 
five times in the second, ζυή once in the first part and six times in the second. ἐξετάζω and ἐτάζω 
and its derivatives five times in the first part, once in the second; κολάζω is a favourite word in 
part 2, eleven times as against once in part 1. This last, no doubt, is due to difference of subject- 
matter. The same reason holds good for σοφία, which occurs twenty-eight times in part 1 and 
twice in part 2. 

The use of compound words is considerable in both parts, but there are differences to be 
observed. Of compounds of ἐπί there are nineteen in part I as against forty in part 2 ; compounds 
of πρό have nine instances in part I as against twenty-two in part 2; πρός seven in part I as against 
twenty in part 2; and ὑπό five in part I as against twenty-five in part 2. Compounds of κατά are 
twenty-one in part 1 to thirty-four in part 2, of μετά seven in part 1 to twelve in part 2. This 
gives sixty-eight of these compounds in part 1 to 153 in part 2. If the cumulative argument 
is worth anything, it should certainly be considered in deciding what weight should be assigned to 
| these linguistic differences. 

The difference in style, presentation, and tone between the two parts is undeniable. In style, 
| as Eichhorn says, ‘the first part is appropriate and concise, the second inappropriate, diffuse, 
exaggerated, and bombastic’ (p. 145); though a few passages in part 2 may escape this censure. 

With the exception of iv. 15-17, where the text is in disorder, there are no specially difficult 
or doubtful passages in the first part. while there are serious difficulties in xii. 5, 24, Xv. 17 ¢, 
18 ὁ, το ὦ, xvii. 6, 13, and xviii. 1, 2. It is also worth noting that the difference in style between 
the two parts led Siegfried, who accepts the unity of the book, to print his translation from xii. 19 
'to the end in prose. The presentation in the first part is varied: we have the author's own words, 
| the speech of the apostates, Solomon’s address and his prayer ; part 2 is one continuous apostrophe 
to the Deity. In tone the second part is pervaded by a narrow and bitter Jewish spirit, which is 
markedly absent from part 1. 

In answer to this latter point, it may be said that part 1 deals with Jews only; that there was 
no opportunity of displaying narrow national feeling towards the Gentiles. It must then be asked 
what, on the supposition of its unity, was the object of the second part of the book? how does it 
fit in with the object of the first part? The first part is a polemic against the apostate Jews of 
,. |Alexandria, and an appeal to them, by the example of the wise king, to return to the worship of 
τς }Jehovah. But this object could hardly be helped forward by the contents of part 5. The teaching 

_ jthat by what things a man sins, by these he is punished, appears to be pointless with regard to the 
_jsins of the apostates. It is very far-fetched on the part of Bois to find this teaching in iii. Io. 
Again, these apostates who had adopted Greek or Epicurean views of life were in no danger of 
falling into idolatry ; they could scoff at the worshippers of a ‘rotten piece of wood’ as well as the 
wthor. The only way in which the appeal to history could be thought to influence them would be 
py pointing out that in plaguing the Egyptians and delivering Israel, Jehovah had shown Himself 
o be the true God, and that the Egyptians themselves had confessed Him to be so; but in view 
f the sceptical and scoffing attitude of the apostates towards the miraculous, as recorded by Philo 
see end of note on i. 1), such an appeal could have no effect. It might uphold the courage of the 
ithful ; it could have no effect on unbelievers except to make them scoff the more. 

523 Mm 2 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


The difference in the view of the action of the Deity adopted in the two parts (pointed out in 
the note on xi. 2) is seen most plainly in two parallel passages, where the very functions assigned 
to Wisdom in part 1 are assigned directly to God in part 2. In vii. 22 Wisdom is πάντων τεχνῖτις, 
in viii. 6 τῶν ὄντων . . . τεχνῖτις, while in xiii. 1 God Himself is called τεχνίτης. In viii. 1 it is said of 
Wisdom διοικεῖ τὰ πάντα, in xv. 1 God is addressed directly as διοικῶν τὰ πάντας. Moreover, when 
Heinisch (p. 47) affirms the God of the Book of Wisdom to be the living persomal.and almighty 
God of Israel, the passages he quotes in support of this position are drawn entirely from the second 
part of the book. He adduces xii. 18, xi. 17, 23, xvi. 13, 15, Xi. 22, xiii. 1-7. This testimony 
is all the more valuable as it is given quite unwittingly. It shows plainly what part of the book 
a writer must resort to in order to find the action of the Deity portrayed in Jewish fashion. 

In truth there are considerable difficulties in the way of accepting the unity of authorship 
which have not beéfmet by its upholders. If we could assume that the writer of the second part 
had studied the first part carefully and wished to write a supplement to it, both resemblances 
and differences could be accounted for. 

The proofs adduced by Thackeray (77S, vi, pp. 232 ff.) and approved by Blass seem to show 
that the writer of the second part endeavoured to keep up the poetical form of the first: for this 
reason, although the second part is very prosaic, it has been thought well to keep the verse form 


of the Revised Version throughout. 


§ 7. AUTHORSHIP AND LANGUAGE. 


The author of the book is generally assumed to be an Alexandrian Jew. But the opinion 
of scholars is not unanimous on the point. Bretschneider considered the first section, i—vi. 8, to 
have been written by a Palestinian Jew. Grimm in 1833 wrote a thesis entitled ‘de Sap. libri 
indole Alexandrina perperam asserta’, but he withdrew from this position in his great commentary 
of 1860, where the Alexandrian origin of the book is maintained. Grimm’s later position was 
unanimously accepted till the appearance of Prof. Margoliouth’s article in 7RAS, 18G0, entitled 
‘Was the Book of Wisdom written in Hebrew?’! He there maintains that ‘the writer shows no 
acquaintance with Egypt beyond what he might have got from the Bible, and that he shows a 
familiarity with the interpretation of the Midrash which points to the Palestinian School’. “This 
last clause can refer to the second part only, cc. xi—xix. 

In 1903 Lincke, while accepting Greek as the original language, maintained that cc. i-xii were 
written in Palestine, and Bousset in Die Religion des Fudenthums (1906), p. 212, writes, ‘The early 
chapters of the Wisdom of Solomon are probably of Palestinian origin. (He thus admits the 
composite authorship ; see also p. 501, where he speaks of the second and third parts of the book.) 

It seems difficult to accept the proposition that the book was written in Hebrew in face of 
the numerous instances where dependence on LXX seems undeniable, 6. g. :— 

il. 12 ἐνεδρεύσωμεν δὲ τὸν δίκαιον, ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστιν. Isa. iil. 10 δήσωμεν τὸν δίκαιον ὅτι δύσχρηστος 
ἡμῖν ἐστι. These passages have only to be put side by side to show the dependence of one upon the other 
(the fact that the passage from Isaiah is corrupt in the present Hebrew text, which should doubtless read "ws 
21) 3 py, does not enter into consideration here ; though it shows how the LXX got δήσωμεν). 

ΧΙ. 4 καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἐκ πέτρας ἀκροτόμου ὕδωρ. Deut. vill. 15 τοῦ ἐξαγαγόντος σοι ἐκ πέτρας ἀκροτόμου 
πηγὴν ὕδατος. Here the fact that ἀκρότομος, ‘steep’, is an incorrect translation of wnbn, ‘flint’, makes for an 
undoubted connexion between the two passages. 

Xl. 22 ὅτι ὡς ῥοπὴ ἐκ πλαστίγγων ὅλος 6 κόσμος ἐναντίον cov. Isa. xl. 15 πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. . . ὡς ῥοπὴ ζυγοῦ 
ἐλογίσθησαν. ‘The thought is identical, and the writer could not have got it from the Hebrew, which has ‘dust 


pnw of the balance’. ‘ 
xv. 7 and Isa. xliv. 20 both refer to the idolater. The Hebrew has ‘he feedeth on ashes, a heart deceived 


hath misled him’. The LXX divided the words in the Hebrew text wrongly and translated σποδὸς ἡ καρδία 
αὐτῶν. ‘The writer of Wisdom followed this and wrote σποδὸς ἣ καρδία αὐτοῦ. 

XV1. 22 πῦρ φλεγόμενον ἐν τῇ χαλάζῃ. Exod. 1x. 24 τὸ πῦρ φλογίζον ἐν τῇ χαλάζῃ. The LXX translator 
was perhaps puzzled at the meaning to be assigned to the Hebrew word dann, ‘ darting hither and thither’; at 
any rate he did not translate it literally, but put another word which would make sense: the writer of Wisdom 


borrowed directly from the LXX. 
These examples seem to make it plain that Pseudo-Sol. did not use the Hebrew Bible and that he drew 


his quotations directly from the LXX. 
The following resemblances also show the writer’s acquaintance with LXX : 
, ll. It σοφίαν yap καὶ παιδείαν 6 ἐξουθενῶν ταλαίπωρος. Prov. i. 7 σοφίαν δὲ καὶ παιδείαν ἀσεβεῖς ἐξου- 
θενήσουσιν. - ; 
1 Prof. Margoliouth’s thesis was contested by Freudenthal in an article entitled ‘ What is the Original Language 


of the Wisdom of Solomon?’ /Q2, iii. 722-53. a 
524 


INTRODUCTION 


vi. 12 (if genuine) καὶ εὑρίσκεται ὑπὸ τῶν ζητούντων αὐτήν. Prov. viii. 17 of δὲ ἐμὲ ζητοῦντες εὑρήσουσιν. 
Vi. 14 πάρεδρον γὰρ εὑρήσει τῶν πυλῶν αὐτοῦ. Prov. 1. 21 ἐπὶ δὲ πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει. 
Compare also v. 17 with Isa. lix. 17, quoted below, p. 527. See also notes on vi. 7, xii. 26, and xiv. 8. 


Again, throughout the book, compound words abound—a mark of Alexandrian Greek. Swete, 
Introd. to O.T. in Greek, p. 311, gives over fifty from the first six chapters. 

Further, the knowledge of Greek philosophy displayed in the book speaks for its Alexandrine 
origin ; though this is not absolutely decisive, as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are supposed by some 
scholars to show traces of Greek philosophical influence. Moreover, the doctrine of immortality in 
all probability, and the doctrine of the transcendence of God certainly, are Alexandrian, not 
Palestinian. Finally, it seems likely that iii. g ¢ is borrowed from the Greek translation of Enoch. 
As we cannot imagine a Palestinian writer borrowing from the Greek translation of a book originally 
written in Hebrew, the borrowing must have taken place outside Palestine, and the only possible 
alternative seems to be Alexandria. 

But wherever the book originated the writer is unknown. In part 1 he plainly speaks in the 
name of Solomon, though the name itself is not mentioned, any more than it is in Ecclesiastes 
(where, accordng to McNeile,i. 1 is no part of the original text). The speaker is said to be of royal 
birth (vii. 5); he prays for wisdom (viii. 21), and says ‘thou hast chosen me to be a king’ (ix. 7). 
This is, of course, a literary device and would deceive no one. But it made the book anonymous, 
and anonymous it still remains. 

The earliest record of any conjecture as to its authorship is given by Jerome, who says that 
some of the ancient writers affirm the author to be Philo. This may also have been the opinion of 
the writer of the document known as the Muratorian Canon. An interesting suggestion was made 
by Tregelles that in the Muratorian Canon, p. 11 a, lines 7 and ὃ, where the Latin has ‘ Sapientia 
ab amicis Salomonis in honorem ipsius scripta’, there may have originally stood ὑπὸ φίλωνος instead 
of ὑπὸ φίλων. But though Jerome’s testimony is interesting as showing that at an early period 
many saw the impossibility of ascribing the book to Solomon as Origen also did (Contra (δίς. v. 29), 
the authorship of Philo does not recommend itself to modern scholars. The Philonian doctrine of 
the Logos, the pronounced dualism which said σῶμα = σῆμα, and almost certainly the doctrine of 
ideas, are all absent from Wisdom; while the persouality of the devil is accepted as a fact in 
Wisdom, whereas in Philo it is allegorized into pleasure. 

The suggestion that Apollos was the author (Noach, Plumptre) is generally rejected. 

Like many other books in the Canon, both Hebrew and Greek, its authorship must remain 
unknown. 


δ ὃ. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BOOKS IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. 


The relationship of the Book of Wisdom to Ecclesiastes is generally admitted. The first section 
of Wisdom might be said to be a polemic against the words of Eccles. vil. 15, ‘ There is a righteous 
| man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his 
} evil doing.’ That one book could be written in answer to another (both now sacred) is seen from 
| Ecclesiastes itself, which was doubtless written in antagonism to the view propounded by Ezekiel and 
his followers that righteousness and unrighteousness were both rewarded in this life, a view which 
the author of Job also contests. Ruth, also, was probably written as a protest against the endeavours 
οὗ Ezra and Nehemiah to enforce the Deuteronomic law (xxiii. 3) against mixed marriages. The 
| first part of Wisdom, therefore, may have been written to oppose the despairing philosophy of 
_ | Ecclesiastes and the opinions and practices of the apostates, who may have quoted it to support their 
|views. The most striking passages, a full list of which is given in Grimm, p. 30, and McNeile, 
Ρ. 38, are the following :— 


Wisd. ii. τ, ‘Short and sorrowful is our life.’ Eccles. ii. 23, ‘All his days are but sorrow, and his labour 
_ fis grief.’ 

Wisd. ii. 2, ‘By mere chance (airocxediws) were we born.’ Eccles. ili, 19, ‘The sons of men are 
a chance’ (R.V. margin). ; 
Wisd. ii. 4, ‘Our name shall be forgotten and no one shall remember our works.’ Eccles. i. 11, ‘There is 
no remembrance of the former generations.’ Eccles. ii. 16, ‘For of a wise man, as of a fool, there is no 
\remembrance for ever.’ Eccles. ix. 5, ‘The memory of them (i. e. the dead) is forgotten.’ 

Wisd. ii. 6-10 and Eccles. ix. 7-9 show a great similarity, the difference being only in tone. ‘The tone 
ΠΥ the apostates’ words in Wisdom is defiant, that of Ecclesiastes is sad: ‘Go eat thy bread in gladness, and 
_ |drink thy wine with a cheerful heart.... At all times let thy garments be white, and let not oil on thy head 
_ pelacking. Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy transient life, which he hath given 


525 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


thee under the sun; for that is thy portion in life. . . . There is no work nor device nor knowledge nor 


wisdom in Sheol, whither thou goest.’ AWE 
(The phrase ‘this is our portion’, Wisd. ii. 9c, is probably an echo of the words ‘this is his or thy 


portion ’, which recur in Eccles. itl, 22, v. 18, ix. 9.) 


Hitzig in his edition of Ecclesiastes (1847) refused to admit any connexion between the two 
books. According to Grimm, Hitzig did not give any reasons for his assertion. Mr. Gregg, in 
CBS, also rejects the idea of any connexion, and gives reasons, but they do not seem convincing. 
It is true that Epicureanism and Sadduceeism did not require Ecclesiastes to appeal to. The 
Sadducees in 1 Enoch cii. 6 say, ‘ As we die so die the righteous, and what benefit do they reap for 
their deeds? Behold, even as we, so do they die in grief and darkness, and what have they more than 
we? from henceforth we are equal.’ These are the very same sentiments as those found in the 
speech of the apostates in Wisdom ii. _Sadduceeism was a disease of the time, and the author 
of the first part of Wisdom combated it. That he would have opposed it had Ecclesiastes never been 
written is quite likely, but for all that the form of Wisdom ii. 6-10 probably owes something to 
Ecclesiastes ix. 7-9. 

The influence of the Book of Wisdom upon the New Testament has been differently estimated. 
Eichhorn (p. 202) first pointed out resemblances in Romans and Ephesians, but Grimm declined to 
admit any direct connexion even in the case of Wisd. xv. 7 and Rom. ix. 21. Other scholars, 
however, maintain a direct connexion not only with St. Paul but with the Gospel of St. John, the 
Epistle of St. James, Hebrews, and the Apocalypse. 

In his commentary Grimm gives, on p. 36, a large number of passages where connexion between 
Wisdom and the New Testament was affirmed by Nachtigal, Stier, and others; but all earlier 
investigations with regard to St. Paul’s use of the book have been superseded by that of Grafe, 
Das Verhaliniss der Paulinischen Schriften zur Sapientia Salomonis, Theol. Abhandl. in honour of 
Weiziacker, 1892, pp. 253-86. 

Seeing that St. Paul nowhere quotes Wisdom by name, it is almost impossible to adduce a proof 
of connexion which will satisfy everybody ; a parallel in expression or thought may be only a coinci- 
dence or go back to a common source. Take, for instance, passages that would occur to any one 
who knows both books, Rom. i. 20 and Wisd. xiii. 1, where the possibility of knowing God 
through His works is affirmed: here both writers might be independently using a well-known argu- 
ment of the Stoics. The argument of course is cumulative: one or two resemblances would be of 
no value for proving connexion: but when in two short books like Wisdom and Romans a large 
number of parallelisms are found (Sanday and Headlam, p. 51, quote ten verses from the first 
chapter of Romans which have points of resemblance to Wisdom) it seems perverse to deny con- 
nexion. The most striking parallelism between Wisdom and Romans is found in the passages where 
St. Paul expounds his doctrine of predestination. 

In Wisd. xii. 12 ff. and Rom. ix. 21-3 Grafe (p. 265) traces three thoughts :— 

(1) The idea of the infinite power of God, which admittedly by itself proves nothing. Wisd. 
Xl. 12; Rom. ix. 19-23. 

(2) In the same context, however, both writers dwell upon the fact of God being longsuffering 
towards His enemies although He knows it will be unavailing. Wisd. xii. 8-10, 11a, 20a; Rom. 
Ibe Dye 

(3) In the same context also is found a contrast between the enemies and the sons of God in 
relation to their respective destinies. Wisd. xii. 20-2; Rom. ix. 22, 23. 

The point to be noticed is that these three ideas occur in close connexion both in Wisdom and 
Romans. 

In addition to the parallelism of thought there are also resemblances in language. 


Wisd. xii. 12. Rom. 1x. 19, 20. 
Dele SOS RES, 187 , - A A RS A) ἃ A 
τίς γὰρ ἐρεῖ τί ἐποίησας ; ἢ τίς ἀντιστήσεται τῷ μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι: τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως 
κριματὶ σου ; . . . τῷ γὰρ βουλήματι αὐτοῦ τίς ἀνθέστηκεν ; 


Again, there is the parallel between Wisd. xv. 7 and Rom. ix. 21. i 
Here St. Paul uses in O.T. fashion the image of the potter and the clay as an illustration of q 
God’s dealings with man, but in addition to this he introduces the thought which is not found in the 
O.T. of the potter making out of the sate clay some vessels for noble and others for ignoble 
purposes. The latter point is found only in Romans and Wisdom. But even here Grimm will not 
admit direct connexion. He thinks that both writers may have independently hit upon the same 
illustration. Here Grimm seems to be quite alone; all other expositors recognize the connexion. 
Grafe was the first to point out in full the connexion between St. Paul’s views on idolatry and i 

526 


INTRODUCTION 


those expressed in Wisdom, especially in regard to the lighter judgement passed on the more refined 
form of idolatry found in the worshippers of natural phenomena. 

Taking oroxeia’ in Gal. iv. 3 as referring to the heavenly bodies, Grafe points out the lenient 
judgement passed by St. Paul here, and compares the lenient judgement on the same kind of worship 
in Wisd. xiii. 6. Against the grosser forms of idolatry St. Paul is scathingly severe, and the same 
attitude is found in Wisdom. Ἶ 

Again, after discussing the nature and folly of idol worship, both the writer of Wisdom and 
St. Paul dwell upon the immorality which they affirm to be the direct result of idolatry. Both give 
a long catalogue of vices, St. Paul 24, Wisdom 14, which naturally tally in several points. 

Another similarity worth noticing is that between the striking and original thought in 
xi. 23 6 that God’s longsuffering is meant to lead sinners to repentance, and Rom. ii. 4 ‘not knowing 
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.’ 

An interesting comparison between Wisd. ix. 15 and 2 Cor. v. 1 ff. is pointed out by E. Pflei- 
derer (p. 317 note). He there shows the similarity both of thought and language. With reference 
to this, Otto Pfleiderer remarks (Prim. Christianity, vol. i. p. 454): ‘It is true that 2 Cor. v. 1-5 has 
such close affinities with Wisd. ix. 15 that the conjecture is legitimate that this passage may have 
hovered before his (St. Paul’s) mind and perhaps even suggested the choice of his words. But this close 
affinity by no means proves a direct borrowing of the Pauline doctrine from the Book of Wisdom.’ 

The connexion of Wisd. v. 17 ff. with Eph. vi. 11ff. is denied by Grimm on the ground that 
Isa. lix. 17 is the source of both. The passages are as follows: 


Isa. lix. 17. Wisd. v. 17 ff. 


λήψεται πανοπλίαν τὸν ζῆλον αὐτοῦ ἐνδύσασθε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ 


Eph. vi. 11. 


Ns a , Abe ren 
kat ἐνεδύσατο δικαιοσύνην ὡς θώ- 


Ἢ ρακα, καὶ περιέθετο περικεφαλαίαν | ... ἐνδύσεται θώρακα δικαιοσύνην καὶ . ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν θώρακα δικαιο- 

υ] σωτηρίου ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς. | περιθήσεται κόρυθα κρίσιν ἀνυπόκρι- σύνης... ἀναλαβόντες τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς 
tov’ λήψεται ἀσπίδα... ὀξυνεῖ δὲ πίστεως.... καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ 
ἀπότομον ὀργὴν εἰς ῥομφαίαν. | σωτηρίου δέξασθε καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν. 


The decisive point for those who accept direct connexion is the fact that πανοπλία occurs in 
both Wisdom and St. Paul, but not in Isaiah: also ‘shield’ and ‘sword’ are in Wisdom and St. Paul, 
but not in Isaiah. On the other hand, περικεφαλαίαν σωτηρίου in Isaiah corresponds to περικεφαλαίαν 
τοῦ σωτηρίου in St. Paul. 

The fact that St. Paul knew and used the Book of Wisdom makes it far easier to admit its 
influence on other parts of the New Testament. The parallels to St. John and St. James adduced by 
other scholars and rejected by Grimm have now more to be said for them. Mr. Gregg quotes a large 
number of parallels to St. John, the most interesting being ‘ This is life eternal, that they should know 
thee’ (St. John xvii. 3) and Wisd. xv. 3. Prof. J. B. Mayor in his commentary on St. James, 
p. xxv, gives twelve passages from Wisdom, echoes of which may be found in the epistle. 


$9. THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BOOK. 


The theology of the Book of Wisdom is Alexandrine, a combination of Jewish religion with 
Greek philosophy. 

The first part, cc. i-xi. 1, is more Greek than Jewish, and in nothing is this shown more 
clearly than in the idea of Gcd presented by the two parts respectively. The idea of God 
in part 1 is that of Greek philosophy—a transcendent God who has no immediate contact with 
the world. It is true that in the later parts of the O.T. the writers had largely abandoned the 
conception of Jahveh as a God who had direct dealings with mankind. The theophanies which 
took place under the guise of the ‘Angel of Jahveh’ disappear, and in Daniel, for instance, the 
_ angel Gabriel gives to the seer the revelation which would have been given in earlier times by the 
“Angel of Jahveh’, i.e. by Jahveh Himself. God gradually became thought of as more and more 
remote, though even in Daniel the scene where the Ancient of Days sits in judgement on the nations 
shows that God could still be thought of as having immediate dealings with mankind. In Wisdom, 
however, in cc. i-x, we find that the author conceives God to be so remote, that He performs His 
will by means of an intermediary, whom He sends forth into the world (ix. 10). This intermediary 
is_ Wisdom, and “possesses alt-the attributes ‘of Deity. She is omnipotent (vii. 27), omniscient 
(viii. 8 and ix. 11), and puts these attributes into action: she administers all things well (viii. 1). At 
| the Creation Wisdom stood by God and chose His works ; the subsequent administration of the world 
was committed to her, since her relationship to God at the Creation ensured to her complete knowledge 


1 That R.V. here, following Lightfoot, must be given up, see the article ‘Elements’ in /lastings’ DB. 


527 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


of His commands (ix. 9). If God knows all things, it is because Wisdom takes her report to Him 
(i. g-10). If for a moment it is said that God gave Solomon knowledge of things that are (vii. 17), 
it is immediately corrected by the statement, ‘ For she that is the artificer of all things taught me, 
even Wisdom’ (vii. 21). In ix. 1 the direct action of God is not spoken of s¢mpliciter ; it is softened 
by the expressions ‘ word’ and ‘ wisdom ’—‘ who madest all things by thy word, and by thy wisdom 
formedst man. * . 

It must be admitted that the passages in which the writer speaks of the author of Creation are 
not at first sight consistent. We seem to have three views: (1) God as Creator, i. 14, vi. 7, ix. 1, 
ix. 9; (2) God as Creator while Wisdom is present and exercises the prerogative of choice, viii. 4, 
ix. 9; (3) Wisdom as creator, vii. 22, viii. 5 and 6, and by implication in vii. 23 (all-powerful), and 
vii. 27 (hath power to do all things). The only possible way of reconciling these utterances is to take 
(3) as representing the philosophic view of the writer, while in (1) God is spoken of as Creator on the 
principle that ‘qui facit per alium facit per se’. No. 2 may represent the means by which the writer 
endeavoured to reconcile the biblical with his philosophic view of Creation. That the view expressed 
in vii. 22 and viii. 5 and 6 was deliberately adopted by the writer may be inferred by comparing 
vii. 22 with vii. 19, where he corrects an expression which might have been taken as attributing 
unmediated action to God. Yet it would appear that the writer felt unwilling to deny that man 
can have direct access to God. Solomon’s prayer in c. ix presupposes that God hears man directly, 
and the belief in God as real, and not as a philosophical abstraction— to say nothing of the influence 
of the psalmists—caused the author, as it did Origen, to believe in direct access to God in prayer. 
This, it may be said, is inconsistent with a strictly philosophical belief in the abstract transcendence 
of God as ἐπέκεινα νοῦ καὶ οὐσίας, but it is an inconsistency our author shares in good company. 
On the other hand, the doctrine of the transcendence of God entirely disappears in part 2, where 
He is repeatedly spoken of as acting directly on the world (see note on xi. 2). 

It is generally agreed that ‘Wisdom’ is not a ‘ person’, i.e. a being capable of exercising under- 
standing and will—a self-determining intelligence. What, then, is it? Is it an attribute of God 
personified? Personification is difficult to us: it is a device of the poet ; but to the Oriental mind it 
came easily enough. The O.T. contains numerous instances of the personification of the nation: 
Rachel is pictured as weeping for her children: ‘Ephraim hath grey hairs upon him, and he knoweth 
it not,’ says Hosea ; the nation is personified as the suffering servant in 2 Isaiah. The personification 
of an attribute or power would naturally come later. We perhaps see the first beginnings of it in 
2 Isaiah (see the commentators on Ixxiii. 10) with respect to the Spirit of God. The belief in 
subordinate heavenly powers present at Creation (Gen. i. 26, Job xxxviii. 7) would help to give Wisdom 
its position in Prov. viii and Sir. xxiv; though probably without Greek influence Wisdom would 
never have been personified as it is there (Siegfried, Hastings’ DB, iv, p. 925). In answering the question 
whether our author regarded Wisdom as personal or impersonal, we must remember that to the 
ancients, to whom even the stars were persons, the modern idea of personality was quite foreign, and 
that the same question with regard to the Logos of Philo cannot be satisfactorily answered (Caird, 
vol. ii, Bvol. of Theol., p. 200). But Philo did answer a somewhat similar question—was the Logos 
created or uncreated? ‘The Logos, he declares, is neither uncreated like God nor created like us; 
but he is at equal distance between the extremes’ (Caird, p. 202). ‘The Logos is not unbegotten 
as God.’ ‘On the other hand it is not begottenas man’ (Drummond, Philo, ii. 192). We shall perhaps 
not be far wrong if we attribute the same idea to our author with regard to the personality of 
Wisdom. 

God created the world by means of Wisdom, and as Wisdom is φιλάνθρωπος, i. 6, vii. 23, the 
motive of Creation, though not explicitly stated, can be assumed to be God’s love to man. This is 
expressed in both parts of the book, but with far greater emphasis on His love in part 2. * Itisime 
that made both small and great, and alike he taketh thought (προνοεῖ) for all’ (vi. 7). ‘But thou 
sparest all things, O Sovereign Lord, thou lover of souls’ (xi. 26). But though there is more stress 
placed on love in the second part, in part 1 God assigns to mana higher destiny. In ii. 23 it is 
said,‘ He made him an image of his own being, while in xv. 11 He simply bestows on man the 
gift of life: accordingly, in part 1, a higher standard is demanded from man if he is to be worthy of 
His love: ‘For nothing doth God love save him that dwelleth with Wisdom,’ vii. 28; while 
in part 2 no such high demand is made; mere existence ensures God's love: ‘ For thou lovest all 
things that are, and abhorrest none of the things that thou didst make,’ xi. 24. The Creator made 
man in His love, bestowed upon him the gift of likeness to Himself. From this being He looks for 
conduct worthy of his privileges, and therefore demands wisdom and righteousness (i. 6-8). In 
accordance with this demand Justice punishes those that sin (i. 8), while the righteous are rewarded 
with the ‘wages of holiness’ and the ‘prize for blameless souls’ (ii. 22). The reward is life, the 
punishment is death. But it is spiritual life, not so much upon earth—though the writer recog- 

528 


INTRODUCTION 


nizes that as is seen from the blessings of Wisdom recounted in cc. vi and vii—as in the future; 
a blessed immortality with God entered upon immediately after death. 

It is doubtful, however, whetHer the writer had realized that this belief involved the abandonment 
of the traditional Jewish eschatology. It certainly seems as though he could not give up the old 
Jewish idea of a visible triumph of the righteous over their enemies. The day of judgement also is 
mentioned more than once (iii. 18, iv. 20), and this is inconsistent with the belief that the soul 
immediately after death receives its full reward, happiness or misery, life or death. Again, ch. iii. 7 ff. 
clearly reflects ideas of a distinctly Jewish type. The righteous shall ‘run to and fro like sparks 
amongst the stubble’. Here we seem to have an echo of the judgement by the sword inaugurating 
the Messianic Kingdom: then it is said, ‘they shall judge nations and have dominion over peoples,’ 
indicating a belief in a Messianic Kingdom which would naturally succeed the judgement. In 
v. 17, however, the conception is somewhat different. There it is Jehovah Himself who is to over- 
throw the ungodly by means of the forces of nature, while the spirits of the righteous are safe in 
His keeping. Probably iv. 18 0 ff. is also equivalent to this. 

With regard then to the future destiny of the righteous we must ask, what did the writer con- 
template for them? The alternatives are (1) an everlasting Messianic Kingdom on earth, 
(2) a temporary Messianic Kingdom with heaven afterwards, or (3) immortality immediately after 
death—a purely Greek idea. If the first alternative is taken, he must have considered that the 
righteous were to descend from heaven at the day of judgement or decision and take up their 
position as rulers in an everlasting Messianic Kingdom. The mournful retrospect of the ungodly is 
said to take place when their sins are reckoned up, that is, on the day of decision. After this day of 
decision there will come for the righteous the time of their triumph, which is described in iii. 7. 
Against this arrangement of events Grimm affirms that in no known Jewish system of eschatology 
does this descent of spirits with (it is to be presumed) heavenly bodies take place: though Charles’s 
translation of t Enoch cviii. 12 should be considered, ‘ And I will bring clad in shining light those 
who have loved my holy name, and I will seat each on the throne of his honour.’ And it may be 
urged that a writer who could in these chapters propound four novel beliefs might have entertained 
a fifth. . 

The second alternative of a temporary Messianic Kingdom is found in 1 Enoch xci-civ, a book 
that has many points of contact with Wisd. i-x. There we find the wicked oppressing the 
righteous, encouragement given to the suffering righteous by the promise of reward in the next 
world: after their death their souls are guarded by angels: a temporary Messianic Kingdom comes 
into existence at the appointed time: at the close of this Messianic Kingdom the last judgement 
takes place, and all the righteous, including those whose souls had been kept in safety, enjoy ever- 
lasting life in heaven (see Charles's 1 Exoch*, pp. 219-23). Wisd. iii. 7 deviates from this scheme, 
it is true, but v. 17 does not, nor perhaps iv. 180 ff. Enoch makes it plain that the punishment of 
the unrighteous in the Messianic Kingdom is not effected by means of the righteous who have died ; 
their souls are still in the keeping of angels ; while in Wisd. iii. 7 it is the very same righteous who 
have suffered who are to ‘run to and fro like sparks in the stubble’, i. e. to consume their enemies. 
But in v. 17 Jehovah Himself overthrows the ungodly, the righteous being covered by His Hand. 
Thus iii. 7 fits in with the first alternative, v. 17 with the second. 

The comparison of these different schemes of eschatology with Wisdom forces one to the belief 
that the writer simply added the idea of the immortality of the soul immediately after death to one 
or other of the current forms of Jewish eschatology, and did not, or rather could not, make them 
consistent. It is perhaps doubtful whether he felt the difficulty. Indeed, a much greater Alexan- 
drian, Philo, found it impossible to have a consistent eschatology. He accepted the idea of 
a Messianic Kingdom though it was entirely ‘foreign to his system’ (Charles, Eschatology, p. 260) : 
and with regard to a greater than either—St. Paul—we are told that it is impossible to get a 
systematic scheme of eschatology out of his writings (Stevens, 7eol. of New Test, p. 482). ; 

Lastly, it is no doubt just possible that the writer adopted a purely Greek view of immortality : 
that iii. 7 ff., iv. 18 ὁ Ε΄, and v. 17 ff. are survivals of a former method of thinking which he had dis- 
carded, traces of which, however, remain in his language: but the expressions used seem to be too 
forcible for this explanation to hold good. 

But the belief in the future blessedness of the righteous cannot do away with the perplexing 
fact that at present they suffer, and suffer undeservedly. Death, and even premature death, seems to 
be their portion. How is this to be explained? This brings us to the discussion of the problem of 
undeserved suffering and the solution offered by the writer. 

In the greater part of the Old Testament the problem of undeserved suffering does not appear. 


1 The reason in the last case is obviously that St. Paul’s eschatological views advanced with his own spiritual 
experience and development.—General Editor. 


529 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


Affliction is punishment, and the punishment is retributive. In Amos there is a hint given that 
punishment may be disciplinary and remedial. The Israelites have been punished, “ Yet ye have not 
returned unto me.’ In one solitary place in Prov. iii. 12,‘ Whom the Lord loveth he reproveth,’ 
and in Job v. 17, ‘Happy is the man whom God reproveth,’ this idea recurs ; in the Elihu speeches 
also (Job xxxv. 15 and xxxvi. 8) suffering is regarded as disciplinary and remedial; but the 
problem of undeserved suffering which gave rise to the book is apparently abandoned as insoluble. 
How great the perplexity continued to be is seen from the desperate argument in 2 Macc. vi. 
12-17. There the writer says that the afflictions which came upon the Jews ‘were not for the 
destruction but for the chastening of our race’, and are ‘a sign of great beneficence’, while the 
reason of the heathen escaping such afflictions is that they may be punished ‘when they have 
attained unto the full measure of their sins’. 

In the first part of Wisdom a solution of the problem is offered in the theory that suffering is meant 
to test the righteous and prove them worthy of immortality and communion with God. ‘As gold 
in the furnace, he proved them’ (iii. 6). This corresponds to the conception in 1 Enoch cvili. 9: 
‘The righteous were much tried by the Lord and their spirits were found pure.’ This world is not 
all: there is recompense and reward in the future. This belief may be said to be consoling, though 
it cannot be taken as a complete solution of the difficulty, which is perhaps to be found in the deeper 
thought suggested in Isa. liii. But even if the solution attempted is not quite satisfactory, the 
problem of the undeserved suffering of the righteous is fairly faced and an endeavour made to answer 
it. They will eventually be rewarded with life, while the wicked are punished with death. 

The meaning of the word ‘ death’, as used in part 1, is not at first sight apparent. Does it 
mean physical death only, or physical death in the first place and spiritual death afterwards? Or 
does the author always use it to denote spiritual death? He says ‘God made not death; ... for he 
created all things that they might have being: and all the created things of the world are serviceable 
to life, and there is no poison of destruction in them’ (i. 13 ff.). From this it follows that our author, 
in accordance with ideas found in other writers (1 Enoch ]xix. 11), probably held that death did not 
belong to the original purpose_o reation an hat ma ould have i arn τ had 
not sinned. This conclusion seems to follow also from ii23, ‘God created man for incorruption, an 
made him an image of his own being,’ i.e. immortal. ‘ By the envy of the devil death entered 
into the world, and those who belong to him experience it.’ But what of those who do not 
belong to him? Do not they experience death? No, says our author; they only seem to die 
(iii. 2). The fact of physical death is passed over and attention directed solely to spiritual death. 
Other writers—St. Paul, for instance,—did not pass over physical death in this way ; they accounted 
for it by saying that physical death came upon all men, good and bad, on account of Adam’s trans- 
gression. We may suppose that our author would have accepted this theory : it is quite consistent 
with his views, and was a common belief of the time. 

Physical death, however, is practically disregarded by our author: he fixes his attention upon 
spiritual death, and this can take place even on earth. The wicked are made to say, ‘as soon as we 
were born we ceased to be’ (v. 13). According to this statement spiritual death does not mean 
annihilation; the wicked are spiritually dead even on earth; and in the next world this miserable 
condition continues, with the additional fact that they are now conscious of their condition. That 
they are likened to a city razed to the ground, the very name of which is forgotten, does not mean 
that they are to be annihilated. They are still to be ‘in anguish’ (iv. 19 c). We can compare this 
with 1 Enoch cviii. 3, where we read ‘their names shall be blotted out of the book of life... and 
their seed shall be destroyed for ever, and their spirits shall be slain, and they shall cry and make 
lamentation in a place that is a chaotic wilderness’. This seems to give exactly the view of the 
author of Wisdom. The opinion of Bois, therefore, reviving that of Bretschneider, that the writer 
believed the wicked suffered for a time and were then annihilated, must be rejected. An existence 
which was nothing but pain and misery could rightly be called ‘death.’ 

The doctrine of retribution in part 1 is Life for the righteous, Death for the unrighteous, with 
the additional threat that the latter may be punished in this world and in their children. Suffering 
in the case of the righteous tests their goodness, while in the case of the unrighteous it is purely 
retributive. 

An part 2 a different attitude is adopted. Undeserved suffering appears not to be thought of. 
Punishment is deserved, but it is remedial—God loves all men, otherwise He would not have created 
them ; hence punishment inflicted by a God of love must be for the benefit of His creatures. In 
applying this theory to the Israelites the author, by means of ignoring much of the traditional 
narrative, is apparently consistent ; but not so when he deals with the fate of the heathen, in xi. 16 
and xii. 22. In truth, he adopts a very difficult réle. He wishes to reconcile the O.T. statements 
of the action of God in exterminating the Canaanites with the higher view of the Deity due to 


099 


INTRODUCTION 


Ethical Monotheism. Ethical Monotheism cannot regard punishment as arbitrary or merely 
retributive ; it must be reformative. Accordingly the writer ignores the biblical account and affirms 
that punishment in the case both of the Egyptians and the Canaanites was inflicted to give them 
the opportunity of repentance. But the fact remains that they did not repent. This is accounted 
for in the case of the Canaanites by saying that they were incorrigible. ‘They were a seed accursed 
from the beginning;’ while the Egyptians are punished because, when they knew the true God, they 
refused to obey Him; though subsequently they are placed in the same position as the Canaanites 
by the statement that Destiny (ἀνάγκη) was dragging them to their doom (xix. 4). 

In addition to the eschatology in part 1, the anthropology differs from that of the Old 
Testament, in that it assumes the existence of the soul before birth. The question as to whether the 
writer accepted this belief at first sight admits of no dispute. In viii. 19, 20 he says, ‘ Now I was 
a child good by nature and a good soul fell to my lot; nay, rather, being good, I came into a body 
undefiled.’ These words seem decisive. But granted that the writer believed in the pre-existence 
of the soul the question may be asked, What kind of pre-existence? Do the words of viii. 19 mean 
in his mouth, as they would in the mouth of Philo, not mere existence but self-conscious existence? 
It may help to answer this question, if we remind ourselves of the writer’s attitude towards some 
other Greek ideas which he adopts, and ask whether they meant to him what they meant to the 
philosophers. We have seen that he adopted the Greek idea of immortality, but that it cannot be 
said that he did so fully and completely, since it is probable that he believed in a final day of 
judgement (iii. 18) to be followed or preceded by a Messianic Kingdom on earth. Again, he knew 
something of the philosophic theory of the inherent evil of matter, and says with reference to the 
body, that it ‘weighs down the soul’; but there is no indication that he adopted the opinion 
that the body was no better than a tomb; i. 14 shows that he is very far from accepting the 
philosophical belief in the evil of matter as Philo subsequently did. It may therefore be fairly 
argued that as the writer perhaps did not accept the Greek philosophical belief in immortality, and 
certainly did not accept the belief in the evil of matter, without modification, it is quite possible 
that he also modified the philosophical belief in the pre-existence of the soul. In the case of the 
two former beliefs, however, it must be remembered that it would have been contrary to Jewish 
feeling to admit them completely. The complete and formal abandonment of the Messianic 
hope and the absolute worthlessness of the body were opinions too much opposed to Jewish 
tradition to be accepted by a writer who, though he had no great feeling for strict consistency, yet 
desired not to deviate too far from his ancestral beliefs. But there is no reason for thinking that the 
Greek doctrine of pre-existence was antagonistic to Jewish religious feeling. According to Harnack 
(Hist. of Dogma, vol. i, pp. 319 ff.), the early idea of some sacred object on earth being a copy of 
the original in heaven underwent development in the time of the Maccabees and the following 
decades. The conception became ‘applied to persons’. Moreover, the Rabbis themselves adopted 
and worked it out, locating the unborn souls in the seventh heaven.'| According to Porter? (p. 267), 
this Rabbinic idea of pre-existence is ‘impersonal or half personal’, and it is belief in this kind of 
pre-existence which he would ascribe to the author of our book. But it is doubtful if we have any 
more right to ascribe to the writer subsequent rabbinic than subsequent philosophic ideas; indeed, 
as the writer is an Alexandrian, it would seem less unjustifiable to ascribe to him the subsequent 
Philonic method of thinking on this point. Probably the writer of part 1 adopted the idea of the 
pre-existence of the soul without asking himself whether he was thinking of a mere vague general 
notion of existence, or a definite idea of self-conscious existence ; it is worth noting, however, that 
he is far more definite than the writer of part 2 in xv. ὃ and 11. : 

In regard to the writer’s philosophical beliefs, it is generally agreed that he was well acquainted 
with the theories of the Greek philosophers, but whether his knowledge was first- or second-hand is 
a matter of dispute. Grimm considers that the writer’s knowledge did not go beyond that possessed 
by every educated Alexandrian of the time: that he had no first-hand acquaintance with Platonism 
he infers from the absence of all reference to the doctrine of ideas, though it appears quite legitimate 
to ask whether a writer who admittedly had considerably more than a bowing acquaintance with 
Greek philosophy could have been ignorant of such a celebrated theory. Whether the writer's 
knowledge was first- or second-hand, it was certainly extensive. The views of the Stoics, of Plato, 
and of Heraclitus (to take them in order of importance) can all be traced in the book. In vii. 17 ff. 
he claims for his hero acquaintance with the whole range of philosophy and science ; and he can 
hardly have failed to possess some of the knowledge which he attributes to Solomon. 


} Weber, Jiidische Theologie, 1897, p. 205. é ine 
2? «The pre-existence of the Soul in the Book of Wisdom,’ see below, p. 534. Porter takes viii. 19 to be by the same 
writer as xv. 11. Much of his argument would require restating if these are from different authors. 


O32 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


The influence of the Stoic philosophy appears in the idea of the world soul in i. 7, vii. 27, viii. 1. 
It is seen in the epithets ‘alone in kind’ (μονογενής) and “ manifold’ (πολυμερής) applied to Wisdom 
in vii. 22, where the one world soul and its different manifestations are referred to, and especially 
in the use of technical Stoical terms. The reader can satisfy himself of this by referring to Ritter 
and Preller,! extract 513 (taken from Diog. Laertius’ life of Zeno), where in the first few lines we 
find voepds, τὸ διῆκον διὰ πάντων, διὰ τοῦ ζῆν κεχώρηκεν, all referring to the Deity. Like expressions 
are applied in c. vii to Wisdom. The four Cardinal Virtues (viii. 7) are Stoic, and also the meta- 
bolism of the elements, by the help of which the writer of part 2 endeavours to rationalize the 
miracles of the Exodus. The Sorites, a favourite figure of the Stoics, is used in vi. 17-20. 

The influence of Platonism in the book is just as undeniable: the transcendence of God, the pre- 
existence of souls, the depreciation of the body (in part 2 also the pre-existence of matter (xi. 17)), 
all show platonic influence. Moreover, it seems difficult to deny a first-hand knowledge of Plato 
when we compare ix. 15 φθαρτὸν yap σῶμα βαρύνει ψυχήν, καὶ βρίθει τὸ γεῶδες σκῆνος νοῦν πολυφρόντιδα, 
with the passage from the Phaedo 81 C ᾿Εμβριθὲς δέ γε τοῦτο (i.e. σωματοειδές) οἴεσθαι χρὴ εἶναι καὶ 
βαρὺ καὶ γεῶδες καὶ ὁρατόν. ὃ δὴ καὶ ἔχουσα ἡ τοιαύτη ψυχὴ βαρύνεται. The three points of connexion. 
βρίθει, γεῶδες, and βαρύνει, in one and the same sentence would be striking if they were all ordinary 
words; but when it is remembered that Bpi@@ occurs nowhere else in the Greek Bible, and that 
γεώδης occurs only here and in xv. 13, the argument for direct connexion seems very strong. Porter, 
who denies direct dependence, admits the probability of some indirect connexion. It should also 
be noticed that the Platonic classification of the Virtues is implicitly rejected in vii. 12. 

With regard to Heraclitus, we have to remember that, as Zeller (SZozcs, p. 371) says, ‘there is 
hardly a single point in the Heraclitean theory of nature which the Stoics did not appropriate.’ 
This increases the difficulty of deciding. His influence, direct or indirect, is to be found in ii. 3, 
‘reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our heart’; but, as mentioned in the note on the passage, 
the Stoics took up the idea. It is true that the Stoics considered that souls lived after death until 
the great conflagration, and our author puts into the mouth of the ungodly the exact view of 
Heraclitus—the belief in extinction immediately after death.2 This, however, was also the view 
of the Epicureans, so we cannot be sure of the direct influence of Heraclitus here. 

In vi. 24 the author announces his intention of making known the secrets of Wisdom, and 
apparently declaims against those who enviously keep knowledge to themselves: here all the com- 
mentators see a reference to the pagan mysteries,fbut E. Pfleiderer® wishes to see a reference to an 
individual philosopher—Heraclitus ; the reference, however, seems quite general ; the quotation from 
Philo by Grimm (see note) shows that the heathen mysteries were not identified with any individual. 
Our author’s statement that ‘a multitude of wise men is salvation to the world’ is said by Pfleiderer 
to stand in direct opposition to the saying of Heraclitus, ‘To me, one is ten thousand if he be the 
best’ (Zeller, Pre-Socratic Phil. ii, p. 10), but neither observation is very original. The first is 
surely a commonplace, and as for the second, Milton’s ‘ fit audience, though few’, does not depend 
on Heraclitus. 

The metabolism of the elements at the end of part 2 is traced by E. Pfleiderer to Heraclitus, 
and to him directly, rather than indirectly through the Stoics, on account of the allusion in c. xix 
to three elements only—fire, water, earth—since Heraclitus recognized only three. But it is difficult 
to see how the author could have brought in the idea of air changing into anything else: water 
changes into earth in the passage through the Red Sea, and earth becomes water again to over- 
whelm the Egyptians ; fire lost its power and was unable to melt the heavenly food; what need or 
opportunity was there for adducing the change of air into another element? In this connexion it 
is worth noticing that Philo in Vita Moss, iii, § 2, in speaking of the High Priest’s robe (see note on 
xviii. 24) only mentions three elements and calls them ‘the three elements’, air, water, and earth, 
so that if we had no other passage to go by, we should be unable to prove that he accepted, as he 
certainly did, the doctrine of the four elements. It must, no doubt, be admitted that the Book of 
Wisdom has points of connexion with the system of Heraclitus, who was highly esteemed in 
Alexandria, but whether directly or indirectly it is impossible to say. 

Heinisch,* who denies to the writer of Wisdom anything beyond a superficial knowledge of 
Greek philosophy, admits, or rather affirms, that he had read Xenophon’s WWemorabilia. He quotes 
Mem. 2, 1 (the choice of Hercules) side by side with Wisd. viii. 2-18, and points out that in 
nearly every one of these verses there is an echo of the passage in the Memoradilia. It is not merely 
that the writer knew the story of the choice of Hercules, but that he had read it in Xenophon, to 
which Heinisch commits himself. This is highly probable, but it is difficult to reconcile it with 


1 Eighth ed., 1898. * See Zeller, Pre-Soc. Phil. ii, p. 105. 8 Die Phil. des Heraclitus, see below, p. 533+ 
* Die griech. Phil. im B. der Weisheit, see below, p. 534. d é 
532 


INTRODUCTION 


Heinisch’s denial of any direct acquaintance on the part of the author with other Greek writers. 
-One who had studied the Memorabilia carefully enough to reproduce from memory a large number 
of the sentiments put into the mouth of Virtue in 2. 1 would not be a superficial student of the book ; 
and if he had studied the M/emoradilia carefully it is probable that he had paid the same attention to 
much more celebrated works such as the Phaedo. It may be added that Heinisch was the first to 
notice the close resemblance between these passages of Wisdom and Xenophon. [0 shakes one’s 
confidence in a scholar to find that a resemblance discovered by himself is maintained to be the 
result of direct connexion, while those pointed out by other scholars are minimized or denied. 

With reference to the general question of the indebtedness of our author to other thinkers, it 
may be noticed that Menzel! gives 135 places where connexion has been traced by one scholar or 
another. Most writers are children of their time, and their work cannot but show traces of the 
intellectual atmosphere which they breathed. We can admire the language and thought of the Book 
of Wisdom (i.e. cc. i-x), and yet admit that the parallels pointed out by the critics are valid. 

In its method of interpretation of O.T. Scripture the book contains both haggadah and allegory. 
The haggadic treatment of the plague of darkness is equal to anything in the Rabbis, the allegory 
is of a milder type. We do not meet with that thoroughgoing kind of allegory where the literal 
truth of the narrative is denied as in Philo. The nearest approach to this is in the treatment of the 
serpent in Eden and the cloud which accompanied the Israelites on their wanderings. According t 
our author the serpent was not really a serpent but the devil, the cloud was not really a cloud but 
the form which Wisdom assumed. In some other instances historical events are regarded as parables. 
Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt as a warning against unbelief. The victory of Jacob in 
his struggle with the angel shows that piety is more powerful than even a supernatural opponent. 
That the manna was to be gathered before sunrise shows that prayer must be offered betimes: that 
it melted after sunrise shows that the hopes of the ungrateful come to naught. The successful 
intercession of Aaron, with his symbolical garments which represented the world, probably illustrates 
the truth that the world fighteth for the righteous. The ark of Noah shows that God blesses natural 
productions when they are put to a beneficial use, e.g. wood for the building of ships; and perhaps 
that He will protect men venturing on the high seas for the beneficent purposes of commerce. The 
narrative of the brazen serpent in the wilderness and its healing power is taken as historical ; but 
the serpent has no magical power: it acts as a reminder to the Israelites who had forgotten God. 
This can hardly be called allegorical treatment unless allegory is taken to mean any interpretation 
of the narrative which goes beyond the literal one. 

The allegorical traits in the book are not nearly so strong as the haggadic, but though the latter 
is generally associated with the methods of the Rabbis, both flourished vigorously amongst the 
Hellenistic Jews (Schiirer, ii. 1, p. 341). 


ὃ 10. CHIEF CRITICAL INQUIRIES. 


Eichhorn, Einlettung in die apokryph. Schriften des A. T., pp. 6-207. Leipzig, 1795. 

Gfrérer, Phzlo, vol. ii (1831), pp. 200-72. An interesting review of the whole book. 

Edmund Pfleiderer, Die Phil. des Heraclitus, 1886, pp. 289-348. Pfleiderer affirms that the writer of Wisdom 
had an intimate knowledge of Greek philosophy and in especial a direct acquaintance with Heraclitus. Heinisch 
(see below), pp. 18-30, subjects Pfleiderer’s contention to a searching criticism. He denies that the writer of Wisdom 
had even a superficial knowledge of the system of Heraclitus. 

Drummond, Philo Judaeus, 1888, vol. i, pp. 177-229. As a preliminary to his exposition of Philo’s philosophy 
Dr. Drummond gives a most valuable discussion of the theology of the Book of Wisdom. The following statement 
deserves attention : ‘There is little connected reasoning of any kind in the work. . . . It is as though the process of 
investigation had been conducted elsewhere, and led to results esteemed satisfactory by an important section of the 
Jewish community’ (p. 186). 

P. Menzel, Der griech. Einfluss auf Prediger und Weisheit Salomos, 1889, pp. 39-70. Menzel gives a useful table 
of passages (135)—which Professor Margoliouth says ‘might be considerably reduced without disadvantage ’— where 
connexion between Wisdom and Greek philosophy has been pointed out by Grimm and Pfleiderer. He has coined 
a somewhat question-begging epithet in the word ‘ parallelomania’ which shows his attitude towards those who would 
trace the ideas of the author to their source. He admits, however, some of Pfleiderer’s positions. Menzel is severely 
criticized by Heinisch, pp. 9 ff. Cheyne (Origin of Psalter, p. 423) calls the work ‘a painstaking dissertation ’. 

H. Bois, Essaz sur les origines de la philosophie Judéo-Alexandrine, 1890, pp. 211-311. Notes on the text 
373-411. Bois undertakes a thorough examination of the theological principles in the Book of Wisdom, in a fresh 
and stimulating manner. In his notes on the text he suggests the rearrangement of certain passages, one of which is 
most probably right (see note on iv. 15). He also suggests several emendations, some of which are accepted by 
Siegfried. His exposition of the transmutation of the elements alluded to in ch. xix ad fiz. deserves special attention. 

Margoliouth. In the //AS for 1890, pp. 263-97, Professor Margoliouth maintained that Bretschneider was on 
the right track in suggesting that the Book of Wisdom was originally written in Hebrew; and adduced many passages 
where he affirms that traces of mistranslation can be proved. This theory has not, however, found acceptance. 
Freudenthal in the /Q2, 1901, contested it. 


1 Der griech. Einfluss, &c., see below, § 10. 


533 


__, 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


Grafe. In 1892,in 7heol. Aéhandl. in honour of Weizicker, pp. 253-86, Grafe published a convincing paper on the 
question of St. Paul’s use of the Book of Wisdom. oa 

Thielmann. In 1893 Thielmann published an exhaustive inquiry into the Latinity of the Latin version of the 
book in Archiv fiir lat. Lex. und Gram., pp. 235-77- 

Feldmann, Zexthritische Mat. zum B. der Weisheit gesammelt aus der sahidischen syrohexaplarischen und 
armenischen Ubersetzung, Freiburg im B., 1902, pp. 84. A most valuable contribution to the criticism of the text. 

Joseph Holtzmann, Dze Peschitta zum δὶ der Wetsheit, Freiburg im B., 1903, pp. 152. A thorough investigation 
of the Syriac version. 

Weber, in Zeitschrift fiir wiss. Theol., 1904, upholds the composite authorship, tracing four different hands in the 
work. Feldmann in Bz6/. Zeitschrift, Freiburg im B., 1909, contests this view. 

Heinisch, Die griech. Phil. im B. der Weisheit, Mimster 1. W., 1908, pp. 158. An exhaustive inquiry into the 
relationship between the book and Greek philosophy ; a work of great learning and ability. Unfortunateiy the writer, 
a Roman Catholic, seems to have made up his mind to prove that the author of the Book of Wisdom ‘ taught nothing 
which contradicted the faith inherited from his fathers. That which was new, which he expounded in his speculations 
on Wisdom and in his Eschatology, made no breach with the ideas of the O.T. . . . and if it has found acceptance 
in the N.T., that is only a proof that the sacred writer in his literary activity was under the guidance of divine 
inspiration’ (p. 156). The author's knowledge of Greek philosophy was, according to Heinisch, ‘ very superficial.’ 

Porter, ‘The pre-existence of the Soul in the Book of Wisdom and in the Rabbinical writings.’ (In O/d Testament 
and Semitic Studies in memory of William Rainey Harper, 1908, pp. 208-69.) A vigorous onslaught upon the 
prevalent view that the writer of Wisdom accepted the Greek doctrine of the pre-existence of souls. In this he is 
upheld by Heinisch (p. 86); though as Heinisch will not admit that Wisdom contains anything contrary to the 
doctrine of the Church, i.e. the Roman Catholic Church, his judgement is biased. An admirable summary of 
Porter's position is given by Prof. W. B. Stevenson in the Zuéernational Journal of Apocrypha, April, 1912. 
Prof. Stevenson affirms that ‘the argument is convincing’. 


EDITIONS. 


(The earlier editions of the book may be found in Grimm, p. 45, or Deane, p. 42.) 

Grimm, 1860. In Kurzgefasstes exeg. Handbuch zu den Apokryphen, pp. 300. It is difficult to speak too 
highly of this masterly work. Grimm first published a commentary in 1837. For the next twenty-three years he was 
collecting additional materials, and the result was the work of 1860, which is and will probably long remain an 
indispensable quarry for all students of the book. 

Deane, W. J., 1881, prints the Greek, Latin, and English A.V. in parallel columns. It contains very useful 
linguistic notes both on the Greek and the Latin. 

Farrar, Speakers Comm., 1888. Abounds in apt illustrations from classical and hee ees 

Zockler, Apocryphen und Pseud. des Alt. Test., 1891, pp- 355-95. Short introduction, translation, and notes. 

Siegfried in Kautzsch’s Afocrypha, 1900, gives a new and excellent translation, generally following Grimm. The 
notes, however, are very short. 

Gregg, Camb. Bible for Schools, 1909. This is, perhaps, the best edition in English, 


534 


ae WishvOnr OF SOLOMON 


True religion leads to a blessed immortaiity : irreligion and apostasy to destruction. 


Seek the knowledge of God by purity of life: such knowledge (t.c. wisdom) cannot be attained 
by the slaves of sin. 


11 1 Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth, 
Think ye of the Lord with a good mind, 
And in singleness of heart seek ye him ; 
2 Because he is found of them that tempt him not, 
And is manifested to them that do not distrust him. 
3 For crooked thoughts separate from God ; 


And the szpreme Power, when it is brought to the proof, putteth to confusion the foolish : 
4 Because wisdom will not enter into a soul that deviseth evil, 

Nor dwell in a body held in pledge by sin. 
5 For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, 

And will start away from thoughts that are without understanding, 

And will be scared away when unrighteousness approacheth. 


The sinner cannot escape punishinent: his very words are known. 


ὁ For wisdom is a spirit that loveth man, 
And she will not hold a blasphemer guiltless for his lips ; 


1. τ. judges of the earth. It isin his assumed character of Solomon that the writer speaks of ‘judges of the earth’ ; 
in all probability, however, the judges really aimed at are the rulers of the Jewish community in Alexandria. As in 
the time of Philo the Jews in Egypt amounted to a million souls, we may presume that at least half a million lived 
in the capital. Strabo (died A.D. 21), quoted by Josephus, 47. xiv. 7, says: ‘There is also an ethnarch at their head 
who rules the people and dispenses justice, and sees that obligations are fulfilled and statutes observed, like the archon 
of an independent state.’ 

Doubtless many of the ruling classes in Alexandria, like those in Palestine, were of a Sadducean type and inclined to 

Hellenize. Indeed, some Jews, like Tiberius Julius Alexander who held high office under Nero, went over to the Gentiles 
completely. Bousset, Re/. des Jud. (p. 81, note 1), thinks that complete apostasy of this kind only rarely took place. The 
persecution of the pious by the freethinkers spoken of in ii. 10 may be paralleled by the oppression of the Pharisees under 
Alex. Jannaeus about 94 B.c. See Charles, 1 Ezoch,p.297. ‘The rulers appear as the aiders and abettors of the enemies of 
the righteous. These enemies are the Sadducees, sinners, apostates, and paganizers.’ Ch. il. 12 shows that apostates 
are the object of the polemic: ‘ He upbraideth us with sins against the law.’ Philo alludes to apostate Jews, De Conf. 
Ling., ch. ii: ‘Those who are discontented at the constitution under which their fathers have lived, being always eager 
to blame and accuse the laws, say—Do you boast of your precepts as if they contained truth itself? Behold, the books 
which you call sacred scriptures contain fables at which you are accustomed to laugh when you hear others relating 
them.’ See also Vita Mos. i. 6. 
A Intermarriage with the Gentiles would facilitate apostasy, and as an act is not censured unless it has taken place, 
we may infer the existence of such marriages from Jubilees xxx. 7, ‘If there is any man in Israel who wishes to give his 
daughter or his sister to any man who is of the seed of the Gentiles, he shall surely die, and they shall stone him with 
stones, for he hath wrought shame in Israel ; and they shall burn the woman with fire, because she has dishonoured the 
name of the house of her father, and she shall be rooted out of Israel.’ 

with a good mind, Greek ‘in goodness’. What a pious Jew would consider to be right thoughts about God may 
be gathered from Exod. xxxiv. 6-7, especially the last clause, ‘Jahveh is a God full of compassion and gracious . . . 
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.’ The opposite is seen in 
Ps. 1. 21, ‘Thou thoughtest that I was even such a one as thyself.’ 

singleness of heart. A Hebraism: straightness of mind as opposed to crookedness ; see τ΄. 3, ‘ crooked thoughts.’ 
The heart is the seat of the intellect in Hebrew; the reins (see v. 6) the seat of the emotions. 

5. discipline : A.V. and R.V., but the idea of instruction must be included. 

scared away: ἐλεγχθήσεται is a difficulty of long standing. Schultess (1820) declared the word to be corrupt. 
R. V. ‘ put to confusion’, margin ‘convicted’; Grimm, from a use of the word in Byzantine Greek, ‘is scared away . 
Siegfried, ‘is filled with a spirit of reproof,’ a very satisfactory meaning if allowable. The idea of being ‘ put to shame’ 
like purity in the presence of iniquity is possible. This use of the word is found only in Homer, according to Liddell 
and Scott ; and the book is admittedly full of poetical words. , 

6. For wisdom, &c. This line, which appears to have no connexion with what precedes or follows, has given great 
trouble to the commentators. Grimm takes the sense to be ‘ Wisdom is a spirit that loves mankind, and for that very 
reason will not leave wickedness unpunished’. The earlier commentators took φιλάνθρωπος in the sense of * mild’, 


535 


Sa | 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 1. 6-16 


Because God is witness of his reins, 
And is a true overseer of his heart, 
And a hearer of his tongue: 
7 Because the spirit of the Lord filleth the world, 
And that which holdeth all things together hath knowledge of every voice. 
8 Therefore no man that uttereth unrighteous things shall. be unseen ; 
Neither shall Justice, when it punisheth, pass him by. 
9 For the counsels of the ungodly shall be searched out ; 
And the report of his words shall come unto the Lord 
For the punishment of his lawless deeds : 
το Because ‘here is an ear of jealousy ¢/az listeneth to all things, 
And the noise of murmurings is not hid. 
11 Beware then of unprofitable murmuring, 
And refrain your tongue from blasphemy ; 
Because no secret utterance shall go forth with impunity, 
And a mouth that lieth destroyeth the soul. 


God does not willingly afflict men: they bring punishment and death upon themselves. 


12 Court not death in the error of your life; 
Neither draw upon yourselves destruction by the works of your hands: 
13 Because God made not death; 
Neither delighteth he when the living perish: 
14 For he created all things that they might have being: 
And the products of the world are healthsome, 
And there is no poison of destruction in them: 
Nor hath Hades royal dominion upon earth ; 
15 For righteousness is immortal, 
(But the gain of unrighteousness is death). 
16 But the ungodly by their hands and words called him unto them: 
Deeming him a friend they were consumed with love of him, 
And they made a covenant with him, 
Because they are worthy to be of his portion. 


‘gentle’, and connected it with preceding verse. The meaning then would be: ‘ Wisdom is put to confusion or scared 
away when wickedness enters in, because it is a mild and kindly spirit and cannot stay in the same abode as injustice.’ 
Bois, p. 379, seeing that these explanations are unsatisfactory would transpose the line to the end of v. 13, and in this 
alteration Siegfried concurs. But the close connexion between the last line of v. 13 and the beginning of v. 14 militates 
against this. In face of these difficulties it does not seem rash to suggest that the line may be an interpolation on the 
basis of vii. 22-3, where Wisdom is said to be a πνεῦμα and φιλάνθρωπος. 
Further, the fact that this line is out of harmony with its surroundings gives force to Weber's suggestion that 
vv. 4, 5, together with this line, have been interpolated; the connexion obtained after their omission is quite satis- 
factory. wv. 3. ‘The Power, when brought to the proof, chastiseth fools and (6) will not hold the blasphemer guiltless for 
his lips. For God, &c.’ ἢ: 
7. filleth, as A.V.; R.V. ‘hath filled’; but see Grimm’s note, Burton, Δ΄, 7. 77οοας and Tenses, § 76, and cf. 
St. John xi. 11. i 
holdeth all things together. We have here the Stoic idea of the world soul. The Stoics said of the world, | 
els ἅπαν αὐτοῦ μέρος διήκοντος τοῦ νοῦ, καθάπερ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν τῆς ψυχῆς. See Dio. Laert. in Ritter and Preller, ὃ 493; Zeller, ὦ 
Stoics, &c., p. 142. ‘ 2 
8. For examples of unrighteous things see the quotation from De Conf. Ling. in the note on v. 1. ᾿ 
11. blasphemy. καταλαλιά in parallelism with murmuring, γογγυσμός, plainly means speaking against God: 
γογγυσμός is the word used in LXNX Exod. xvi. 7, 8, 9, for the murmuring of the Israelites. 4 
13-16. Man lost his uprightness and immortality through his own act according to this passage; in ii. 24, through Pal 
the envy of the devil. ae | 
15. For righteousness. Either this line is in its wrong place and should be transferred perhaps to a position a 
between wv. 22 and 23 of ch. ii, where it would be in a satisfactory context, or we must with Grimm accept the ~ 
succeeding line found in some Latin MSS., ‘iniustitia autem mortis acquisitio est.” Grimm renders this by ἀδικία δὲ | 
θανάτου περιποίησις ἐστιν (the word περιποίησις is not found in the LXX with this meaning). As the line stands it 
has no connexion with what precedes or follows, and if the extra line is not accepted deletion or transference to the 
end of ii. 22 would seem to be justified. It should be noticed that the line summarizes the teaching of this part of the 
book, and may originally have been a marginal note. The Latin line zzzus¢itia autem would then be a gloss like ii. 17, 
vi. 1, &c., and αὐτόν in the next line, referring to Hades, would not be separated from its antecedent. a 
16, Seems to be based verbally on Isa. xxviii. 15, though the context is quite different. There the covenant is that 
Death should spare the other contracting parties, while here they give themselves into the arms of Death. For ryxo 
used to denote a state of mind, see vi. 23, ‘pining envy.’ E. Pfleiderer, followed by Bois, takes this verse as referring 
to the pagan mysteries, especially to the identification of Hades the God of death with Dionysus the God of life. 


536 


| 
| 
3 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 2. 1-9 


Some men even prefer the ways of death: they affirm that their souls are even as their 
bodies, that after this life nothing remains. 


21 For they said within themselves, reasoning not aright, 
Short and sorrowful is our life ; 
And there is no remedy when a man cometh to his end, 
And none was ever known that returned from Hades. 
2 Because by mere chance were we born, 
And hereafter we shall be as though we had never been: 
Because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, 
And reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our heart, 
3 Which being extinguished, the body shall be turned into ashes, , 
And the spirit dispersed as thin air ; 
4 And our name shall be forgotten in time, 
And no man shall remember our works ; 
And our life shall pass away as the traces of a cloud, 
And shall be scattered as is a mist. 
When it is chased by the beams of the sun, 
And overcome by the heat thereof. 
5 For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, 
And there is no putting back of our end ; 
Because it is fast sealed, and none reverseth it. 


They therefore will enjoy this life to the full, and crush those whose lives reprove their own. 
6 Come therefore and let us enjoy the good things that oz are ; 
And let us use creation with all earnestness as youth's possession. 
7 Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes ; 
And let no flower of spring pass us by : 
8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they wither : 
9 Let there be no (meadow) without traces of our proud revelry : 
Everywhere let us leave tokens of or mirth: 
Because this is our portion, and our lot is this. 


Heraclitus had said ὡυτὸς δὲ ᾿Αἴδης καὶ Διόνυσος (Ritter and Preller, ὃ 49, Zeller, Pre-Socratic Phil., ii, p. 100). If this 
is accepted and we assume that the writer is referring to the apostate Jews, we must infer that they had gone so far 
as to take part in the pagan mysteries. His ‘ portion’ is the realm assigned to him. 


Il. The opinions here put into the mouth of the godless may easily have been known to the writer from his personal 
experience of Jews who adopted the tenets of Epicurus; most scholars also see a reference to Ecclesiastes, see Intro- 
duction, p. 525. It should, however, be noticed that the same sentiments are put into the mouth of the ungodly 
in t Enoch cii. 6-8. δ : 

I. It is impossible to say whether ὁ ἀναλύσας is transitive or intransitive. Grimm on 2 Macc. vili-xxv gives eight 
places where ἀναλύω = ‘to return’; but it is used in the passive in iv. 12, so that if we take this as deciding the author’s 
usage, it should be transitive here. Against this it may be urged, that in view of the liberties which the author allows 
himself to take with the Greek language, it is quite possible that he used the active and passive forms of an intransitive 
verb without any appreciable difference of meaning. ΠΡΟ ae 

2. reason is a spark. A reference to the view of Heraclitus and others that fire (see note on xiii. 2) is the primitive 
substance. ‘The soul of man is a part of this divine fire’ (Zeller, Oxd/ines, p. 70). ‘It was conceived ... as a 
transient individualization of the one primitive substance or force, and this individualization terminated at death’ 
(Charles, Zschaz., p. 143). The Stoics adopted this view. ‘The soul is . . . a part of the divine fire which descended 
into the bodies of men when they first arose out of the aether’ (Zeller, Ow/¢/ines, p. 244). Οἷς. Tusc. i. 19 ‘Zenoni 
Stoico animus ignis videtur ’. le ΠΝ 

4. overcome. This is perhaps a justifiable paraphrase. The Greek means ‘weighed down’, which is incorrect 
from the point of view of Natural Science. But the writer merely wanted a parallel expression to ‘ chased away’, and 
being unscientific chose an incorrect term. } 

5. allotted time, reading καιρός with δὲ A and Latin, as against Bios, B*. So most editors. ayn 

putting back. The explanation adopted by Grimm, Siegfried, and others, that no man can die twice, is not 

satisfactory. Gregg’s reference to the shadow on a sundial is more acceptable, though there is a sudden change of 
_ }'metaphor in the next line in the word ‘sealed’; the end is fast sealed = the end is predetermined. ; : 

The sense probably is ‘while we are young’, and Grimm gets this by reading ὡς ἐν νεύτητι on the authority of 
157, 248, 253, and the Complutensian polyglot. B reads ὡς νεότητι, δὲ and A ὡς νεότητος. 
7: spring, reading ἔαρος for depos. So A, Latin, and most editions. ; 

ga. The Greek here has one line, μηδεὶς ἡμῶν ἄμοιρος ἔστω τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀγερωχίας ; the Latin has two: ‘nemo nostrum 
€xors sit luxuriae nostrae’, and ‘nullum pratum sit quod non pertranseat luxuria nostra’. This is a doublet of the Greek 
line with λειμών in line 2 for ἡμῶν. As an old glossary to the book shows that it originally contained the word λειμών, 
this must be restored in place of ἡμῶν, and μηδεὶς λειμών κτλ. accepted as the true reading. See Feldmann. 

proud revelry : ἀγερωχία, may be an allusion to the heathen mysteries (Bois, p. 295). 

our portion; our only portion and lot. For connexion with Ecclesiastes see Introd., p. 525. | 
1105 537 Nn 


"9 SS ee a ἂι 


[ 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 2. 1o—3. 1 


1o Let us oppress the righteous poor ; 
Let us not spare the ‘widow, 
Nor reverence the hairs of the old man grey for length of years. 
τι But let our strength be zo ws a law of righteousness ; 
For that which is weak is found to be of no service. 
12 But let us lie in wait for the righteous man, 
Because he is of disservice to us, 
And is contrary to our works, 
And upbraideth us with sins against the law, 
And layeth to our charge sins against our discipline./ 
13 He professeth to have knowledge of God, 
And nameth himself servant of the Lord. 
14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts. 
15 He is grievous unto us even to behold, 
Because his life is unlike other men’s, 
And his paths are of strange fashion. 
16 We were accounted of him as base metal, 
And he abstaineth from our ways as from uncleannesses. 
The latter'end of the righteous he calleth happy ; 
And he vaunteth that God is his father. 
17 Let us see if his words be true, 
And let us try what shall befall in the ending of his Ze. 
18 For if the righteous man is God’s son, he will uphold him, 
And he will deliver him out of the hand of his adversaries. 
το With outrage and torture let us put him to the test, 
That we may learn his gentleness, 
And may prove his patience under wrong. 
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death ; 
For according to his words he will be visited. 


But they are wrong: a future life ts in store for the righteous, who shall then triumph 
over the ungodly. ‘ 


21 Thus reasoned they, being far astray, 
For their wickedness blinded them, 
22 And they knew not the mysteries of God, 
Neither hoped they for wages of holiness, 
Nor did they judge that there 15 a prize for blameless souls. 
23 Because God created man forincorruption, iw INCErTop TION 
And made him an image of his own proper being ; d 
24 But by the envy of the devil death entered into the world, 2 | 
And they that belong to his realm experience it. " 
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, 
And no torment shall touch them. 


12. The translation of παιδεία in the last line is difficult. Weber gives ‘and reproaches us on account of the sins of — 
our method of life’ (Bz/dung). Mr. Gregg would omit. The line certainly looks like an addition. Ἷ 
let us lie in wait. Cf. LXX rendering of Isa. iii. 10, see Introd., p. 524. 
20. according to his words, i.e. ‘if what he says is true.’ i 
visited. ἐπισκοπή is always used in a good sense in this part of the book, see Introd., p.523. The word ἐπισκοπή 
is said to be used only once outside biblical and ecclesiastical Greek. It is a translation of the Hebrew word 28, 
which means a visitation to deliver, LXX Gen. ]. 24, 25, Exod. iii. 16, or a visitation to punish, LXX Isa. xxiv. 53 , 
xxix. 6. See Hort’s full note on 1 Pet. ii. 12, and Charles’s Afoc. Bar. xx. 2, note. 
22. At the end of this verse i. 15 would be appropriate. There is a prize for blameless souls, viz. immortality. 
mysteries of God, i.e. that suffering is not necessarily punishment, but is often a test of goodness which will a 
rewarded after death by immortality. ‘ 
23. The difference between the author and Philo is seen very plainly here. In Philo, man is the image of the Logos | 
(Drummond, Philo Judaeus, ii. 186-7). 
his own proper being, ἰδιότητος, N A and B. ἀϊδιότητος, 248, 253, and most of the patristic writers. But Gen. i.26 
seems to decide for the former, though Sanday and Headlam (Romans, p. 51) are doubtful, while Prof. Margoliouth — 
prefers ἀϊδιύτητος. He also suggests κατ᾽ εἰκόνα, which is now upheld by Feldmann. 
24. Bois (p. 297) suggests that the reference here is to Cain, the first murderer, and Mr. Gregg adduces additional 
arguments for this. All other expositors take it to refer to the temptation of Eve. In 1 Enoch Ixix. 6 it is said that 
a Satan led Eve astray. This seems to favour the latter view. 


538 


eee ae 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 8. 2-13 
2 In the eyes of fools they seemed to die ; 
And their departure was accounted 20 de their hurt, | 
3 And their going from us 20 ée their ruin: 
But they are in peace. 
4 For though in the sight of men they be punished, 
Their hope is full of immortality ; 
5 And having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good ; 
Because God tested them, and found them worthy of himself. 
6 As gold in the furnace he proved them, 
And as a whole burnt offering he accepted them. 
7 And in the time of their visitation they shall shine forth, 
And like sparks among stubble they shall run to and fro. 
8 They shall judge nations, and have dominion over peoples ; 
And the Lord shall reign over them for evermore. 
9 They that trust on him shall understand truth, 
And the faithful shall abide with him in love; 
Because grace and mercy are to his chosen, 
And he will graciously visit his holy ones. 


But the unrighteous shall be punished, both they and their ungodly offspring, while the righteous 
though childless shall be rewarded. 


τὸ But the ungodly shall be requited even as they reasoned, 


They which lightly regarded the righteous saz, and revolted from the Lord 
11 (For he that setteth at naught wisdom and discipline is miserable ;) 

And void is their hope and their toils unprofitable, 
And useless are their works : 


12 Their wives are foolish, and wicked are their children; 
13 Accursed is their begetting. 


Because happy is the barren that is undefiled, 
She who hath not conceived in transgression ; 
She shall have fruit when God visiteth souls. 


III. 2. seemed. The righteous cannot die. For this spiritual idea of life and death see v. 13 and x. 3. Philo says 
(Quod det. Pot. § 15), ‘The wise man who appears to have departed from this mortal life lives in a life immortal.’ 

5. tested. The object of affliction is testing, proving; not punishment. Cf. 1 Enoch cviii. 9: The righteous 
‘were much tried by the Lord and their spirits were found pure’. 


7. visitation. Cf. Ps. cvi. 4, ‘visit me with thy salvation.’ Salvation in the O. T. always means deliverance— 
deliverance from one’s foes and triumph over them. So here; the writer cannot refrain from picturing the visible 
triumph of the godly over the wicked, though it is quite inconsistent with the idea of reward or retribution coming 
immediately after death. For the figure cf. Obad. 18 upon the destruction of Edom: ‘The house of Jacob shall be 
᾿ς a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble.’ 

8. In the Messianic Kingdom. Cp. St. Paul, 1 Cor. vi. 2, ‘Know ye not that we shall judge angels.’ 

g. understand truth, i.e. God’s methods in governing the world. 

οὖ. With ὅτι χάρις καὶ ἔλεος τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς αὐτοῦ compare 1 Enoch v. 7 καὶ τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς ἔσται φῶς καὶ χάρις Kai εἰρήνη. 
I Enoch i-xxxvi was written before the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes ; but the translation of Enoch into Greek 
was probably undertaken as a whole. If this is later than the latest part of 1 Enoch (cc. xxxvii-lxxi) it must be subse- 
quent to 94 B.C., and so has a bearing on the date of Wisdom itself, see Introd., Ρ- 520. i 

9d. SoNA and Syriac, καὶ ἐπισκοπὴ ἐν τοῖς ὁσίοις (ἐκλεκτοῖς δὲ) αὐτοῦ, which B Latin and R. V. omit. For justification 
of this see note on iv. 15. In addition, the line is suitable here as a rejoinder to ii. 20 ὁ. 

10. reasoned. This means that the annihilation after death proclaimed by the godless shall indeed be their iot, 
only the writer’s idea of annihilation is different from that of the apostates. 

11. he that setteth, ἅς. This line is almost a verbal reproduction of Prov. 1.7, ‘The ungodly set at naught wisdom 
and discipline.’ ; ; 

13. happy. The reference here may simply be general ; but it is difficult to read Philo’s account of the Therapeutae 
without feeling that the writer of these lines had them in mind. Of the virgins who were enrolled amongst the 
Therapeutae, Philo (De Vit. Co. § 8) says they ‘yearn not for mortal but for immortal offspring’, οὐ θνητῶν ἐκγόνων 
ἀλλ᾽ ἀθανάτων ὀρεχθεῖσαι. This, and the statement in the text ‘She shall have fruit when God visiteth souls’, seem to 
belong to the same circle of ideas. It is not necessary to infer that the writer belonged to the sect; Philo, in spite of 
his admiration for them, was not one of them. Whether he is referring to the Therapeutae or not the writer shows 


considerable independence in discarding the strong Jewish belief that a numerous offspring was the greatest blessing 
of mankind. 


transgression. 


This refers to unlawful marriages with the heathen. See Jubilees xxx. 7, quoted on 1.1. 
fruit. 


This may be a vague phrase for reward. Philo works out the idea contained in the words ‘ immortal 
offspring’ as that ‘ which the soul that is attached to God is alone able to produce by itself and from itself’, meaning 
_ perhaps what the Christian sums up in the word ‘bliss’. This is subjective and may be contrasted with the more 
bjective statement as to the reward of the childless man, which is to be a blissful position in the heavenly sanctuary. 


539 Nn a 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 3. 14—4. ὃ 


14 And happy is the eunuch which hath wrought no lawless deed with his hands, 
Nor imagined wicked things against the Lord ; 
For there shall be given him for his faithfulness a peculiar favour, 
And a lot in the sanctuary of the Lord of great delight. 
15 For good labours have fruit of great renown ; 
And wisdom’s root cannot fail. 
16 But children of adulterers shall not come to maturity, 
And the seed of an unlawful union shall perish. 
17 For if they live long, they shall be held inno account, 
And at the last their old age shall be without honour. 
18 And if they die early, they shall have no hope, 
Nor in the day of decision shall they have consolation. 
19 For the end of an unrighteous generation is always grievous. 
I Better than this is childlessness with virtue ; 
For in the memory of virtue is immortality: 
Because it is recognized both by God and man. 
2 When it is present, ez imitate it ; 
And they long after it when it is departed : 
And throughout all time it marcheth crowned in triumph, 
Victorious in the strife for prizes undefiled. 
3 But the multiplying brood of the ungodly shall be of no profit, 
And with bastard slips they shall not strike deep root, 
Nor shall they establish a sure hold. 
4 For even if these put forth boughs and flourish for a season, 
Yet, standing unsure, they shall be shaken by the wind, 
And by the violence of winds they shall be rooted out. 
5 Their branches shall be broken off ere they come to maturity, 
And their fruit s/a// be useless, 
Not ripe to eat, and meet for nothing. 
6 For children unlawfully begotten are witnesses of wickedness 
Against parents when God searcheth them out. 


The premature death of the righteous ts followed by immortality, but the very memory 
of the ungodly shall perish. 


7 But the righteous, though he die before his time, shall be at rest. 
8 (For honourable old age is not that which standeth in length of time, 


14. sanctuary. Where is this sanctuary to be? In the Jerusalem which the seer saw ‘descending out of heaven 

from God’ (Rev. xxi. 10) or in heaven itself ? 
of great delight. θυμηρέστερος in an elative or intensive sense. Thackeray, G7., p. 181 ; Blass, Gr. of N. 7. Gk, 
p- 141. 

15. cannot fail. These two lines are merely a variation of i. 15, ‘For righteousness is immortal’; and iv. 1, ‘ For 
in the memory of virtue is immortality’; see also viii. 13. It may be that the writer could not get rid of the old Jewish 
idea of subjective immortality, Ps. cxii. 6, Prov. x. 7, or that he wished to oppose the repeated statement in Ecclesiastes | 
i. IT, ii. 16, ix. 5, that there is no remembrance of the dead, righteous or unrighteous. See Introd., p. 525. 

16. adulterers. Those who had contracted unlawful marriages, as is plain from the next line and from iv. 6. 

17. In denying that affliction necessarily indicates God’s displeasure and is therefore punishment, the writer advances 
beyond the view of Ezekiel and his followers. Here, in affirming that the children shall be punished for the parents’ 
sins, he falls behind it. See also iv. 4. 

18. Reading οὐκ ἕξουσιν with δὲ A Latin; οὐκ ἔχουσιν B. | 

hope. The idea seems to be that even if the children of the godless die young, before they have had much time | 
to sin, they will have no hope of future happiness. 

1g. An involuntary and instinctive utterance of the old view that wickedness is always punished in this life. 


IV. 3-6. This is taken by Grimm as referring not to a material but to a spiritual state. The children of the ungodly — 
have an ineradicable taint. Here again the writer falls below Ezekiel and displays the spirit of the imprecatory psalms. _ 
6. witnesses of wickedness. Their sufferings are a proof of the sin of their parents. Cf. St. John ix. 2. \M 
8. old age is not that, ἄς. The writer has already departed from the traditional view that life without offspring cannot 
be regarded as happy ; he now departs from the belief that length of days is necessary to the happiness of a godly man. 
Here again one cannot fail to be struck with the correspondence of the author’s views with those of the Therapeutae. | 
Philo (De Vita Cont., ch. 8) writes: ‘For they do not regard those as elders who are advanced in years and aged, but 
as mere youths if they have only lately devoted themselves to the vocation ; but they call those elders who from their 
earliest years have spent time and strength in the contemplative part of philosophy.’ Grimm gives a whole series of | 


549 


DE SS ree 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 4. 8-19 


Nor is its measure given by number of years: 

9 But understanding is grey hairs unto men, 

And an unspotted life is ripe old age.) 

το Being found well-pleasing unto God he was beloved of him, 
And while living among sinners he was translated : 

11 He was caught away, lest wickedness should change his understanding, 
Or guile deceive his soul. 

12 (For the fascination of wickedness bedimmeth the things which are good, 
And the frenzy of desire perverteth an innocent mind.) 

13 Being made perfect in a little while, he fulfilled long years ; 

14 For his soul was pleasing unto the Lord: 

Therefore He hastened him out of the midst of wickedness. 

16 But a righteous man that is dead shall condemn the ungodly that are living, 
And youth that is quickly perfected the many years of an unrighteous man’s age. 

15 But as for the peoples, seeing and understanding not, 

Neither laying this to heart :— 

17 For they will see the wise man’s end, 

And not understand what the Lord purposed concerning him, 

And for what he safely kept him :— 

18 They will see, and despise ; 

But them the Lord shall laugh to scorn. 

And after this they shall become a dishonoured carcase, 

And a reproach among the dead for ever: 

19 Because he shall dash them speechless to the ground, 

And shall shake them from the foundations, 


quotations from Greek and Latin authors emphasizing this thought. Perhaps the quotation from Bailey’s ests given 
by Farrar is as good as any: 
‘We live in deeds not years; in thoughts not breaths, 

In feelings not in figures on a dial ; 

We should count time by heart-throbs.’ 


10. εὐάρεστος, ἅς. This looks like tautology. But reference to the LXX shows that the writer is thinking of 
Gen, v. 22, 24 (of Enoch) ; vi. 9; xvii. 1; and other places where εὐαρεστέω, a translation of 9200 ‘to walk’, plainly 
refers to the spiritual condition of the person mentioned. In xvii. 1 εὐαρέστει ἐναντίον μοῦ addressed to Abraham shows 
this very clearly. Gen. v. 22, 24, shows that Enoch is referred to here. No one could say that Enoch’s comparatively 
early removal was a punishment ; it was plainly a blessing, and this supports the author’s contention in v. 8 as to the 
early death of other righteous men. 

12. bedimmeth. The editors point out that the word ἀμαυρόω was used by Greek philosophers to express the 
darkening of the moral sense. 
things which are good, τὰ καλά. Moral and spiritual qualities. 
perverteth. Greek μεταλλεύει, so again in xvi. 25. The word properly means ‘to mine’. Here the author gives 
it the meaning of ‘change’, deriving it no doubt from ἄλλος. Commentators compare this mistake with that in 
St. Mark xii. 4. 
13. he fulfilled long years. Of a Rabbi who died young it was said, ‘In the twenty-eight years of his life he has 
learned more than others learn in a hundred years’ (Oesterley and Box, /e/. of Syn., p. 97). 
14-16. The passage reads as follows in the R. V. according to B :— 


14. For his soul was pleasing unto the Lord: 
Therefore hasted he out of the midst of wickedness. 
15. But as for the peoples, seeing and understanding not, 
Neither laying this to heart, 
That grace and mercy are with his chosen, 
And that he visiteth his holy ones : — as 
16. But a righteous man that is dead shall condemn the ungodly that are living 
And youth that is quickly perfected, the many years of an unrighteous man’s old age. 
Some rearrangement is plainly necessary. For (1) the passage is now impossible as it stands in B, (2) The 
MSS. show that there has been some transference to or from iii. 9. (3) Transference of 15 ὁ, αἱ to iii. 9 relieves this 
passage. (4) After 15 c,d have been returned to their proper place, the necessity of placing v. 16 before 15 is obvious. 
Bois (p. 387) would make a much more thoroughgoing rearrangement, but it has been thought better to be content 
with the minimum of alteration. ee ΠΕ ΗΝ : 
15. the peoples. wv. 17 ff. show that the ungodly are meant. δὲ B Latin give λαοί, A ἄλλοι. Mr. Gregg, on the 
basis of the latter, would emend to ἄνομοι. It looks, however, like a reminiscence of LXX Isa. vi. 9: ‘Go, tell this 
people (Aads) . . . seeing ye shall see and not understand.’ te aA i Ἂ 
18. This is best explained as the judgement by the sword at the beginning of the Messianic age, like νυ. 17 ff 
| 19. foundations. The figure in the mind of the writer was probably that ofa city razed to the ground. CE. Psy 1x: 6: 
at Το enemy are come to an end, they are desolations for ever; and the cities which thou didst uproot, their memory is 
_ perished’ (Driver, Parallel Psalter). 


541 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 4. 19—5. 13 


And they shall lie utterly waste, and be in anguish, 
And their memory shall perish. 


The remorse of the ungodly at the judgement. Their retrospect. 


20 They shall come, when their sins are reckoned up, with coward fear ; 
And their lawless deeds shall convict them to their face. 
1 Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness 
Before the face of them that afflicted him, 
And them that make his labours of no account. 
2 When they see 22, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, 
And shall be amazed at the marvel of his salvation. 
3 They shall say within themselves repenting, 
And for distress of spirit shall they groan, 
This was he whom aforetime we had in derision, 
And made a byword of reproach: 
4 We fools accounted his life madness, 
And his end without honour: 
5 How was he numbered among sons of God! 
And how is his lot among saints ! 
6 Verily we went astray from the way of truth, 
And the light of righteousness shined not for us, 
And the sun rose not for us. 
7 We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, 
And we journeyed through trackless deserts, 
But the way of the Lord we knew not. 
8 What did our arrogancy profit us? 
And what good have riches and vaunting brought us? 
9 Those things all passed away as a shadow, 
And as a message that runneth by: 
to As a ship passing through the billowy water, 
Whereof, when it is gone by, there is no trace to be found, 
Neither pathway of its keel in the billows: 
τι Or as when a bird flieth through the air, 
No token of er passage is found, 
But the light wind, lashed with the stroke of her pinions, 
And rent asunder with the violent rush of the moving wings. is passed through, 
And afterwards no sign of “er coming is found therein: 
12 Or as when an arrow is shot at a mark, 
The air disparted closeth up again immediately, 
So that men know not where it passed through: 
13 So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be; 
And of virtue we had no sign to show, 
But were utterly consumed in our wickedness. 


V. 2. When they see it. Cf. 1 Enoch cviii. 15: ‘And the sinners will cry aloud and see them (i.e. the righteous) 
as they shine, and they indeed will go where days and seasons are prescribed for them.’ | 

4. madness. Seeii.15. The refusal to purchase material advantage at the price of apostasy. 

6. Verily, ἄρα = ‘as it now seems’. ‘Hence it amounts sometimes to an expression of regret’ (Donaldson, (τ. G7, 
Ρ- 567). 

7. trackless deserts. They now see that the ‘ primrose path of dalliance’ is better described as ‘a dry and weary 
land where no water is’ (Ps. Ixiii. 1). 

knew : in a practical sense = ‘ pay heed to’. So frequently in the O. T. See especially Amos iii. 2, ‘ You only 
have I known (= regarded with favour) of all the nations of the earth’. See also Ps. i. 6. 

9 ff. The images here used to denote the transitory nature of life are vivid and poetical: whether they are quite — 
appropriate in the mouth of those in whom the agony of remorse is supposed to be working, is another question. The — 
passage forms, however, an effective contrast to their defiant boasting in ch. ii. 

12. closeth, ἀνελύθη. The active is used in ii. 1 and has been translated there as intransitive (see note). ‘ Various 
explanations are given of ἀνελύθη, but it seems most simple to take it in the sense of “returns” as ii. 1’ (Deane). Ὁ 
ἀνέλυσεν is read by 23 (V) and 253. 

13. ceased to be. Another proof that the writer’s view of life and death is spiritual. j 

At the end of v. 13 the Latin adds ‘Talia dixerunt in inferno hi, qui peccaverunt’. This, if not genuine, is 
appropriate, as showing that the following verse is a reflection of the author and no part of the words of the ungodly. 


542 


* 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 5. 14—6. 1 


14 Because the hope of the ungodly is like chaff carried off by the wind, 
And like a thin spider’s web driven away by a tempest ; 

And like smoke which is scattered by the wind, 

And passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day. 


The bliss of the righteous and the miserable fate of the ungodly. 


15 But the righteous live for ever, 

And in the Lord is their reward, 

And the care for them with the Most High. 

16 Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, 

And a diadem of beauty from the Lord’s hand ; 

Because with his right hand shall he cover them, 

And with his arm shall he shield them. 

17 He shall take his jealousy as complete armour, 

And shall make the wole creation his weapons for vengeance on /s enemies : 
18 He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, 

And shall take judgement unfeigned as a helmet; 

10 He shall take holiness as an invincible shield, 

20 And shall sharpen stern wrath for a sword : 

And the world shall go forth with him to fight against 47s insensate ves. 
_ 21 Shafts of lightning shall fly with true aim, 

And from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they leap to the mark. 
, 22 And as from an engine of war shall be hurled hailstones full of wrath; 
The water of the sea shall rage against them, 

And rivers shall sternly overwhelm them ; 

»23 A mighty blast shall encounter them, 

And as a tempest shall it winnow them away : 

So shall lawlessness make all the land desolate, 

And their evil-doing shall overturn the thrones of princes. 


Admonttion to the rulers. 


) 1 Hear therefore, ye kings, and understand ; 
Learn, ye judges of the ends of the earth: 


14. hope. The object of their hope or that on which they found their hope, e.g. riches, &c. 

spider’s web. So Cursives 23, 106, reading ἀράχνη, andalsoR.V. margin. NAB read πάχνη, ‘hoar-frost’, which 
is quite unsuitable. Some MSS. give ἄχνη, which was no doubt the reading of the Syriac (Jsax.), and of the Latin 
spuma. Both πάχνη and ἄχνη can be explained from ἀράχνη better than ἀράχνη from the others. The strange 
mistranslation in LXX Ps. xc. 9 may be compared, τὰ ἔτη ἡμῶν ὡς ἀράχνη, ‘ our years are like a spider’s web’. 

16. a glorious kingdom, βασίλειον, occurs in i. 14 and here. In i. 14 it undoubtedly means kingdom, and there 
is no reason to adopt a different meaning here. In Dan. vii. 18 and 22 the kingdom is given to the saints. 

17-23. These verses are not quite consistent with the similar passage in iii. 7 ff. There the righteous execute 
iudgement on the ungodly: here, Jehovah Himself rouses the forces of Nature to fight against them. See Introd., 
Ῥ. 529. 

17 ὁ. See in note on xix. 18 the quotation there given from Philo. ἢ ᾿ 
18-20. Compare Eph. vi. 11-17, and see Introd., p. 527. The πανοπλία found both here and in St. Paul, which is 
taken by some scholars as conclusive evidence of direct connexion between the two writers, consisted of helmet, 
breastplate, greaves, and shield, as defensive, sword and lance as offensive armour. 

18. judgement unfeigned, without respect of persons. 

20. stern, or relentless, Greek ἀπότομος, also vi. 5, xi. 10, xii. 9, xviil. 15 and the adverb v. 22. 

21. Possibly the rainbow is referred to: if so the translation should be, ‘And from the well-drawn bow of the 
clouds’ as in the Latin ‘a bene curvato arcu nubium’. The association of Jahveh with a thunderstorm is frequent in 
Hebrew poetry, see Ps. Ixxix. 17-20, xcvil. 3-5; Hab. iii. 

15-230. This passage is ‘eschatological’. 23 ¢ suddenly brings the reader back to the present age. _ : 
23 ὁ. Feldmann would omit ὡς on the authority of the Coptic. It is certainly better away. A ‘mighty blast’ is 
a tempest. ; 

So shall lawlessness. The writer returns to the idea of i. 1. Those who follow these ungodly and lawless 
| ways are in high positions in the community, and without any exaggeration may be addressed as judges and princes. 


VI. The writer now apparently takes a wider outlook than in i.1. Having dealt with the misdeeds of the governing 
body of the Jews in Alexandria, he turns in the manner of the prophets, e.g. Isa. viii. 9, Ps. ii. 10, to the rulers of the 
outside world. They too have a law which they have not kept, for the transgression of which they will be punished. 
It is not necessary to suppose that the writer ever thought of his words reaching the ‘rulers of the ends of the earth’, 
any more than Isaiah or the writer of Psalm ii imagined that their words would come to the ears of the foreign nations 
or rulers whom they apostrophized. The Jewish magnates at Alexandria are still the real object of the address. _ j 

1. The Latin begins the chapter with the words ‘ Melior est sapientia quam vires, et vir prudens quam fortis’, 
ἃ good introduction to the section. 


543 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 6. 2-17 


2 Give ear, ye that have dominion over much people, 
And make your boast in multitudes of nations. 
3 Because your dominion was given you from the Lord, 
And your sovereignty from the Most High ; 
Who shall search out your works, 
And shall make inquisition of your counsels: 
4 Because being officers of his kingdom ye did not judge aright, 
Neither kept ye the law, nor walked after the counsel of God. 
5 Awfully and swiftly shall he come upon you; 
For a stern judgement befalleth them that be in high places: 
6 For the man of low estate may be pardoned in mercy, 
But mighty men shall be searched out mightily. 
7 For the Sovereign Lord of all will not regard any man’s person. 
Neither will he stand in awe of greatness ; 
Because it is he that made do¢/ small and great, 
And alike he taketh thought for all; 
8 But strict is the scrutiny that cometh upon the powerful. 
9 Unto you therefore, O princes, are my words, 
That ye may learn wisdom and not fall away. 
10 For they that have kept holily the things that are holy shall ¢hemselves be accounted holy ; 
And they that have been taught them shall find what to answer ; 
11 Set your desire therefore upon my words ; 
Long for tem, and ye shall be instructed. 


« Wisdom desires to be found. 


12 Wisdom is radiant and fadeth not away ; 

And easily is she beheld of them that love her, 

And found of them that seek her. 
13 She forestalleth them that desire to know her, making herself first known. 
14 He that riseth up early to seek her shall have no toil, 

For he shall find her sitting at his gates. 
15 For to think upon her is perfection of understanding, 

And he that keepeth vigil for her sake shall quickly be free from care. 
16 For she goeth about, seeking them that are worthy of her, 

And in their paths she appeareth unto them graciously, 

And in every purpose she meeteth them. 


The Sorites. 


17 For her true beginning is desire of instruction ; 
And the care for instruction is love of er ; 


6. searched out, Greek ἐτάζω. The same word in ii. 19 probably means ‘ torture’, so perhaps the A. V. and Latin 
are right in their interpretation, ‘tormented ’, ‘ tormenta patientur ’. 

7. regard any man’s person, R. V. ‘refrain himself for’, The Greek ὑποστελεῖται πρόσωπον here is probably an 
echo of Deut. i. 17 LX.X, where ὑποστείλῃ πρόσωπον is used to translate the Hebrew D‘35 1°37, to show partiality to 
any one. The injunction to Moses to make no difference between small and great appears in the same context. 

12. This description of Wisdom is based on Prov. viii. 

And found. This line looks so much like a variant of Prov. viii. 17 that some scholars have suspected it of being 
an insertion. But the writer probably had the chapter in Proverbs before his mind, so in spite of its omission in B* it _ 
may be genuine. It is found in 8 B® and A. Ἵ 

15. to think upon her. Through the contemplation of Wisdom, a man gains a high moral standard: cf. ‘ His 
(i.e. Plato’s) theory of education is dominated by the thought that the mind itself inevitably “imitates” the character 
_ of the things it habitually contemplates. Just because the aspiration after wisdom is:the fundamental expression of 


the mind’s true nature, it cannot be followed persistently without resulting in a transfiguration of our whole character’ 
(A. E. Taylor, Plato, p. 35). ; 
17-20. An instance of the logical figure called Sorites, or Chain-inference, of which the Stoics were very fond 
(Zeller, S¢oics, p. 216 note). wv. 20 contains the main conclusion consisting of the first and last step: Desire for — 
wisdom promoteth to a kingdom. But the first premiss is not expressed in v. 17 and must be supplied, and another — 
member is omitted in v. 19. 


[The desire for wisdom is the beginning of wisdom ; ] 
17. The true beginning of wisdom is the desire for instruction ; 
The care for instruction is love of wisdom ; 


544 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 6. 18—7. 9 


= 18 And love of her is observance of her laws ; 

And to give heed to er laws is the assurance of incorruption ; 
” rg And incorruption bringeth near unto God ; 

_ 20 So then desire of wisdom promoteth to a kingdom. 


Solomon promises to declare the nature of wisdom. 


21 If therefore ye delight in thrones and sceptres, ye princes of peoples, 
Honour wisdom, that ye may reign for ever. 

| 22 But what wisdom is, and how she came 20 me, I will declare, 

And I will not hide Zer mysteries from you ; 

But I will trace “er out from her first beginning 

And bring the knowledge of her into clear light, 

And I will not pass by the truth ; 

23 Neither indeed will I take pining envy for my companion, 

Because envy shall have no fellowship with wisdom. 

24 But a multitude of wise men is-salvation to the world, 
And-an understanding king is tranquillity to Zzs people. 

| 25 Wherefore be ye instructed by my words, and ¢hereby shall ye profit. 


Solomon at first like other men: wisdom given to him in answer to prayer. 


711 myself also am mortal, like to all, 

And am sprung from one born of the earth, ¢/e man first formed, 

2 And in the womb of a mother was I moulded into flesh in the time of ten months, 
Being compacted in blood of the seed of man ard pleasure that came with sleep. 
3 And [ also, when I was born, drew in the common air, 

And fell upon the kindred earth, 

Uttering, like all, for my first voice, the self-same wail : 

4 In swaddling clothes was I nursed, and with watchful cares. 

5 For no king had.any other first beginning ; 

6 But all men have one entrance into life, and a like departure. 

_ 7 For this cause I prayed, and understanding was given me: 

~  Icalled upon God, and there came to me a spirit of wisdom. 


The value of wisdom. 


8 I preferred her before sceptres and thrones, 
_ And riches I esteemed nothing in comparison of her. 
g Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, 
Because all the gold of the earth in her sight is but a little sand, 
And silver shall be accounted as clay before her. 


18. Love of wisdom is the keeping of her laws ; 
The keeping of her laws is immortality ; 
19. Immortality bringeth near to God ; 
[To be near to God is to be a king; } 
So the desire for wisdom promoteth to a kingdom. 
There is remarkably little deviation from the exact logical form: what there is is justified by the poetical 
character of the composition. 
22. tome. Ewald and Fois understand μοί after ἐγένετο. 
from her first beginning. This (the A.V. and Latin) is the better translation; not ‘from the beginning of 
creation’, R. V.; as is seen from vii. 5, ‘no king had any other first beginning, where the Greek is practically the 
same. 
mysteries. The Alexandrian Jews regarded their syncretism of Greek philosophy and Hebrew religion as a 
mystery, which, however, they were anxious to propagate in contrast to the heathen who kept their mysteries secret. 
Ct. Philo, de Sacrificantibus, 12 ‘Why, ye initiates, if these things are good and profitable, do ye shut yourselves up in 
darkness and benefit three or four only, instead of bringing the advantages into the market-place for all men, so that 
every one might enjoy a better and happier life? For envy does not dwell with virtue.’ See vii. 13. 
23. Cf. the last clause of the preceding quotation which strikingly resembles 232. The pride of the philosophers is 
no doubt referred to and perhaps the greed of the Sophists. For the Sophists see Philo, de Congress, 23. 
24. a multitude of wise men. This is a sounder view than that of Ecclesiastes i. 18, ‘ In much wisdom is much grief : 
_ and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.’ 
‘VII. τ. first formed. The word πρωτόπλαστος first occurs here. ; 
2. wasI moulded. The man is here identified with the body in contrast to the soul which pre-existed, see viii. 19. 
| 3. Kindred, ὁμοιοπαθής. This is the usual significance of the word. But the commentators point out that the 
affinity is not between Solomon and the earth but between Solomon and the rest of mankind. Grimm gives ‘ equally 
trodden by all’. It is, perhaps, another instance of the author's tree use of the language. 


545 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON@(@i1e-22 


το Above health and comeliness I loved her, 
And I chose to have her rather than light, 
Because her bright shining is never laid to sleep. 

τι But with her there came to me all good things together, 
And in her hands innumerable riches : 

12 And I rejoiced over.them all because wisdom leadeth them : 
Though I knew not that she was the mother of them. 

13 As I learned without guile, I impart without grudging ; 
I do not hide her riches. 

14 For she is unto men a treasure that faileth not, 
And they that use it obtain friendship with God, 
Commended 20 him by the gifts which come through discipline. 


Solomon's own great knowledge came from this gift of wisdom. 


15 But to me may God give to speak with judgement, 
And to conceive thoughts worthy of what hath been given me ; 
Because himself is one that guideth even wisdom and correcteth the wise. 
16 For in his hand are both we and our words; 
All understanding, and αὐ acquaintance with divers crafts. 
17 For he hath given me an unerring knowledge of the things that are, 
To know the constitution of the world, and the operation of the elements ; 
18 The beginning and end and middle of times, ‘ rf 
The alternations of the solstices and the changes of seasons, 
19 The circuits of years and the positions of stars ; 
zo The natures of living creatures and the ragings of wild beasts, 
The powers of spirits and the thoughts of men, / 
The diversities of plants and the virtues of roots : 
21 All things that are either secret or manifest I learned, 
22 For she that is the artificer of all things taught me, evex wisdom. 


The attributes of wisdom: her source: her activity. 


For there is in her a spirit quick of understanding, holy, 
Alone in kind, manifold, 
Subtil; freely moving, 


11. Cf. Matt. vi. 33, ‘and all these things shall be added unto you.’ 
12. mother, γενέτιν (hapax); δὲ and B give γένεσιν, but γένεσις has already been used in vi. 22 and again in Ψ, 5 
in the abstract, and therefore is hardly likely to be used here with a concrete meaning. Wisdom is the ‘mother’ or 
root of all ‘good things’, not merely the chief. Plato’s classification of the Virtues is rejected. See on viii. 7. 
13. without grudging. See notes on vi. 22 and 23. 
14. friendship with God. See on v. 27. 
given. These gifts would be called ‘graces’ by the Christian. The R.V. takes the gifts as offered to God to 
win His favour. 
15. judgement, or as R.V. margin, ‘according to his (i.e. God’s) mind’, κατὰ γνώμην. 
what hath been given. There are three readings here given by Feldmann. (1) δεδομένων: B, and three 
cursives, including 248; (2) λεγομένων : N A, six cursives, Syriac and other versions; (3) διδομένων : comp. Latin (guae 
mthi dantur), Coptic, and Ethiopic. λεγομένων is generally rejected. διδομένων is preferred by Grimm and Feldmann. 
This reading, as Farrar points out, emphasizes the fact that the gift of Wisdom is continuous. 
17-20. In these verses the writer shows his knowledge of the technical terms of Greek science. He highly esteems 
all branches of learning, including astronomy; which Philo, in spite of the remarkable contributions made by 
Alexandrian astronomers to the advancement of the science, strangely depreciated (Drummond, PAzVo, i. 264). 
17. things that are, τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν = ‘philosophy’. 
constitution of the world = ‘cosmology’. 
18. beginning, &c., of times = ‘ chronology’. 
alternations, &c. = ‘astronomy’. 
19. circuits, i.e. cycles, e.g. the metonic and solar cycles. 
20. natures, &c. = zoology. 
powers of spirits. Latin gives vz ventorum, but Josephus, Azz. viii. 2, says that Solomon is said to have had 
power over spirits, so that demonology and not meteorology may be meant. 
thoughts of men. The desires and passions which agitate the soul; part of the modern science of psychology. 
22. The writer here takes care to emphasize his belief that the action of God is only indirect; thus differing from 
the presentation in the second part. 
artificer, τεχνῖτις. It is suggested by Toy, following Grimm, that this is founded on Prov. viii. 30, where 
Wisdom is said to be jY2N and where the LXX gives ἁρμόζουσα. It is doubtful, however, whether this can be accepted. 
It would involve the correction of LXX by the writer. 
546 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 7. 22-29 


Clear in utterance, unpolluted, 
Distinct, that cannot be harmed, 
Loving what is good, keen, unhindered, 
23 Beneficent, loving toward man, 
Steadfast, sure, free from care, 
All-powerful, all-surveying, 
And penetrating through all spirits 
That are quick of understanding, pure, subtil : 
24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion ; 
Yea, she pervadeth and penetrateth all things by reason of her pureness. 
25 For she is a breath of the power of God, 
And a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty ; 
Therefore can nothing defiled find entrance into her. 
26 For she is an effulgence from everlasting light 
And an unspotted mirror of the working of God, 
And an image of his goodness. 
27 And she, though but one, hath power to do all things; 
And remaining in herself, reneweth all things : 
And from generation to generation passing into holy souls 
She maketh them friends of God and prophets. 
28 For nothing doth God love save him that dwelleth with wisdom. 
29 For she is fairer than the sun, 
| And above all the constellations of the stars: 
Being compared with light, she is found 20 de before it ; 


22, 23. Wisdom has twenty-one qualities, the number no doubt being purposely chosen as a multiple of the two 
sacred numbers, seven and three. Philo calls Wisdom πολυώνυμος. 

Grimm quotes a fragment ascribed to Cleanthes the Stoic: τἀγαθὸν ἐρωτᾷς μ᾽ οἷον ἐστ᾽; ἄκουε δή" τεταγμένον, 
δίκαιον, ὅσιον, εὐσεβές, κρατοῦν ἑαυτοῦ, χρήσιμον, καλόν, δέον, αὐστηρόν, αὐθεκάστατον, αἰεὶ συμφέρον, ἄφοβον, ἄλυπον, λυσι- 
τελές, ἀνώδυνον, ὠφέλιμον, εὐάρεστον, ὁμολογούμενον, εὐκλεές, ἄτυφον, ἐπιμελές, πρᾶον, σφοδρόν, χρονιζόμενον, ἄμεμπτον, αἰεὶ 
διαμένον. 2 

22. in her, ἐν αὐτῇ NB Latin. αὐτή =‘ She is a spirit’ Α. If ἐν αὐτῇ is right this is the nearest approach the author 
makes towards giving a distinct personality to Wisdom. But in ix. 17 he plainly makes Wisdom equivalent to the Holy 
Spirit. 

quick of understanding. νοερός, a technical term of the Stoics applied to the world soul, see oni. 7. Other 
Stoical terms in this passage are φιλάνθρωπος (23), χωρεῖν (23), διήκειν (24), διοικεῖν (viii. 1). Three of these are found in 
one passage of Dio. Laert. quoted by Ritter and Preller, ὃ 513. ἀπόρροια (‘ effluence’) is also a philosophical term. 

Alone in kind = ‘the only one of its kind’, povoyevés; manifold, πολυμερές, are opposed to one another and 
correspond to the Stoic idea of the world soul and its different manifestations. Compare St. Paul on the Holy Spirit, 
1 Cor. xii. 4. 

keen, unhindered. These words go together. Most commentators compare the λόγος τομεύς of Philo which 
divides, arranges, and unites the unarranged matter of chaos. Heinisch (p. 134) refuses to accept this. 

1.283: free from care, ἀμέριμνον. This may be equivalent to the Aristotelian word αὐτάρκης applied to virtue in Ethics 
12 15 7. 6. 

subtil. R.V. ‘most subtil’, Latin szé¢c/is, Greek λεπτοτάτων. λεπτύς probably = ‘ethereal’. In v. 22 Wisdom 
is said to be a πνεῦμα λεπτόν. Here it is said to penetrate spirits like itself intellectual, pure, and λεπτοτάτων. This 
can hardly mean that the spirits through which Wisdom penetrates must be λεπτά in a superlative degree, while 
Wisdom possesses the quality only in a positive degree. If it is not a mere rhetorical use of the superlative it must 
Mean spirits which have the quality in as high a degree as is possible for men to possess it: an elative use of the 
superlative. / : 

26. effulgence, ἀπαύγασμα. Cf. Heb. i. 3. The word can mean either (1) effulgence, radiance, or (2) reflection. 
The word ‘effluence’, ἀπόρροια, v. 26, upholds the first, the words ‘ unspotted mirror’ uphold the second. Since the 
word ‘mirror’ seems to be in parallelism with ἀπαύγασμα the meaning ‘reflection’ is the more probable. Heinisch 
(p. 133) decides for ‘effulgence’ on the ground of Sir. i. 9, where it is said of Wisdom that God ‘poured her out upon 

his works’. So does Westcott on Heb. i. 3. Grimm and Gregg favour the rendering ‘ reflection ’. 

27. all things. Omnipotence is here ascribed to Wisdom. ; i 

remaining in herself, &c. Bois (p. 391) argues that this line contains a philosophical idea to be traced to 
Heraclitus or the Stoics. The primaeval fire, or the Logos, remains the same in its essence in spite of all its various 
Ba estations in nature (see note on πολυμερές, Ψ. 22). Grimm and Heinisch are content with a reference to 

S. Cll. 27-28. ᾿ 

friends of God. See v. 15. Deissmann, 8176. S¢., p. 167, thinks the word means favourites. ‘ Friend was the title 
of honour given at the court of the Ptolemies to the highest royal officials.’ ‘ φίλος θεοῦ denotes high honour in the 
sight of God, nothing more nor less.’ But the thought was not peculiar to Egypt. If Heinisch is right in seeing direct 
connexion between ch. viii and the fable of the choice of Hercules (see note on viii. 2) the words may be an echo of 
OU ἐμὲ φίλοι μὲν θεοῖς ὄντες in that passage. Compare also Plato, Leg. iv. 716 Ὁ ὁ μὲν σώφρων θεῷ φίλος. Philodemus 
(about 50 B.c.) quotes a Sfozc saying ‘that the wise are the friends of God and God of the wise’ (Zeller, Séoics, 
Ῥ. 254 note). é rol 

and prophets. The Stoics also believed in prophecy and said that only a wise man could be a prophet. Cic. 
De Div. ii. 63 ‘Stoici negant quemquam nisi sapientem divinum esse posse.’ 


547 


THE WISDOM OF ‘SOLOMON 7. 30—8. 12 


30 For to the light of day succeedeth night, 
But against wisdom evil doth not prevail ; 
1 But she reacheth from one end of ¢he world to the other with full strength, 
And ordereth all things well. 


Solomon desired wisdom for a bride to assist him both in public and private matters: 
but only God could give her. 


2 Her I loved and sought out from my youth, 
And I sought to take her for my bride. 
And I became enamoured of her beauty. 
3 She proclaimeth er noble birth in that it is given her to live with God, 
And the Soverejgn Lord of all loved her. 
4 For she is initiated into the knowledge of God, 
And she chooseth out for Aim his works. 
5 But if riches are a desired possession in life, 
What is richer than wisdom, which worketh all things ? 
6 And if understanding worketh, 
Who more than wisdom is an artificer of the things that are? 
7 And if a man loveth righteousness, 
The fruits of wisdom’s labour are virtues, 
For she teacheth self-control and understanding, righteousness, and courage; 
And there is nothing in life for men more profitable than these. 
8 And if a man longeth even for much experience, 
She knoweth the things of old, and divineth the things to come: 
She understandeth subtilties of speeches and interpretations of dark sayings: 
She foreseeth signs and wonders, and the issues of seasons and times. 
9 I determined therefore to take her unto me to live with me, 
Knowing that she is one who would give me good ¢houghts for counsel, 
And encourage me in cares and grief. 
ro Because of her I shall have glory among multitudes, 
And honour in the sight of elders, though I be young. 
11 I shall be found of a quick discernment when I give judgement, 
And in the presence of princes I shall be admired. 
12 When I am silent, they shall wait for me ; 
And when I open my lips, they shall give heed unto me ; 


VIII. τ. ordereth, διοικεῖ, A favourite term of the Stoics. They said τὸν δὲ κόσμον διοικεῖσθαι κατὰ νοῦν καὶ πρόνοιαν 
(Dio. Laert. 133, in Ritter and Preller, § 493). 3 

2-18. In every one of these verses except 14 Heinisch finds an echo of the speech of Virtue in the apologue of 
the choice of Hercules in Xenophon, Mem. ii. 1. The fable was no doubt well known, but Heinisch insists that Pseudo- 
Sol. had a first-hand acquaintance with Xenophon’s work. The passage runs as follows :— 

Virtue says: ‘I associate with gods and I associate with men who are good (cf. v. 3, it is given her to live with 
God), and no noble work divine or human is done without me (cf. v. 4, she is initiated into the knowledge of God, and 
she chooseth out for him his works). I am a beloved co-worker with artificers (cf. v. 6, Who more than wisdom is an 
artificer?) ... a steadfast ally in the work of war (cf. v. 15, . . . I shall show myself a good ruler, and in war courageous), 
and the best companion in friendship (v. 18, in her friendship is good delight). . . . And the young rejoice in the 
praises of their elders, and those who are older are delighted with honour from the young (cf. v. 10). And when their 
destined end shall come they will not lie unhonoured in forgetfulness, but be celebrated in song and flourish in memory 
for all time’ (cf. vv. 13 and 17). 

In this case, as in that of the connexion between Rom. ix and Wisd. xii, it should be noticed that the resem- 
blances are all found in one continuous passage in both authors. 

3. proclaimeth, R.V. ‘glorifieth’. δοξάζω = to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become 
manifest and acknowledged, cf. 2 Thess. iii. 1. See Thayer’s edition of Grimm’s 4. 7. Lexicon. Does a man desire 
noble birth in a bride? Wisdom is noble enough to be the bride of God. Philo (de Cherub. 13. 14) calls God the 
husband of Wisdom. . 

6. ἐργάζεται has a pregnant meaning ‘to work effectually or successfully’. If @pévnows—earthly wisdom—works 
with success, much more does σοφία, the divine wisdom. 

7. self-control, ἄς. The four cardinal virtues ; a well-known philosophical classification originating with Plato and 
taken up by the Stoics. Zeller (iii. 2, p. 230, note) affirms direct Stoic influence here, since Chrysippus made Wisdom 
the root of the four virtues, whereas Plato made Wisdom one of them. See also note on vii. 12. 

8. dark sayings, parables or allegories. The writer probably had Proy. i. 6 in mind, where the αἰνίγματα of {πθ΄ 
wise are spoken of. 

signs and wonders. Probably a reference to the prediction of eclipses, &c., by astronomers. 

12, See Job xxix. 9. 

548 


HEE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 8: 135 ὁ] 3 


And if I continue speaking, they shall lay their hand upon their mouth. 
13 Because of her I shall have immortality, 
And leave behind an eternal memory to them that come after me. 
14 I shall govern peoples, 
And nations shall be subjected to me. 
15 Dread princes shall fear me when they hear of me : 
Among my people’I shall show myself a good ra/er, and in war courageous. 
τό When I come into my house, I shall find rest with her ; 
For converse with her hath no bitterness, 
And to live with her hath no pain, but gladness and joy. 
17 When I considered these things in myself, 
And took thought in my heart how that in kinship unto wisdom is immortality, 
18 And in her friendship is good delight, 
And in the labours of her hands is wealth that faileth not, 
And in assiduous communing with her is understanding, 
And great renown in having fellowship with her words, 
I went about seeking how to take her unto myself. 
19 Now I was a child good by nature and a good soul fell to my lot ; 
20 Nay rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled. 
21 But perceiving that I could not possess wzsdom except God gave her to me 
(Yea and to know by whom the grace is given, this too came of understanding), 
I pleaded with the Lord and besought him, 
And with my whole heart I said, 


ΜΠ 


He prays to God for this gift, pleading his own human weakness and the greatness of his task. 
2 τ God of the fathers, and Lord who keepest thy mercy, * 
Who madest all things by thy word ; 
2 And by thy wisdom formedst man, 
That he should have dominion over the creatures that were made by thee, 
3 And rule the world in holiness and righteousness, 
And execute judgement in uprightness of soul ; 
4 Give me wisdom, her that sitteth by thee on thy throne ; 
And reject me not from among thy servants ; 
5 Because I am thy bondman and the son of thy handmaid, 
A man weak and short-lived, 
And of small power to understand judgement and laws. 
_ 6 For even if a man be perfect among the sons of men, 
Yet if the wisdom that cometh from thee be not with him, he shall be held in no account. 
7 Thou didst choose me before my brethren to be king of thy people, 
And to do judgement for thy sons and daughters. 
_| 8 Thou gavest command to build a sanctuary in thy holy mountain, 
And an altar in the city of thy habitation, 
A copy of the holy tabernacle which thou preparedst aforehand from the beginning. 


17. Wisdom is immortal. Those akin to her share her immortality. But in xv. 3 knowledge of the might of God is 
immortality. It may, however, be said that this knowledge could only arise from kinship with or the possession of 
Wisdom. 

19. See Introd., p. 531, for the doctrine of pre-existence in the book. For the difference between the Jewish and 
Greek conception of pre-existence, see Harnack, History of Dogma, vol. i, pp. 318 ff. 

20, This verse is a correction of v.19. If v.19 stood alone it would mean that the writer identified the Ego with the 
body or perhaps with the compound organism body and soul. But, strictly speaking, the soul is the Ego, hence the 
correction. In v. 19, as in vii. 2, the writer uses ordinary everyday language such as we find in the second part, ‘ the soul 
which was lent him’, xv. 8, or in the N. T., ‘this night thy soul shall be required of thee’ (Luke xii. 20), where the soul 
seems to be regarded as distinct from the personality. It is generally accepted that the writer deliberately corrects 
himself in view of his doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul; but see Porter. Cf. note on xv. 8. 

21. possess wisdom, i.e. ἐγκρατής in the sense of the Latin coos, understanding σοφίας. Grimm takes it in the 
sense of ‘continent’, but all other moderns take it as in the text. 


IX. 1. by thy word... by thy wisdom. We may, perhaps, see here the truth of the statement that the writer of 
Wisdom was a forerunner of Philo. Word and Wisdom are here synonymous. Our author chose Wisdom, Philo 
chose the Word as the intermediary between God and the world. 

3. God’s purpose in Creation beneficent, see 1. 13. Ε 

8. A copy. In Ps. cxxxv. 16, Exod. xxv. 9 we have the idea of heavenly archetypes of certain things on earth. 
This seems to have been a common Semitic idea. The temple of the goddess Nina was built by Gudea, King of 


549 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 9. 9—10. 1 


9 And with thee is wisdom, which knoweth thy works, 
And was present when thou wast making the world, 
And which understandeth what is pleasing in thine eyes, 
And what is right according to thy commandments. 

ro Send her forth out of the holy heavens, 
And from the throne of thy glory bid her come, 
That being present with me she may toil wzthk me, 
And ¢hat I may learn what is well-pleasing before thee. 
Ir For she knoweth all things and hath understanding chereof, 
And inemy doings she shall guide me in ways of soberness, 
And she shall guard me in her glory. 
12 And so shall my, works be acceptable, 
And 1 shall judge thy people righteously, 
And I shall be worthy of my father’s throne. 
13 For what man shall know the counsel of God? 
Or who shall conceive what the Lord willeth ? 
14 For the thoughts of mortals are timorous, 
And our devices are prone to fail. 
15 For a corruptible body weigheth down the soul, 
And the earthy frame lieth heavy on the mind that is full of cares. 
16 And hardly do we divine the things that are on earth, 
And the things that are close at hand we find with labour ; 
But the things that are in the heavens who ever yet traced out ? 
17 And who ever gained knowledge of thy counsel, except thou gavest wisdom, 
And sentest thy holy spirit from on high? 
18 And it was thus that the ways of them which are on earth were corrected, 
And men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee ; 
And through wisdom were they saved. 


\ 


The work of wisdom in history from Adam to Moses. 


if 10 x She guarded to the end the first formed father of the world, that was created alone, 
And delivered him out of his transgression, 


Lagash (3000 B.C.), after he had been shown a model of it in a dream (Maspero, Dawn of Civilization, p. 610). 
It is, therefore, not necessary to resort to the Platonic doctrine of ideas as Gfrérer does. Grimm prefers to take 
ἁγία σκηνή, as heaven itself. ‘lhe temple would then represent the higher just as the high-priest’s garments represented 
the lower world. Cf. xviii. 24. 

g. Here Wisdom is only present as a spectator at the Creation in accordance with Prov. viii. 30. His devotion to 
Scripture in this place overcomes the writer’s philosophical theories. 

11. glory. The meaning of this is difficult. The Latin cuts the knot by translating fofefZa. Certain scholars’ 
follow this and refer to Rom. vi. 4. If, however, ‘guard’ can be taken as carrying on the idea in ‘ guide’ in the 
preceding line, then ‘ glory’ may, as Grimm suggests, refer to the brightness which Wisdom sheds over the path of her 
followers. As the author places great stress on the superiority of Wisdom to Light (see vi. 12, vii. 10, 26, 29) this 
interpretation seems most probable. 

15. The writer was no doubt somewhat influenced by the Greek idea of the inherent evil of matter, though he probably _ 
did not accept it. It is quite possible to admit that the body is the occasion of evil without accepting the dualistic 
theory that it is the cause of evil. For the connexion of this verse with Plato’s Phaedo see Introduction, p. 532. 

cares. The cares are mentioned in the next verse. Grimm prefers the rendering which is given in R.V. margin, 
‘that museth on many things.’ The thought is a common one in literature, sacred and profane. See St. Paul, 
2 Cor. v. 4, ‘For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened’; Seneca, ZP. 65 ‘Corpus hoc an 
pondus ac poena est.’ Philo made the body equivalent to a tomb, but according to Ritter and Preller, καὶ 46, 
note b, he did not, as is sometimes said, get this from Heraclitus: ‘ Sed quod aiunt σῶμα esse quasi σῆμα, non est ab 
Her. inventum.’ 

16. hardly. If the mind were not weighed down by the body, knowledge would be easily acquired. 

close at hand, ra ἐν χερσίν. δὲ 23 read ποσίν, also the Armenian according to Feldmann. 

17. Here ‘thy holy spirit’ is plainly equivalent to Wisdom: this may have some bearing on the reading of vii. 22. 

18. through wisdom were they saved. Houbigant divided the book here, and it must be admitted that it is 
a very good ending. It is in striking contrast to the ending of ch. xix. 


X. 1. alone. According to Gen. ii. 7, Adam was created before anything was ready for him, therefore he required 
protection. The ingenious emendation of Bois, οὐ μόνον, the ov having dropped out after κόσμου, is accepted by Siegfried 
and Heinisch (p. 147). He would translate ‘ Wisdom not only guarded and delivered, but gave him’, &c. For re used 
in this way he quotes Esther v. 3 (Bois, p. 399). 

his, ἰδίου. This is doubtless, as already pointed out by Grimm, an instance of the ‘use of the exhausted ἴδιος, 
which is confirmed by the Apocryphal books, especially by those in Greek from the first’ (Deissmann, Bible Studies, 
pp. 123-4). Inch. xviii, vv. 13 and 21, there seem to be undoubted examples of this use. Opinions may differ as to 
the other cases, ii. 23, xi. 13, ΧΙ]. 23, XVi. 23, XVil. IJ, xix. 6, 13, 20, though Deissmann says the best course is ‘ to take 


55° 


& 


i ~ ᾿ 
] 
ie } 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 10. 2-14 


|. 2 And gave him strength to get dominion over all things. 

3 But when an unrighteous man fell away from her in his anger, 
He perisned himself in the rage wherewith he slew his brother. 

4 And when for his cause the earth was drowning with a flood, 
Wisdom again saved it, 
Guiding the righteous man’s course by a poor piece of wood. 


5 Moreover, when nations consenting together in wickedness had been confounded, 
Wisdom knew the righteous man, and preserved him blameless unto God, 
And kept him strong when his heart yearned toward his child. 


6 While the ungodly were perishing, wisdom delivered a righteous man, 
When he fled from the fire that descended out of heaven on Pentapolis. 
7 To whose wickedness a smoking waste still witnesseth, 
And plants bearing fair fruit that cometh not to ripeness ; 
(Yea and a disbelieving soul hath a memorial ¢here, a pillar of salt s¢z// standing.) 
᾿ 8 For having passed wisdom by, 
Not only were they disabled from recognizing the things which are good, 
But they also left behind them for Azan life a monument of their folly ; 
So that wherein they had offended could not but be known: 
9 But wisdom delivered out of troubles those that waited on her. 


10 When a righteous man was a fugitive from a brother’s wrath, wisdom guided him in straight paths ; 
She showed him God’s kingdom, and gave him knowledge of holy things ; 

She prospered him in his toils, and multiplied the fruits of his labour ; 

αι When in their covetousness mex dealt hardly with him, 

She stood by him and made him rich ; 

12 She guarded him from enemies, 

And from those that lay in wait she kept him safe, 

And in his sore conflict she guided him to victory, 

That he might know that godliness is more powerful than all. 


13 When a righteous man was sold, wisdom forsook him not, 
But from sin she delivered him ; 

She went down with him into a dungeon, 

:4 And in bonds she left him not, 

Till she brought him the sceptre of a kingdom, 

And authority over those that dealt tyrannously with him ; 
She showed them also to be false that had accused him, 
And gave him eternal glory. 


ἴδιος in the old sense only when the context absolutely requires it’. See also Bois, p. 409. In xix. 13 ἴδιος is fortified 
by αὐτῶν and is certainly emphatic. d 

3. This is generally taken to mean that Cain underwent spiritual death when he slew his brother. Compare v. 13, 
‘As soon as we were born we ceased to be.’ The writer’s idea of life and death is a spiritual one. We find the same 
idea in Philo: ‘Cain rose up and killed himself. . . . For the soul which destroys out of itself the virtue-loving and 
God-loving principle has died to the life of virtue’ (Quod det. fot. § 14). There are two traditions as to the death of 
Cain, one that he was slain accidentally by Lamech who was blind, the other that he was overwhelmed in the fall 
| ofa house. See note on xi. 16. : : 

4. for his cause. Like the author of the ‘ prophetic’ narrative in Genesis, Pseudo-Sol. considers the evil on the 
earth before the flood to be due to the descendants of Cain. 

5. knew, reading ἔγνω δὲ A C Latin and Syriac. B gives εὗρεν. 

the righteous man. Abraham. 


6. Lot. : 
7. Cf.‘ Apples of Sodom’. See Josephus in his account of the Dead Sea, Bed?. Jud. iv. 8. 4. ) Bek 
still standing. Josephus says ‘I have seen it, for it remains even now’ (Azz. i. 11. 4). * Robinson (ii. 108) 


remarks that during the rainy season such pillars are constantly in the process of formation and destruction’ (Driver, 
in Hastings’ DB, vol. iii, p. 152). 

8. disabled, i. e. they incur ‘judicial blindness ’. 

Io. Jacob. ; 

holy things, or holy ones, i.e. the angels ascending and descending. ; ‘ Wes @ 

_ 12. guided him to victory. Latin ‘dedit ut vinceret’. R.V. ‘watched as judge’, but see SpaSev in Liddell and 
Scott, ii. 2. The Syriac agrees in this interpretation. 
13. Joseph. 


551 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 10. 15—11. 12 


15 She delivered a holy people and a blameless seed from a nation of oppressors. 
16 She entered into the soul of a servant of the Lord, 
And withstood terrible kings in wonders and signs. 
17 She rendered unto holy men a reward of their toils ; 
She guided them along a marvellous way, 
And ‘became unto them a covering in the daytime, 
And a light of stars through the night. 
18 She brought them over the Red sea, 
And led them through much water ; 
το But their enemies she drowned, 
And out of the bottom of the deep she cast them up 
20 Therefore the righteous spoiled the ungodly ; 
And they sang praise to thy holy name, O Lord, 
And extolled with one accord thy hand that fought for them : 
21 Because wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, 
And made the tongues of babes to speak clearly. 


1] 1 She prospered their works by the hand of a holy prophet. 


Contrast between the fortunes of Israel and Egypt; the instrument of punishment to the Egyptians 


became the instrument of benefit to Israel. | 


2 They journeyed through a desert without inhabitant, 
And in trackless regions they pitched their tents. 
3 They withstood enemies, and repelled foes. 
4 They thirsted, and they called upon thee, 
And there was given them water out of the flinty rock, 
And healing of their thirst out of the hard stone. 
5 For by what things their foes were punished, 
By these they in their need were benefited. 
6 When the enemy were troubled with clotted blood instead of a river's ever-flowing fountain, 
To punish the decree for the slaying of babes, 
7 Thou gavest them abundant water beyond all hope, 
8 Having shown ¢hem by the thirst which they had suffered how thou didst punish the adversaries. 
9 For w hen they were tried, albeit but in mercy chastened, 
They learned how the ungodly were tormented, being judged with wrath : 
10 For these, as a father, admonishing them, thou didst prove ; 
But those, as a stern king, condemning them, thou didst search out. 
τι Yea and whether they were far off from the righteous or near them, they were alike distressed ; 
12 For a double grief took hold on them, 
And a groaning at the remembrance of things past. 


15. a holy people and a blameless seed. This idealization of Israel is in strong contrast with Exod. xxxii. one | 
Deut. ix. 6, and other similar passages. But the moral and spiritual superiority of the Jews to the heathen in the first" 
century B.C. (see Bousset, Ae/. des Jud., p. 83) would naturally be carried back to their ancestors in a heightened degree. 

17. This is the strongest instance of allegory in the book. It is quite of a piece with ‘ Philo’s habit of allegorizing 
an angel into a Logos’ (Drummond, ii, p. 268). 

20. spoiled. According to a tradition mentioned by Josephus (Avz. ii. 16. 6) the arms of the Egyptians vere 
pase’ up on the shore and so provided the Israelites with w eapons. i | 

. dumb. In Exod. iv. 10 Moses says ‘I am slow of speech’. 


a 2. Here the second part of the book begins. In wv. 7 the writer speaks of the direct action of God, and continues 
to do so in vv. 10, 15,17. In v. 20, it is true, he speaks of ‘ Justice’, and the ‘breath of thy power’: but reverts to | 
the idea of the direct action of the Deity. W isdom has disappeared and with it the Greek view of God as transcendant. — 4 

4. called upon thee. The writer prefers to follow Ps. cvii. 5 rather than Exod. xvii. 1-7. + 


ἀκρότομος = ‘abrupt’, ‘ precipitous’: the LXX translation of vendn (‘flint’) in Deut. vill. 15. This shows direct Ἢ 
dependence on the LXX. Ἷ 
5. The principles enunciated here and in τ΄. 16 (appropriateness of retribution) are dwelt upon at considerab 
length in the rest of the book. The first point (elaborated in cc. xvi-xix), viz. that what injured the Egyptians benefit 
Israel, seems to be peculiar to the author. It appears later in Philo (Vzta Contem. cii), ‘ For by the commandment 
of God the sea became to one party the cause of safety and to the other that of utter destruction’. 

6. The R.V. margin says ‘The text of this verse is perhaps corrupt’. B and C upheld by the Latin read. 
ταραχθέντες : S A ταραχθέντοςς If the nominative is read, a subject must be supplied — “the enemy’, as in R.V.; ifthe — 
genitive, the translation must be ‘Instead of a perennial fountain of a river turbid with clotted blood thou gavest — 
them’, ἄς. R. V. (i.e. Hort) takes the first; Grimm, Feldmann, and others adopt the second. 

12. things past, reading παρελθόντων 8 A. παρελθουσῶν is given by B and C agreeing with μνημῶν. Feldmann has 
a long discussion of the passage: he would emend to μνήμονας agreeing with αὐτούς. 


Jae 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 11. 13-22 


] 13 ΕῸΓ τῶν they heard that by the very means wherewith they had been punished the others had been 
benefited, 


They felt the presence of the Lord ; 


14 For him who long before was driven forth in hatred they left off mocking: 
And marvelled at the events that had come to pass, 
Having thirsted in another manner than the righteous. 


Appropriateness of retribution shown to be the purpose of God. 


15 But in requital of the senseless imaginings of their unrighteousness, 
Wherein they were led astray to worship irrational reptiles and wretched vermin 
Thou didst send upon them a multitude of irrational creatures for vengeance ; ἱ 
τό That they might learn, that by what things a man sinneth, by these he is punished. 
|r For thine all-powerful hand, 
That created the world out of formless matter, 
Lacked not means to send upon them a multitude of bears, or fierce lions, 
18 Or new-created wild beasts, full of rage, of unknown £zzd, 
Either breathing out a blast of fiery breath, 
Or blowing forth from their nostrils noisome smoke, 
Or flashing dreadful sparkles from their eyes ; 
τ Which had power not only to consume them by their violence, 
But to destroy them even by the terror of their sight. 
10 Yea and without these might they have fallen by a single breath, 
Being pursued by Justice, and scattered abroad by the breath of thy power. 
But by measure and number and weight thou didst order all things. 


τ For to be greatly strong is thine at all times; 
And the might of thine arm who shall withstand ? 
2 Because the whole world before thee is as a grain in a balance, 
And as a drop of dew that at morning cometh down upon the earth. 


14. in hatred, reading ἐν ἔχθεσι with N AC: B gives ἐν ἐκθέσει. 
16. For the idea see Ps. vii. 15, 16 (‘He hath made a pit,’ &c.) and numerous other passages in the O.T. Jub. 
» iv. 31 puts it very plainly: ‘For with a stone he (Cain) had killed Abel and by a stone was he killed in righteous 
| judgement.’ As usual the writer does not trouble himself about literal accuracy. The Egyptians were punished, not 

by the identical animals which they worshipped, though in one district or another almost all animals were sacred, but 
by others, i.e. frogs and lice, quite as irrational and disgusting. Philo (Vita 1705. i. 17) says, ‘ For as the Egyptians 
} used to honour the water in an especial degree . . . he thought it fitting to summon that first to the affliction and 
| correction of those who honoured it.’ 
17. That created. Reading with all the versions, Lat., Syr., Arm., Kopt., ἡ for καί. Β δὲ A C all read καὶ κτίσασα. 
'N® exhibits a conflate reading ἡ καὶ κτίσασα. For the confusion between ἡ and « see Cobet, Variae Lectiones, 
_p. 5, ‘7 et « in veteri scriptura nil differunt.’ 

formless matter. As the words stand they convey a purely Greek philosophical idea. Matter was in existence 
from all eternity and God moulded it to His purpose. The question then arises—Did our author also conceive of 
‘matter as increate or did he assume that God first created formless matter and then brought it into order and 
|arrangement? Grimm points out that the author’s object was to adduce as great a proof as possible of the power of 
God. Creation ex zihzlo would be even a greater marvel than the organization of matter; as the author does not 
mention this greater marvel it is urged that he did not accept it. Siegfried (PAz/o, p. 230) thinks that as Philo assumes 
ithe doctrine of the eternity of matter to be true and to require no proof, the Alexandrian Jews had accepted it before 
him. But even Philo, philosopher as he is, seems to waver in his acceptance of the beliet (Siegfried, p. 232): ‘God, 
when he begat all things, not only brought them into manifestation, but made things which did not exist before, being 
himself not only a Demiurge but also a Creator,’ De Somm. i. 13. Caird (Evolution of Theol., vol. ii, p. 191), speaking 
Ὁ Philo’s views, says, ‘In accommodation to Jewish notions God must be supposed to create the matter in which his 
deas are realized.’ 
bears, or fierce lions. In Vita Mosis, i. 19, Philo says, ‘Some one may ask why God punished the land with 

uch insignificant and despised animals and not rather by bears, lions, and panthers . .. who devour human flesh.’ 
che answer he gives bears a striking similarity to that in Wisd. xii. 20-25, ‘ God was desirous rather to admonish the 
“gyptians than to destroy them.’ 
18. noisome smoke. R. V. taking βρόμος, ‘ roaring’, as a misspelling of βρῶμος, ‘ stench’. 
19. The basilisk was supposed to kill by a glance. 
20. measure and number and weight. Hence God deals out appropriate, not arbitrary retribution. This 
assage is referred to in Charles’s Zestaments Naph. ii. 3, where we read, ‘ By weight, measure, and rule was all the 
-jeation made.’ 
22. a grain: cf.Isa.xl.15. Another indication of direct dependence on LXX. 


1105 553 (ΟΥ̓ ΤΟΣ 


--- . 
— God, though almighty, is full of mercy and es } ae , 


hare 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 1]. 23—12. 11 


23 But thou hast mercy on all men, because thou hast power to do all things, 
And thou overlookest the sins of men to the end they may repent. 
24 For thou lovest all things that are, 
And abhorrest none of the things which thou didst make ; 
For never wouldst thou have formed anything if thou didst hate it. 
2; And how would anything have endured, except thou hadst willed it ? 
~ Or that which was not called by thee, Zow would it have been preserved ? 
26 But thou sparest all things, because they are thine, 
O Sovereign Lord, thou lover of souls ; 
12 τ For thine incorruptible spirit is in all things. 
2 Wherefore thou dost chastise by little and little them that fall from the right way, 
And, putting them in remembrance by the very things wherein they sin, dost thou admonish them, 
That escaping from their wickedness they may believe on thee, O Lord. 


As shown by his patience with the Canaanites. 


3 For verily the old inhabitants of thy holy land, 
4 Whom thou didst hate because they practised detestable works of enchantments and unholy rites, 
5 Merciless slaughterers of children, 
And sacrificial banqueters on men’s flesh and blood, 
6 Confederates in an impious fellowship 
And murderers of their own helpless babes, 
It was thy counsel to destroy by the hands of our fathers ; 
7 That the land which in thy sight is most precious of all dads 
Might receive a worthy colony of God's servants. 
8 Nevertheless even these thou didst spare as dezzg men, 
And thou sentest hornets as forerunners of thy host, 
To cause them to perish by little and little ; 
9 Not that thou wast unable to subdue the ungodly under the hand of the righteous in battle, 
Or by terrible beasts or by oze stern word to destroy them at once ; 
το But judging them by little and little thou gavest them a place of repentance, 
Though thou knewest their nature was evil, and their wickedness inborn, 
And that their manner of thought would in no wise ever be changed, 
τι For they were a seed accursed from the beginning: 
Neither was it through fear of any that thou didst pass over their sins. 


23. repent. The thought that the goodness and mercy of God are calls to repentance does not seem to occur 
earlier than this. It was taken up by St. Paul, Rom. ii. 4, and is found in 2 Pet. iii. 9. 

24 to xii. 2. This beautiful passage has nothing to compare with it in cc. i-x. Ch. i. 13, 14 do not speak of the 
love of God in the fervent way that the writer does here: while vi. 6-7 refer rather to God’s compassion. 

24. In Philo, as in his master Plato, the goodness of God is the motive of Creation. But we have not quite got this 
idea here. It only needs another step, it is true, but the author did not take it. He does not go beyond the O.T. The 
Jews did not ask what motive God had in creating man. The nearest approach to alleging a motive is found in 
Isa. xliii. 7, where the creation of Israel for the ‘ glory’ of Jehovah is spoken of. 

25. called = ‘created’. A Hebraism, cf. Isa. xli. 4. ‘Calleth’ in Rom. iv. 17 is not quite the same, but probably 
= ‘issues commands to’. 

26. lover of souls. φιλόψυχος, in classical Greek, means ‘ cowardly’. 


XII. The writer has set forth a very high ideal of God in xi. 24, and endeavours to illustrate it not only by His action 
towards the chosen people, but even by the treatment extended to His enemies, the Egyptians and Canaanites. He 
can only achieve his purpose by disregarding certain parts of the Biblical tradition. The Egyptians, according to the 
writer, were treated mercifully, in being afflicted at first with lighter plagues as a means of correction and admonition. 
It was only when they refused to be admonished and to obey the God whom they recognized to be the true God, that 
the punishment of death was inflicted. The difference between this view and that found in Exodus is considerable. 
There Jahveh hardens Pharaoh’s heart to prevent the plagues from having a reformative effect. Again, the Canaanites, 
who, in spite of xi. 24, are described in xii. 4 as being hated by God, and as ‘a seed accursed from the beginning’, are | 
said to have been leniently treated in order that they might escape from their wickedness by repentance. The reason | 
given in Exodus (xxiii. 29, 30) why the Canaanites were destroyed little by little is that the land might not become the | 
prey of wild beasts. The Deuteronomic editor of the Book of Judges gives two reasons why the Canaanites were not 
driven out at once: (1) To prove the Israelites ; (2) To give them experience in war (Judges ii. 22-iii. 6). ΕῚ 

5. slaughterers, φονέας. R.V. gives ‘slaughters’, emending to φονάς. This is probably on account of θοῖναν, — 
‘banquet’, in the next clause; but φονέας is supported by μύστας and αὐθέντας γονεῖς later on, so that it seems better to — 
take ‘ banquet’ as used by metonomy for ‘ banqueters’ as in the Latin, which gives devoratores. q 

6. Confederates. The true reading of this line in the Greek seems beyond the possibility of recovery. The above © 
rendering is that of the R.V. reading ἐκμυσοῦς from ἐκμυσής, a word coined by Grimm in his first edition (1837). Grimm, 
in the edition of 1860, read ἐκ μυσοῦς μύστας θιάσου, which equals ‘impious initiates or confederates of a (secret 
idolatrous) fellowship’. The meaning is the same, but he avoids coining a word. ny 

11. accursed from the beginning. Cf. Gen. ix. 25. 


554 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 12, 12-27 


God's possession of almighty power shows that his leniency is due to his mercy. 
12 For who shall say, What hast thou done? 
Or who shall withstand thy judgement ? 
And who shall accuse thee for the destruction of nations which thou didst make ? 
Or who shall come and stand before thee as an avenger for the unrighteous? 
13 For neither is there any God beside thee that careth for all, 
That thou mightst show wto him that thou didst not judge unrighteously : 
14 Neither shall king or prince meet thee 20 plead for those whom thou hast punished. 
15 But being righteous thou rulest all things righteously, 
Deeming it alien from thy power 
To condemn him that doth not deserve to be punished. 
16 For thy strength is the beginning of righteousness, 
And thy sovereignty over all maketh thee to spare all. 
17 For when men believe not that thou art perfect in power, thou showest thy strength, 
And in dealing with them that know 22 thou puttest their boldness to confusion. 
18 But thou, being sovereign over ¢iy strength, judgest in gentleness, 
And with great forbearance dost thou govern us ; 
For the power is thine whensoever thou willest. 


His mercy an example to men. 
το But thou didst teach thy people by such works as these, 
That the righteous must be a lover of men; 
And thou didst make thy sons to be of good hope, 
Because thou givest repentance when men have sinned. 
20 For if the enemies of thy servants, even them that were due to death, 
Thou didst punish with so great heedfulness and indulgence, 
Giving them times and place to escape from their wickedness ; 
21 With how great carefulness didst thou judge thy sons, \ 
To whose fathers thou gavest oaths and covenants of good promises! 
22 While therefore thou dost chasten us, thou scourgest our enemies ten thousand times more, 
To the intent that we may ponder thy goodness when we judge, 
And when we are judged may look for mercy. 


Those who did not respond to lenient treatment received a heavier punishment. 
3 Wherefore also the unrighteous that lived in folly of life 

Thou didst torment through their own abominations. 
4 For verily they went astray very far in the ways of error, 

Taking as gods those animals which even among their enemies were held in dishonour, 
Deceived like foolish babes. 
|5 Therefore, as unto unreasoning children, thou didst send thy judgement to mock them. 


_ \5 But they that would not be admonished by a correction which was but as child’s play 
| Shall experience a judgement worthy of God. 


7 For because through their own sufferings they were moved to indignation 
| Against those creatures which they thought to be gods, 


ts 


16. beginning of righteousness. So R. V.; Grimm, Deane, Farrar, and Siegfried, ‘ foundation.’ , Everywhere else 
in the book ἀρχή means ‘ beginning’, though in xiv. 27 it is parallel with αἰτία ; it may mean that God’s power enables 
Him always to do justice. The word ‘source’ might be a good equivalent. ee ἢ ΠΝ 

17. The Revisers say ‘The Greek text here is perhaps corrupt’. Β gives εἰδόσι, ‘those that know’; A οὐκ εἰδύσι, 
‘those that know not’. Latin has gz sciuat, with which the Syriac agrees. Bois (p. 400) offers the emendation 
ἐνδοιάζουσι, which is accepted by Siegfried. To rebuke the audacity of those that doubt certainly seems at first sight 
amore likely statement than to rebuke the audacity of those that know ; but if we compare the last two lines of the 
chapter we see that the Egyptians, who ‘saw and recognized’ the true God and may thus certainly be said to know 
Him, are thought of here, so that εἰδόσι is right. The Egyptians knew God’s power but defied it. 

20. indulgence, reading διέσεως 8. B reads δεήσεως, which gives no sense. A and Latin omit. ; 

24. ΘΟ R. V. Bois, however (p. 401), compares ἐν ζώοις τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἄτιμα with xv. 18 τὰ ζῷα τὰ ἔχθιστα σέβονται, and 
takes ἐχθρός with the same meaning in both places. If this is right we must probably translate ‘taking as gods the 


epee tore t 


e 


ὃ 


_ |most ignoble of hateful animals’. For the positive used as a superlative see Blass, Gr. of NV. Tr, . 143. 
ΟΠ 26. The writer was misled by the LXX of Exod. x. 2 ὅσα ἐμπέπαιχα. There is no idea of child’s play in the Hebrew 
_ jvord. 


27. In opposition to R. V. and other renderings it is here suggested that ἐφ᾽ ois is not prospective, anticipating ἐπὶ 


οὕτοις, but simply means ‘because’ (on ἐφ᾽ ᾧ and ἐφ᾽ vis see Sanday’s Nowans, v. 12, and Lightfoot, Phil. ili. 12). 
Che editorial comma after ἠγανάκτουν must be deleted. 


555 Ὁ; ὋΣ ὦ 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 12. 27—18. 9 


Being punished by their means, 
They saw, and recognized the true God whom before they refused to know ; 


Wherefore also the uttermost penalty came upon them. 


Men being foolish by nature cannot know the true God, but worship, perhaps excusably, the works 
he has made. 


13 τ For by nature all men were foolish, and had no perception of God, 
And from the good things to be seen had not power to know him that is, 
Neither by giving heed to the works did they recognize the artificer ; 
2 But either fire, or wind, or swift air, 
Or circling stars, or raging water, or luminaries of heaven, 
They thought to be gods that rule the world. 
3 And if through delight in their beauty they took them to be gods, 
Let them know how much better than these is their Sovereign Lord ; 
For the first author of beauty created them : 
4 But if through astonishment at their power and influence, 
Let them understand from them how much mightier is he that formed them ; 
5 For from the greatness and beauty of created things 
Does man correspondently form the image of their first maker. 
6 But yet for these men there is but small blame, 
For they too peradventure do dwt go astray 
While they are seeking God and desiring to find him. 
7 For living among his works they make diligent search, 
And believe their sight, because the things that they look upon are beautiful. 
8 But again even they are not to be excused. 
9 For if they had power to know so much, 
That they could explore the course of ¢iings, 
How is it they did not sooner find the Sovereign Lord of these works ? 


the true God. The indignation of the Egyptians at their gods, on finding them to be weaker than Jahveh, drove 
them to acknowledge Him to be the true God. The savage is often angry with his fetish. The statement in the text 
is founded either on Exod. viii. 8, ix. 28, x. 17, where Pharaoh requests Moses to ‘entreat Jahveh’ for him, thus 
recognizing that Jahveh was the true God, or on Exod. viii. 18, where the magicians, being unable to repeat the third 
plague, say, ‘ This is the finger of God.’ 

Wherefore. The writer takes it for granted that the reader will supply from the preceding words the thought that 
the Egyptians, though they recognized the true God, still refused to accept His admonition : ‘ Wherefore,’ &c. 


XIII. 1. by nature . . . foolish, as opposed to the intelligence that comes from wisdom. A solitary and indirect 

reference to the Wisdom of part 1. 

the good things. The argument from design was a favourite one with the Stoics. ‘They argued from the 
analogy of human art, and contended that the orderly movements and immutable constancy of the universe were just 
as clear an evidence of controlling reason as could be found in a statue or picture, in the course of a ship or a sundial’ 
(Drummond, PAz/o, i, p. 77). Cf. Rom. i. 20, and see Sanday and Headlam, 7x doco. 

him that is, τὸν ὄντα, from LXX Exod. iii. 14 ᾿Εγώ εἰμι ὁ “Qu. 

2. By the words ‘fire’, &c., Grimm, on the basis of Philo, De Dec. Ov. ch. xii, and De Vita Cont. τ, takes the author to 
refer to the personification of natural phenomena under the names of Hephaestus, fire; Aeolus, wind; Hera, air; and re 
Poseidon, water. Εἰ. Pfleiderer, who wishes to make the author a thoroughgoing Greek philosopher, takes the references 
to be to Heraclitus, who made fire the original element (i.e. fire as a vivifying and quickening power) ; Anaximenes, who 
proposed air; Pythagoras, who, with many others, considered the ‘circling stars’ to be gods; and Thales, whocon- | 
sidered water to be the origin of all things. It is, of course, impossible to deny that the writer may have had these 
philosophers in his mind, but the reference is most probably a general one. See the statement of Prodicus in Zeller, 
Pre-Socratic Phil. ii, p. 482. 

_ luminaries of heaven. These were common objects of heathen worship. Cf. Deut. iv. 19, where it is also 
distinctly stated that Jahveh assigned the heavenly bodies to the nations to be worshipped. : 

3. their beauty. The commentators point out that the admiration of beauty is a Greek trait, not Hebrew. The 
beauty of the universe was a favourite subject with the Stoics. 

5. greatness and beauty. Although N B and A, the Latin and Peshitta, all read ‘the greatness of the beauty’, 
the editors (except R. V.) all accept the reading given in the text, which follows N#, various cursives, including 248, 
Athanasius, and other patristic authorities ; and according to Feldmann is found in the Armenian, Syro-Hexaplar, ἢ 
Aethiopic, and probably the Coptic versions. ἶ 4 

9. The writer, perhaps, forgot that he considered the Gentiles to be μάταιοι φύσει, ‘foolish by nature’, see v. 1. His 
question may be one of surprise, or he may, as Grimm and others suggest, insinuate that there was a moral failu f 
Philo makes it an intellectual failure, ‘Therefore those persons are mere guessers who are anxious to contemplate the 
uncreated God through the medium of the things which he created; acting like those persons who seek to ascertain” 
the nature of the unit through the number two when they ought to employ the investigation of the unit itself to ascertain 
the nature of the number two, for the unit is the first principle.’ ͵ 


556 


ene 


—- ἔν 


SS = 


Ξὰ δ :- 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 18. 1o—14. 6 


But some men are without excuse because they worship objects which they themselves have made. 
το But miserable were they, and in dead things were their hopes, 
Who called them gods which are works of men’s hands, 
Gold and silver, wrought with careful art, and likenesses of beasts, 
Ora useless stone, the work of an ancient hand. 
τι Yea, and if some woodcutter, having sawn down a tree he can handle, 
Skilfully strippeth away all its bark, 
And fashioning it handsomely maketh a vessel for the service of life ; 
12 And with that which is left he prepareth his food and is filled ; 
13 And taking that which is left again, for which no use can be found, 
A crooked piece of wood and full of knots, 
Carveth it with the diligence of his idleness, 
And shapeth it by the skill of his indolence ; 
Then he giveth it the semblance of the image of a man, 
14 Or maketh it like some paltry animal, 
Smearing it with vermilion, and with paint colouring it red, 
And smearing over every stain that is therein ; 
15 And having made for it a chamber worthy of it, 
He setteth it in a wall, and maketh it fast with iron. 
16 In order therefore that it may not fall, he taketh thought for it ; 
Knowing that it is unable to help itself; 
(For verily it is an image, and hath need of help ;) 
17 And when he maketh his prayer for his goods and for his marriage and children, 
He is not ashamed to speak to that which hath no life ; 
18 Yea for health he calleth upon that which is weak, 
And for life he beseecheth that which is dead, 
And for aid he supplicateth that which hath no experience, 
And for a good journey that which cannot so much as use its feet, 
19 And for gaining and getting and good success of his hands 
He asketh power of that which with its hands is quite powerless. 


Folly of the navigator who for safety prays to a useless piece of wood. 
1 1 Again, one preparing to sail, and to journey through raging waves, 
* | Calls on a piece of wood less sound than the vessel that bears him ; 
[2 For that vesse/ the hunger for gain devised, 
And an artificer by his wisdom built it ; 
3 And thy providence, O Father, guideth it along, 
Because even in the sea thou gavest a way, 
And in the waves a sure path, 
4 Showing that thou canst save out of every danger, 
_ | That so even without art a man may put to sea ; 
'  \5 And it is thy will that the works of thy wisdom should not be idle ; 
Therefore also do men intrust their lives to a little piece of wood, 
_| And passing through the surge on a raft are brought safe 20 land. 
_ |) For in the old time also, when proud giants were perishing, 


10. work of an ancient hand, Acts xix. 35. 
τι ff. Founded on Isa. xl, xli, xliv and xlvi. : } 
_13. idleness. The idol is made at odd times and no care spent upon it. A different method is mentioned in 
XIv. 19. NB ἀργίας, A ἐργασίας. 
indolence. N* A Β ἀνέσεως, συνέσεως N* Latin. ᾿ 
18, ἀπειρότατον. An elative. A.V. margin ‘that which hath no experience at all’. R.V. ‘ hath least experience’. 
XIV. 1. less sound. Lit. ‘more rotten’; see xiii. 13, where the wood of which the idol is made cannot be used for 
anything else. Ἢ 
2. by his wisdom. So the Vulgate and Syriac. NBA give τεχνῖτις δὲ σοφία, and R.V. translates ‘an artificer, 
even wisdom’. Nearly all the editors prefer the first, taking wisdom as the human quality. Blass (Gram. of N. 7. 
|G&., p. 6) points out that the mute « in the dative was often omitted by scribes ; also (see p. 8) ἡ sometimes becomes «. 
© read τεχνίτης δὲ σοφίᾳ. See also Thackeray, Gr. of O. 7. in Greek, p. 85. hee 
3. Because. This and the next three lines refer to Noah. The lines justify the statement that it is God’s 
jorovidence that guides a vessel rather than man’s seamanship. Noah was not acquainted with navigation. 
5. alittle piece. ἐλαχίστῳ, elative sense = ‘very little’. See Thackeray, G7. of O. 7, p. 185. 


557 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 14. 6-22 


The hope of the world, taking refuge on a raft, 
Left to the race of men a seed of generations 20 come, 
Thy hand guiding the helm, 
7 For blessed was the wood through which cometh righteousness : 


Idolaters shall be punished. 


8 But the zdo/ made with hands is accursed, itself and he that made it ; 
Because his was the working, and the corruptible thing was named a god: 
9 For both the ungodly doer and his ungodliness are alike hateful to God ; 
το For verily that which was made shall be punished together with him that made it. 
τι Therefore among the idols of the nations shall there be a visitation, 
Because, though formed of things which God created, they were made an abomination, 
And stumblingblocks to the souls of men, 
And a snare to the feet of the foolish. 


The origin of idolatry. 


12 For the devising of idols was the beginning of fornication, 
And the invention of them the corruption of life: 
13 For neither were they from the beginning, neither shall they be for ever ; 
14 For through the vain error of men they entered into the world, 
And therefore has a speedy end been devised for them. 
15 For a father worn with untimely grief, 
Making an image of the child too quickly taken away, 
Now honoured him as a god who then was a corpse, 
And delivered to those that were under him mysteries and solemn rites. 
16 Afterward the ungodly custom, in process of time grown strong, was kept as a law, 
And by the commandments of princes graven images were worshipped. 
17 And when men could not honour them in presence because they dwelt far off, 
Imagining the likeness from afar, 
They made a visible image of the king whom they honoured, 
That by their zeal they might flatter the absent as if he were present. 
18 But unto a yet higher pitch of worship 
Did the ambition of the artificer urge forward even them that knew him not, 
19 For he, wishing perchance to please the ruler, 
Compelled his art to give the likeness greater beauty ; 
20 And so the multitude, allured by the grace of his work, 
Now accounted as an object of worship him whom they had honoured before as a man. 
21 And this became a hidden danger unto life, 
Because men, under the power either of calamity or of tyranny, 
Invested stones and stocks with the incommunicable Name. 


Evil results of idolatry. 


22 Afterward it was not enough for them to go astray in the knowledge of God ; 
But also, while they live in sore conflict through ignorance of him, 


7. Tighteousness, i.e. ‘the righteous purpose of God’. The ark preserved a righteous man, who was the ancestor _ 
of the righteous people. This is the highest example of the beneficial purposes for which wood has been used: other | 
examples are seen in its enabling God’s gifts to be conveyed from one part of the world to another; but wood which 
is put to a bad use is ‘ accursed’. 

8. idol made with hands. χειροποίητος, the term used in LXX Isaiah to translate baby, il. 18, x. 11, e¢ al. 

11. a visitation. ἐπισκοπή used in an unfavourable sense as in xix. 15, the only other occurrence of the word in 
this part of the book. 

14. devised. ἐπενοήθη is used as a paranomasia—which the R.V. keeps up—upon ἐπίνοια, ‘ devising’, in Ψ. 12. | 
The A. V. prefers to give the meaning plainly, ‘ therefore shall they shortly come to an end.’ Cf. 1 En. xcix. 9, where — 
of the idolaters it is said, ‘They shall have wrought all their work in a lie and shall have worshipped a stone: 
therefore in an instant shall they perish. ἢ 

15. The theory of Euhemerus was that idolatry arose from the worship of deceased heroes. The writer adopts this 
view with a slight modification. p 

17. On the basis of the words ‘ adsen¢ ruler’ Bousset (2e/. des Judenthums, p. 35) would date the book after Egypt | 
had come under the Roman Empire. For the worship of the Emperors, cf. Dill, Roman Society from Nero, p. 617: | 
‘But Egypt went rather too far for the western mind in its apotheosis of kings.’ aa 

22. Cf. Philo, de Conf. Ling. c. 12, ‘For they do in peace everything that is done in war; they plunder, ravage, — 
carry off booty ; they assault, destroy, pollute; they murder treacherously ; they murder openly if they are the more | 


powerful.’ 
558 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 14, 2215, 


That multitude of evils they call peace. 
23 For either slaughtering children in solemn rites, or celebrating secret mysteries, 

Or holding frantic revels of strange ordinances, 
24 No longer do they guard either life or purity of marriage, 

But one slays another treacherously, or grieves him by adultery. 
25 And all things confusedly are filled with blood and murder, theft and deceit, 
26 Corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury, 

Disquieting of the good, 

Ingratitude for benefits received, 

Defiling of souls, confusion of sex, 

Disorder in marriage, adultery, and wantonness. 
27 For the worship of those unnameable idols 

Is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. 
28 For their worshippers either make merry unto madness, or prophesy lies, 

Or live unrighteously, or lightly forswear themselves. 
29 For putting their trust in lifeless idols, 

They wickedly swear fa/se oaths and look not to be harmed. 
30 But for both szzs shall the just doom pursue them, 

Because they had evil thoughts of God by giving heed to idols. 

And swore unrighteously in deceit, despising holiness. 
31 For not the power of them by whom men swear, 

But Justice which hath regard to them that sin, 

Punisheth always the transgression of the unrighteous. 


7 


Benefits of worshipping the true God. 


δ. But thou, our God, art gracious and true, 
Longsuffering, and in mercy ordering all things. 
2 For even if we sin, we are thine, knowing thy dominion ; 
But we shall not sin, knowing that we are accounted thine: 
3 For to know thee is perfect righteousness, 
Yea, to know thy dominion is the root of immortality. 
4 For neither did any evil device of man lead us astray, 
Nor yet the painters’ fruitless labour, 
A form stained with varied colours ; 
5 The sight whereof leadeth fools into lust : 
Who desire the form of a dead image that hath no breath ; 
6 Lovers of evil things, and worthy to have such things to hope in, ; 
Are both they that make them, and they that desire, and they that worship them. 


Another example of the manufacture of idols. 


7 For a potter, kneading soft earth, 
Laboriously mouldeth each vessel for our service : 
Nay, out of the same clay doth he fashion 
Both the vessels that minister to clean uses, and those of a contrary sort, 
All in like manner ; 
But what shall be the use of either sort, 
The craftsman Aimse/f is the judge. 


27. ἀνωνύμων, Latin ixfandorum. The meaning may be ‘unspeakable’, ‘indescribable’, referring to the immoralities 
of the mystery cults without any reference to Exod. xxiii. 13. The context favours this. Cf. Eph. v. 12. 


XV. For a moment the writer turns aside to contrast the true worship with the false. The interruption has the 
effect, which was doubtless intended, of giving a slight rest to the reader before renewing the polemic against idolatrous 
worship. ne 
2. τὰ shall not sin. If the nation could be regarded as holy and blameless in the past in spite of the admissions 
in xii. 22, xvi. 11, xviii. 20, the future could be painted in the same colours. __ bee j 
5. lust, ὄρεξιν. NAC and all the versions. ὄνειδος B and 68. ποθοῦντες in τ΄. 6 justifies this. The reference, no 
doubt, is to Pygmalion, King of Cyprus, who fell in love with a statue of Venus. ‘ ; 
7. For the connexion of this verse with Rom. ix. 21, see Introd., p. 526. E. Pfleiderer compares the saying of 
Heraclitus that ‘ the clay out of which things are made is for ever being moulded into new forms’ (Zeller, Pve-Soc. Phil. 
ii, p. 17), and affirms direct connexion. 


559 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 15. 8-17 


8 And also, with evil labour, he mouldeth a vain god from the same clay, 
He who, but a little before was made of the earth, 
And will soon go his way 20 the earth out of which he was taken, 
When the soul which was lent him shall again be demanded. 
9 Howbeit his care is, 
Not that his powers must fail, 
Nor that his span of life is short ; 
But he rivals the workers in silver and gold, 
And copieth moulders in brass, 
And esteemeth it glory that he mouldeth counterfeit things. 
10 His heart is ashes, 
And his hope of less value than earth, 
And his life of less honour than clay : 
11 Because he was ignorant of him that moulded him, 
And of him that inspired into him an active soul, 
And breathed into him a vital spirit. 
12 But he accounted our life to be but a game, 
And our way of life a gainful fair ; 
For one must, saith he, get gain whence one can, though it be by evil means. 
13 For this man beyond all others knoweth that he sinneth, 
When out of the same earthy matter he maketh both brittle vessels and graven images. 
14 But most foolish were they all, and of feebler soul than a babe, 
The foes of thy people, who crushed them ; 
15 Because all the idols of the nations they reckoned as gods; 
Which have neither the use of eyes for seeing, 
Nor nostrils for drawing breath, 
Nor ears to hear, 
Nor fingers for handling, 
And their feet are helpless for walking. 
16 For.a man it was that made them, 
And one whose own spirit is borrowed moulded them ; 
For no one hath power, dezvg a man, to mould a god like unto himself, 
17 But, being mortal, he maketh a dead thing with lawless hands ; 
For he is better than the things he worshippeth ; 
Of the two, he indeed had life, but they never. 


= 8. the soul which was lent him. This idea is repeated in v. 16, and must therefore be taken as a settled con- 

viction of the writer. Whether in his mind it included the idea of pre-existence, it is perhaps difficult to say ; it is, 
however, far less definite than the statement in viii. 20, “1 came into a body undefiled,’ and it is immediately, 
followed by words in τ΄. 11 which are apparently inconsistent with pre-existence. From ψυχή here and πνεῦμα in v. 16 
it appears that they were to our author only different names for the same thing. This shows without any elaborate 
argument that there is no trichotomy intended in v. I1. 

9. he rivals. The clay idols were glazed and gilded. ‘ 

10. For the connexion of this verse with LXX see Introd., p. 524. The word ‘ashes’ in Isa. xliv. 20, on which this 
passage is based, means that which is worthless. Cf. Job xiii. 12, ‘Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes.’ 
The words are a rhetorical statement that the whole being of the idolater is inferior to the clay he uses, though in 
v. 17 the opposite statement is made. 

_ 11. That the soul and spirit are here the same, cf. second part of note on v. 8. On the subject see the long and 
interesting note of Lightfoot on 1 Thess. v. 23 (JVotes on Epistles of S. Paul). 

12. a gainful fair. This comparison is traced by Grimm to Pythagoras, who said τὸν βίον ἐοικέναι πανηγύρει (Dio. 
Laert. vili. 1.6). Cicero (¢# Tusc. Disp. v. 359) and other writers quote the saying. As the comparison was evidently 
ell Engen; we cannot from its use here deduce any direct acquaintanceship by the author with the system of 
>vthagoras. 

gain. The commentators quote the well-known passage of Horace, ‘rem facias, rem. Si possis recte, si non, 
quocumque modo rem’ (£4. i. 1. 65). 

15. It was a characteristic of heathen worshippers that they admitted the reality of the gods of other nations. This 
was natural enough to people who were not Monotheists. The Hebrews themselves before they were Monotheists 
acknowledged the existence of other gods besides Jahveh. Solomon recognized the gods of his foreign wives 
(1 Kings xi. 1-8). But the Egyptians went further than this. ‘The Egyptian gods during the flourishing period of the 
country’s history were not exclusive. They admitted into their number such of the gods of neighbouring peoples as 
had been found to be powerful and capable of resistance ’’ (Wiedemann, p. 186 of Hastings’ DB, extra vol.). 

17. Of the two. R. V.‘Forasmuch as’, reading ἀνθ᾽ ὧν with 8. All other MSS. ὧν, except 157 and 253, which omit. 
For the disappearance of the dual see Thackeray, Gr. of O.T7., p. 22. 


560 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 15. 18—16. 14 


The Egyptians worshipped irrational and unclean animals and were therefore punished by 
means of them. Small animals, vis. quails, benefited the Israelites. 


18 Yea, and the creatures that are most hateful do they worship, 
For, being compared as to want of sense, these are worse than all others ; 
19 Neither, as seen beside other creatures, are they beautiful, so that one should desire them, 
But are outcasts from the praise of God and his blessing. 
16 τ For this cause were these men worthily punished through creatures like those which they worship, 
And tormented through a multitude of vermin. 
2 Instead of which punishment, thou, bestowing benefits on thy people, 
Preparedst quails for food, 
Food of rare taste, for the desire of their appetite ; 
3 In order that thine enemies, when they desired to eat, 
Might for the hideousness of the creatures sent among them 
Loathe even the necessary food ; 
But these ¢hy people, having for a short space suffered want, 
Might even partake of food of rare taste. 
4 For it was needful that upon those tyrants inexorable want should come, 
But that to these it should only be showed how their enemies were tormented. 


Tt ts true the Israelites had serpents sent against them, but that was for admonition. 


5 For even when terrible raging of wild beasts came upon thy people, 
And they were perishing by the bites of crooked serpents, 
Thy wrath continued not to the uttermost ; 
6 But for admonition were they troubled for a short space, 
Having a token of salvation, 
To put them in remembrance of the commandment of thy law : 
7 For he that turned toward it was not saved by that which he saw, 
But by thee, the Saviour of all. 
8 Yea, and in this didst thou convince our enemies, 
That thou art he that delivereth out of every evil. 
g For them verily the bites of locusts and flies did slay, 
And there was not found a healing for their life, 
Because they were worthy to be punished by such as ¢hese ; 
τὸ But thy sons not the very teeth of venomous dragons overcame, 
For thy mercy came to their help, and healed them. 
τ For they were bitten, that they should remember thine oracles ; 
And were quickly saved, lest, falling into deep forgetfulness, 
_| They should be irresponsive to thy beneficence : 
12 For of a truth neither herb nor mollifying plaister restored them to health, 
5 But thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things ; 
13 For thou hast power over life and death, 
And thou leadest down to the gates of Hades, and leadest up again. 
4 But though a man caw slay by his wickedness, 
| Yet the spirit that is gone forth he bringeth not back, 
Neither giveth release to the soul that Hades hath received. 


194. The writer probably considered that other animals besides the serpent were included in the curse of Gen. iii. 14: 
_ || possibly all the creeping animals. 


XVI. 3. hideousness, εἰδέχθειαν. This reading, a hapax legomenon, is generally accepted. It is given by C, some 
Cursives, including 248, and the Syro-Hexaplar version. de.x@eirav is given by δὲ B A, Complu., Latin, Syr., and some 
cursives. εἰδέχθειαν is accepted by most editors as referring to the frogs in the ovens and kneading-troughs, Exod. 
Vili. 3. ἢ 

3¢..food. Literally, ‘appetite.’ As for the quails see note on xix. 12. nen ; : 

6. The allegory here is not so thoroughgoing as in xvi. 17. There Wisdom is identified with the cloud : here the 
Serpent is a σύμβολον. Philo suggests that the serpent was chosen as a symbol of σωφροσύνη and καρτερία. 

token. WN and A read σύμβουλον, ‘ counsellor ’. : 

11. irresponsive, a paraphrase of ἀπερίσπαστος, ‘ unconcerned about’. R.V. ‘unable to be roused by’. 23 (V) and 
253 read ἀπερίστατοι, ‘destitute of’. F τς 
12. thy word. Cf. Ps. cvii. 20, ‘ He sent his word, and healed them.’ See on xvili. 15. 


561 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 16. 15-26 


How the Egyptians were punished by fire and the Israelites benefited. 


15 But thy hand it is not possible to escape ; 
16 For the ungodly, refusing to know thee, were scourged by the strength of thine arm, 
Pursued with strange rains and hails and showers inexorable, 
And utterly consumed with fire ; 
17 For, what was most marvellous of all, 
In the water which quencheth all things the fire wrought yet more mightily ; 
For the world fighteth for the righteous. 
18 For at one time the flame lost its fierceness, 
That it might not burn up the creatures sent against the ungodly, 
But that ¢hese might see and perceive that they were pursued by the judgement of God: 
το And at another time even in the midst of water it burns beyond the power of fire, 
That it may destroy the fruits of an unrighteous land. 
20 Instead whereof thou gavest thy people angels’ food to eat, 
And bread ready for wse didst thou provide from heaven without ¢ezr toil, 
Bread having the virtue of every pleasant savour, 
And agreeing to every taste ; 
21 For thy substance manifested thy sweetness toward //y children, 
Ministering to the desire of the eater, 
And transforming itself according to every man’s choice. 
22 But snow and ice endured fire, and melted not, 
That men might know that fire was destroying the fruits of the enemies, 
Burning in the hail and flashing in the rains; 
23 And that this e/ement again, in order that righteous men might be nourished, 
Had even forgotten its power. 
24 For the creation, ministering to thee its maker, 
Straineth its force against the unrighteous, for punishment, 
And slackeneth it in behalf of them that trust in thee, for beneficence. 
2s Therefore at that time also, converting itself into all forms, 
It ministered to thine all-nourishing bounty, 
According to the desire of them that made supplication ; 
26 [hat thy sons, whom thou lovedst, O Lord, might learn 


16 ff. Hail was rained down upon the Egyptians, but (v. 20) manna upon the Israelites. 


strange rains. Rain is unusual in Egypt, see Deut. xi. lo. ‘It is only the parts along the sea-coasts that are 


ever moistened with a few drops of rain’ (Philo, Vita Mos. i. 20). 


17. Philo (11. Mos. i. 20) notices this ‘ miracle within a miracle’. The lightning and the thunderbolts penetrated 


and descended through the hail, still they did not melt it nor were the flashes extinguished by it. 


18. that these—and they alone: even the animals that formerly plagued them miraculously escaped. The writer 


has forgotten that the frogs are said to have been swept away by an east wind. 
19. fruits, γένημα. A new κοινή formation distinguished from γέννημα, ‘ offspring ’, see Thackeray, Gvavz., p. 118. 
20. provide. Reading παρέσχες A CYi4 Latin, and Syriac. ἐπέμψας B. 


agreeing to every taste. This idea is found in the Talmud, Yoma 75, where it is said, “Just as a child at 
the breast enjoys various flavours, so did the Israelites when they ate the manna find therein various flavours.’ 
Doyo m2 12 prsvo im poow Syneew ior ba yon AN ὈΟΡῸ ADD ΠᾺ Oy pn At Iw AD. This fancy no 
doubt existed in the author’s time, and he desired to explain it by the doctrine of the metabolism of the elements 


mentioned in the next note. 


21. substance, Greek ὑπόστασις. This word has caused great difficulty. Early scholars proposed emendations; 


A.V. gives ‘sustenance’, and 248 altered gov into αὐτοῦ. It has been made equivalent to the Logos, and the R. V. 
translates it by ‘thy nature’. It seems probable, however, that the writer was thinking of nothing more than the 


common substance which according to the Stoics underlay all four elements. As pointed out in the next note, he — 


makes use of the doctrine of the metabolism of the elements to account for the manna being transformed to suit every 


taste. Here he goes back in thought to what the manna was before it assumed the attributes or accidents which | 
differentiated it from other objects. The technical terms among the Stoics for substance and attribute were τὸ ὑποκείμενον 
or οὐσία and τὸ ποιόν (Zeller, Stozcs, p.97). The steps of the process were (1) ὑπόστασις, (2) manna, (3) transformation. — 


transforming itself. The author here gives a metaphysical basis to the events mentioned in v. 20 by the Stoic 
doctrine of the interchange of the four elements. Heraclitus first, and the Stoics after him, taught that the elements 
changed into one another by condensation and rarefaction, πύκνωσις and μάνωσις. See Dio. Laert. ix. 8, quoted in 


Ritter and Preller, ὃ 36, for Heraclitus (Heraclitus recognized only three elements) ; and for the Stoics, Ritter and 


Preller, ὃ 497, and Zeller, S¢oics, &c., pp. 131 ff. See also the quotation from Philo given in the note on xix. 18. 
22. snow and ice, i.e, the manna. See xix. 21. F 
23. might be nourished. See Num. xi. 8, where the manna is said to have been capable of being baked in the 

oven, though it melted before the sun. 

24. Straineth...slackeneth. In addition to the interchange of the four elements with one another, the power of 

a single element—here in vv. 22 and 27 fire—could be increased or moderated. 


562 


eh fo eas 


x 


pete 
ee 
ἴα. μα 


dite 


= 


ies 


<a 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 16. 26—17. 


That not the growth of carth’s fruits do nourish a man, 
But thy word which preserveth them that trust thee. 

27 For that which could not be injured by fire, 
Simply warmed by a faint sunbeam melted away ; 

28 To make known that we must rise before the sun to give thee thanks, 
And must plead with thee at the dawning of the light: 

29 For the hope of the unthankful shall melt as the winter’s hoar-frost, 
And shall flow away as water that hath no use. 


11 


The plague of darkness. 


17 τ For great are thy judgements, and hard to interpret ; 


Therefore souls undisciplined went astray. 


2 For when lawless men supposed they had overpowered a holy nation, 


They themselves, prisoners of darkness, and bound in the fetters of a long night, 
Close kept beneath their roofs, 


Lay exiled from the eternal providence. 
3 For while they thought that they were unseen in ¢hezr secret sins, 
They were scattered one from another by a dark curtain of forgetfulness, 
Stricken with terrible awe, and sore troubled by spectral forms. 
4 For neither did the recesses that held them guard them from fears, 
But sounds rushing down rang around them, 
And phantoms appeared, cheerless with unsmiling faces. 
5 And no force of fire prevailed to give them light, 
Neither could the brightest flames of the stars illumine that gloomy night : 
6 But there appeared to them only the glimmering of a fire self-kindled, full of fear; 
And in terror at that sight on which they could not gaze 
They deemed the appearance 
To be worse than it really was ; 
7 And the mockeries of magic art lay low, 
And shameful was the rebuke of their boasted knowledge : 
8 For they that promised to drive away terrors and troubles from sick souls _ 
Were sick themselves with fear worthy of laughter: 
9 For though no troublous thing affrighted them, 


Io Yet, scared with the creepings of vermin and hissings of serpents, they perished for very trembling, 


Refusing even to look on the air, which could on no side be escaped. 


) 11 For wickedness in itself is a coward thing, and witnesseth its own condemnation, 


27. by fire, i.e. the manna in the oven. 


28. Several scholars have maintained that ‘Wisdom’ was written by a member of the Therapeutae, and have 


appealed to this passage as well as to iii. 13, 14, iv. 8, and viii. 28. Grimm, however, shows that the habit of prayer 
before sunrise was a Jewish practice. 


XVII. 3. secret sins. The writer appears to attribute to the ancient Egyptians the mystery cults of his own time. 
He seems to picture some of them as engaged in their worship and suddenly scattered. It is true, he says in 
v. 16, every man remained in the place where he was ; but, as he also says in xix. 17 that they tried to grope their way 
to their houses, it is plain that rigid consistency is not to be looked for in details due solely to the imagination of the 
writer, hence the literal translation ‘ scattered ’—R. V. margin—is best. A and C read ἐσκοτίσθησαν. The description 
is a good example of the Jewish haggadic method of treating history. 

4. rushing down. Reading δὲ καταράσσοντες with B#> A C and Latin descendens. Feldmann prefers δ᾽ ἐκταράσσοντες, 
the reading of Β΄. δὲ has ταράσσοντες, and so affords no help. If the more difficult reading is to be preferred that in 
the text—R. V. and Mr. Gregg— should be taken. 

6. And in terror, &c. ‘The form of expression is too obscure to be understood with certainty’ (Farrar). If, however, 
we take ὄψις and ra βλεπύμενα to refer to the same thing, viz. the self-kindled fire, a good meaning can be obtained. The 
Egyptians did not or could not gaze directly upon the fire, but for all that could not avoid seeing it, and consequently 
were more terrified than they would have been had they deliberately looked at it. The endeavours of timid people to 
avoid seeing the flashes of lightning in a storm may be compared. 

7. Reading κατέκειτο with δὲ B and Latin, as against the plural in AC and 248, The plural is no doubt the more 
difficult reading, and is perhaps supported by καταγέλαστον in 84. It is accepted by R.V. ; but it is difficult to believe 
that a Jew would call the punishment sent by God μαγικὴ τέχνη. The R.V. gives ‘and they lay /e/pless, made the 
sport of magic art’. 

10. the air. The ancients considered the natural colour of the air to be dark—taxw6os (Philo, Vita Jos. ill. 6 
and 12). They shut their eyes so as not to look on the blackness of the air which surrounded them, ; 

11. in itself. Reading ἰδίως δὲ A B and Latin, not ἰδίῳ 8* and Comp. followed by Grimm and R.V. ἴδιος is used nine 
other times in this part of the book, and is never separated from the word it qualifies. This is upheld by Feldmann. 
The origin of the mistake was doubtless the itacism in δὲ and A, which both give μάρτυρι for paprupet. See Thackeray, 
Gram., p. 85. 

563 


18 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 17. 11—18. 4 


And, being pressed hard by conscience, always forecasteth the worst : 
12 For fear is naught but a surrender of the succours which reason offereth ; 
13 And when from within the heart the expectation thereof is o’erthrown 
It reckons its ignorance worse than the cause that bringeth the torment. 
14 But they, all through the night, which in truth was powerless 
And which came upon them out of the recesses of powerless Hades, 
All sleeping the same sleep, 
15 Now were haunted by monstrous apparitions, 
And now were paralysed by their soul’s surrender ; 
For fear sudden and unlooked for came upon them. 
16 So then each and every man sinking down in his place 
Was shut up in ward in that prison which was barred not with iron: 
17 For whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, 
Or a labourer whose toils were in the wilderness, 
He was overtaken, and endured that inevitable necessity, 
For with one chain of darkness were they all bound. 
18 Whether there were a whistling wind, 
Or a melodious noise of birds among the spreading branches, 
Or a measured fall of water running violently, 
19 Or a harsh crashing of rocks hurled down, 
Or the swift course of animals bounding along unseen, 
Or the voice of wild beasts harshly roaring, 
Or an echo rebounding from the hollows of the mountains, 
All these things paralysed them with terror. 
20 For the whole world desde was enlightened with clear light, 
And was occupied with unhindered works ; 
21 While over them alone was spread a heavy night, 
An image of the darkness that should afterward receive them ; 
But yet heavier than darkness were they unto themselves. 
1 But for thy holy ones there was great light ; 
And the Egyptians, hearing their voice but seeing not their form, 
Envied them because they had not suffered, 
2 And because they do not harm them zozw, though wronged by them before, are thankful ; 
And for their former hostility besought their pardon. 
3 Whereas thou didst provide for thy people a burning pillar of fire, 
To be a guide for ¢he¢y unknown journey, 
And withal a kindly sun for heir proud exile. a 
4 For well did the Egyptians deserve the loss of light and imprisonment in darkness, 
They who had kept in close ward thy sons, 
Through whom the incorruptible light of the law was to be given to the race of men. 


conscience. This is the first mention of conscience in the Scriptures. It is here regarded as the higher self, 
after the manner of Philo (see Drummond, Phz/o, ii, pp. 124 and 295). 
forecasteth. Reading προείληφε with N* and Latin praesumit instead of προσείληφε with δὲ A B C, which is 
accepted by Prof. Margoliouth and translated ‘ always increaseth its hardships’. In spite of the manuscript evidence 
all editors read προείληφε. According to Feldmann the Armenian and Coptic versions uphold it. | 
17. in the wilderness, κατ᾽ ἐρημίαν, a Hebraism due to the LXX using ἔρημος to translate 12712, the place where 
cattle are driven for pasture ; not a wilderness in our sense of the word. | 
18. The birds are made to sing in the darkness, and in v. 20 the writer says the whole world besides was in light. 
It has therefore been suggested that he thought of a subjective darkness, which would, of course, simply be blindness. 
But v. 10 is against this, and in xix.17 he distinguishes between the blindness of the men of Sodom and the ‘ yawning 
darkness’ which encompassed the Egyptians. ; 
21. spread. ἐπέτατο BA, ἐπέκειτο δὲ, ἐπετέτακτο 254. The right form is doubtless ἐπετέτατο, which is printed in the 
Roman text apparently without manuscript authority. ae 
An image, ἄς. Mr. Thackeray, 77:5, vol. vi, p. 232, thinks that this line may be a Christian interpolation. | 
The repetition of σκότους locks suspicious. a 


XVIII. 1. not suffered. Grimm, Siegfried, Farrar, Gregg, all agree in reading οὐ with A and Latin, instead of οὖν, 
Sand B. Grimm’s explanation that οὐ was altered into οὖν by a scribe who took κἀκεῖνοι to refer to the Egyptians fully 
justifies the rejection of οὖν, though it is better supported by manuscript evidence. Deane, following Gutberlet, takes or 
and οὖν together = ‘ whatsoever they also had suffered (before), they (the Egyptians) counted them happy’. This 15. 
accepted by Feldmann and Stevenson. 7 

_ 4. Through whom, &c. Cf. Test. of Twelve Pat. Levi xiv. 4: ‘The light of the law which was given to_ 
lighten every man.’ " 


564 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 18. 5-19 


The Egyptians counsel death against the Israelites, but are slain themselves. 


5 After they had taken counsel to slay the babes of the holy ones, 
yAnd when a single child had been cast forth and saved, 
To punish them thou didst take away a multitude of their children, 
And destroyedst all ¢ezr host together in a mighty flood. 
6 Of that night were our fathers made aware beforehand, 
That, having sure knowledge, they might be cheered by the oaths which they had trusted : 


7 So by thy people was expected the salvation of the righteous and destruction of the enemies ; 
8 For as thou didst take vengeance on the adversaries, 


By the same act thou didst glorify us, and call us unto thyself. 
9 For holy children of good men offered sacrifice in secret, 

And with one consent took upon themselves the covenant of the divine law— 
That the saints would partake alike in the same blessings and perils— 
Singing the while the fathers’ songs of praise. 

το But there sounded back in discord the cry of the enemies, 
And a piteous voice of lamentation for children was borne abroad. 

τι And servant along with master punished with a like just doom, 
And commoner suffering the same as king, 

Παρ Yea, all the people together, under one form of death, 

Had wth them corpses without number ; 

For the living were not sufficient even to bury them, 

Since at a single stroke their noblest offspring was destroyed. 

13 For though they had disbelieved all things by reason of their enchantments, 

Upon the destruction of the firstborn they confessed the people to be God’s son. 

| 14 For while peaceful silence enwrapped all things, 

And night in her swiftness was in mid course, 

} 15 Thine all-powerful word leaped from heaven down from ¢e royal throne, 

A stern warrior, into the midst of the doomed land, 
16 Bearing as a sharp sword thine unfeigned commandment, 
| And standing filled all things with death ; 


“A And while it touched the heaven it trode upon the earth. 
| 17 Then forthwith apparitions in terrible dreams troubled them, 
ἶ And fears came upon them unlooked for: F 


18 And one thrown here half dead, another there, 
Declared the cause of his death: 
τ For the dreams, perturbing them, did foreshow this, 
That they might not perish without knowing why they were afflicted. 


5. To punish them. Charles on Jub. xlviii. 14, p. Ixxiv, shows that «is ἔλεγχον must be taken as in the text. He 
would emend by deleting ‘ and saved’ in line 2 and ‘ of their children’ in line 3. He shows that πλῆθος is probably a 
mistaken rendering of 127, ‘a myriad’. The meaning then would be that for every single Hebrew child cast into 


the Nile, ten thousand of the Egyptians were drowned. The passages here and in Jubilees are both based on a 
common tradition. 


6. our fathers, i.e. the Patriarchs, as probably in v. 9. 
9. divine law, reading θειότητος B A as against ὁσιότητος &, Latin, Syriac, and other versions. 
the saints, τοὺς ἁγίους. This is quite in accordance with the writer’s idealization of the Israelites. R.V. with 
Grimm and others would take τοὺς ἁγίους with aivous, ‘the sacred songs of praise’, but, as Mr. Gregg points out, the 
thythm of the Greek is against this. 
the fathers’, ἄς. The reading adopted in the text is that of R. V. margin, following δὰ A, Complut., the Latin, 
and in all probability the Syriac. The writer attributes the custom of his own time—the singing of psalms at the 
Passover—to the Israelites at the Exodus. R.V. translates ‘the fathers already leading’, &c., reading προαναμελπόντων 
with B. 

12. noblest, R. V. ‘nobler’. For this rendering of the comparative, see Thackeray, Gram. of O. T. in Gk., p. 181. 

14. her swiftness. ἴδιος is here plainly used in its ‘exhausted’ meaning, see note on x. I. 

15. Thine all-powerful word. Eichhorn, p. 158, and Gfrérer, p. 236, affirm this passage to show a pre-philonian 
use of the Philonic Logos. But in view of xvi. 12, which is plainly based on Ps. cvii. 20, and the Jewish complexion 
ἡ of this part of the book, it seems better with Grimm to take it as founded on O. T, usage (cf. Hos. vi. 5 LXX, 1 slew 
} them by the word of my mouth’; Jer. xxiii. 29, ‘Is not my word like a fire? saith the Lord ; and like a hammer that 

breaketh the rock in pieces?’; Ps. cxlvii. 29, ‘His word runneth very swiftly’), though undoubtedly it differs from 
| these passages in a far stronger personification. In 1 Chron. xxi. 16, which the writer may have had in his mind, the 
| destroying angel is said to stand between heaven and earth. ᾿ 
16. unfeigned, ἀνυπόκριτος. The command was meant to be executed. It was no empty threat, feigned to terrify. 
| 17. terrible dreams. The textual evidence for ὀνείρων δεινῶν is δὲ A, several cursives, Comp., and all the versions. 
B alone reads δεινῶς which R. V. renders. 
19. The revelation by dreams to those about to be punished may be compared with the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 


565 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 18. 20—19. 5 


The Israelites also experienced the punishment of death, but the plague was stayed by the 
zntercesston of Aaron. 


20 But it befell the righteous also to experience death, 
And a multitude were stricken in the wilderness : 
Howbeit the wrath endured not for long. 
21 For a blameless man hasted to be their champion: 
Bringing the weapon of his ministry, 
Even prayer and the propitiation of incense, 
He withstood the indignation, and put an end to the calamity, 
Showing that he was thy servant. 
22 And he overcame the anger, 
Not by strength of body, not by power of weapons ; 
But by word did he subdue the minister of punishment, 
By bringing to remembrance oaths and covenants made with the fathers. 
23 For when the dead were already fallen in heaps one upon another, 
Standing between he stopped the advancing wrath, 
And cut off its access to the living. 
24 For upon “zs long high-priestly robe was the whole world pictured, 
And the glories of the fathers weve upon the graving of the four rows of precious stones, 
And thy majesty was upon the diadem of his head. 
25 To these the destroyer gave way, and these he feared ; 
For the mere proof of the wrath was enough. 


But there was nothing to stay death in the case of the Egyptians. 


19 x But upon the ungodly there came pitiless wrath to the uttermost ; 
For what they would do He knew before, 
2 How that, having pressed them to be gone, 
And having speeded them eagerly on their way, 
They would repent themselves and pursue them. 
3 For while they were yet in the midst of their mourning, 
And making lamentation at the graves of the dead, 
They adopted another counsel of folly, 
And pursued as fugitives those whom with intreaties they had cast out. 
4 For the doom they deserved was dragging them unto this end, 
And made them forget what things had befallen them, 
That they might fill up the punishment yet lacking to their torments, 
5 And that thy people might journey by a marvellous road, 
But they ¢hemselves might find a strange death. 


Dan. ii. E. Pfleiderer would see the influence of the Stoics here, and they certainly laid stress on the prophecies of ¥ } 
the dying (Zeller, Stozcs, p. 355, note 6). ΠῚ] 
21. Aaron, see Num. xvi. 47. 
22. anger. Reading χύλον for ὄχλον, which gives no sense. So all editors (except Gutberlet and Deane), following | 
Bauermeister. al 
24. the whole world. This is explained by passages in Philo, Vzta Mos. iii. 12 and 13, where we learn that the 
high priest’s robe and its adornments represented the κόσμος. The robe itself was blue, or rather dark purple 
(ὑάκινθος), and represented the air. The flowers on it symbolized the earth, and the pomegranates water, and (in c. xiii) 7 
the scarlet dye of the robe is the emblem of fire. The writer is thus able to get in another illustration of the idea 
found in v. 17, 20, xvi. 17, 24, and xix. 6, that ‘ the world fighteth for the righteous’. | 
25. he feared. ἐφοβήθη is supported by N® A, some cursives, including 248, the Comp. and Latin. Itisaccepted 
by Grimm, Siegfried, Feldmann, and Deane. ἐφοβήθησαν is supported by N* BC, some cursives, and Syr., and is 
adopted by R.V. and Mr. Gregg. Against the plural it may be urged that (1) the subject ‘the people’ has to be 
supplied, and (2) there seems to be no reason why the people should have feared the holy garments of the high priest. — 


XIX. 2. pressed, ἐπιστρέψαντες. R.V. ‘changed their minds to let thy people go’. For the rendering here adopted _ 
see Jebb’s note on Soph. 7rach. 1182, where he says of ἐπιστρέφω, ‘the primary notion is that of turning some con- 
straining force upon a person.’ 1 

3. adopted. R.V. ‘drew upon themselves’. For similar uses of the word in the sense here given see Liddell and 
Scott under ἐπισπάω, mid. - 

cast out, ἐξέβαλον. Probably a reminiscence of ἐκβάλλω, Exod. xi. 1 and xii. 33. 


566 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 19. 6-17 


Creation fought for the chosen people, 


6 For the whole creation in its several kind was fashioned again anew, 
Performing their several commands, 
That thy servants might be guarded free from hurt. 
7 Then was beheld the cloud that shadowed the camp, 
And dry land rising up out of what before was water, 
Out of the Red sea an unhindered highway, 
And a grassy plain out of the violent surge ; 
8 Through which they passed with all their hosts, 
These that were covered with thy hand, 
Having beheld strange marvels. 
9 For like horses they roamed at large, 
And they skipped about like lambs, 
Praising thee, O Lord, who delivered them. 
ΟΠ τὸ For they still remembered what came to pass in the time of their sojourn, 
How instead of bearing cattle the land brought forth lice, 
And instead of fish the river cast up a multitude of frogs. 
11 But afterwards they saw also a new race of birds, 
When, led on by desire, they asked for luxurious dainties ; 
| 12 For, to solace them, there came up for them quails from the sea. 


And against the Egyptians. 


13 And upon the sinners came the punishments 
Not without tokens given beforehand by the force of thunders ; 


| For justly did they suffer through their own exceeding wickednesses, 

iq For grievous indeed was the hatred which they practised toward guests. 
_ | 14 For whereas certain men received not strangers who came among them, 
7 These made slaves of guests who were their benefactors. 


15 And not only so, du¢ God shall visit the former after another sort, 
Since they received as enemies them that were aliens ; 
16 Whereas these first welcomed with feastings, 
And ¢hen afflicted with dreadful toils, 
Them that had already shared wz them in the same rights. 
17 And they too were stricken with loss of sight 
(Even as those others at the righteous man’s doors), 
When, being compassed about with yawning darkness, 
They sought every one the passage through his own door. 


6. fashioned again. The writer again refers to the philosophical doctrine of the transmutation of the elements into 
one another ; see xvi. 21 and xix. 18. Bois (p. 270) calls this ‘a second edition of the Creation’. 

12. The writer omits all mention of the murmuring of the Israelites. So does Philo, Vita Mos. i. 37, ‘the Hebrews... 
enjoyed the most exquisite meat, varying their food with this necessary and delicious addition.’ Philo takes it that 
the supply of quails was as regular as that of the manna. 

13. beforehand. Josephus, 4v/. ii. 16, records the tradition that the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea 
was accompanied by a violent storm. Our author has perhaps slightly altered the tradition, though the reading is not 
absolutely certain, γεγονότων B, προγεγονότων 8 A C Latin and Syriac. The tradition is probably founded on the poetry 
of Ps. Ixxvii. 17-20. 

own, ἴδιος, strengthened by αὐτῶν, is most probably emphatic. Grimm would make it very emphatic: their own 
extraordinary and peculiar wickedness. 

14. certain men, i.e. men of Sodom. 


15. The punishment, ἐπισκοπή, of the men of Sodom is to be lighter than that of the Egyptians. When is this 
ἐπισκοπή to take place? Grimm thinks in the Messianic age, or rather perhaps at the world judgement preceding it. 
This is the only certain reference in this part of the book to future retribution. In the earliest section of 1 Enoch 
there are different gradations of punishment for the wicked in Sheol (Charles, Eschatology, p.188). The text is that of 
R.V., which is conjectural. Swete gives καὶ οὐ μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ τις ἐπισκοπὴ ἔσται αὐτῶν, which means ‘and not only so, but 
assuredly a certain kind of visitation, i.e. deliverance, shall be theirs’. But the author would not be likely to entertain 
any idea of a deliverance of the Sodomites, and to weaken the word ἐπισκοπή to mean ‘consideration’, ‘ allowance’, is 
without justification. We can, dividing the words of B differently from Swete, read ἄλλη τις ἐπισκοπή = ‘ another 
kind of punishment’, but as after οὐ μόνον, ἀλλά is necessary, and the Latin gives ‘sed et alius quidam respectus’, 
R. V. is probably right in seeing an instance of haplography in B and adopting the emendation of Grabe, ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλη τις 
ἐπισκοπὴ. 

567 


THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 19. 18-22 


The marvels explained by the theory of the transmutation of the elements. 


18 For the elements changed their order one with another, 
Just as the notes of a psaltery vary the character of the rhythm, 
Continuing always the same, each in its several sound ; 
As may clearly be divined from the sight of what came to pass. 
19 For creatures of dry land were turned into creatures of waters, 
And creatures that swim trode zozw upon the earth : 
20 Fire kept the mastery of its own power in ¢he midst of water, 
And water forgat its quenching nature : 
21 Contrariwise, flames wasted not the flesh of perishable creatures that walked among them ; 
Neither melted they the ice-like grains of ambrosial food, that were of zatwre apt to melt. 
22 For in all things, O Lord, thou didst magnify thy people, 
And thou didst glorify them and not lightly esteem them ; 
Standing by their side in every time and place. 


ee ΜΡ eee ee eT ΒΘ 


nate 


18. i.e. God deals with the elements as a musician handles his instrument. He arranges and rearranges them to 
produce the required results (Bois, pp. 410 ff.). Cf. Philo, Vt. Mos. i. 17, ‘For all the elements of the universe, 
earth, water, air, and fire, of which the world was made, were all brought into a state of hostility against them, so that 
the country of those impious men was destroyed to exhibit the height of the authority which God wielded, who had 
fashioned those same elements at the creation of the universe so as to secure its safety, and who could change them 
all whenever he pleased to effect the destruction of impious men.’ 

Continuing. μένοντα is neuter, agreeing grammatically with στοιχεῖα, but the sense shows that it should agree 
with φθόγγοι. 

20 and 21. See xvi. 18 and 23. 

22. Contrast this verse with ix. 18, ‘Through wisdom were they saved’; with x. 9, ‘ But wisdom delivered out of 
troubles those that waited on her’; and xi. 1, ‘ She (wisdom) prospered their works by the hand of a holy prophet.’ 
The point of view has certainly changed, if not the writer. 


ἊΨ 


eos 


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Seer ey Seale Oo ΤΥ ee 


— 


ieee 


pes tg 


ADS I 


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aera 


568 


“ΠΕ bOO ΘΕ BAR ΕΗ 
OR 1 BARUCH 


INTRODUCTION 


$1. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ΒΟΟΚ. 


THE Book of Baruch, of which the Greek version is found in all our editions of the LX.X, forms 
one of a series of writings to which the name of Jeremiah’s secretary is attached. Brief characteriza- 
tions of these will be found in Charles’s Apocalypse of Baruch, Introd., § 2 (p. xvi f.). 

As will be shown in the sequel the tragic events of 597 (586) B.c., which heralded the exile, 
constitute a thin historic drapery which invests the yet greater tragedy of the Jewish race in A. D. 70. 
It is now generally accepted by recent critics that Nebuchadnezzar (Nabuchodonosor) and Bel- 
shazzar (Baltasar) represent the persons of Vespasian and Titus. Other corresponding traits between 
the Babylonian conquest here portrayed and the Roman conquest will reveal themselves to further 
scrutiny. Among alternative solutions which have been propounded from the days of Griineberg 
(1797) to those of Ewald, Kneucker, and Schiirer, none will be found to satisfy the conditions of the 
problem so well as that which we have just indicated (substantially that of Kneucker and Schiirer). 


§ 2. CONTENTS. 


The contents may be briefly summarized as follows: 

I. Ch. i. 1-14. Baruch wrote the words of this book in the fifth year and read them over to 
Jechonias and his fellow exiles in Babylon. These wept, made a money collection, and sent it to 
the High Priest in Jerusalem with a message that it was intended for the purchase of offerings on the 
altar, and also with a request for prayer on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar and his son, whom they desire 
loyally to obey, as well as on their own behalf, who have sinned against God. This book of confession 
of sin shall be read on the feast-day in God’s house. 

II. i. 15-ili. 8. The confession immediately follows. God is just. Their punishment is the 
result of sin and disobedience (i. 15-ii. 12). To this there follows a prayer for Divine mercy 
(ii. 13-iii. 8. God’s previous utterances through Jeremiah are recalled, especially His command to 
serve the king of Babylon. Disobedience to this command has brought calamities on Israel and the 
destruction of the Jerusalem temple (ii. 21-26). Divine assurances follow that captivity will bring 
with it repentance and a final restoration to and rule over Palestine (ii. 27-35). This section closes 
with a cry to God not to remember Israel’s past iniquities (iii. 1-8). 

III. In the rest of the book we pass from the prose of the previous portion to poetry. 

(a) iii. g-iv. 4). Here, in the style of Hebrew Wisdom literature, we have the praise of God’s 
laws of life. Neglect of them is the cause of Israel's calamities and exile. Learn, therefore, where 
wisdom is to be found (iv. g-14). Not among the great and powerful rulers has it been found, nor 
even have those who are reputed wise discovered it (iii. 15-28). No one has found it in heaven or 
earth, but God, the all-wise Creator, alone is in possession of it, and has bestowed it on Jacob—the 
Law of God which is eternal and leads to life (iii. 2g-iv. 1). This section concludes with a brief 
exhortation to Jacob to lay hold of Wisdom and walk in its light, and not to surrender the honour 
of this unique possession to any other. 

; (ὁ) From this song of exhortation to Israel we pass to another of very different character : 
| Strains of lamentation and comfort in the style of the Deutero-Isaiah (iv. 5-v. 9): ‘Be comforted’ 

| is the recurring refrain (iv. 5, 21, 27, 30) addressed (i) by Jerusalem to her children (iv. 5-29). ‘Ye 
have been sold among the heathen, yet not to be destroyed. You have been surrendered to the 
enemy because you have angered God by past transgressions’ (iv. 5-9). There follows a lamentation 
over the banishment of her children, and their harsh treatment at the hands of foreigners (iv. 10-17). 
‘But God, who has brought calamity, will also bring deliverance. I indeed trust in God for your 
salvation. Bear God’s wrath in patience. You shall soon behold your enemy’s destruction and set 
your foot on his neck. Joy shall come in place of sorrow’ (iv. 18-29). (ii) God’s word of comfort 
to Jerusalem (iv. 30-v. 9). Calamities are denounced against those cities that rejoiced at her fall. 
Fire shall come upon them. They shall be the habitation of demons. Jerusalem is exhorted to lift 
up her eyes and behold her children flocking to her from East and West, to divest herself of her 


1105 569 Pp 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 


garment of sorrow and array herself with a robe of salvation and a tiara of glory. Her enemies shall 
bring her children back to her. Mountain and hill shall be made low and valleys filled that Israel 
may return. Woods and fragrant trees shall yield their shade to Israel, whom God shall bring back 
in joy. 

§ 3. COMPOSITE CHARACTER. 

The composite character of the treatise is evident from the preceding survey. The prose section 
comprised in I and II stands zz marked contrast with both the poetical sections in IXI (a) and (6). 
(1) in contents. The prose section is a confession of sin and a recognition that Israel’s calamities and 
exile are the penalty for Israel’s sins of disobedience. These will bring about repentance. It con- 
cludes with a cry for Divine mercy. On the other hand III (a), which is poetic in form, is based on 
a different conception. Here Israel’s calamities are due to his neglect of Divine law regarded as 
Wisdom. This Wisdom, which belongs to God alone, He has bestowed on Israel as his precious 
privilege. Israel is exhorted to lay hold of it as the only means of safety. The contrast with III (6) 
is still more marked. We note the different attitude adopted towards Israel’s conquerors. In 
i. 11, 12 Israel is exhorted to offer prayer on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar and his son, ‘and the Lord 
will give us strength, and lighten our eyes, and we shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor 
king of Babylon, and under the shadow of Baltasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and 
find favour in their sight.’ Here the tradition of Jeremiah and Ezekiel is followed (Jer. xxvii. 
6-8, xxix. 4-7; Ezek. xxvi. 7-12, xxix. 17-20). So again, ii. 20-22, 24 ascribes the calamities which 
Israel suffered to his refusal to obey the prophetic injunction, ‘ Bow your shoulders to serve the king of 
Babylon, and remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers.’ But when we turn to III (Ὁ) the 
attitude towards Israel’s conquerors is that of embittered subjugation leading to revolt reflected in the 
literature of the late-exilian or early post-exilian period (Jer. 1, li; Isa. xlvii). ‘Thine enemy hath 
persecuted thee ; but shortly thou shalt see his destruction, and shalt tread upon their necks’ (iv. 25). 
The peoples who afflicted Israel and rejoiced in his fall, the cities where Israelites served in slavery, 
shall feel craven dread and grieve in their own desolation (iv. 31-33). (II) We note also great 
diversity w7th respect to the O.T. sources from which they respectively borrow. In ch. i. 11-1ii. 8 
we have frequent citations from Jeremiah, Daniel, and Deuteronomy. Specially noteworthy is the 
repeated employment of whole clauses of Dan. ix. 7-19 in Baruch i. 15-ii. 17. On the other hand, 
the Wisdom section, iii. g-iv. 4, contains numerous borrowings from Proverbs, Job, Deutero-Isaiah, 
and Sir. xxiv. The last section (iv. 5--ν. 9) is very largely based on Deutero-Isaiah. The concluding 
portion is evidently inspired by Ps. of Sol. xi. 


§ 4. CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ABOVE DOCUMENTS. 


\ We have arrived, therefore, at the following general result, viz. that in the Book of Baruch we 
have to deal with three distinct literary elements which possess all the signs of emanating from 
different hands. (A) A prose document to be found in ch. i. 1-iii. 8. (B) A poetical document 
of the character of Wisdom literature in ch. iii. g-iv. 4. (C) A further document of exhortation 
and comfort is added in iv. 5—v. 9. These we shall now consider separately. 

(A) Difficulties beset us when we examine the opening verses of the book. 

(i) In verse 2 the fifth year is the date assigned to the writing, and this is reckoned from 
the date when Jerusalem was captured and burnt (2 Kings xxv. 9; 2 Chron. xxxvi.19). This, we 
know, took place in the year 587-586 B.C. Accordingly Fritzsche, followed by Gifford (Apocrypha, 
ed. Wace), would identify the assigned date of the writing with 582 (583) B.c. This view, 
however, encounters difficulties. (4) The destruction of the temple in 587-586 B.c. hardly 
seems compatible with the offerings (burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, and incense) to be offered 
on the altar to which Baruch i. to makes reference. Accordingly Kneucker follows Eichhorn 
and other critics in dating the fifth year from the earlier capture of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. by 
Nebuchadnezzar, when Jehoiachin was made prisoner. Though the treasures of the temple and 
of the king’s palace were carried off (2 Kings xxiv. 13), as well as the officers, household, artisans 
and soldiers (verses 12, 14-16), both city and temple were left intact. This, of course, rids us of one 
difficulty. Moreover, 597 is the date from which Ezekiel reckons (i. 2, viii. 1, &c.). On the other 
hand, it stands in complete variance with the explicit statement in Baruch i. 2 (last clause). Kneucker | 
himself is aware of this contradiction (p. 16 NB). The difficulties which invest the alternative date 
587-586 are far from insuperable. We learn in Jer. xli. 5 that offerings were made at the Jerusalem 
altar by men from Shechem and Shiloh after the temple had been destroyed. Therefore some form 
of cultus still persisted. (4) We have no evidence in Jeremiah or any other O. T. source that Baruch 
ever went to Babylonia. It is true that we have no personal details respecting Jeremiah’s companion 
and scribe after he accompanied the prophet to Egypt (Jer. xliii. 5, 6); nevertheless such negative 


57° 


INTRODUCTION 


evidence contains no presumption against such a journey of Baruch to Babylonia and his residence 
there after 586 B.C. But in the presence of other features in Baruch i affecting its historic credibility 
it will be seen that this is a subject of minor significance. 

(ii) Among these other features we note that Baltasar (who is called in Daniel Belshazzar or 
Belteshazzar) is spoken of as son of Nebuchadnezzar (Bar. i. 11, 12). This is in exact accordance 
with Dan. v. 2, 13, 18, 21, and is known to be due to historical confusion. The only Belshazzar 
known to the cuneiform documents is Bel-Sar-usur (‘Bel, protect the king’), son of Nabonidus 
(Nabtinaid), the last king of Babylon, overthrown by Cyrus. 

(iil) The text of verse 2 is uncertain. The omission of the number or name of the month 
is strange. As is well known, months were designated by numbers (beginning from Nisan as the 
first month of the ecclesiastical or Babylonian calendar) in all exilian and post-exilian Hebrew 
documents. 

(iv) The following verses hang very badly together. (a) After verse 1 we naturally expect that 
the words of the book will soon follow; instead of this, thirteen verses of narrative succeed. (0) 
Verse 4 has ail the appearance of a redactional prolongation of the final clause of the preceding verse. 
(c) Verse 8 (as Kneucker has clearly shown) stands out of its natural place. The subject of the 
sentence cannot be Joakim of the preceding verse, but is evidently Baruch who is last mentioned in 
verse 3. Moreover, verse 9 follows naturally after verse 7 rather than verse 8. 

(B) The character of the document iii. g-iv. 4, as based on the Wisdom literature of the O. T. 
(Proverbs and Job) and containing a citation from Eccles. xxiv. 8, has been already indicated in 
δῷ 2, 3. It is a message of comfort and exhortation addressed mainly to the exiles who have long 
lived ‘in the enemies’ land’ (iii. 10), in other words, to the Jewish Diaspora. Their calamities are 
due to their abandonment of the fountain of Wisdom, the way of life revealed in the Torah. This 
amid all his losses Israel possesses as his priceless and eternal privilege conferred by God. Hold 
fast to it, and walk in its light, happy and secure. 

This entire section has a unity of its own, and it is quite evident that this is the book to which 
Bar. i. 1, 3@ refers. These verses, therefore, form the adequate and natural preface. That verse 2 
originally belonged to this preface is extremely improbable. It probably formed part of the intro- 
duction to the document A (ch. i. 2, 3 d-iii. 8). The reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by 
fire, i. 2 and ii. 26, points to this conclusion. A redactor united A and B. [{ is this combined work 
which we shall first consider. C will be considered later. 


$5. A HEBREW ORIGINAL OF DOCUMENTS A AND B. 


A considerable number of the older critics held that the original of the Book of Baruch was in 
Greek. This was the opinion of Grotius, Eichhorn, Bertholdt, Havernick, Keil, and Noldeke (in his 
Alttestamentliche Literatur, p. 214). But this view has been abandoned by recent scholars. Even 
De Wette, who for a time held to the former view, saw reason to forsake it, and adopted the theory 
of a Hebrew original in the fourth edition of his /xztrod. to the O. T. (German), p. 443. Similarly 
Reusch, Ewald, Hitzig (Die Psalmen, vol. ii, p. 119), Fritzsche (Exegetisches Handbuch zu den 
Apocryphen des A.T.—Special Introd. to Baruch, pp. 171 foll.),and more decisively Kneucker, who in 
his elaborate work, Das Buch Baruch (1879), unhesitatingly (in contrast with Fritzsche) assumes for 
the whole book a Hebrew original which he devotes the utmost pains to reconstruct. Schiirer, on 
the other hand, sustains the doubts of Fritzsche (zb7d., p. 172) as to the latter portion (iii. g-v. 9), 
with this difference that he decisively asserts that Greek and not Hebrew was its original form 
(Gesch. des jiid. Volkes im Zeitalter Christi®, iii, p. 340; PRE*, i, p. 642). Similarly Reuss and 
Hilgenfeld (in Zettsch. fiir wiss. Theol.). Bevan, in Enc. Bibl., inclines towards this view. Marshall 
(art. ‘Baruch’ in Hastings’s DB) propounds the ingenious theory that iii. g-iv. 4 was originally com- 
posed in Aramaic. ‘This view is based on a comparison of the Greek with the versions ’—the 
Peshitta [as Marshall assumes it to be], the Syr. reproduction of Origen’s Hexaplar, as well as the 
Vulg. Nine examples are given by Dr. Marshall, but the first of these, iii. 16,‘ peoples’ ᾿ς world ~ 
‘is quite as easily explicable on a Hebrew basis poy and aby ; the second (iii. 18), which has more 
: attractiveness, might also be explained from two possible meanings of O°) in Hebrew. The meaning 
‘fashion’ is probably late.and due to Aramaic influence. Cf. Gen. xiv. 19, 22; Ps.cxxxix. 13; Prov. viii. 
22. In the ¢hird case (iii.19) we have the two renderings of 5 and S"** respectively of ἠφανίσθησαν, ‘they 
are vanished’ (R.V.), which Kneucker rightly holds to have reproduced the original Hebr. 728 ‘perished’. 
This Hebr. word is rendered by S \annw (the Ethpa.) ‘were corrupted’, hence ‘ perished’. Comp. 
the use of the Greek verb in Matt. vi. 19 f. (cf. Syr. where Pa. 5an is used) as well as in Attic Greek. 
On the other hand, S®°*- nnd, the Ethpeel, does not mean ‘sinned’ nor does it arise out of NNN 
‘disappeared’. We constantly find we used for ‘ destroy’ (as well as ‘ sin’), and as the equivalent 

571 Pp2 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 


of ἀφανίζω (in Exod. xii. 15; 2 Kings x. 28; Ezek. xix. 7; Jer. 1.21, &c.), and its passive or Ethpe. 
as the rendering of ἀφανίζεσθαι, Ezek. xxv. 3; Job. xxii. 20 (cf. 2 Macc. xii. 22). Comp. other 
examples in Payne Smith’s Thesaur. Syr. In this case the S"°*: slavishly adheres to the Greek 
version. The fourth example (iii. 21) cited by Marshall, based on the diverse renderings, ‘laid hold’ 
and ‘cared for’, Iam not able to follow. The 555" reading is not 11¥ but 1x. The /fth (iii. 23), 
‘remembered ’ and ‘ trod’, is due to a corruption of the Syriac translation (see notes) and therefore 
has no bearing on the question of the original. The szr7h (iii. 31) accounts for the Vulgate exgucrat 
by an Ethpeel form yan instead of xyi. But the Ethpe. form of this verb has no other than a 
passive meaning which can hardly be fitted into the structure of the clause and verse. The seventh 
example (iii. 34), ‘ their watches’, and the colourless Syr., ‘their places’, may be accounted for by the 
loose rendering of 5 or by the corruption of the Hebr. original suggested in the notes. The ezghth 
(iii. 37), ‘appeared’ . . . ‘was revealed’, might just as easily be explained as variant translations of 
a Hebr. original ΠΝ) (or nnbz3). In the general suspicion which regards the verse as a later Christian 
gloss, its evidential value counts for little. The xzzth example (iv. 5), ‘advantage’. . . ‘dignity’ 
(Vulg.), need not be dealt with, as it evidently possesses no cogency. 

Nearly all living scholars, including Dr. Marshall, as well as Dr. Charles (in Encycl. Brit. 
(11th ed.)), are agreed that A (ch. i. 2, 3 6-iii. 8) was composed in Hebrew. For this there is strong 
evidence, and, in the opinion of the present writer, a fairly good case can be made for B (ch. i. 1, 3 ὦ, 
iii. g-iv. 4). 

(a) The strongly-marked Hebraisms of the Greek version have been long recognized as affording 
unmistakable indications of a Hebrew original, viz. ch. i. 10 μάννα (cf. Jer. xvii. 26, xli. 5), or, as 
we should properly read with Codd. 22, 33, 36, 48, &c., μαναά, is evidently the Greek mode of writing 
mm, Inthe same verse the formula περὶ ἁμαρτίας simply covers the Hebr. ΠΝ ΘΠ ‘sin-offering’, as 
Lev. v. 10, 11, vii. 37, &c., clearly prove. Other significant traces of a Hebrew original may be cited, 
viz. ii. 23 ἀπὸ ἐνοικούντων, Hebr. 224"); εἰ μήν, ‘surely’, arising out of εἰ μή, Hebr. 8? ἘΝ idiomatically 
used for strong asseverations (ii. 29); βόμβησις (2bzd.) for {27 ; "1 misread as‘ dead ’ in iii. 4. Still more 
significant are the frequently recurring relative constructions so characteristic of Hebrew. Thus in 
ii. 4, 13, iii. 800 . . ἐκεῖ = Dw .. WS (cf. Mark i. 7, vii. 25). Similarly 11. 26 . . . τὸν οἶκον ob: 
ἐπεκλήθη τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ dy ὙΦ SIP] WS naINS—. Comp. ii. 17,29. These relative con- 
structions are obviously characteristic of prose rather than poetry in Hebrew, and therefore belong 
to the document A rather than B (ch. i. 1, 34, iii. giv. 4). In the latter, however, we have variants. 
in the Greek and Syr. renderings such as ‘ peoples’ and ‘ world’ (iii. 16), as well as iii. 18 ‘ workers’ 
in silver (LXX) and ‘those who gain’ silver (Syr.), included in Marshall’s list which can best be 
explained on the basis of a Hebraic original. Similarly iii. 11 ‘thou art counted with them that go. 
down into Hades’, iii. 14 ‘length of days’. iii. 18 ‘there is no searching (ἐξεύρεσις) of his works’ are 
all Hebrew phrases. In some cases, as will be shown in the notes, the Syr. version points the way 
more clearly to a Hebr. original. See also Kneucker, p. 25, but the list requires sifting. 

(ὁ) So far at least as document A is concerned the hypothesis of a Hebr. original is rendered 
fairly certain by the marginal note which the Syro-Hexaplar version attaches to Bar. i. 17, ii. 3 ‘not 
recorded (dz. placed) in the Hebrew’ μεν LoS pro J. On the other hand, see Nestle in art. 
‘Septuagint’ in Hastings s DB. iv. p. 450, footnote 7. 


$6. THE GREEK ORIGINAL OF C (Bar. iv. 5-v. 9). 


It is, however, quite otherwise with document C. This document is a unity, not a series of lays, 
as Rothstein argues. Here evidences accumulate that the original was in Greek. 

(2) The strongest support for this view is to be found in the close parallels between the Greek 
of Ps. of Sol. xi and Bar. iv. 36-v. 9. 


Baruch. Ps. of Sol. xi. 

iv. 37 ἰδοὺ ἔρχονται ot viol σου. . . συνηγμένοι ἀπ᾽ 3 ἴδε τὰ τέκνα σου ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν συνη- 
ἀνατολῶν ἕως δυσμῶν. γμένα. 

V. I lepovoadyp . . . ἔνδυσαι τὴν εὐπρέπειαν τῆς παρὰ 8 ἔνδυσαι, *TepovoaAnp, τὰ ἱμάτια τῆς δόξης σου. 
τοῦ θεοῦ δόξης. vay 

ν. 5 ἀνάστηθι, ᾿Ιερουσαλήμ, καὶ στῆθι ἐπὶ τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ. 3 στῆθι, Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἐφ᾽ ὑψηλοῦ. 

καὶ ἴδε Gov συνηγμένα τὰ τέκνα ἀπὸ ἡλίου δυσμῶν ἕως καὶ ide τὰ τέκνα κτλ. aS above. 
ἀνατολῶν. 

y. ὃ ἐσκίασαν δὲ καὶ οἱ δρυμοὶ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον εὐωδίας... 6-7 οἱ δρυμοὶ ἐσκίασαν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ παρόδῳ αὐτῶν. 


ΠΗ 5 3 icy 
πᾶν ξύλον εὐωδίας ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς 6 θεός. 


72 


INTRODUCTION 


Comp. also Bar. v. 7 with Ps. of Sol. xi. 5. Here, as well as in the underlined phrases above, 
we have evident borrowings from the Greek of Deutero-Isaiah (see notes). But zz the case of Baruch 
the borrowing comes through Ps. of Sol. _This is made clear (a) by Bar. v. 8 compared with Ps. of Sol. 
xi. 6,7 ; (8) by the repetitions. Note Bar. iv. 37 and v. 5 (the latter in closer approximation to Ps. 
of Sol. xi. 3). See also the careful investigation of this subject in Ryle and James’s ed. of the Ps. of 
Sol., Introd. pp. Ixxii foll. Other parallels between the document C and the Ps. of Sol., viz. iv. 26 
ὁδοὶ τραχεῖαι, and Ps. of Sol. viii. 19; also Bar. iv. 20 and Ps. of Sol. ii. 21, 22 (Jerusalem clothed in 
sackcloth) are cited in Kneucker, p. 43 note, and also by Ryle and James (Introd., p. 1xxvi), who 
extend the list so as to cover the whole of the Book of Baruch. Many of these, however, have very 
slight significance, while those which belong to the document C leave an irresistible impression of 
dependence by this document on the Ps. of Sol., and therefore become an important indication with 
respect to date.1 

(ὁ) Collateral evidence is supplied by the Syr. version. It will be seen hereafter that there are 
indications to warrant the belief that that version is based on the original Hebrew text as well as on 
the Greek version of the documents A and B; but when we come to the document C evidences 
abound that the only text on which the Syr. is based is the Greek. In iv. 20 and v. 1 the Greek 
word στολή is taken over into the Syriac. In iv. 34 Syr. even embodies a conflate reading. Thus 
in the LXX we have in B the original reading ἀγαλλίαμα, ‘exultation’, which was corrupted into 
ἄγαλμα, ‘statue’, ‘idol’, embodied in A. In Syr. we have the conflate reading ‘I will take away 
from her the idols and the exultation’. 

(c) Moreover, the phraseology is occasionally such as Hebrew could hardly employ. Thus in 
iv. 28 δεκαπλασιάσατε ἐπιστραφέντες ζητῆσαι αὐτόν," return and seek him ten times more’, could scarcely 
be represented by iwipad 39 MWY (so Kneucker). The Piel (or Aram. Pael) of Y means only ‘to 
tithe’. Only some such circumlocution as perhaps 72>) 28> 1390 OYMwY would convey the idea 
expressed in the Greek. See also below on Greek style, ᾧ 9, I (Greek version). 


(4) Lastly, the O.T. citations are based on LXX rather than the Hebrew text. This is especially 
clear in the Pentateuch. 


Baruch. EXE 

iv. 7 παροξύνατε yap τὸν ποιήσαντα ὑμᾶς θύσαντες Deut. xxxil. 16, 17 παρώξυνάν με. .. ἔθυσαν δαι- 
δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ. μονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ. 

Iv. 15 ἐπήγαγεν γὰρ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἔθνος μακρόθεν, ἔθνος Deut. xxviii. 49, 50 ἐπάξει κύριος ἐπὶ σὲ ἔθνος μακρό- 
ἀναιδὲς... καὶ οὐκ ἠσχύνθησαν πρεσβύτην οὐδὲ παιδίον θεν. .. ἔθνος ἀναιδὲς... ὅστις οὐ θαυμάσει πρόσωπον 
ἠλέησαν. πρεσβύτου καὶ νέον οὐκ ἐλεήσει. 

Iv. 20 ἐξεδυσάμην τὴν στολὴν . .. ἐνεδυσάμην δὲ Isa. lil. 1 ἔνδυσαι τὴν ἰσχύν σου. . - 


BKKOV =) = ἔν. I: 


[On re-studying the question of the original language of this chapter I have come to the conclusion that it was 
Hebrew on the following grounds : 


1°. There can be practically no doubt that the true text of v. 6 is: εἰσάγει δὲ αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς πρὸς σὲ αἰρομένους μετὰ 
δόξης ὡς θρόνον βασιλείας. ; : 

2°, A comparison of this verse with Isa. Ixvi. 20, xlix. 22 makes it clear that the text is to be rendered as in the 
R. V. ‘God bringeth them in unto thee borne on high with glory, as on a royal throne’, but decidedly not ‘as a royal 
throne ’. 

3°. Now since the Greek is vigorous and idiomatic, the author of the Greek does not think in Hebrew, he is more 
or less a master of the Greek of his period. Accordingly he could not have written ὡς θρόνου βασιλείας if he had 
Meant ὡς ἐπὶ θρόνου βασιλείας. But since the context and the associations of the passage require us to translate ὡς 


θρόνου βασιλείας ‘as on a royal throne’, it follows that we have here a definite Hebraism = m3 NDI3. See my 
note on § 5 of the Ps. of Sol. where this subject is discussed by Dr. Buchanan Gray. This Hebraism could only be 
explained in one of two ways: either the writer thought in Hebrew or the Greek is a mistranslation of the Hebrew. 
The rest of the Greek is wholly against the former hypothesis. Hence we must have recourse to the latter. The 
Greek of ch. v is a translation from the Hebrew. ; ἔξ AY 

4°. The peculiar form of the expression has not been noticed. In Isa. Ixvi. 20 it is on actual wagons, horses, and 
litters that the returning Israelites are carried, since it is the Gentiles that convey them. But in our text, since it 15 
God Himself that conveys them, the means by which He conveys them are not chariots, &c., nor anything that the 
writer can definitely describe. The Israelites are not borne ‘ on a royal throne’ but on something resembling a royal 
throne. We have here the use of the Apocalyptic 3 so frequently used in this sense in Ezekiel and Daniel, and 
I Enoch, and of its Greek equivalent ὡς in Revelation. The supernatural element (at all events imaginatively) is 
introduced here and in the verses that follow. 


1 See note on the Introduction to the Ps. of Sol., ὃ 5. We cannot accept Rothstein’s suggestion that Ps. of Sol, xi 
is based on Bar. iv. 36-v. 9. 


573 


THE BOOK ΘῈ BARUEH 


5°. No real difficulty is caused by the fact of the very close resemblance of Ps. of Sol. xi and 1 Bar. iv. 36—v. 9. 
They can be explained as versions of two different recensions of the same Hebrew psalm. In the LXX and 
Theodotion we have Greek translations of two recensions of the Semitic text of Daniel, the older of which is lost. 
In the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs the two divergent Greek forms of the text presuppose two similarly 
divergent forms of the Hebrew original: while in the Zadokite Fragments, which are preserved only in Hebrew, we 
have two recensions of ch. ix. See of. cit. in vol. ii. : 

All, therefore, that we need to presuppose, is that the author of 1 Baruch adapted for his own purposes an existing 
Hebrew psalm, which is itself, or one form of it, preserved in Ps. of Sol. xi. Posszby also the translator of 1 Baruch had 
not only the Hebrew original of Baruch before him but also the Greek Version of Ps. of Sol. xi, just as Theodotion had 
the LXX, and the translator of the Hebrew original of 8 of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs had a before 


him.—GEN. EDITOR.] 


δ. DATE AND AUTHORSHIP. 


We are now ina better position to consider the questions of date and authorship. The question 
of date has to be examined in relation to the three documents A, B, and C (a) separately and (0) in 
connexion with their redactional combination. 

With reference to A (i. 2, 3 4—iii. 8) the determining factor in deciding the date is the close 
connexion between Dan. ix. 7-19 and Bar. i. 15-ii. 17 as well as the historical confusion common to 
Daniel and this document (i. 11, 12), to which attention has already been called (§ 4). Now close 
literary parallels are often capable of alternative solutions. So here it might be argued that Baruch 
precedes Daniel. And this was the view taken by Ewald (Gesch. des V. Isr.® iv, pp. 265 foll. ; Pro- 
pheten des Alten Bundes’, iii, pp. 252 foll.) ,who assigned the document to the close of the Persian 
Empire when the communities in and around Jerusalem were in a state of ferment (during the reign 
of Artaxerxes III (Ochus)) against Persian rule. This letter, under the name of Jeremiah’s secretary 
Baruch, was intended to effect among Palestinian Jews what Jeremiah’s own Epistle (Jer. xxix) 
effected among the Jews in exile, contentment with established foreign rule. Whatever view be 
taken as to the historical pvzws, whether it be Daniel or Baruch, it has been perfectly clear to nearly 
all except Roman Catholic critics that the document must have been composed long after the 
Babylonian exile. As in the case of Daniel, so also in that of this book, the historical confusion 
common to both can only have arisen long after the Babylonian Empire and its events had become 
a confused tradition. That the document A came after the Book of Daniel is indicated : 

(1) By a comparison of Dan. ix. 7-19 with Bar. i. 15—-ii. 17. The latter is longer and charac- 
terized by much repetition of phrase, e.g. ‘have not hearkened unto the voice’ . . . (= ‘obeyed the 
voice’, Dan. ix. 10, Sia ὩΣ xb) Bar. i. 18, 19, 21, ii, 10; ‘plagues’, i. 20, ii. 2. From repetitions 
the former is not entirely free. 

(2) By the contents of A. Here the whole situation that is disclosed cannot be reconciled even 
with the late Maccabaean period. It is hardly conceivable that any Jew would have recommended 
at that time, with the retrospect of the great Maccabaean struggle behind him, and in the existing 
state of national feeling, a policy of loyal submission to their conquerors. Nor was that period one of 
utter gloom and national humiliation. Fritzsche’s conjecture (p. 173) we may safely put on one side. 

It is quite otherwise with the events of 63 B.C., when Pompey invaded Judaea and captured 
Jerusalem. Some of the indications in the document A might be held to accord with the humiliations 
and sufferings inflicted on the Jews when the Roman general espoused the cause of Hyrcanus against 
his brother Aristobulus, and laid siege to the temple quarter of Jerusalem, and even entered the 
Holy of Holies. The cup of humiliation was full when he carried off Aristobulus as his prisoner, 
and Jewish captives and spoil graced his triumph two years later. It might indeed be argued that 
the friendly attitude enjoined towards Israel’s conquerors in A (i. 11, 12; ii. 21 f.) would accord with 
the date 48 B.C., when Julius Caesar’s policy of clemency was extended towards the Jews. Cp. Joseph. 
Ant. xiv. 10 (passim); according to Suetonius (Caes. 84) large numbers of Jews bewailed his death. 
See Schiirer, ed. 3, iii, p. 30. When we turn, on the other hand, to the document C evidences 
might be held to accumulate in favour of identifying the situation created by Pompey’s invasion with 
that which underlies the Book of Baruch, e.g. the reference in iv. 15 to the ‘shameless nation, and of 
a strange language’ brought ‘ from far’ points clearly to the Roman invasion, and might be compared 
with the phraseology of Ps. of Sol. xvii. 9. Other references, such as the ‘captivity’ of Jerusalem’s 
“sons and daughters’ (iv. 14) and the denunciation of Rome, ‘she that rejoiced’ at Jerusalem’s ‘ fall, 
and was glad of thy ruin’ (iv. 33), ‘her exultation and her boasting ’, become significant in the light 
of the captives which Pompey carried to Rome to adorn his triumph, which included not only 
Aristobulus, but also his son, Antigonus, and his two daughters. 

But they become even more significant in the light of the later Roman triumph under the 
Flavian dynasty which wrought the greatest tragedy from which Israel has ever suffered. Ever 
since Kneucker’s careful investigations (published in 1870) critical opinion has decisively inclined. 
towards the view that the actual historical events which underlie the Book of Baruch belonged to 


574 


INTRODUCTION 


the Jewish struggle against Rome of the years A.D. 66-70. The chief indications which point to 
this conclusion are :— 

(i) The identification of Vespasian and his son Titus with ‘ Nabuchodonosor’ and ‘ Baltasar his 
son’ (i. 11, 12), whom Israel is commanded to serve loyally (ii. 21 f.). This expression of complaisance 
towards Rome finds its parallel in the attitude of the chief Pharisees in Judaea at a somewhat earlier 
period described in Josephus, Wars, ii. 17. 3, and in that of Josephus himself. 

(ii) The fearful sufferings of the Jews to which reference is made (viz. ‘great plagues’, ii. 2; 
‘eating the flesh of children ’, ii. 3 ; ‘ bones of kings and ancestors cast forth’, ii. 24) accord with the 
incidents in the siege of Jerusalem portrayed by Josephus (Wars of the Fews, vi. 3, 4, story of the 
daughter of Eleazar devouring her own son; cp. also iv. 5. 1,2). The reference in ii. 25 to those 
who ‘were cast out to the heat by day, and to the frost by night, and died in great miseries by 
famine’ finds ample confirmation in the full record of Josephus, according to whom (Wars, vi. 9. 
2-3) ‘there perished for want of food 11,0co’ at one time. On the other hand, the references to 
the captivity and bondage (ii. 13, 14, 23, 29; iii. 8) are fully attested by Josephus. His numbers 
are doubtless exaggerated in many cases, yet he is probably not very wide of the truth when he 
reckons the numbers of those who were carried into captivity during the entire war to be 97,000 
(Wars, vi. 9. 3). 

(iii) The clear and definite reference to the destruction of the temple by fire in i. 2 and ii. 26 
cannot be said to apply to the events of 63 B.C., when Pompey entered the temple, and its precincts 
were desecrated by slaughter (Josephus, Wars, i.7.4f.). Bar.ii. 26 evidently points to the destruction 
of the temple by fire in A.D. 70 (Jos., zbzd., vi. 4). 

When we turn to the document B the contents can hardly be said to reveal a distinct historical 
situation. It is a discourse on Wisdom embodied in the Torah. Israel has been for some consider- 
able time dwelling in a foreign land (Bar. iii. 10) which can only refer to the very extensive 
diaspora in Egypt, Asia Minor, and other lands. It is difficult to found any definite conclusion as 
to date upon this. It is obviously intended to console Israel during the Roman dominion in 
Palestine. While Israel’s temporal heritage had passed under Roman subjugation and paid tribute 
to the conqueror, the great spiritual possession, wisdom enshrined in the Torah, remained Israel’s 
eternal glory of which none should deprive him (Bar. iv. 1-3). There can be little doubt that the 
significance of such a message to Israel would be enhanced during the years that followed the great 
overthrow in Vespasian’s reign when Israel was bereft of temple and temple rites in the sacred city. 
The contents of B might seem to indicate Alexandria or Palestine as the place of its origin, but about 
this it is impossible to pronounce definitely on the basis of these contents only. 

With the document A it is otherwise. Ch. i. 2, when connected with ii. 26, in its reference to 
the total destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by fire, decisively points to the conclusion that it 
belonged to the original introduction of the document. Here the date of the writing is fixed as 
the fifth year after the destruction of the temple, i.e. A.D. 74. The spirit of submission to the Roman 
authority, which it reflects, would be natural in the years which immediately followed the over- 
whelming and crushing blow to Israel’s national aspirations which the capture of Jerusalem and the 
destruction of the temple involved. A spirit and policy like that of Josephus underlies the document. 
Israel's main consolation at this hour was the spiritual consolation of the Torah. That at least 
remained. The document B was equally appropriate to the years which followed the catastrophe of 
A.D.70. On the whole it appears probable that both A and B proceeded from the circle of Johanan 
ben Zaccai, the first president of the School at Jabneh after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 
For (1) Johanan was a man of peace. He counselled peace in the struggle against Rome, and it is 
recorded of him that he prophesied imperial dignity for Vespasian in the days when he was a Roman 
general. (2) His pupils tore their garments and made lamentation as for the dead when they heard 
of the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. (3) We read in Suc. 28a@ that he was a devoted 
student of the Torah, ‘ He did not go four yards without reflecting on the Torah and without the 
phylacteries. These are significant traits which are reflected in both the documents A and B. See 
Fewish Encycl., art. ‘Johanan ben Zaccai’. This view has been suggested to the present writer, 
independently of one another, by both Prof. Burkitt and Mr. I. Abrahams. 

We have already seen that the attitude of the document C (iv. 5-v. 9) to the Roman power is 
altogether different. Instead of compliance we have notes of burning resentment and hostility (see 
above, § 3). Asin the document A the events of the Flavian War against Judaea in A.D. 66—7o 
clearly stand in the background. The captivity of Jerusalem’s children (iv. 14), like the references in 
A (ii. 13, 14, 23, 29; iii. 8), are in conformity with the well-known facts of history (Joseph. Bell, 
Iud. vi. 9. 3). ‘Those that rejoiced’ in Israel’s fall and the ‘exultation in her great multitude 
(iv. 33, 34) receive a vivid illustration in the triumph of Vespasian and Titus. Such ‘boasting is to 
be ‘turned into mourning’ (iv. 34). We are unable to follow Kneucker in holding that the ‘ fire that 


575 


THE BOOK (OF BARUCH 


shall come upon her from the Everlasting ’ is a reference to the volcanic eruption which destroyed 
Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79. a 

It is hardly possible to determine the date of such a document by any definite terminus ad 
quem. As terminus a quo we naturally have the tragedy of A.D. 70, whose events were still vivid in 
the memory of the writer. The minds of those to whom he appealed were beginning to recover 
from the shock of a quite recent disaster. Therefore, while the document A might appeal to those 
who were cowed by a quite recent calamity, the document C might be reasonably placed a few years 
later. Perhaps A.D. 78 might be a not improbable date. But it might well have originated later still. 


§ 8. REDACTION OF THE DOCUMENTS. 


We have already seen that there is strong evidence to prove that the document A was originally 
composed in Hebrew, and that arguments less cogent, yet valid, lead us to the same conclusion 
respecting the document B, which is poetical in form. The combination of both these documents 
into a single Hebrew roll probably followed not many years after their separate origination. In the 
prevailing gloom and depression awakened by such a catastrophe as that of 70 A.D.—the azn¢ée 
terrible of the Jewish race—consolatory works and apocalyptic treatises would meet a widespread 
want. Documents A and B would appeal to minds that were disposed to bow to the inevitable— 
the cosmopolitan Jew, the liberal Pharisee whose sympathies were with Ananus rather than John of 
Gischala. ‘The immediate result of the terrible calamity was a profound shock to the spirit. How 
could God permit such a disaster to overtake His chosen people?’ Schiirer (GFV*, i, pp. 659 foll.) 
shows how these fundamental religious problems which meet us inthe Psalms recurred with pressing 
intensity in the days that followed the destruction of Jerusalem. The solution of the problem of 
Israel’s calamity was that it was a ‘chastisement which God had inflicted on the people for their 
sin’. This conception meets us in both A and B (i. 17—19, 22, ii. 8-10, 24, iii. 8, 10-13), and also 
in C (iv. 7, 8). Cp. also Apoc. Bar. Ixxvii. 3. 4. ἡ 

It is difficult to decide how much in ch. i. 1-14 is the work of the editor who pieced together 
A and B. We have already seen that verses 3-9 hang badly together. We are confronted by an 
historical difficulty in i. 6-10, to which allusion has already been made. In § 4 we dealt with the 
apparent historic incompatibility of sacrificial offerings with the ruined temple. How can we 
reconcile these verses with the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70? Are we to regard i. 6-10 as 
unessential drapery ? This seems hardly possible. We are driven, in fact, to raise the question 
discussed by Schiirer (2b7d., pp. 653 foll.): Did sacrificial offerings actually cease immediately after the 
destruction of the temple? Putting aside Clem. Rom.,ch. 41, and the Ep. to Diogn. 3, in which the 
allusion to sacrifices might be regarded as having reference to the past rather than the present, we 
come to the argument of Josephus, coztr. Ap.ii.6 ad fin. After stating that the law nowhere forbids 
Jews to pay honour to worthy men, provided it be inferior in kind to that which is paid to God, the 
writer proceeds to say ‘we willingly testify our respect to our emperors and to the Roman people. 
We also offer perpetual sacrifices for them . . . although we offer no other such sacrifices at our 
common expense, not even for our own children, yet do we this as a special honour to the emperors.’ 
Other confirmatory evidence is cited by Schiirer; and though he is able to bring a considerable 
array of testimony on the other side, the statement of Josephus combined with Bar. i. 6-12 leaves 
behind a strong impression that such sacrifices- were actually offered in Jerusalem after A.D. 70 by 
a party who were complaisant to the Roman power.! Probably these sacrifices ceased in the second 
century and subsequent Jewish writers ignored them as temporary and illegitimate. 

The Greek translation of the Hebrew original of A and B was probably made at the close of 
the first century or soon after the beginning of the second. Whether it included from the first the 
document C (iv. 5-v. 9) or the latter came to be added subsequently it is impossible to determine. 
Kneucker, indeed, who regards the entire book as originally written in Hebrew, would make the 
terminus a quo of the Greek version about A.D. 118 or perhaps after the war of Bar Cocheba, A.D.132-135. 
The terminus ad quem is A.D. 172, for Irenaeus (Adv. Haereses, v.35) quotes the passage Bar. iv. 36- 


1 The view here adopted has the support of Mr. I. Abrahams. Schiirer, G/V’%, i, p. 654, cites the passage in 
Taanith iv. 6 in which, when enumerating Israel’s days of calamity, it is stated ‘on the 17th Tammuz the Tamid came 
to an end’. The language of Josephus, which has been cited, practically admits this: ‘although we offer no other 
such sacrifices at the public expense.’ Abrahams therefore argues that the statement cited by Schiirer from Taanith 
iv. 6, so far from contradicting the statement of Josephus, gives us a clue to its real meaning, since the Zaméd was 
habitually bought at the public expense (paid for by the Shekalim). Cf. Peskta Rabbati (sect. Shekalim). Josephus 
asserts that though the Tamid had ceased, contributions for a sacrifice for the emperor continued. It is therefore 
impossible to set aside such an express statement as that of Josephus, especially when taken in conjunction with the 
important collateral testimony of Bar. i. 6-10. We have sacrifices for the emperor in the days of Caligula (Wars, 
ii. 10. 43 cp. 17. 2-4.) 

576 


INTRODUCTION 


v.g as the words of Jeremiah. Somewhat later (A.D. 176-178) Athenagoras, in his Afologia, addressed 


to the emperor, M. Aurelius, cites (§ 69) Bar. iii. 35 as the words of an inspired prophet in close 
connexion with passages from Isaiah. 


$9. THE VERSIONS. 


I. Among the versions, the Greek was the first to appear, and secured thereby a wider currency 
for the entire work among the scattered Jewish population, and subsequently among the Christian 
communities of the Roman Empire. 

Opinions are divided on the question whether a single hand or two hands have worked at the 
Greek translation. Both Fritzsche and Schiirer have argued for a single hand, as earlier scholars 
(e.g. De Wette and Hitzig) have done. Fritzsche (p. 172) acknowledges that differences in style 
are to be found between ch. i. 1-iii. 8 and the remainder of the work, but the language in both 
portions is in the main the same, while other scholars account for the difference by difference of 
subject-matter. Kneucker, on the other hand, contends strongly that two hands have worked at the 
Greek translation, and submits the entire book to a careful scrutiny (pp. 76-82). It should be noticed, 
however, that in his comparisons a very large number of the divergences in style are found in 
ch. iv. 5-v. 9, which we have already shown good reason for regarding as originally composed in 
Greek, This of itself would involve a considerable difference in style from the earlier portion trans- 


lated from an original Hebrew text. Thus Kneucker observes the frequent employment of the Greek 
particle γάρ in iv. 7, 9, ΤΟ, 11, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 33, 35, ν. 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 (in nearly every 
case reproduced in Syr. by s,), also a more independent and free arrangement of words, iv. 9, 24, 
25, Ν. 1,2. Inch. iv. 10, 11 τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τῶν υἱῶν μου καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων without the repetition of 
τὴν aixu. before τῶν θυγ. Also the genit. before the governing noun, iv. 25, 37, v. 5, 7, and the 
qualifying adj. or adjectival phrase preceding the noun: τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν σωτηρίαν (iv. 24), 
τὴν Tapa τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπελθοῦσαν ἡμῖν ὀργήν (iv. 25); cf. iv. 29, 31, 33, 26, ν. 2. 

Another point to which the same writer calls attention is the close connexion between LXX on 
Jeremiah and our own text in those cases where borrowings from Jeremiah have taken place; e.g. 
Bar. i. 9, cf. Jer. xxiv. 1; Bar. ii. 3, cf. Jer. xix. 9 ; Bar. ii. 4, cf. Jer. xlii. 18; Bar. ii. 11, cf. Jer. xxxii. 21 ; 
Bar. ii. 13, cf. Jer. xlii.2; Bar. ii. 21, 22, cf. Jer.xxxiv. 10,9; Bar. ii. 23, cf. Jer. xxv. 10, 11, &c. These 
close resemblances are explained by some (Dillmann, Fritzsche, and Ewald) as due to the fact that 
the same Greek translator has produced the LXX of Jeremiah and the Greek rendering of Baruch. 
This theory, however, does not explain the differences as well as the coincidences of language. A 
more probable theory is that of Havernick, Schiirer, and (in later years) of Hitzig that the Greek 
translator of Baruch was acquainted with and made use of the LXX Jeremiah. This view will be 
found to be in some respects parallel to that which we shall have to adopt in reference to the Syriac 
version. The Greek translator of the document A was evidently familiar with Theodotion’s version 
of Daniel (G®) or its groundwork, as we have indicated frequently in the notes." 

The MSS. of the LXX from which our text is obtained are, in the order of importance: 

1. The Codex Vaticanus (B), written in uncials of the fourth century. 

2. Cod. Alexandrinus (A), written in uncials of the fifth century, now in the British Museum. 

3. Cod. Marchalianus, written in uncials not later, according to Ceriani, than the sixth century, 
designated Q. 


4. Codex Venetus (numbered 23), ‘written in sloping uncials of the eighth and ninth centuries’ 
Swete). 

( a addition to these we have twenty-two cursive MSS. The famous Szwaztec codex (x) and the 
| Codex Ephrém Syri (C) do not contain the Book of Baruch. 

II. A Syriac version which ranks next in importance to the Greek must have been made before 
the time of Ephrém Syrus (about the middle of the fourth century), who specially cites the Book of 
Baruch. This version is identified by Ewald, Ceriani, and Schiirer with the Peshitta, while Kneucker 
᾿ disputes this view, holding that the Pesh. did not contain the books of the Apocrypha. We have 
a Syriac version in two forms: 

(1) That which is contained in Walton’s Polyg/ott, vol. iv, based on the Pocock Codex as well as 
the Cod. Usserianus. Upon this version we have chiefly relied in the accompanying commentary. 
This version has been amended by Paul de Lagarde in his work Libri Veteris Testamenti Apocryphi 
Syriace, &c. (1861). 

(2) We have also the Syro-Hexaplar translation of Bishop Paul of Tela, executed at the 
instigation of the Monophysite patriarch Athanasius of Antioch in the year A. Ὁ. 617 at Alexandria. 


= bea aelaae 


wo + ee 


1 Theodotion is mentioned in the Syro-Hexaplar as textual authority for the Greek (cited in margin of Ceriani’s 
edition with initial }), Cp. πονεῖ. Bib/., ‘ Text and Versions,’ § 50. 


577 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 


It derives its name from the fact that it is based on Origen’s Hexapla and closely follows the Greek 
text in the retention of Greek words and Hexaplaric signs. It thus becomes a valuable aid in the 
restoration of the Hexaplar text (De Wette, Eilectung, 8th ed.,§ 60). This Syro-Hexaplar version is 
contained in a codex belonging to the eighth century, written in Estrangelo, called Ambrosianus, 
reproduced in 1874 by photolithography (not by any means clearly in some places) by Ceriani. 
There is also an earlier reproduction (1861) by the same scholar (clearly printed and easily read). 
We are here chiefly concerned with Walton’s and Lagarde’s text. A very cursory examination 
of this version when compared with LXX (A and B) clearly shows that it is no mere slavish 
reproduction of the latter, but contains numerous variants as well as expansions. We have already 
shown that there is clear evidence to indicate that the Syriac version (i.e. Walton’s, and also Lagarde’s 
amended version) in iv. 5-v. 9 is based on the Greek original for the simple reason that in docu- 
ment C there was no other. But it is otherwise with i. I-iv. 4 (A and B). Here we are unable to 
follow in its entirety Kneucker’s elaborate proof that the Syriac version is wholly based on the LXX. 
Reasons will be forthcoming in the commentary which point to the conclusion that the Syr. was 
based on the Hebrew original as well as on the LXX version. (1) This inference might be suggested 
by the Syr. rendering of ἐπὶ ποταμοῦ Σούδ, Bar. i. 4 ad fin. Here Σούδ is reproduced in Syr. by Sar. 
This may point to a Heb. variant, since the confusion of 1 and Ἵ is exceedingly common, and Greek 
reproduces ¥ by σ (as in i”). Too much stress, however, cannot be laid upon proper names, which 
Syriac notoriously modifies and alters. (2) A more instructive example is i. 1, where ev Βαβυλῶνι 
corresponds to the Syr. \N.aaS ‘to Babel’ as though Baruch wrote the letter zo Babylon. This 
variant is best explained by the Heb. original 5333 in which the first of the three letters 3 was 


dropped and 533 was naturally interpreted as accus. ‘to Babel’. (3) A more striking example is 
found in the enigmatic word ἐσχεδιάζομεν (B; in A ἐσχεδιάσαμεν) in i. 19. The word is a az. εἰρ. in 
the LXX. In Suidas and Hesych. the Greek word is explained by ἐγγίζειν, πλησιάζειν which yields 
no satisfactory sense and yet is reproduced in the Syro-Hexaplar by woo e>:00. Fortunately we 
have in Diod, Sic. i. 23 and Polyb. xii. 4. 4, xxiii. 9. 12, a guide to a signification which yields 
a better sense, ‘act precipitately or rashly’ (R.V. ‘ dealt unadvisedly’): ‘ We have acted precipitately 
in not hearkening to his voice. We have, however, in Dan. ix the source from which many 
passages and phrases are borrowed, and here Dan. ix. 5, 11 enables us to restore the original 
ipa vow p29 32773. Here Kneucker is obliged to confess that the Syr. version (that of Walton) 
‘is relatively the most correct’, oSas ssaas ἢν 9330 which evidently closely follows the Heb, 
original. But how did ἐσχεδιάζομεν arise? It might perhaps be suggested that it arose by corrup- 
tion of ἐστασιάζομεν. But it is a far more probable view that 3277 became corrupted into 377. (4) 
For ἐκολλήθη εἰς ἡμᾶς τὰ κακά in the following verse (i. 20) we have in Syr. JNas @S> bhlo. With 
the former cp. Deut. xxviii. 60 (Heb. and LXX). The corresponding Heb. of the original may 
therefore have been 7970 332 paam, But the Syr. rests on a variant 7}17 32 83M) which has greater 
inherent probability since we have in Dan. ix. 13 AN2 nxt ΠΡ 5s, and we know that Dan. ix. 7-19 
is the source from which phraseology is largely derived in Bar. i. 15-ii. 17. (5) In ii. 7 LXX 
ἃ ἐλάλησεν κύριος ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς, πάντα τὰ κακὰ ταῦτα ἃ ἦλθεν ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς. The original Heb. evidently was 
Ὅλον ANST NN ΠΡ ΟΞΓΤΙΝ Ὅλον Taq mm ΡΝ, Here Syr. renders the opening Heb. WS by ‘inasmuch 
AIS? Ὁ 5 τ bess ers λον Sfx ‘inasmuch as the Lord [our God] has declared concerning us all 
these evils which have come upon us’. This rendering of the relat. in Heb. is not only more 
accurate but brings with it better construction and sense. It is obviously not based on the Greek 
but on the Heb. original. (6) Another striking example may be found in ch. i. 9, on which consult 
the commentary. (7) Examples of dependence on a Hebrew original, sometimes on a variant 
corruption, may also be found in the document B (Bar. iii. g-iv. 4), e.g. iii. 16 ody for ὑοῦ, 18 TDD 
for 170. On these instances the notes should be consulted ; also on iii. 21, 23, 34, 35. In not a few 
cases we have inferior renderings, and in a large number of passages indicated in the notes we have 
expansions ' in the Syriac text itself, evidently in some cases added in later copies. But in some of 
the modifications introduced into the Syriac we may probably see primitive influences. And this 
concerns the document C (iv. 5—-v. 9) as well as A and B. 


* The most natural explanation ot tnese variants and expansions is to be found in Prof. Sanday’s article in 
Studies in the Synoptic Problem, pp. 17 foll., in which he describes the physical conditions under which a scribe or 
copyist worked with the roll, not spread out before him on a desk, but deposited in its scvivdum or capsa for inter- 
mitter.t reference. A good example of a variant thus caused may be found in Bar. iv. 16 (on which see note). Still 
more would variations occur when we have to deal with translations and not copies. Here subtle motives would also 
co-operate, enhanced in the case of a rendering which was more or less paraphrastic. ὃ 


578 


INTRODUCTION 


We have therefore sufficient indications to show that the original author of the Syriac version 
as represented in Walton’s Polyglott and Lagarde’s edition made use of the Hebrew original of A 
and B, and not exclusively of the Greek translation as Kneucker insists (p. 163 f.). That it rested 
also on G Kneucker shows from many examples. Perhaps the most significant is to be found in 
iii. 32, in which κτηνῶν τετραπόδων corresponds to M2 in the Heb. original (cf. Exod. ix. 9, 10) 
This is the word which Delitzsch employs in his Heb. N. T. for τετράποδα in Acts x. 12. But Syr. 
has no corresponding word, and so there renders ᾿ς» Ksaoly J¥&2S just as in Bar. iii. 22. Jess 
δι Mroily Cp. i. 14 note. 

Accordingly the conclusion to which we are guided is analogous to that to which Cornill was 
led in his memorable critical edition of Ezekiel (1886) when dealing with the Peshitta: ‘It is 
apparent at every stage that S has rendered its Heb. original freely, and does not contemplate 
a literal translation’ (p. 148). This will be found abundantly illustrated in the notes on Baruch, 
where additions and variations of phrase will be found, ‘additions of the most varied character’ 
(p. 150). ‘Sis no pure recension but a mixed one. In the first place LXX has exercised over it 
an important influence’ (p. 153). A similar result is even recorded in far different conditions and 
a very different field, where divergences of rendering are naturally restricted, viz. in Genesis, by 
Hanel in his careful investigation of the Peshitta (‘ Die aussermasoretischen Ubereinstimmungen zw. 
der Septuaginta und der Peshitta in der Genesis’). This writer shows from a large number of 
instances that S is there based not only on LXX but also on a Heb. text which stands considerably 
nearer to the LXX than the Massoretic version (pp. 68 foll.).! 

From slight yet significant indications we may derive some inference as to the date of the Syriac 
version in its origin. 

(a) In Bar. v. 2 Jerusalem is exhorted to put on the diadem (μίτρα), but when we turn to the 
Syr. we find the diadem is exchanged for the military helmet (Jhicam as in 1 Sam. xvii. 5, Eph. 
vi.17). Again, in v. 5 ‘by tents’ takes the place of ‘on the height’. 

(6) We note the expansion given in Syr. of iv. 31, 32: ‘The cities shall be in dread that treated 
thee ill and rejoiced in thy downfall. The cities shall be in terror that enslaved thy sons. Thou 
shalt rejoice in their downfall. They shall be alarmed who treated thee ill. She shall be in dread who 
received thy sons.’ An extra clause is added. The last clause refers to Rome specially, which we 
know possessed a large population of Jews (cf. Juven. Sav. iii. 12-16 and Schiirer®, vol. iii, p. 35). 
The cities to which reference is here made are probably those to which the large number, to which 
Josephus refers, was deported. See above under § 7 (ii). 

From these indications, of which (a) is the more significant, we infer that the Syriac version 
arose at a time when there was a considerable reawakening of the martial spirit of revolt against 
Rome. This points to a date about 130 B.C. and after, when the struggle, headed by Bar Cocheba, 
| was impending—the last uprising of Judaism against the power of Rome. At that time a large 
| population of Jews (considerably augmented by those who had escaped from Judaea under the 

Flavian dynasty) had settled down in the Euphrates lands. Among these Jews Syriac versions, not 
only of the O.T. but also of such works as the Book of Baruch, would find ready acceptance. The 
reader who has studied Prof. Burkitt's Zar/y Eastern Christianity (see esp. pp. 75 foll.) will not find 
this date unreasonably early. Lastly, we know that the Jews were persecuted under Trajan, and 
that before the outbreak of Bar Cocheba’s rebellion Rabbi Akiba made a final journey throughout 
Parthia and Asia Minor and preached against Hadrian and his legions (see art. Akiba in 
Hastings’s Exc. R.£.) The Syriac version in its earliest form may have arisen 132 A.D. 

III. We have two ancient Latin versions, (a) the Vetws Latina a, sometimes called the 
‘Itala, which also included Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, 1 and 2 Macc., Prayer of Manasseh, and 
fourth Esdras. That this version originated before the time of Jerome is evident from the fact that 
Cyprian (Zest. adversus Fud. ii. 6) quotes Bar. iii. 35-7 and Tertullian (Adv. Praxean 16) makes 
a reference to verse 37. The version was, however, incorporated into the Vulgate. Fritzsche 
in Schenkel’s Bibel-lexicon characterizes the style of the /¢a/a as a patois full of provincialisms and 
violations of grammatical and syntactical rules. Not a few Greek terms are retained in Latin form. 
The careful investigation of this version by Kneucker (pp. 143-9) shows how closely the Greek 
version is followed, but not the exact text of any existing codex. (6) Vetus Latina ὦ was first 
published at Rome in 1688 by Jos. Caro from an old MS. Since then it has been republished by 
| Sabatier in the Bidhiotheca Casinensis, vol. i (1873), on the basis of three additional MSS. Where 

Vet. Lat. a differs from the Greek text, Vet. Lat. follows the latter. It is, however, also clear that 
Vet. Lat. 6 follows in a considerable number of details Ver. Lat. a, but has a better Latin style. 


1 Also Burkitt (κε. Bibd., ‘Text and Versions,’ Peshitta, § 60) remarks that the Syr. Ecclesiasticus is partly 
a rendering of the Hebrew. 


579 


THE! BOOK) OF BARUCH 


IV. The Aradic version contained in Walton’s Polyglott closely adheres to the Greek text. 
Kneucker has shown in his detailed examination (pp. 177 foll.) that in the vast majority of instances 
G* is followed and not G*. 

V. The Ethiopic version similarly is based on G* in abbreviated form. It is contained in 
Dillmann’s Biblia Vet. Test. Aethiopica, vol. v (1894). 

VI. The Coftic version was first published in 1870 by Father Bsciai (see Kneucker 7 /oc.) in an 
edition on the basis of the Cairo codex of the Prophets. Brugsch published subsequently (1872-4) 
a Sahidic (Thebaic) version of the Book of Baruch (including the Epistle of Jeremiah) in Lepsius’ 
Zeitschrift fir agyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde, series x, pp. 134-6; Xi, pp. 18-21; xii, 
pp. 46-9, from a careful, though not faultless, copy made by the learned Copt Kabis. We have 
also an edition by Schulte, 1892 (pp. 37-9). This version, like the Arabic and Eth., adheres on 
the whole to G‘, though there are omzsstons of individual words such as καί and of particles and 
pronouns, and even of phrases, and there are also additions. 

VII. The Armenian version likewise follows, with few exceptions, G*. 


§ 10. INFLUENCE ON CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH LITERATURE. 


The influence of the book on ecclesiastical Christian literature has been far greater than 
upon the Jewish. We have already referred to the use made by Athenagoras of Bar. iti. 35 (see § 8, 
ad fin.), as well as by Irenaeus, who quotes (Adv. Haeres. v. 35) the passage in Bar. iv. 36—-v. 9 as the 
words of Jeremiah. It seems at this time to have been assumed that because Baruch was the 
secretary of the prophet, and wrote out many of his discourses, the Book of Baruch must have 
also contained the utterances of Jeremiah. Thus Clemens Alexandr. (Paedag. I. x. g1-2) cites 
several passages from the Book of Baruch as the words of Jeremiah. Hippolytus, in his treatise 
Contra Noétum, takes note of the fact that Noétus and his followers make use of the passage Bar. 
iii. 35-7 as a support to their patripassian views of Christology. On the other hand, Origen, like 
Melito, follows the Jewish Canon, and so ignores what Roman Catholic theologians (including the 
latest commentator Schneedorfer) call the Deutero-Canonical books (Apocrypha), though Lamenta- 
tions and Epistle of Jeremiah are included in the canonized writings. It is probable, however, that 
(as in the case of Clemens Al.) he included the Book of Baruch under Jeremiah, since he cites the 
oft-quoted Bar. iii. 38 in his Commentary on St. Fohn’s Gospel, and also Bar. iii. g-13 in his Ferem. 
Homil. vii. 5. Similarly his pupil, Dionysius of Alexandria, quotes Bar. iii. 14, 15, while Apos¢. Const. 
cite Bar. iv. 4. So also references are to be found in Tertullian and Cyprian. Lactantius cites Bar. 
iii. 36 f. as the words of Jeremiah along with citations from Isaiah and the Psalms (7)ι52, iv. 38). 
Ephrém Syr. regarded Bar., as well as the other Apocrypha, as Scripture. 

Yet in fact many Greek Fathers of the fourth century separated the Apocryphal (or so-called 
Deutero-Canonical) writings from the Canonical. Baruch, however, formed an exception, since it 
was treated as an appendix to Jeremiah, and so formed part of what Athanasius calls κανονιζόμενα 
καὶ παραδοθέντα, πιστευθέντα τε θεῖα εἶναι βιβλία. Similarly, Cyril of Jerusalem and the Provincial 
Synod of Laodicea. Thus we find Chrysostom frequently quoting passages from Baruch as words 
‘of the prophet’ or Jeremiah. 

As we follow the Zatz Fathers from Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrosius onwards we find a 
similar tradition. On the other hand Jerome, who studied and followed Hebrew tradition, forms a 
unique exception. He separates the Book of Baruch, together with the Epistle of Jeremiah, from the 
book of the prophet Jeremiah as non-Canonical: ‘Librum autem Baruch notarii eius, qui apud 
Hebraeos nec legitur nec habetur, praetermisimus.’ This is the more remarkable since in subsequent 
times Pope Felix III, Cassiodorus, and others cite Baruch as authoritative scripture. In the Latin 
Bible (as revised by Jerome) Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah are omitted. Thus they are not to 
be found in the Cod. Amiatinus, the oldest known MS. of the Vulgate. On the other hand, at the 
Council of Trent it was recognized as part of the O.T. among other Deutero-Canonical books. Our 
English Bible follows the Protestant tradition in placing it among the Apocrypha as non-Canonical. 
For further detail we would refer to Reusch’s work, pp. 2-21, and to Schiirer, G¥ V’, iii, p. 342 f. 
Among Protestant German divines till Ewald there was a tendency to depreciate the value of the book. 

With reference to the Book of Baruch as a part of Fezwzsh literature, we have already shown 
that there are strong grounds for the belief that a Hebrew original of Bar. i. 1-iv. 4 existed for a 
time among the Jewish communities of the Diaspora during the last quarter of the first century, and 
that the rest of the book must have been published within that period in Greek. During the early 
part of the second century the whole must have circulated in Greek and somewhat later in Aramaic 
{among the Jewish settlements of Mesopotamia). But the history of the book both then and later 
among the Jewish communities is most obscure. Probably the note of complaisance towards the 


580 


INTRODUCTION 


Roman power in ch. i. 1-iii. 8 did not commend the book to Jews after the suppression of Bar 
Cocheba’s insurrection in A.D. 135. The testimony of the Apostolic Constitutions (v.20) that on 
the 10th of the month Gorpiaeus it was read along with the Lamentations of Jeremiah as a portion 
in Jewish worship is subject to some difficulty, as we are unable to identify the date assigned with 
that of the Jewish Calendar, though the statement is confirmed by a reference to synagogue-worship 
accompanied by a citation of Bar. iv. 9 in Ephrém Syrus. See Schiirer, G¥V*%, iii, p. 342. The 
express statement of Jerome (Preface to Jerem.) that in his day the Book of Baruch and the Epistle 
of Jeremiah were‘ not read among the Hebrews’ would lead us to the conclusion that in the fourth 
century A.D. both had ceased to have any recognized place in current Jewish religious literature. 


§ 11. THE RELIGIOUS IDEAS OF THE BOOK OF BARUCH. 


Since the book is composite in authorship and tendency, it cannot be said to present in its 
three documents any uniformity of ideas, except in certain positive general features common to all 
three parts and also in the general absence of others to which allusion will be made. 

(a) Doctrine of God. In all the three documents God is recognized as the absolute ruler of 
Israel’s destiny, the fountain of righteousness and power, i. 15, 19, ii. 6, iii. 1, 32 foll. The docu- 
ment B (iii. g-iv. 4) naturally emphasizes God’s wisdom and universal knowledge (iii. 32-7). On 
the other hand, God’s mercy, which listens to the cry of His people, is assumed throughout the 
penitential supplication of i. 15-111. 8, and is expressly affirmed in il. 35, ili. 2. These features are, 
however, most prominent in document C (iv. 5-v. 9), which is greatly influenced by the Deutero- 
Isaiah, in which God’s love and mercy to His people is the dominant theme. This divine compassion 
is the ground of the repeated exhortation ‘Be of good cheer’. ‘He that called thee by name will 
comfort thee.’ This document C is specially characterized by the designation of God as ‘ Ever- 
lasting’ (αἰώνιος), iv. 22, 35, v. 2, and as ‘Holy One’, iv. 29. On the other hand, when we turn to 
the document A (i. 2, 3 ὁ- 11. 8), Lord God (nds mm) is the usual combination, frequently with the 
Ist pers. plur. added, ‘ Lord our God.’ In fact ‘Lord’ (= 7’) belongs to this document and not 
to the other two. To this in two passages (iii. 1, 4) is added the epithet ‘Almighty’ (παντοκράτωρ, 
Heb. niway) or ‘ All-ruler’ (iii. 1, 4). See Gifford’s Introd. ad fin. 

(ὁ) The doctrine of Sin and of Szzffering as the divinely inflicted chastisement for sin is strongly 
emphasized throughout ihe book, especially in i. 13, 18-ii. 10, 22 foll., iii, 10-13, iv. 6-8, 12, 13. 
Moreover, the sin of the fathers is visited in chastisement on the children, though the obverse doctrine 
of merit through the righteousness of ancestors which plays so large a part in Jewish Soteriology 
(cp. Matt. iii. 9, Weber, Fiidische Theologie, § 63) is repudiated in 11. 19. 

(c) Silence on other points of doctrine. One is impressed by a certain meagreness in the religious 
conceptions presented to us in this brief book. In this respect it stands sharply contrasted with the 
wealth of ideas contained in 2 Baruch, i.e. the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch. Of the Angelology of the 
latter (2 Bar. vi. 4 f., vii, viii, temple destroyed by angels, with which the Epistle to the nine and a 
half tribes should be compared, Ixxx. 1,2 in Charles’s ed. of 2 Bar.) we have not a trace, nor have we 
mention of Sirens, Liliths, and dragons (2 Bar. x. 8); only a stray reference to demons in 1 Bar. iv. 35, 
a borrowed feature. Even the Messianic element prominent in 2 Bar. (xxix. 3-8, xxxix. 7) is con- 
spicuous by its absence, as in fact are apocalyptic and eschatological ideas generally. Ofthe resurrec- 
tion of the righteous, to which 2 Bar. alludes (xxx), not a word is said in 1 Bar., though we cannot 
go so far as to assert (with Toy in Fewish Encycl.) that it is denied in ii. 17, where the language 
respecting the dead in Shedl is merely an echo of Ps. cxv. 17. Nor have we the pessimistic forecast 
of a coming age of decay such as we find in 2 Bar. xxxi. 5, xxxii. 5, 6 (cf. Epistle to the nine and 


a half tribes, 1xxxiii. 9-23, Ixxxv. 10). The 2 Baruch and the Epistle to the nine and a half 
tribes evidently belong to a school and atmosphere of thought entirely different from that of 


I Baruch. 
(d) Great message of document B. Ch. iii. g-iv. 4, with its praise of Wisdom embodied in the 


' Torah, strikes the highest note that meets the ear throughout the whole book. There is something 


profoundly impressive and pathetic in the closing verses of this document which direct Israel's 


thoughts away from his national humiliation, the temple-ruins and the vanished material pomp of 


religious ritual, to the eternal glory of that wisdom enshrined in the Torah which was to be Israel's 
inalienable possession for ever: ‘Turn thee, O Jacob, and take hold of it: walk toward her shining in 
the presence of the light thereof.’ We can afford to miss the grandiose and bizarre effects of apocalyptic 
as we stand in the clear sunlight of this sublime utterance. In place of the ruined temple the broad 
universe is the ‘house of God’ (iii. 24, 25). 


581 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 


$12. SELECTED LITERATURE. 


The articles on the Book of Baruch in the Excyc/. Bibl, Hastings’s DB,‘ Encycl. Brit. (11th ed.), Jewish Encycl., 
and in PRE*, i, p. 640f. under ‘ Apocryphen des A.T.’—Perhaps the most complete and useful is by SCHURER, G/ V3, 
ili, pp. 338-44. 

ἀπ 35 commentaries specially to be mentioned are FRITZSCHE, E-xegetisches Handbuch zu den Apocryphen, 
Leipz., 1851; REUSCH, Zrklarung des Buches Baruch (1853), which is from the Roman Catholic standpoint, useful 
for its survey of the book’s place in patristic literature, [also from same standpoint Das Buch Jeremias, des Propheten 
Klagelieder u. das Buch Baruch by SCHNEEDORFER (1903)]; EWALD in Die Propheten des Alten Bundes, iii (Die 
jiingsten Propheten). The most important, however, is that by KNEUCKER (1879), which contains not only an 
ample Introduction but also a very complete textual apparatus with a careful examination of the different versions, 
a full commentary, a translation, and a reproduction of the original Hebrew. In English should be specially — 
mentioned the Commentary on the Apocrypha, edited by Dr. Wace, to which the Ven. E. H. Gifford, D.D., contributes 
the commentary on the Book of Baruch. Lastly, Die Apocryphen des A.T., by KAUTZSCH, to which ROTHSTEIN — 
contributes Baruch, will be found useful and suggestive. 

Among other contributions we should mention HITZIG, Zeitsch. fiir wissensch. Theol., 1860, pp. 262-73; 
HILGENFELD, 767d., 1862, pp. 199-203 ; 1879, pp. 437-543; 1880, pp. 412-22, and KNEUCKER, 76id., 1880, pp. 309-23; 
GRATZ, ‘Abfassungszeit und Bedeutung des Buches Baruch,’ Monatsch. fiir Gesch. τε. Wissensch. des Judenthums, — 
ili. 1887, pp. 5-20. 


Attention should have been drawn above under § 2 to the two parts of the confession of Israel, noted in his 
article by Dr. Marshall. The jst and shorter portion (i. 15—ii. 5) appears to have been intended more especially 
for use by the inhabitants of Judah. Hence the distinction in ii. 4 ‘round about ws . . . hath scattered chem’. The 
second patt (ii. 6-111. 8) is the confession more especially of the exiles. Hence in ii. 13, iii. 8 ‘scattered ws’. This 
distinction is useful since it accounts for the repetition of phrase in the two parts, e.g. i. 15 and ii. 6; ii. 4 and ii. 13 
(iii. 8). Both portions obviously proceeded from the same hand, rested on like presuppositions (such as the solidarity 
of Israel and Judah), and are based very largely on Danielic phraseology. 


=) a ae oP eae a yy Ὰ 


2 = 


582 


PIE BOOK OF BARUCH 


1 And these are the words of the book, which Baruch the son of Nerias, the son of Maaseas, the 


᾿ 2 son of Sedekias, the son of Asadias, the son of Helkias, wrote in Babylon, in the fifth year, avd in 
the seventh day of the month, what time as the Chaldeans took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire. 

|} 3 And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias the son of Joakim king of 
| 4 Judah, and in the hearing of all the people that came to ear the book, and in the hearing of the 
| mighty men, and of the kings’ sons, and in the hearing of the elders, and in the hearing of all the 
people, from the least unto the greatest, even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud. 
6 And they wept, and fasted, and prayed before the Lord; they made also a collection of money 
| 7 according to every man’s power: and they sent 22 to Jerusalem unto Joakim the igh priest, the 
| son of Helkias, the son of Salom, and to the priests, and to all the people which were found with 
| 8 him at Jerusalem, at the same time when he took the vessels of the house of the Lord, that had been 
| carried out of the temple, to return tem into the land of Judah, the tenth day of the month Sivan, 


TITLE. G SHex. Baruch; S ‘In addition the Second Ep. of Baruch the Scribe’; S (Lag.) ‘ The Second Epistle’ ; Arm. 
‘Ep. of Baruch’ ; Vet. Lat. a ὁ ‘ Prophecy of Baruch’ ; Copt. ‘Baruch the prophet’. [The ‘Second Ep.’ in S title refers by 
implication to the earlier preceding Ep. in S addressed by Baruch to the nine and a half tribes beyond the Euphrates. } 

INTRODUCTION 1-14 [1, 3@ belong to document B; 2, 3 4-14, excluding redactional insertions, to document A]. 

1. On the personal details respecting Baruch see Ency. Bibl, sub voce, and cf. Joseph. Anz. x. 9. 1, Kneucker 
Introd., pp. 2 foll. J/aaseas here is obviously the Mahséiah of Jer. xxxii. 12; Asadzas is the Hebr. Hasadiah. We find 
the name in 1 Chron. ili. 20. In S, through omission of the opening character and the frequent confusion of 1 and 7, the 
name takes the form μα. This form of the name may, however, have arisen through Jer. li. 59. Baruch’s genealogy 
is here traced further back than Mahséiah (Jer. xxxii.12). 5. reads ‘to Babylon’, as though the letter were dispatched 
_ from Palestine. How this may have textually arisen has been already explained, Introd., ὃ 9 (ii. Syr. Version). In 

this way the so-called Second Ep. (in S) accords with the preceding epistle addressed to the nine and a half tribes 
beyond the Euphrates (cf. Title above), which is given in Walton’s Po/yg/. and as an addendum in Charles's 4foc. of 
Baruch, pp. 124 foll. 

2. The omission of the numeral before μηνός is certainly unusual, and points either to a defective original or to an 
| omission by the translator. S leads us to the conclusion that the omission belonged to the original. We have no 
- warrant, therefore, for the insertion of the name of the month Sivan (with Ewald). 

In Ezek. i. 2, viii. 1, &c., the years are reckoned from the date of the first capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar 
when Jehoiachin was made prisoner (597 B.C.). In this year, however, Jerusalem was not burnt, but in the subsequent 
and final capture when the temple was destroyed 587-586 B.c. (cf. Bar. ii. 26). It is from this date, therefore (with 
. Fritzsche, as against Eichhorn and others), the fifth year should be reckoned. See Introd., § 4. 

3, 4. The language reminds us of 2 Kings xxiii. 2; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 30. πρὸς τὴν βίβλον, i.e. to hear the book. βίβλος 
instead of βιβλίον in 3a. Similarly βίβλος in iv. 1. We know nothing of the locality of Sud. Grotius conjectures 

that it refers to the city Soita. Bochart would emend to Sw, i.e. the city Sora. S, in fact, renders ‘river of Sar’, 


_ which may be founded on the original 1)¥, but it is precarious to base a conclusion on the Syr. treatment of proper 


| names. Cheyne’s suggestion of Shihor (in Ezcy. δ 164.) is pure conjecture. L and Ar. follow G in reading Sud; so 
also characteristically SHe. 


5. With the phraseology comp. 2 Chron. xxiv. 5, 11; Lev. v. 7, &c. 
7. ἱερέα (as contrasted with following ἱερεῖς) is used in the pregnant sense of the head-priest of the Jerusalem 
ἢ sanctuary as in 1 Kings iv. 2; 2 Kings xi. 9, xii. 8; cf. Lev. xili.2; Num. iii. 6; Neh. xili. 4; 1 Chron. xvi. 39, ἄς. 
| (cf. 1 Macc. xv. 1). In assigning this position to Joakim the writer departs from earlier tradition. According to 
I Chron. v. 39 the succession of High Priests was Shallum, Hilkiah, Azariah, Seraiah. Esdras (A) viii. 1 interpolates 
‘Zichri between Hilkiah and Azariah. In only quite late times we find a tradition (in Joseph. «1712. xi. 5. 1) that on the 
| death of Darius a certain Jehoiakim, son of Jeshua, was High Priest contemporary with Ezra. But this was more 
|than 120 years after the time to which this passage refers. The chief priest in Jerusalem at the time of its final over- 
ἢ throw (587-586 B.C.) was Seraiah, 2 Kings xxv. 18 (= Jer. lii. 24). 
8. As already shown (Introd., ὃ 4) the reference of αὐτόν is vague. ‘He’ might be referred to Joakim (Jehoiakim) 

of the preceding verse (so Herzfeld, Hilgenfeld, &c.). But this is evidently not intended. Baruch, the subject of 
|.\verse 3, is meant, since his presence in Babylon and not in Judaea fits the situation (so Fritzsche, Reusch, Ewald, 
_ | Havernick, Hitzig, and Kneucker). ry ; 

|. The restoration of the vessels to Jerusalem is another departure from the older tradition. According to the latter, 
_ | the vessels which had been carried off by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings xxiv. 13, 1. 6. 597 B.C., and xxv. 14f., i.e. 586 B.C.) 
ες restored by Cyrus (Ezra i. 7-11). The statement in this verse seems to ignore Jeremiah’s polemic against 
Hananiah and the false prophets (Jer. xxvii. 16, xxviii. 3, xxix. 4). Zedekiah’s preparation of silver vessels is another 
 jaddition to the later story. The angelic vision in 2 Bar. vi. 4-10 respecting the concealment of the furniture of 

Πα Holy of Holies is another example of the freedom with which later writers dealt with history. The month Sivan 
ἵ \(May-June) belongs in origin to the Babylonian Calendar (Schrader, COT, ii, p. 69 f.), borrowed by exilian and 
|post-exilian Judaism and made the third month of their ecclesiastical year. It is mentioned in the late post-exilian 
_ \Esther viii. 9. S reads here Nisan and om. ‘silver’ (perhaps as derogatory to national dignity), 


583 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 1. 9-20 


g xamely, silver vessels, which Sedekias the son of Josias king of Judah had made, after that Nabu- 
chodonosor king of Babylon had carried away Jechonias, and the princes, and the captives, and the 
το mighty men, and the people of the land, from Jerusalem, and brought them unto Babylon. And 
they said, Behold, we have sent you money ; buy you therefore with the money burnt offerings, and 
sin offerings, and incense, and prepare an oblation, and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God; 
11 and pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and for the life of Baltasar his son, that 
12 their days may be as the days of heaven above the earth : and the Lord will give us strength, and 
lighten our eyes, and we shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and 
under the shadow of Baltasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favour in their } 
13 sight. Pray for us also unto the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord our God; and 
14 unto this day the wrath of the Lord and his indignation is not turned from us. And ye shall read — 
this book which we have sent unto you, to make ‘confession in the house of the Lord, upon the day — 
of the feast and on the days of the solemn assembly. er 
15 And ye shall say, To the Lord our God delongeth righteousness, but unto us confusion of face,as 
16 at this day, unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to our kings, and to 
17 Our princes, and to our priests, and to our prophets, and to our fathers: for that we have sinned — 
18 before the Lord, and disobeyed him, and have not hearkened unto the. voice of the Lord our God, 
19 to walk in the commandments of the Lord that he hath set before us: since the day that the Lord © 
brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, unto this present day, we have been disobedient unto 
20 the Lord our God, and we have dealt unadvisedly in not hearkening unto his voice. Wherefore the 
plagues clave unto us, and the curse, which the Lord commanded Moses his servant Zo pronounce in 


9. Obviously an echo of Jer. xxiv. 1. There δεσμώτας corresponds to the doubtful word 73D = ‘ prison’ (Isa. xxiv. _ 
22, xlii. 7; Ps. cxlii. 8), and there applied apparently to those who are imprisoned. The ‘ people of the land’ corre- 
sponds to }J87 OY of Zech. vii. 5, but meaning here, as in 2 Kings xxiv. 14, Jer. i. 18, Dan. ix. 6, the common people Ἥ 
as opposed to the aristocracy (in Zech. the laity as distinguished from the priesthood). S varies considerably after 

‘princes’, viz. ‘and the officers and the workmen and the armies from Jerusalem’. Here ‘the workmen’ (rexviras = 
wonij) takes the place of ‘ the people of the land’ in ἃ and Syr.-Hex., and stands in closer accord with both Jer. xxiv. 1 
and the history of the year 597 B.C. (comp. 2 Kings xxiv. 14). We are in fact led to conclude that S here rather than 
G is based on the original Hebrew text. ri, 

10. μάννα (more correctly Bees in many codd.), ‘oblation’, is obviously an attempt to reproduce the Hebr. 1219 . 
Jer. xvii. 26, xli. 5. ποιήσατε, ‘prepare’, is a literal rendering of the Hebr. ONY), as in Exod. xxix. 36, &c., Lev. ix. 


7, XV. 15. Similarly καὶ ἀνοίσατε, ‘and offer’, most probably corresponds to ὉΠ ΠῚ (Jer. xxxiii. 18 G*; Exod. xxiv. 5, 
xxx. 9; Lev. xiv. 20, &c.). 

11. The exhortation to pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar reflects the tone of prophecy in Jeremiah and Ezekiel 
towards Babylonia. In later exilian prophecy the tone becomes embittered (Isa. xlvii, Jer. 1, 11, contrasted with — 
Jer. xxvil. 6-8, xxix. 4-7; Ezek. xxvi. 7-12, xxix. 17-20). προσεύξασθε περὶ... seems an echo of ‘Jer. Xxix. 7 (xxxvi. 7 
G*). On the historical questions involved see Introd., § 8. 

Baltasar appears in Dan. y. 1 as Belshazzar (H, in Goand@ Baltasar). Both here and in Daniel we have the 
same confusion of names. Belshazzar (in Babyl. Bél-sar-usur, ‘ Bel, protect the king’) was son of Nabonidus 
(Wabi-naid, ‘ Nebo is gracious’), the last Babylonian king, not of Nebuchadnezzar (as in Dan. v. 2, 13, 18, 22, and in” 
the present passage). ; 

12. S introduces characteristic variations in the opening of the verse, ‘and that the Lord grant unto us that we may 
serve him.’ 7 

13. ἀπέστρεψεν (‘is . . . turned’) is here intransit., whereas in verse 8 above ἀποστρέψαι is transit. On this ten- | 
dency of transit. Greek verbs to become intransit., see Radermacher, W77Ziche Gram. (1911), pp. 18 foll.; comp. — 
below, 11. 8. The Hebrew equivalent may be easily restored from Isa. ix. II, 16, &c. (G Eaonecias lv. 10, Vize 
Woy A FN 3 Av NP. S adds ‘our God’ to ‘Lord’ in all three cases where the Deity is mentioned. This — 
combination is the usual formula in 1 Baruch. ; 

14. make confession (ἐξαγορεῦσαι), evidently the rendering of nimnnd, as in Lev. v. 7, xvi. 21; Num. v. 7. καιρός 
here stands for ἽΝ) in the sense of festival season or ‘solemn assembly’ (πανήγυρις), Whereas ἑορτή, ‘feast’, is the 
translation of 9. Comp. Hos. ix. 5, xii. 10. But while SH: reproduces here G, S has ‘days of the Lord’. This is 
evidently due to the influences of a corrupted Greek text (κυρίου for καιροῦ). G®S ἡμέρᾳ... - ἡμέραις, but G*ange har- 
monize by reading plur. in both cases, L by reading sing. S, moreover, introduces additions, ‘ make confession ot 
behalf of us in the Lord’s house before the Lora, ϊ 


CONFESSION OF THE PALESTINIAN REMNANT, i. I5-ii. 5 (document A. See note on p. 582). 

15-18 is closely modelled on Dan. ix. 7-10, yet abbreviated. 

15. as at this day is the familiar Hebr. aya DID in 1 Kings viii. 24 and Dan. ix. 7. On this pregnant use of 2 
in Hebrew see Gesen.-Kautzsch, Hebr. Gr,” § 118.6; comp. below, ii. 26 note. 

17. before the Lord. ἔναντι G® belongs to the κοινή, Radermacher, W7Viche Gram., p.117. G** ἐναντίον ; ‘for that 
we have sinned,’ ἅς, = (” 2D) mms NON Wr, ΘΠ: ᾿χὶ 8. til. 

19. On xebidCouer (G4 ἐσχεδιάσαμεν), a ἀπ. εἰρ. in LXX (é dealt unadvisedly’), see Introd., § 9, ii (Syr. Vers.). 
S and Dan. ix. 5, 11 clearly show that we have in Ga rendering based on a corrupt text. Translate: ‘We have rebelled 
in not hearkening ...’ ἐσχεδιάζομεν arose out of the corruption of 13771) into 137719, ; 

20. clave (ἐκολλήθη). A strong phrase which occurs again in iii. 4. This and other expressions in this verse are 


584 


THE BOOK Or BARUCH LT 202) 13 

the day that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, to give us a land that floweth with 

21 milk and honey, as at this day. Nevertheless we hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord our 

22 God, according unto all the words of the prophets, whom he sent unto us: but we walked every 

man in the imagination of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do that which is evil 

2 1 in the sight of the Lord our God. Therefore the Lord hath made good his word, which he pro- 

nounced against us, and against our judges that judged Israel, and against our kings, and against 

2 our princes, and against the men of Israel and Judah, to bring upon us great plagues, such as never 

happened under the whole heaven, as it came to pass in Jerusalem, according to the things that 

3 are written in the law of Moses; that we should eat every man the flesh of his own son, and every 

4 man the flesh of his own daughter. Moreover he hath given them to be in subjection to all the 

kingdoms that are round about us, to be a reproach and a desolation among all the people round 

5 about, where the Lord hath scattered them. Thus were they cast down, and not exalted, because 

6 we sinned against the Lord our God, in not hearkening unto his voice. To the Lord our God 

7 belongeth righteousness : but unto us and to our fathers confusion of face, as at this day. 207 all 

g these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord hath pronounced against us. Yet have we not 

intreated the favour of the Lord, in turning every one from the thoughts of his wicked heart. 

g Therefore hath the Lord kept watch over the plagues, and the Lord hath brought them upon us; 

το for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he hath commanded us. Yet we have not hearkened 
unto his voice, to walk in the commandments of the Lord that he hath set before us. 

11 And now, O Lord, thou God of Israel, that hast brought thy people out of the land of Egypt 

with a mighty hand, and with signs, and with wonders, and with great power, and with a high arm, 

12 and hast gotten thyself a name, as at this day: O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done 

13 ungodly, we have dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances. Let thy wrath turn from us: for we 


obviously Deuteronomic, cf. Deut. xxvill. 60 (Hebr. and G). In the original there would stand nbsm AYA 33 pawn 
(cf. also Dan. ix. 11). But S has a variant which is more probable. See Introd., ὃ 9, ii (Syr. Version). 


21-22 continue in the Deuteronomic strain (esp. of Deut. xxviii) reflected in Dan. ix. 5-17. S contains an inter- 
pretative expansion ‘to do all the words of his servants the prophets’. 


22. (ἢ (followed by Vet. Lat. a and Ar.) wrongly places ἡμῶν instead of αὐτοῦ after καρδίας. 

II. 1-2 follow Dan. ix. 12, 13 with many close resemblances in G to the corresponding version in Dan. of G9, but 
δικαστάς for κριτάς and δικάσαντας for of ἔκρινον. Note ὑπὸ παντὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ common to both, καὶ ἔστησεν... δικά- 
σαντας is almost ἃ literal reproduction of Dan, ix. 12. 5.-Ὁ “πὰ Judah’ in both cases to ‘Israel’. Corresponding to 
ἔστησεν, ‘made good’, we should have the familiar 07%. This Hif. is used in the sense of keeping a command or 


promise by fulfilling it. Cf. verse 24 and Gen. xxvi. 3; Lev. xxvi.g; Deut. ix. 5: 1 Sam. i. 23, xv. 13; I Kings il. 4, 


155 ἘΠῚ τ; Jer. Xi. 5, Xxxili. 14. S proto appears to reproduce the Hebr. original, but this is not a necessary conclu- 
sion; cf. SHex- and Ar. 


ἄνθρωπον “lop. Here Hebr. original would be me WN where WN is used collectively as in Joshua ix. 6 and 
Judg. vii. 23 (where G more correctly has ἀνήρ). ω 

(Δ 3 preserve the full original text, since they add τοῦ ἀγαγεῖν (Q* ἀναγαγεῖν) ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς κακὰ μέγαλα ἅ, ‘to bring upon 
us great plagues such as’, just as in Dan. ix. 12, i.e. in Hebr. original ,. , TWN πο ΠΡ Ὁ seas. So SHex. 


(with asterisks) and Ar. 8, however, has |uiso ek. lo, perhaps based on 77) yody 83%, and after ‘heaven’ 
adds ‘upon all the earth’ (evidently an expansion ; cf. Dan. ix. 12). 


3. ἄνθρωπον, Hebr. YN in sense of ‘every one’. We have here language based on Jer. xix. 9, Deut. xxviii. 53 (cf. 
Lev. xxvi. 29); G* ‘sons’ (plur.); so Ar. S has s¢zg. as G®. 

4. ὑποχειρίους, ‘in subjection’, 172 ΠΝ jn” [cf. Gen. xiv. 20 (H and G)], closely followed in 5. The latter part of 
the verse is an echo of Jer. xlii, 18 (G closely corresponds), ‘reproach and a desolation’, mvs np ; οὗ ἢ 
(cf. verse 13 and Mark i. 7, vii. 25), Heb. DW... WN. : : 

5. Borrowed from Deut. xxviii. 13. 

CONFESSION OF THE EXILED COMMUNITY IN BABYLON, ii. 6-iii. 8 (document A). 

6. Repetition of i. 15 with slight variation. 

7. S renders ‘seeing that the Lord our God hath uttered against us all these evils’, &c., eo SA») Ss» 


dn 
-« ἐκεί 


Eve [yos? Ἱμωο, which is a better rendering of the original Hebr. apy ONat NNW nyindocny sy TiN 734 WR. 
See Introd., ὃ 9, ii (Syr. Vers.). Here, however, 5865: follows Gas usual. On ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη cf. Bar. v. 6 note. 

8. G is here nearly identical with G# in the corresponding portion of Dan. ix. 13. νοημάτων, ‘thoughts’; S wind}, 
‘inclinations’, ‘desires’, as in i. 22 (διανοίᾳ), corresponds to Hebr. NNAWMD, 

9. An almost exact replica of Dan. ix. 14, which in its turn echoes Jer. xliv. 27. Note that for ‘works which he 
hath done’ in the Dan. passage, we have here ‘which he hath commanded us’ (in S \,a99 just as in G and Sher 
Hebr. 33¥). Yahweh is watching over the calamities in order to bring them to pass as retribution for transgression. 

Io. Repeats with variations i. 18, which closely follows Dan. ix. 10, G partly following the Dan. passage in G®. 


11. Reproduces Dan. ix. 15 in its earlier part with Deuteronomic phrases added. Here again G follows the Dan. 
version of (9. 


12. Continues the Danielic phraseology at the close of ix. 15 (cf. 5). 
Geandé in Dan. as rendering of Ὁ ΟΞ. Cf. verse I. 


13. The language is borrowed from Jer. xlii. 2, 72701) by ἽΝ.) ‘D ‘for we are left but a few out of many’ (cf. 
1105 585 Qqg 


G, however, prefers δικαιώματα to the κρίματα of 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 2214-26 


14 are but a few left among the heathen, where thou hast scattered us. Hear our prayer, O Lord, and 
our petition, and deliver us for thine own sake, and give us favour in the sight of them which have 
15 led us away captive: that all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, because Israel 
16 and his posterity is called by thy name. O Lord, look down from thine holy house, and consider 
17 us: incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear: open thine eyes, and behold: for the dead that are in the 
grave, whose breath is taken from their bodies, will give unto the Lord neither glory nor righteousness : 
18 but the soul that is greatly vexed, which goeth stooping and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the 
rg hungry soul, will give thee glory and righteousness, O Lord. For we do not present our supplication 
20 before thee, O Lord our God, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings. For thou hast 
sent thy wrath and thine indignation upon us, as thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, 
21 saying, Thus saith the Lord, Bow your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon, and remain in the 
22 land that I gave unto your fathers. But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king 
23 of Babylon, I will cause to cease out of the cities of Judah, and from without Jerusalem, the voice 
of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the 
24 whole land shall be desolate without inhabitant. But we would not hearken unto thy voice, to serve 
the king of Babylon: therefore hast thou made good thy words that thou spakest by thy servants 
the prophets, zamely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out 
25 of their places. And, lo, they are cast out to the heat by day, and to the frost by night, and they 
26 died in great miseries by famine, by sword, and by pestilence. And the house which is called by 
thy name hast thou laid was¢e,as at this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house 


Deut. iv. 27). ἀπὸ πολλῶν has been accidentally dropped out of G*® and is inserted in 8. ΠΕ" τσ. We are 


justified in restoring 72771) to the Heb. 1 Baruch, since some G codd. (22, 36, 48, 51, and others) retain ἀπὸ πολλ. and its 
omission is indicated in the marg. of SH®=-. S supplies us here with a parallelism: ‘because we have been left a few 
out of many and are scanty among these peoples among whom thou hast scattered us.’ 

14. ἀποικίζω corresponds to NAY (cf. Jer. xliii. 12, H and G). So here S eda. 

15. S adds ‘holy’ to ‘name’. ’ 

16-17. ἐννόησον eis jas = 323 13} (or f2 Dan. ix. 23, G? ἐννοήθητι ἐν). S repeats jam, κάτιδε, ODT (or PWT, Deut. 
XXvVi. 15). 

Hoe . . . thine eyes repeat Dan. ix. 18. On ὧν... αὐτῶν Hebr. relat. cf. verses 4, 13 above. 

We have here the ordinary O. T. teaching of life in Shed] taught in Ps. vi. 6, Ixxxvili. 11, Cxv. 17. πνεῦμα Corre- 
sponds in meaning to O° ΠΥ of Gen. vi. 17 (cf. ONO NW), ii. 7). σπλάγχνα usually corresponds to Hebr. Ὁ ΘΠ 
(cf. 5), but here it is more likely that the original had ὩΣ (as Kneucker suggests). δικαίωμα here = δικαιοσύνη 
(verse 18 ad fin.). Comp. Isa. xlv. 23 foll. The corresponding Hebr. ΠΡῸῪΝ describes ‘that aspect of Yahweh's activity 
which has for its object the salvation of His people’ (Kautzsch in DB, v, p. 683). 

18. ἐπὶ τὸ μέγεθος has caused difficulty to interpreters. S affords no help. Fritzsche rightly suspects that there 
lurks behind it a corrupted Hebr. original. The passage seems to reflect the spirit of Deut. xxviii. 65 f. 

19. καταβάλλυμεν τὸν ἔλεον, ‘present our supplication’, is fairly clear. S paraphrases: ‘We seek from Thy presence 
compassion and cast our supplication in Thy presence.’ It is nearly certain that we have here the rendering of the 
original Hebr. ΠΣ nda WIN, Jer. xxxvili. 26, xlli. 9; Dan. ix. 20, In all these passages G renders 730A 
(which means ‘ pity’ and thence is used in the pregnant sense ‘/ruyer for pity’) by the corresponding ἔλεος, properly 
‘compassion’, ‘ pity’, like the Hebr. equivalent, and similarly used in a pregnant sense. 

This verse exhibits a reaction against the prevalent Jewish doctrine of merit. It is not on account of the 
righteousness of ancestors and kings that we found our claim to divine compassion. See Weber, Jd. Theol., §§ 63 
foll. δικαιώματα, ‘acts of righteousness’ (ΠΡῚΝ) ; comp. Rom. v. 18. 

20. Phraseology borrowed from Jer. xxxvi. 7, 7207) 4&0 ‘wrath and indignation’. So also as in Dan, ix. 6, 
D'N337 712 }ν (G° παιδων, GP δουλων). Here Dan. LXX for ‘servants’ is followed. 

21. Based on Jer. xxvii. 11,12 and xxix. 5 f., ‘bow your shoulders,’ in Hebr. DIINIY 334 (or perhaps D2nIY 27, 
Gen. xlix. 15), reflecting the attitude of Jeremiah and Ezekiel towards Babylonia ; cf. i. 11-12 above. bie 

23 reproduces Jeremiah’s words repeated in Jer. vii. 34, Xvi. 9, xxxiii. 11. εἰς ἄβατον, ‘desolate’, probably = εἰς 
ἐρήμωσιν in Jer. vil. 34, mann ; comp. S }aiauaX. ἀπὸ ἐνοικούντων is an obvious Hebraism, viz. Wi (= av PND, 
Jer. xxxiii. 10). : 

24. ἔστησας, ‘thou hast made good’, cf. ii. 1, 12, note. 

should be taken out, τοῦ ἐξενεχθῆναι = δον πο, Jer. viii. 1. S has also the act., viz. yon (Aph.). 

25. Based on Jer. xxxvi. 30; latter part of the verse follows Jer. xiv. 12, xxxviii. 2. 

sword, famine, pestilence, but in the order ‘famine, sword, pestilence’. That ἀποστολή represents ‘ pestilence ’ 
(027) is clear from Jer. xxxii. 36, where ἀποστολή is given in G. This use of the Greek word appears to arise from 


the use of ἀποστέλλειν as the equivalent of πον when employed as in Jer. xxiv. 1o (H and G) of Yahweh sending 
plagues as chastisement. S and Ar. ‘exile’ appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding of the true meaning 
of ἀποστολή as SHex. marg. indicates. 

26. οὗ... ἐπὶ ait@. Heb. relat. constr. as in ii. 4,13. There are no sufficient grounds, as Kneucker alleges, for 
regarding the first part of this verse as not genuine. Of the genuineness of the entire verse we have clear evidence in 
its thoroughly Hebraic diction. Not only the relat. construction already noted, but also ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη reflects the 
pregnant use of 3 (Gesen.-Kautzsch, Hebr. Gr.®, § 118. 6, cf. Hos. ii. 5, 17, ix. 9, xii. 10). Moreover, the verse 
stands in full harmony with i. 2. The mere fact of repetitions of phrase (Kneucker cites i. 15, ii. 15) constitutes no 
argument against genuineness in a document crowded with repetition. 


586 


LE Ὑ ὙΨΥΨΥ, ᾿ς 


ae ee) we reed Freee eee 


ERLE sae af eA eaesy 


THE BOOK- OF BARUCH 2. 27—3. 7 


| 27 of Judah. Yet, O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy kindness, and according to all 
28 that great mercy of thine, as thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command 
| 29 him to write thy law before the children of Israel, saying, If ye will not hear my voice, surely this 
very great multitude shall be turned into a small amber among the nations, where I will scatter 
»3othem. For I know that they will not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land 
31 of their captivity they shall lay it to heart, and shall know that I am the Lord their God: and I 
32 will give them a heart, and ears to hear: and they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and 
33 think upon my name, and shall return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they 
34 shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before the Lord. And I will bring them 
again into the land which 1 sware unto their fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and they 
35 shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished. And I will make 
an everlasting covenant with them to be their God, and they shall be my people: and I will no 
more remove my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them. 
O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, the soul in anguish, the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee. 
2 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy ; for thou art a merciful God: yea, have mercy upon us, because we 
, 4 have sinned before thee. For thou sittest as king for ever, and we perish evermore. O Lord 
Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead Israelites, and of the children of 
them which were sinners before thee, that hearkened not unto the voice of thee their God: for the 
_ | 5 which cause these plagues clave unto us. Remember not the iniquities of our fathers: but remember 
1 6 thy power and thy name zow at this time. For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will 
7 we praise. For for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the intent that we should 
call upon thy name: and we will praise thee in our captivity, for we have called to mind all the 


1" 
ἡ}. 


27. S adds after ‘kindness’ the clause ‘and according to all thy purpose’ (gtady)- Comp. Ps. li. 3. 

29. Comp. Deut. xxviii. 62. The reading εἰ μήν (G**) [in Ο ἡ μήν], ‘surely’, arose out of εἰ μή, a literal rendering 
of the original Hebr. x ON idiom used to express a strong asseveration which would be unintelligible in its literal Greek 
form. S, on the other hand, reproduces the Hebr. original. See Winer, Grammar of N.T. Greek, 8th ed., p. 553, 
footnote 7 (on Heb. vi. 14), and especially p. 627, footnote 3, where useful parallels are given. βόμβησις, ‘multitude’, 
corresponds to /1!2 in the original (so Fritzsche, who compares Jer. xxxi. 34 ἐβόμβησε, 197), rendered ‘people’ in S, 
which expands into a parallelism, ‘shall be turned into a small number and shall be diminished among the peoples.’ 
Hebr. relat. constr. ot . . . ἐκεῖ as in verses 4, 13, 26, above. 

30. lay it to heart is hardly satisfactory. The phrase is an echo of I Kings vill. 47, where R. V. rightly renders 
“bethink themselves’ (cf. Luke xv. 17 and Delitzsch’s Hebr.), nad-bis 33°, almost literally reproduced in GS and 
L (convertetur ad cor suum). ἀποικισμός = YY, Jer. xliii. 11. 


31. Hebr. ins ‘ear’ (sing. and du.) is used to express ‘mind’, ‘ intelligence’ (cf. Assyr. zzz). Comp. 1 Sam. ix. 15, 
xx. 2, &c.; Isa. vi. 10; Matt. xiii. 9, 15. 

32. A parallelism. i 5 " are. 

33. stiff neck, NWP AY, as in verse 30 (TY NYP, Exod. xxxii. 9, &c.; Deut. ix. 6, &c.), though we have τράχηλος 
᾿ in 30 and νῶτος here (S has same word) for ‘neck’. 

34. Deuteronomic (Deut. vi. 10, &c.); last clause echoes Jer. xix. 6 ὁ. ᾿ 

35 recalls Jer. xxxi. 31, xxii. 40; remove,. probably ὯΝ as in Isa. xlvi. 7 (cf. Num. xiv. 44), though S suggests 

a stronger word. Kneucker prefers WAN, cf. Jer. xii. 14 foll., xlii. 10. 


III. 1-8. Bitter cry of appeal to God from the exiles, and confession of past sin. 

I. Παντοκράτωρ, ‘ Almighty’, Hebr. NINIY¥, as in 2 Sam. v. 10, vii. 8, 26, &c., appended to 117". 

Vii. 8, 26). ἐν στενοῖς (ΓΞ or ΠΊΣΞ, cf. Ps. xxv. 17, xxxi. 8). 
| aD (339). Comp. Isa. Ixi. 3 (H and 6). 

crieth, ΠΡΌ (as in Ps, Ixxvii. 2). S + ‘afflicted body’ (perhaps ΠΡ 7543). 

2. S characteristically adds ‘God’ to ‘ Lord’. 


a merciful God, yea have mercy’. 
God’. 


So S (as in 2 Sam. 
ἀκηδιῶν must be the partic. and would correspond to 


G® ‘Hear, O Lord, and have mercy’, (Δ ™4rg- + ‘for thou art 
S + ‘for thou art merciful and kind’. L and Ar. + ‘ because thou art a merciful 
In the original we might therefore assume, with Kneucker, TAX WOM 730 1D 33M, 
3. καθήμενος corresponds to IY, used of sitting on a throne, Exod. xi. 5 (H and G). We should probably follow 
_) Ps. xxix. 10 (rather than Isa. Ivii. 15, with Kneucker), i.e. pdiyd aw. S ‘abidest for ever’. 
4. For ‘dead’ of GS and other versions, read with R. V. marg. ‘men’, ΤΠ of the original Hebrew being misread 
ΤΠ instead of ‘ND. A more literal rendering of G would be: ‘and [so] the evils clave unto us.’ S prefixes ‘curses’ 
)to ‘evils’, The original would then be nya} niqw7 332 ΠΩΡΞ ΠῚ (cf. Deut. xxviii. 20), or in sing. ANT 2 pam 
yy. pai 
is. 8. ‘iniquity and folly’, apparently based on an alliterative combination, aNNOND WS ndasmy ndwyn, but here 
probably, as in many other cases, S expands the original text. 


7. With the opening cf. Jer. xxxii. 40 ὁ. The original has become corrupted. Hence we have several variants. 
S ‘that we may invoke (call upon) thy holy name’, where ‘holy’ is evidently added as inii. 15. In other respects this 
jaccords with G*°, which substitute τοῦ for καί before ἐπικαλ. In the latter part of the verse G* reads ‘because we 
jhave put away from our mind all the iniquity’, &c. Similarly Ar. and Vet. L. @ convertimur ab iniquitate. But 


pad : nn ; 5 ς -: 
GBM Ae εἰ αἱ. “because we have recalled to our mind’ (ἐπὶ καρδίαν), ἄς. S ‘because ¢how hast recalled to our mind 


587 Qq2 


8 


10 


II 


16 


17 


THE BOOK OF ΒΕ ΘΗ 85 τὸ 


iniquity of our fathers, that sinned before thee. Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity, where 
thou hast scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to penalty, according to all the 
iniquities of our fathers, which departed from the Lord our God. 


Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life : 
Give ear to understand wisdom. 


How happeneth it, O Israel, that thou art in thine enemies’ land, 
That thou art waxen old in a strange country, 


That thou art defiled with the dead, 
That thou art counted with them that go dow into the grave? 


Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom. 


For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, 
Thou shouldst have dwelled in peace for ever. 


ws YT lh 


Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, 
Where is understanding ; that thou mayst know also 


Where is length of days, and life, 
Where is the light of the eyes, and peace. 


Who hath found out her place? 
And who hath come into her treasuries ? 


PROT Se ΠΡ ὙΡΡΡΙ eee 


Where are the princes of the heathen, 
And such as ruled the beasts that are upon the earth ; 


They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air, 
And they that hoarded up silver 


And gold, wherein men trust 
And of whose getting there is no end? 


For they that wrought in silver, and were so careful, 
And whose works are past finding out, 


all the evils and iniquity . . .’, where we have an expanded version, but may perhaps infer that in the Hebrew original! Ἧ 
stood )) 432235) Navn. 

8. οὗ. . . ἐκεῖ, Hebr. rel. constr. as in ii. 4, 13, 26, and also recurrence of the phraseology of ii. 4 and 29, comp. — 
Jer. xlii. 18. S lengthens the series: curse, reproach, derision, and condemnation (= ὄφλησις R.V. to be subje 
to penalty), the last word in S being the same as that which renders κρίμα in 1 Cor. xi. 34 (cf. Delitzsch, Hed. ΛΝ, 7. 
ad loc.). The Jer. parallel has also four terms: curse, horror, malediction, reproach (in which ‘ malediction’ in G is _ 
rendered dpa). Accordingly S restores to our text the ‘curse’ of the Jez. passage, whereas the condemnation 
(subjection to penalty) might be regarded as a weakened form of the ‘horror’. The original of S we might accordingly — 


conjecture to be MOwINDA nddpor mBq} πόνο, 


BARUCH’S PRAISE OF AND EXHORTATION TO WISDOM REVEALED IN THE LAW, iii. 9-ἶν. 4 (document Β). 
9. S ‘understanding and wisdom’. Comp. Proy. iv.16. The fuller expression in S maintains a more equable and 


rhythmic parallelism, mands ΓΞ ny3> ΡΠ. The influence of the Wisdom literature (esp. of Prov.) throughout 
this document is obvious and natural. 
10-12. R.V. rightly follows (δ ὁ in omitting in verse Io the second τί of G®. It is quite possible that we ought here 
to follow S and read: 
Wherefore, O Israel, art thou waxen old in thine enemies’ land, 
Hast polluted thyself (M887) in a strange land (cf. Hos. ix. 4), 
Art counted (ΠΟ) with the dead who go down to the grave (rin ‘77, Ps. lv. 16; Prov. i. 12), 
Hast forsaken the fountain ΟΡ) of Wisdom? (Prov. xviii. 4). 
14. Echoes of Prov. iii. 16, viii. 14. : 
16-17. Wisdom is not to be found among the rich and mighty of this world. There seems to be a subtle reference 
to Nebuchadnezzar. Cf. Dan. ii. 37, iv. 20f.; Jer. xxvii. 6. 
16. It would be best to render here by ‘ peoples’ (OY) rather than ‘heathen’, since ἔθνος also stands as the 


equivalent of OY (Gen. xvii. 16; Lev. xxi. 1; Prov. xxx.26). So Kneucker. Moreover S reads here poiy (ody) ‘age’ 


which is evidently a corruption of OD}. 
17 portrays the luxury and amusements of the rich. Comp. Judith xi. 7. " 
18, they that wrought in silver might correspond to }D3 ὙΠ, as Kneucker suggests. Prov. xi. 27 (R.V. margin)» 


588 


Se =F «'΄᾿΄ 2. |. wo 


- 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 3. 19-26 


They are vanished and gone down to the grave, 
And others are come up in their steads, 


Younger men have seen the light, 
And dwelt upon the earth: 


But the way of knowledge have they not known, 
Neither understood they the paths thereof: 


Neither have their children laid hold of it: 
They are far off from their way. 


It hath not been heard of in Canaan, 
Neither hath it been seen in Teman. 


3. The sons also of Agar that seek understanding, [which are in the land, ] 
The merchants of Merran4and Teman, 


And the authors of fables, and the searchers out of understanding ; 


None of these have known the way of wisdom, 
Or remembered her paths. 


‘4 O Israel, how great is the house of God! 
And how large is the place of his possession ! 
5 Great, and hath none end ; 

High, and unmeasurable. 


6 There were the giants born that were famous of old, 
Great of stature, avd expert in war. 


would lead us on a wrong scent. We should rather find the original through 5, ‘who gain silver’, ἢ ‘2p, which 


might also mean ‘ makers’ or ‘fashioners’ in silver. This is really an Aramaic use of 3), reflected in the later Hebrew 
diction of Gen. xiv. 19, 22; Prov. viii. 22; Ps. cxxxix. 13. Both this and the following verse begin with the interrog. 
“Who ?’ in S, in continuation of the series of interrogations that follow after ‘Learn where’, &c., in verse 14. On 
the other hand, G begins verse 18 with ὅτι, ‘for’, as thoughit gave the reason for the preceding verses. As these are 
interrog., we can only obtain an intelligible sequence with verse 18 in G by assuming (with Fritzsche) that a negative 
answer [‘ They no longer exist’| is implied after verse 17. But this anticipates verse 19. It would be better, there- 
| fore, to read at the opening of this verse with S, ‘who are they who gain (are makers in) silver. ..?’ ae 

whose works are past finding out. A relat. sentence, more literally ‘There is no searching (ἐξεύρεσις) of 


their works’. S ‘There is no numbering of their works’. The Hebrew original of G would be pinyynd TPH PS), and 


of S md BD j'8}. The latter is perhaps an inferior reading. But both are quite consonant with the Wisdom 
literature on which this document (B) int Baruch is modelled. Prov. xxv. 3; Job v. 9, ix. 10, xxxvi. 26 (cf. Isa. xl. 28). 
19. The answer to the preceding queries. All these devotees of worldly pomp have vanished. Ὁ ᾿ 
20. ‘The young’ would be a better translation of νεώτεροι = OY37, as opposed to DPT (πρεσβύτεροι), Ps. xxxvil. 25, 
cxlvili. 12 (cf. Judges viii. 20). ‘Have seen the light’ = ‘ have been born ᾽ Job ili. 16, 20, xxxiii. 30. For ‘knowledge’ 
S has ‘loving intelligence’ (sikolé d°rehm®th6) or ‘ intelligence avd love’ (Lag.), an evident later expansion. 


21. their children, i.e. the third generation, viz. sons of the young men of verse 20, who are themselves the sons 
of those who are referred to in verse 19. 


are far off. S ‘have removed themselves far and revolted from z¢s way’, i.e. of knowledge. Fritzsche rightly 

restores the sing, with S in place of the plur. (αὐτῶν) with G, so also Rothstein. Moreover, the fuller rendering in 5 
points to a more rhythmic length of line in the original 711") 3PN7 ADVAN, 

22. Teman, situated in Edom, was celebrated for its wisdom, Jer. xlix. 7. ; > 

23 is at variance with the passive construction of the previous verse (contained in G). From this defect S_is 
\/entirely free, which shows the impress of the Hebrew original. This verse 1s obviously a continuation of the preceding 
'‘nor among the Hagarenes who seek after understanding’, 73330 ΡΞ 30 an}. The error in G probably arose 
| from the omission of the first 3 in 1933 (cf. i. 1). The force of the preceding negatives continues in this clause. Hence 
/there is no need to write 9223 85), “ The emendation of 083M into WNIAN ‘gains’, by Kneucker (who reads ΠΝ) YIND, 
‘die um Erwerb das Land durchziehen’), is utterly unwarranted, and tends to destroy the parallelism. Probably 
᾿ ‘“Merran’ has arisen by corruption from ‘ Midian’ through the constant confusion that arises between Ἵ and Ἢ (so Gifford, 

who cites ‘ Medan and Midian’, Gen. xvi. 15, xxv. 2, sons of Keturah). Comp. Geri. xxxvii. 36. The Hagarenes are 
‘mentioned in Gen. xxv. 12f. They are the nomads referred to in 1 Chron. v. 20f., xxvii. 31. They inhabited the district 
jeast of Gilead. Comp. Ps. Ixxxiii. 7. 


It is impossible to resist the suspicion that this verse has received undue extension. S has ‘followed up’ for 


|fremembered ’, through corruption of its own text, i.e. REST) instead of φρο, ee ; ; 7 
| 24. S prefixes ‘ Lord’ to ‘God’, thus securing the usual. combination. For large it reads ‘long and spacious’. 
25. S has here an abbreviated text which spoils parallelism and rhythm, viz. ‘ And it has no end and is lofty and 
has no measure.’ The ‘ house of God’ here is evidently the Uxzverse (not heaven exclusively as in il. 16). 

26. Gen. vi. 4 plays a considerable part in later Jewish writings, as 1 En, vii; Sir. xvi. 7; Wisd. xiv. 6. 


589 


27 


28 


29 


30 


31 


33 


34 


35 


THE BOOK OF. BARUCH °3. 27-35 


These did not God choose, 
Neither gave he the way of knowledge unto them : 


So they perished, because they had no wisdom, 
They perished through their own foolishness. 


Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, 
And brought her down from the clouds ? 


Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, 
And will bring her for choice gold ? 


There is none that knoweth her way, 
Nor any that comprehendeth her path. 


But he that knoweth all things knoweth her, 
He found her out with his understanding : 


He that prepared the earth for evermore 
Hath filled it with four-footed beasts : 


He that sendeth forth the light, and it goeth ; 
He called it, and it obeyed him with fear: 


And the stars shined in their watches, and were glad : 
When he called them, they said, Here we be; 
They shined with gladness unto him that made them. 


This is our God, 
And there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of him. 


27-28. For ‘knowledge’ S has ‘ wisdom’. 28 ἃ (= 27 4) in S ‘ wisdom and understanding’. 


29-30. The interrog., as frequently in Hebrew, anticipates a negat. answer. Comp. as parallels Deut. xxx. 12, 133 i 


Prov. xxx. 4; Sir. li, 28. Here again S expands beyond the original (which was probably 0° mayb ay Ὁ) into 
‘who hath passed over the sea’s bounds and extremities’. i 
31. From the interrog. form we pass to the direct negat. For ‘comprehendeth’ (ἐνθυμούμενος), S ‘ meditateth’, 
‘pondereth ’, perhaps Hebr. [30 (Prov. xxiii. 1), or ᾿Ξ (Isa. xliil. 18, lil, 15, Job xxxvil. 14). 
32. Only God can discover wisdom with His omniscience—a clear echo from the Book of Job (xxviii. 12-24, which 
evidently underlies the thought of this passage). For ‘ understanding’ S has ‘wisdom’, cf, verse 27 above. For 


‘prepared’ read with S ‘established’ (j'312). ‘For evermore’, perhaps, as S indicates, in Hebr. py>iy pdiyd. Υ 


‘ Four-footed beasts’ (τετράποδα) corresponds to Hebr. ni293. G has evidently influenced’ here S, which renders | 
“beasts of four feet’; see Introd., § 9, ii (Syr. versions). : 
33. fear is an inadequate rendering of τρύμῳ. S has a different conclusion to the verse which might appear to” 
indicate a lost line: ‘Who sendeth forth the light and it goes, and called it and it obeyed him, and the earth — 
responded to him with trembling.’ Here the introduction of the earth comes in abruptly after the reference to 
the light of heaven in the previous couplet : ; 
wows yovin i> sip 


TTS (aa) esa 


‘trembling’ (τρόμος) is more consonant with the earthquake, and is therefore more in place when connected with 

the earth than in reference to light. Cf. Ps. xviii. 8, xlvi. 7, civ. 32. Rothstein interprets ‘light’ as lightning (Job xxxvii. 3, 
avi 35), but this does not harmonize with verse 34, though readily compatible with such an intervening couplet as 
indicates. 
34. their watches. S ‘their places’. We have to choose between the original readings : ΠῚ ΟΞ and oninipra. 
The latter is colourless, and might have arisen by corruption from the former, which yields a picturesque and 
appropriate metaphor, the stars being represented as keeping sentinel duty at their night-watches. Cf. Sir. xliii. 10. 
Hom. J/iad viil. 555,556. ‘ Here we be’ (πάρεσμεν), S ‘ behold us’ reproduces the Hebr. original 337), 
35 exhibits evident echoes of Isa. xliii. 10, 11, xliv. 6, xlv. 18, which in S become more apparent than in G, since we 
have three clauses, the third being a parallel of the second. S omits ‘our’, and for ‘in comparison of (πρός) him’ in 
the third clause renders * above him’ (q10) : 


This is God, and there is none other beside Him, 
And none other shall be reckoned above Him. 


wiydad IMS PX) YON NT 
(or 35>) NPY WAN avy δ 
590 


THE BOOK OF -BARUCH :3. 36—4. 


/36 He hath found out all the way of knowledge, 


37. And hath given it unto Jacob his servant, 
And to Israel that is beloved of him. 


ει [Afterward did she appear upon earth, 
And was conversant with men. | 


| This is the book of the commandments of God, 
And the law that endureth for ever: 


2 All they that hold it fast ave appointed to life ; 
But such as leave it shall die. 
3 Turn thee, O Jacob, and take hold of it : 
_ Walk towards her shining in the presence of the light thereof. 
Give not thy glory to another, 
Nor the things that are profitable unto thee to a strange nation, 
O Israel, happy are we: 
For the things that are pleasing to God are made known unto us. 


~ 


5 Be of good cheer, my people, 
The memorial of Israel. 


Ye were sold to the nations, 
But not for destruction : 


Because ye moved God to wrath, 
Ye were delivered unto your adversaries. 


For ye provoked him that made you 
By sacrificing unto demons, and not to God. 


36. For ‘ knowledge’ S has ‘ wisdom’, probably in accordance with the original. Comp., however, verses 27 and 32 
above. The passage reflects Jewish particularism, and is evidently based on Sir. xxiv. 8 foll. Cf. Prov. viii. 31. 

37 has long been suspected as a Christian gloss (Grotius, Hitzig, Hilgenfeld, Kneucker, Rothstein). Greek and Latin 
Fathers cite it in the interests of the Logos doctrine. See Introd., § 10. In S the subject is masc., i.e. God: 
‘revealed himself and was seen.’ So L and Ar. In G the subject is probably God as in verse 36, but it might be 
| wisdom (knowledge) ; cf. Prov. vill. 31. 

IV. 1 is evidently connected with iv. 36 (rather than 37). 
identified with the Torah, which is eternal. S ‘book and memorial of the commandments... to all who hold it fast 
it shall be (for) life’. The addition ‘ and memorial’ is evidently an extension of the original. 

2. The expression is varied in S: 

Turn and incline, O Jacob ; 
Lay hold and go in its path (cf. Prov. ili. 18, iv. 13) 
Toward the brightness of its light (cf. Isa. lx. 3). 

3. For ‘glory’, S ‘praise and honour’, and for ‘ profitable’ (συμφέροντα G), S ‘good and advantageous’, which 
| are evidently paraphrastic expansions. ‘Glory’ prob. in Hebr. original ὙΠ (Dan. xi, 21). 

4. S ‘Happy are we, happy art thou . . . What is pleasing to God we know.’ 


Hebrew idiom, which would here be YT ods ΘΠ (cf. Deut. xxiii. 17). 


The wisdom which God has bestowed. on Jacob is 


This last clause conforms to the 


SONGS OF LAMENTATION AND COMFORT ADDRESSED (a) BY JERUSALEM TO HER EXILED CHILDREN, AND (6) OF 


| CONSOLATION ADDRESSED BY GOD TO JERUSALEM, iv. 5-v. 9 (document C). (Verses 5 to 9a should be regarded as 
introductory.) x 


(a) Lamentation and comfort addressed by Jerusalem to her banished sons (iv. 9 6-29). The situation is that of the 
Jews in exile (verses 8, 10), just as in chap. i, and the language is obviously moulded on that of the Deutero-Isaiah, 
but, unlike the Deutero-Isaiah, the language of lamentation is more prominent, and the situation is painted in darker 
} colours. In verses 7 foll. confession is made of past transgression (as in i. 17-11. 12) for which the present calamities 
} are the penalty (iv. 6). In iv. 17-29 the exiles are exhorted to cry to God and deliverance from their enemies will 

come. Though the present be painful it shall speedily end, and better days shall come (21-24) ; destruction shall 
} befall their foes (25 foll.), and for the exiles joy in place of the evils of the past. 

5. S renders here, as in verses 27, 30, ‘be comforted’, which is evidently a Deutero-Isaianic trait (cf. Isa. xl. 1, 

liv. 11). Also for ‘my people’, S ‘people of God’. ‘ Memorial’ ( remembrance’ = Hebr. 131) is the equivalent of 


‘name’, to which it frequently stands in parallelism (Exod. iii. 15 ; Job xvill. 17; Prov. x. 7). 


Cf. Deut. xxv. 19 and 
LXX (Kneucker). 


The word ‘ memorial’, therefore, means those who preserve Israel’s name (Grotius, Fritzsche). 


| 6. S ‘your adversaries’ (as R. V.), giving greater definiteness than Ὁ (τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις). For * ye moved God to wrath’ 
|(G®S L Ar.) G4 has ‘we’, by obvious textual error. 


7 contains an evident reminiscence of Deut. xxxii. 16, 17. 


591 


S appends to ‘him that made you’ the appositional 


Io 


II 


3 


14 


τό 


17 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 4. 8-17 


Ye forgat the everlasting God, that brought you up; 
Ye grieved also Jerusalem, that nursed you. 


For she saw the wrath that is come upon you from God, 
And said, 

Hearken, ye women that dwell about Sion: 

For God hath brought upon me great mourning ; 


For I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, 
Which the Everlasting hath brought upon them. 


For with joy did I nourish them ; 
But sent them away with weeping and mourning. 


Let no man rejoice over me, 
A widow, and forsaken of many : 
For the sins of my children am I left desolate ; 


Because they turned aside from the law of God, 
And had no regard to his statutes, 


Neither walked they in the ways of God’s commandments, 
Nor trod in the paths of discipline in his righteousness. 


Let them that dwell about Sion come, 
And remember ye the captivity of my sons and daughters, 
Which the Everlasting hath brought upon them. 


For he hath brought a nation upon them from far, 
A shameless nation, and of a strange language, 


Who neither reverenced old man, 
Nor pitied child. 


And they have carried away the dear beloved sons of the widow, 
And left her that was alone desolate of her daughters. 


But I, what can I help you? 


phrase ‘the everlasting God’, an evident expansion, since it recurs in the following verse. This appellation 


‘everlasting’ attached to God (αἰώνιος) is a Deutero-Isaianic trait (Isa. xl. 28 ἃ ody ὙΠΟ Ν) which is ἃ special 
characteristic of the document C (iv. 10, 14, 20, 22, 24, 35, v. 2). Gifford indeed remarks that αἰώνιος seems to take 
the place of κύριος (717). 

8. An equally evident reminiscence of Deut. xxxiil. 184. S applies the term ‘ nurse’ in both clauses, i. e. to both 
God and Jerusalem. ‘God, that zuvsed you ... Jerusalem, that veaved you’ would be a closer rendering of the 
Greek. GA, again, in the first clause substitutes ‘us’ for ‘ you’ (as in verse 6), i. 6. ἡμᾶς for ὑμᾶς, against G? S L Ar. 

9. S characteristically prefixes ‘Lord’ to ‘ God’ in both places, and introduces the parallelism ‘the wrath which has 
come upon you and the anger from the presence of the Lord God’ ; to ‘ great’ it adds ‘eternal’ as epithet of ‘ mourning’. 
In 94 (‘ Hearken ye...’) begins Jerusalem’s lamentation over the exile of her sons (9 6-16). 

1o. S ‘everlasting Lord’ and ‘upon me’ (not ‘them’). The latter is probably due to a harmonizing tendency. 

11-12. S + ‘and groaning (sighs)’. Also ‘rejoice in my widowhood who am abandoned and desolated of much 
people’. The language and ideas are cast in the Deutero-Isaianic mould (Isa. xlix. 21, liv. 1, 4). S also appends an 
extra parallel clause with variation in phraseology : 

‘Because of the sins of my sons, 
because they turned aside from the fa‘h of the Lord God.’ 

13. S ‘statutes and judgements’, the familiar combination in Deut. (Deut. iv. 1, &c.) The rest of the verse in 
S runs: ‘ Nor did they walk in the way of God’s statutes, nor did they tread or betake themselves to the paths of true 
instruction (lit. instruction of truth) in righteousness.’ Here ‘instruction’ (discipline) and ‘betake themselves’ are 
expansions. ‘ Truth’, however, rests on a more secure textual foundation, being found in G®* 4l- (+ ἀληθείας) L (om. 
disctplinae). And it has O.T. warrant. Cf. 1 Kings iii. 6. 

14. We have here a change from 3rd to 2nd person. This, however, should probably be consistently carried out 
through the entire verse, as in S (so Kneucker). S om.‘ come’, and has in its place the pers. pron. ‘ ye’ (‘ ye inhabitants 


of Zion, remember’), but this is probably due to inner-Syriac corruption of yooh “come ye’ to μον OME 

15. Evidently echoes Deut. xxviii. 49, 50. 

16. S ‘And they took captive and carried away the beloved (sons) of the widow and her daughters. The 
‘daughters’ are inserted in this clause perhaps owing to the influence of verse 14 above. S omits ‘ daughters’, 
however, in the latter part of the verse: ‘ And her alone and solitary left they desolate.’ 

17 foll. After the lamentation there now begins a message of comfort. Jerusalem can afford no help, but God can. 
The question here, as frequently in O. T., implies a negation ; and this S directly expresses. 


592 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 4. 13-28 


For he that brought these plagues upon you 
Will deliver you from the hand of your enemies. 


Go your way, O my children, go your way : 
For I am left desolate. 


I have put off the garment of peace, 
And put upon me the sackcloth of my petition: 
I will cry unto the Everlasting as long as 1 live. 


Be of good cheer, O my children, cry unto God, 
And he shall deliver you from the power and hand of the enemies. 


For I have trusted in the Everlasting, that he will save you ; 
And joy is come unto me from the Holy One, 

Because of the mercy which shall soon come unto you 

From the Everlasting your Saviour. 


For I sent you out with mourning and weeping : 
But God will give you to me again with joy and gladness for ever. 


For like as now they that dwell about Sion have seen your captivity : 
So shall they see shortly your salvation from our God, 
Which shall come upon you with great glory, and brightness of the Everlasting. 


My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you from God: 
For thine enemy hath persecuted thee ; 


But shortly thou shalt see his destruction, 
And shalt tread upon their necks. 


My delicate ones have gone rough ways; 
They were taken away as a flock carried off by the enemies. 


Be of good cheer, O my children, and cry unto God: 
For ye shall be remembered of him that hath brought ¢hese things upon you. 


For as it was your mind to go astray from God: 
So, return and seek him ten times more. 


18. (19 + ὑμῖν after ἐπαγαγών, G* after τὰ κακά. 

19. ‘ My’ before children om. GL, and inserted in S Ar. 

20. Jerusalem clothed in sackcloth of sorrow and supplication, the reverse of the picture in Isa. lii. 1, Ixi. 3 (cf. 
1 Bar. v. 1 below). S takes over στολήν of G. S ‘I will cry unto thee that livest for ever in my days’, G ‘unto the 
Everlasting in my days’ (= ‘in my life-time’, i. e. ‘as long as I live’). 

21. Be of good cheer. S reproduces the form of Isa. li. 17, cf. li. 1, ‘awake’, G® ‘power and hand’, also Ar. 
Vet. Lat. α, ὁ de manu principum inimicorum appears to presume a reading ἐκ χειρὸς δυναστῶν ἐχθρῶν (Kneucker). 
G* om. ‘ power’, prob. due to paraphrastic expansion. S carries expansion further: ‘from the hands of the mighty 
and from the hands of rulers and from the hands of adversaries.’ 

22. S for ‘ Holy One’ has ‘ Lord God Everlasting’, after which it renders * because he hath at once taken compassion 
on them on account of the compassion of God your everlasting Saviour’. G*om. ‘ because of the mercy ’ (compassion). 
There can be little doubt that extensions have crept into the text. 

23. S ‘God’ + ‘from whom I received you’ (obvious expansion). 

24. S prefixes ‘ Lord’ to ‘ our God’, and continues : ‘and he shall bring you with great joy.’ Also ‘ everlasting 
Lord’. It may be noted, however, that this appellation of deity, κύριος (717), while frequent and indeed characteristic 
of the document A, is in reality foreign to C (see Introd., § 11, and note oniv.7). It is evidently introduced by S, which 
has a tendency to combine ‘ Lord’ with other designations of deity. Comp. S, verses 27 0/5, 28, 36, ν. 1, 2. 

25. S ‘ My sons, be patient and endure the wrath’ (+ ‘Lord’). ‘Thine enemy’ G*®S L Ar. G® om. ‘thine’. 

26. S expands: ‘have gone into captivity and have travelled on hard rough ways’, apparently an attempt to 
| represent Isa. xl. 4 (including J?Y and Ὁ 53“). S continues: ‘ They have been scattered on difficult ways, they have 
| been scattered like a flock that is carried off by enemies.’ ‘Scattered as a flock’ is a combination which meets us in 
) Ezek. xxxiv. 4, 5,12; Zech. xiii. 7 (cf. Mark xiv. 27), &c. 

27. Cf. verse 5. S ‘ for there shall be for you w7/h the Lord remembrance from him that brought ¢/ese [evils] upon 
you’. Gom. obj. to ‘ brought’. 

28-29. The phraseology is singularly unpoetic and non-Hebraic. See Introd. § 6 (¢). 

(ὁ) Message of comfort addressed by a prophet in God’s name (iv. 34) to Jerusalem (iv. 30-v. 9). Obviously 
a pendant to the address to the exiles by Jerusalem (iv. 5-29) which precedes. The enemies of Jerusalem shall receive 
divine chastisement (iv. 31-35). In this we see the influence of Jer. li. Help shall come from the east (iv. 36, v. 5), 
‘ i.e. her exiled sons in Babylonia and the Euphrates lands. The language and ideas of the Deutero-Isaiah resound in 
| chap. v (esp. verses 5 and 7). 

593 


29 


30 


on 


32 


30 


37 


THE BOOK OF BARUCH 4) 2957 ἢ 


For he that brought these plagues upon you 
Shall bring you everlasting joy again with your salvation. 


Be of good cheer, O Jerusalem : 
For he that called thee by name will comfort thee. 


Miserable are they that afflicted thee, 
And rejoiced at thy fall. 


Miserable are the cities which thy children served : 
Miserable is she that received thy sons. 


For as she rejoiced at thy fall, 
And was glad of thy ruin: 
So shall she be grieved for her own desolation. 


And I will take away her exultation in her great multitude, 
And her boasting shall be turned into mourning. 


For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting, long to endure ; 
And she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time. 


O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, 
And behold the joy that cometh unto thee from God. 


Lo, thy sons come, whom thou sentest away, 

They come gathered together from the east to the west [at the word of the Holy One], 
Rejoicing in the glory of God. : 
Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of thy mourning and affliction, 

And put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for ever. 


Cast about thee the robe of the righteousness which cometh from God ; 
Set a diadem on thine head of the glory of the Everlasting. 


For God will show thy brightness unto every vegzow under heaven. 


For thy name shall be called of God for ever 
The peace of righteousness, and the glory of godliness. 


30. Be of good cheer recurs here, as previously, iv. 5, 21,27. called thee by name is naturally expressed in S 
analogously to Dan. i. 7 (cf. Phil. ii. 9). ; é 

31-32. Miserable is not an adequate rendering of δείλαιοι. (Shall be) ‘alarmed’ or ‘affrighted ᾿ (5) is nearer the 
true meaning. Versions render variously. S expands the clauses of the verse: ‘The cities shall be in dread that 
treated thee ill and rejoiced in thy downfall. The cities shall be in terror that enslaved thy sons. Thou shalt rejoice — 
in their downfall. They shall be in dread who treated thee ill. She shall be in dread who received thy sons.’ 
S seems to luxuriate in repetition of the phrase. : 

3. S om. second clause of parallelism ἐγ frotasz, but amplifies the afodosis: ‘So shall she be grieved and vexed.’ 
The city (sing.) which is vaguely referred to in verses 32-5 is evidently Babylon (= Rome). 

34. A strange confusion has arisen in G4, which reads ἄγαλμα, ‘statue’, ‘idol’, for ἀγαλλίαμα, ‘ exultation’ (G*). 
This is reflected in the conflate reading of S, ‘I will take away from her the idols and the exultation of great assemblies, — 
and the joy shall become mourning.’ 

35. The conception is evidently derived from Jer. li. 58. Kneucker thinks that we have here a reference to the 
eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which would of course furnish a ¢evm. a guo as regards date of document C (Introd., 
pp. 51 foll.), but the expression in the text is far too general in character. J j 

The demons who are to inhabit the desolated city are a feature borrowed from Isa. xiii. 21, 22; Jer. li. 37. 

36. The opening clause reflects Isa. xlix. 18, lx. 4. 


V. 1. Again, as iniv. 20, S reproduces στολήν of G. affliction, S+‘and suffering’, ‘and array thyself in the splendour 

which is from the Lord God unto glory everlasting’. Both conceptions and language resemble Isa. litte 
2. durdois, ‘robe’, should rather be rendered by ‘tunic’, viz. the Hebr. Soy of Isa. Ixi, 10, of which this passage 15 
evidently an echo. G there renders by χιτῶνα, but διπλοῖς is the rendering in other passages where the same Hebrew 
word occurs, I Sam. ii. 19, xv. 27, xxiv. 12 (11 Hebr.) ; Ps. cviii. 28 (εἶχ. 29 Hebr.). ᾿ 
This Baruch passage is the reverse of Ps. of Sol. ii. 21, 22, where the μίτρα or ‘ diadem’ (Heb. δ 5) is put off. We 
have already seen (Introd., ὃ 6) how close is the parallel between 1 Bar. iv. 37-v. 8 and Ps. of Sol. xi. 3-7. Here it may 
be noted that in S the military ‘helmet’ (Sar?) takes the place of the ‘diadem’ as the woman’s head-dress. See 
Introd., § 9, ii (Syr. Versions) ad fin. 
3. S ‘unto every man upon all the earth’. 
4. θεοσέβεια, ‘godliness’, is the equivalent of the Hebr. ‘fear of the Lord’ (so S) as in Job xxviii. 28; comp. Gen. xx. 1. 
L. pietas. ‘ i 
594 


MIE ΘΟ ΚΘ OF BARUCH 5.7529 


Arise, O Jerusaiem, and stand upon the height, 
And look about thee toward the east, 


And behold thy children gathered from the going down of the sun unto the rising thereof [at the 
word of the Holy One], 


Rejoicing that God hath remembered them. 


For they went from thee on foot, 
Being led away of their enemies : 


But God bringeth them in unto thee 
Borne on high with glory, as oz a royal throne. 


For God hath appointed that every high mountain, and the everlasting hills, should be made low, 


And the valleys filled up, to make plain the ground, 
That Israel may go safely in the glory of God. 


8 Moreover the woods and every sweet-smelling tree have overshadowed Israel [by the command- 
ment of God]. 


9 For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory 
With the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him. 


5. Evidently reflects the Isaianic passages, Isa. li. 17 and Ix. 4, and these either affect the version in S (e.g. ‘awake’ 
repeated, a Deutero-Isaianic trait) or S reflects the existence of a variant G in closer adhesion to the Isaianic model. 
Similarly ‘ gathered’, S + ‘and coming to thee’; cf. Isa. lx. 4. Note in S the military feature ‘ by the tents’ in place 
of ‘upon the height’ (G), though possibly this might arise by corruption ; see Kneucker, p. 133. 

6. G® ὡς θρόνον, Sas [on] a royal throne’, lit. ‘throne of the kingdom’, has occasioned some difficulty. This seems 
to have been early felt, for in G** L and Ar. we have ‘ children of the kingdom’, i.e. royal sons. The passage is 
obviously based on the Isaianic passages, Isa. xlix. 22, lx. 4, 9, and lxvi. 20, descriptive of the restoration of Jewish 
exiles. Are we to interpret ὡς θρόνον as meaning that the children are to be carried in state as a royal throne 
(a palanquin or sedan chair (Isa. Ixvi. 20)), or, as seems more natural and as S (‘carried aloft in glory on a royal 
throne ’) warrants us in supposing, should we interpret ὡς θρόνον as equivalent to ‘as on athrone’? This has the appear- 
ance of, and probably is, a Hebraism = ND23, the well-known pregnant use of 3, GA,§ 118.6, It would be perilous to 
base upon such a slender sporadic example any argument for a Hebraic original of the document C in face of the 
evidence already set forth (Introd., δὲ 6, 9. i). Let us remember that this document came from a patriotic Hellenic 
Jew familiar with his O. T., both in Greek and Hebrew. Examples of the pregnant use of 3 he would find reflected in 
his Greek Scriptures, 1 Kings viii. 24; Hos. ii. 5, 17, ix. 9. xii. το. Before deciding upon a Hebr. original-we must 
give due play to the considerations that should weigh with us as to the effect produced upon the Greek diction of Jews 
familiar with the Hebr. Scriptures as well as with ‘the LXX, the constant reading of which by Hellenist Jews has 
unconsciously affected their Greek’. See Moulton, Gr. of NV. 7. Greek, vol. i, p. 13.1 Cf. also above, 1. 15, 11. 26. 

7. Evidently based in idea and phraseology on Isa. xl. 4. S om. ‘and the everlasting hills (mounds)’ of Gand after 


‘made low’+‘and rough places shall become smooth and level’, in closer approximation to the Isaianic original ; 
comp. iv. 26 above. 


8. S ‘all trees of the wood’. 


9. S ‘For the God of Israel shall go before you’, in closer adherence to Isa. lii. 12, lviii. 8; Exod. xiii. 21. For 
) ‘Him’ (of G? L) G*S Ar. read ‘God’. 


1 See the note by General Editor in Introd., § 6, and that in the Ps. of Sol. (vol. ii), καὶ 5. 


595 


EPISTLE OF JEREREG 


INTRODUCTION 


PROBABLY most readers approach these relics of the past with a controlling opinion or 
prejudice in their minds, whether they are conscious of the fact or not. If, however, we wish 
to form a just appreciation of the significance of an ancient document, we must clear our minds 
of prepossessions and let it speak to us. We must be careful neither to overlook things which 
are there, nor to read into it things which are not there. It may have been mere chance 
which caused it to survive the wreck of much else that we could wish had been saved ; but it 
is more likely that it was preserved because of some intrinsic merit, or because of something 
in it which specially appealed to the sympathies of its earliest readers. 


δι. NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE WORK. 


The so-called Epistle of Feremy reads more like a sermon or hortatory address than a letter ; 
a fact which may account for its characteristic repetitions. The author is very much in earnest, 
as becomes a preacher. The idolatry he denounces is no imaginary picture, but the reality of 
his own environment. And it is not the idolatry of Canaan, so strongly condemned by the 
prophets of Yahweh, nor that of Egypt, which Jeremiah might have denounced had he long 
survived his forced migration to that uncongenial region. It is the idolatry of Babylon. For 
‘Babylon’, in the author’s use, is evidently not a mask for some other land or city. Not only 
is he aware of a very peculiar custom there prevalent, which Herodotus has also noted (v. 43; 
cf. Hdt. i. 199); but many incidental allusions and individual touches agree with other known 
features of Babylonian religion. (See the notes on vv. 4, 11, 15, 30-32. 41, 43.) Had ‘ Babylon’ 
meant Egypt, the degrading animal-worship, of which the author of Wisdom makes so much, 
would hardly have escaped the shafts of his eager though not very profound satire. 


ᾧ 2. PROBABLE DATE. 


But what Babylon was it? Was it the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, whose 
magnificent temples were enriched with the plunder of nations and maintained by the tribute 
of a subject world? Was it Babylon in its imperial splendour, as Jechonias and the men of 
the First Captivity saw it—Babylon as it was when the susceptible heart of the poet-priest 
Ezekiel was so powerfully impressed by the carven and painted symbols of its immemorial 
faith? Not Babylon in its glory, but Babylon in its decay, as Herodotus saw it more than 
a century afterwards; or rather as Alexander saw it, crumbling slowly away, yet still, in its 
ruined majesty, preserving enough of its ancient splendour to induce the conqueror of the world 
to choose it for his future capital and seat of empire. When our author makes Jeremiah predict 
a sojourn of the Jews in Babylon for ‘seven generations’, he does it deliberately. He can hardly 
have been ignorant of the famous prophecy of the seventy years, or of the less-heeded estimate 
of three generations involved in the statement that the exiles were to serve Nebuchadnezzar 
and his son and his son’s son (Jer. xxv. 12; xxvii. 7). He seems, in fact, to be giving us a clue 
to his own period. Seven generations, allowing forty years to the generation according to Old 
Testament reckoning, would cover 280 years. If we count from the exile of Jechonias (597 B.C.), 
this brings us to the year 317 B.C., or counting (as the author may have done) from 586 B.C., 
the year of the final Captivity, we arrive at 306 B.C., some thirty years after the arrival of 
Alexander in Babylon. It must not be forgotten that the Jews who returned to Palestine in 
consequence of the Edict of Cyrus were only a small part of the Jewish population of Babylonia. — 
Great numbers of them were perfectly satisfied with their adopted country, and no more desired 
to return to Judaea than our own colonists in Australia or New Zealand desire to return to 


596 


BEISTREE “OF JEREMY 


the narrower conditions of English life. What is more, they not only went beyond the advice 
of Jeremiah (xxix. 4-7) in the matter of regarding the land of their exile as their permanent 
home. Many of them assumed Babylonian names, implying at least an identification of the 
God of Israel with Bel-Merodach or Nebo ; and there must always have been a strong temptation 
to assimilate themselves entirely to their neighbours in the customs and manners of life. Doubtless 
there was considerable leakage from the synagogue to the indigenous worships. Some might 
sincerely believe that the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the overthrow of their national 
independence were proof enough of the superiority of the Babylonian gods. Others would 
surrender themselves to the influence of more sordid considerations (cf. Jer. xliv. 17 f.). The 
zeal of loyal spirits would naturally be roused by this state of things; and pieces like the one 
before us might have been circulated among the weak believers and waverers as dissuasives from 
the folly of exchanging the religion of the prophets for any lower form of faith and life. 


ὁ 3. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 


If the author belongs to anything like so early a date, he probably wrote in Hebrew, not 
Greek. But this probability is greatly strengthened by a careful study of the phenomena of 
the Greek text. It is incredible that a piece so formless, so confused, so utterly destitute of the 
graces of style, as this ‘Epistle’ now is, should have been thought worthy of preservation in 

_the Alexandrian Canon of Scripture, had such been its original condition. Our translators and 
their Revisers have done their best; but what a poor halting semblance of sense, not to say 
manifest nonsense, the result too often is! Harmony with context and logical connexion of 
thought are often untraceable. We are presented with a voluble but ill-connected succession 
of propositions, bearing little visible relation to each other beyond a general animus against 
idolatry. But almost every verse exhibits peculiarities which suggest translation, and that from 
a Hebrew original, as will be seen by reference to the notes on the text. It is, of course, 
often easier to see that the Greek is more or less suspicious than to divine the true reading of 
the lost Hebrew archetype. A suggestion may seem plausible, even probable, without being 
right. But a possible sense is better than nonsense and may be accepted provisionally, in preference 
to the assumption that we have before us nothing better than the crude effusion of an illiterate 
fanatic. Amid all such uncertainties one thing appears to be certain. It is that in this Epzstle 
of Feremy there are places where the strange phraseology of the Greek can only be accounted 
for by assuming that the writer of it supplied the wrong vowels to some Hebrew word which 
he was translating, or mistook some Hebrew consonant for another resembling it, or could only 
guess at the meaning of a corrupted text. His MS. may have been badly written or have become 
illegible in places through time and use. Perhaps also, like some of his modern commentators, 

- he was not himself a too expert Hebraist, though capable enough of a certain careless and 

| misleading fluency in Greek, which enabled him to conceal lack of knowledge under a surface 
of smoothly-expressed inaccuracies. It may suffice to examine a few of the more striking 
instances here, referring to the notes on the text for a more complete presentation of the evidence. 

(1) Κι τῶ: ‘from rust and moths’. The true meaning; but the Greek has ἀπὸ ἰοῦ καὶ 
βρωμάτων =‘ from rust and foods’. In LXX βρώματα = bois (Gen. xli. 35 f) or box (Gen. vi. 21) 

food. The translator read the latter word here, instead of Dok from a devourer (= moth or grub; 
cf. Mal. iii. 11 ; Isa. li. 8; Matt. vi. 19 σὴς καὶ βρῶσις = 928) YY moth and devourer). The translator 
supplied the wrong vowel-points in reading his unpointed Hebrew text. ; 

Ὶ (2) Γ΄. 20: ‘They are as one of the beams of the temple; and men say their hearts are eaten 
out, ἄς. Here there is no apparent connexion of thought, and the Greek does not help us. But 

the words τὰς δὲ καρδίας αὐτῶν φασίν suggest a corruption of the common Hebrew phrase ‘to say 
in one’s heart’ = zo think. The original sense may thus have been: And he (the idol) is like 

a beam (i.e. a mere log) inside the ¢emple (cf. 1 Kings vi. 15); yet they think that he eats! 

(i.e. consumes the offerings made to him). For eating, as a proof of being a ‘living god’, see 

Bel 6. Our translator pointed qn instead of 3nd. (Num. xxii. 4). 

(3) V. 31: Gk. duppevovow, drive chariots. Not even a Jew of 100 B.C. would have 

accused the Babylonian priests of careering about in chariots inside their temples, and that 
with all the outward signs of mourning upon their bodies, rent clothes, shaven heads, &c. But 
read ‘they weep’ instead of ‘they drive chariots’, and the context is satisfied, and all becomes 
clear. It is merely a matter of writing 122, which was perhaps miswritten 132” in the translator's 

MS., for 1395 they vide. Cf. v. 32, and the notes zz loc. The reference is to services of mourning 

}for the gods, especially Dumuzi = Tammuz (see Cxnetform Texts, vol. xv). 

597 


BPISLEE “OF TE Revi 


(4) V. 35. ‘They can neither give riches zor money’ (χαλκόν): a false antithesis, and incon- 
gruous with the context (v. 34; cf. 1 Sam. ii. 7). What is obviously required is οὔτε πενίαν, ‘nor 
poverty’: Prov. xxx. ὃ. The translator may have mistaken a badly written wn poverty for wn, 
and then guessed that this was a remnant of vm) (= χαλκός). But if mzen in) Hs) 3<18) 10. reallly 
means ὃ πένης (LXX and Syr.), it may be that mabn (= πενία) stood in the Heb. MS. of our 
Epistle, and the Greek translator, not being acquainted with the rare word, identified it with the 
like-sounding χαλκός ; cf. the transliterations of Heb. words in LXX. 

(5) Γ΄. 54. ‘Neither can they judge . .. being unable: for they are as crows between heaven 
and earth. The point of the comparison is obscure. Moreover, a verb seems wanting, as crows — 
are not always in the air. ᾿Αδύνατοι ὄντες is perhaps a misrendering of 7 5 (cf. Job xxviii. 4 
with v. τό, xxxi. 16), and ὥσπερ αἱ (AQ™ vecte) κορῶναι may be due to misreading O'37y3 for Ὁ 3}. 
We thus get the sense: for they hang suspended—like the clouds—between heaven and earth, — 
The reference would be to plated wooden images hung against the walls of the temples. 

(6) V. 59. ‘ Therefore it is better to be a king that showeth his manhood ...than such false — 
gods.’ Was such a feeble truism worth writing or worth preserving? Could it ever have proved 
edifying to any readers whatever? But let us look at the context. The other comparisons of 
the verse are a vessel, a door, a wooden pillar—all inanimate objects. Emend Better is a stick 
(Ezek. xxxix. 9) 7x the hand of a mighty man... than the false gods, and harmony and sense 
are restored to the whole verse. (Heb. 1133 7°2 929 31D instead of 13} AN ΠΩΣ rib.) 

(7) Γ΄. 68. ‘The (wild) beasts are better than they: for they can get under a covert, and 
help themselves. The object of getting under a covert is surely ¢o Aide; and it is almost self — 
evident that αὑτὰ ὠφελῆσαι represents Heb. ndynd to hide themselves. The translator vocalized 
the word wrongly, reading 0295 70 profit them (cf. Isa. xxx. 5) instead of D2VN to hide. 4 

(8) 1΄. 72. ‘The bright purple that rotteth upon them.’ The Greek has ‘the purple axzd the — 
marble that rotteth upon them’. As I pointed out long ago (Var. Apocr. in loc.), this is clearly 
a case of confusion between ww byssus, fine linen, and its homophone ww alabaster or marble — 
(Cant. v. 15). ‘Marble’ does not ‘rot’, ‘fine linen’ does; and ‘purple and fine linen’ go together — 
(Exod. xxvi. 15 Prov. xxxi. 22); Luke xvi. 19). 

For a not inconsiderable amount of similar evidence the notes on the text may be consulted. 
Altogether it would seem difficult to avoid the conclusion that our £fzs¢le is a free translation 
of a lost Hebrew original. In that case, the Greek version may very well be considerably later 
in date, and may even belong to the age of the Maccabees. 


598 


(ie EPISTLE OF JEREMY 


A copy of an epistle, which Jeremy sent unto them which were to be led captives into Babylon 
by the king of the Babylonians, to certify them, as it was commanded him of God. 

Because of the sins which ye have committed before God, ye shall be led away captives into 
3 Babylon by Nabuchodonosor king of the Babylonians. So when ye be come unto Babylon, ye 


I 


2 


I. copy of an epistle, which Jeremy sent. (᾿Αντίγραφον ἐπιστολῆς ἧς ἀπέστειλεν ᾿Ιερεμίας = NNN PWD 
™ noe 1; cf. Ezra iv. 11; v. 6.) It is nowhere stated in the body of the letter that Jeremiah wrote 
it. The statement might be only the guess of an editor or translator who remembered Jer. xxix and 
2 Macc. ii. 2. Some such introductory formula, however, seems almost necessary to the understanding of what 
follows; and, upon the whole, the superscription is probably an integral part of the original composition. 
Cf. the last clause ‘as it was commanded him of God’ with τ. 3 ‘JZ will bring you out’ and v. 7 ‘ mzne angel’. 

Why does not the author say ‘ Jeremiah she prophet’, after the precedent of Jer. xxix. 1 and 2 Mace. ii. 1? 
He assumes that every reader will know who ‘ Jeremiah’ was, although others besides the prophet bore the 
name (e.g. 2 Kings xxiv. 18 = Jer. lii, 1). But doubtless in his day the others would not be thought of. 
The mention of the name would at once suggest the great prophet whose importance had come to overshadow 
that of all the other great figures of the past in the imagination of later generations. 

them which were to be led: i.e. were about to be led, or were on the point of being led (τοὺς ἀχθησο- 
μένους). There is no mention of such a letter being sent by Jeremiah to the captives deported by Nebuzaradan 
in 586 (‘the remnant of the people’; Jer. xxxix. 9). The prophet was, however, so kindly treated by the 
Chaldeans that, had he wished to do so, he would probably have been permitted to communicate with his 
unfortunate countrymen. But the record is silent; and, besides, the whole character of the letter is quite 
unlike the sort of appeal which the dreadful circumstances of the time would have elicited from the tender heart 
and powerfully stirred sympathies of the prophet. No satire on idolatry, however brilliant, no series of gibes 
and jests at the gods of the conquerors, however ingeniously conceived and bitterly expressed, could seem other 
than strangely ill-timed to the poor captives, cowering in abject fear before their conquerors, in the very hour 
of what seemed to be the irretrievable ruin of their country and the triumph of the gods of Babylon. 

The letter of Jer. xxix is expressly stated to have been sent to the exiles (of 597) when already established 
in Babylon (see vv. 1, 4, 7); not when they were on the point of leaving their own country, as our superscrip- 
tion affirms in regard to the captives to whom this ‘ Epistle of Jeremy ’ is supposed to be sent. 

the king of the Babylonians. The same expression recurs in 7. 2, and is, so far as it goes, an indication 
that the heading is due to the composer of the letter. The phrase of the canonical books is ‘the king of 

Babylon’ (Kings, Jer., Ezek., &c.), which the Syriac has in both places here also. See also Baruchi.g τι f. 
It would be somewhat strange if a Greek translator had rendered so easy and common a phrase as the 


Heb. aa Ἴ in this unnatural way. (Was the original phrase 82533 ΣῚ ΝΞΟ Cf. Ezra iv. g for ‘the 
_ Babylonians ’.) 


to certify them. Rather, ‘to report unto them. This word ἀναγγέλλω in LXX mostly represents 
| Heb. 7.17, ‘announce, report, give a message’; e.g. Jer. xvi. 10 ef saep. 

2. Rather, ‘It is on account of your sins which ye have sinned before God, that ye will be brought to 
Babylon as captives.’ Cf. Jer. xxxix. 7; 2 Kings xxv. 7. The writer is not predicting, as the English of both 
A. V.and R. V. seems to imply. He is declaring the moral cause of the banishment which, as they well knew, 
awaited them. It is as though the people had asked the question supposed in Jer. xvi. ro. 

Since it was, strictly speaking, Nebuzaradan who carried away the people after the fall of Jerusalem in 586, 
2 Kings xxv. 11, while (according to 2 Kings xxiv. 10-16) Nebuchadnezzar himself carried away Jehoiachin 
and his fellow-captives, it would seem that our author really intends the earlier captivity of 597. 
verse, in fact, summarizes the message of the prophet to the exiles of the first captivity, Jer. xxix. 4-11. 

3. Lit. ‘ye shall be there many years and a long time unto seven generations; but after this I will bring 
you out thence with peace.’ Cf. Jer. xxix. 10, 11. The datum ‘unto seven generations’ is quite inexplicable 
if the author was acquainted with the writings of Jeremiah and felt himself bound by their data in such a matter. 
It is difficult to imagine any Jew of literary pretensions ignorant of that prophet’s limit of ‘seventy years’ for 
|the Babylonian Captivity (Jer. xxv. 12; xxix. 10). It is, of course, possible that the author was thinking 

of another passage of Jeremiah, viz. xxvii. 7. There the prophet estimates the divinely appointed duration of 
| Babylonian dominion at three generations. ‘All the nations’, he says, ‘shall serve Azm ’ (i.e. ‘ Nebuchadnezzar 
\the king of Babylon’), ‘ avd his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land come.’ This might be 
tegarded as limiting the duration of the Captivity also to three generations; and we might suppose that 
a Hebrew ἃ (= 3) has been confused with + (= 7) in the original text of our Epistle. 


599 


The next 


But see the Introduction, 


| 


EPISTEE OF JEREMY 3-2 


shall remain there many years, and for a long season, even for seven generations: and after 

4 that I will bring you out peaceably from thence. But now shall ye see in Babylon gods of 

5 silver, and of gold, and of wood, borne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear. Beware 
therefore that ye in no wise become like unto the strangers, neither let fear take hold upon you 
because of them, when ye see the multitude before them and behind them, worshipping them. 

6, 7 But say ye in your hearts, O Lord, we must worship thee. For mine angel is with you, and 
81 myself do care for your souls. For their tongue is polished by the workman, and they 


§ 2, for what appears to be a more probable solution of the difficulty. The Syriac cuts the knot, reading 
‘until seventy years; and after seventy years I will bring you forth from thence in peace’. ‘ With peace’ (μετ᾽ 
εἰρήνης = Dw) occurs in LXX Gen. xxvi. 29 ; Exod. xviii. 23. 

Since Jer. xxvii. 7 does not appear in the LXX (see Q™s), it would seem that our epistoler was not 
dependent on that source for his knowledge of Jeremiah’s writings, but was acquainted with the Heb. text. 

4. But now shall ye see. Νυνὶ δὲ ὄψεσθε = INN Any, And now, ye will see: cf. Gen. xxxii. 11; 
Exod. xxxii. 34. 

gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood. Vulgate: ‘gods of gold, and of silver, and of stone, and of 
wood.’ But cf. Ps. cxv. 4, cxxxv. 15; Jer. x. 4 for ‘silver and gold’. For the addition (found also in Syr.), 
see Deut. iv. 28, xxix. 17; Dan. v. 4. Obviously, stone would be too heavy a material for gods which were to 
be ‘borne upon shoulders’; i.e. carried in procession by the priests on their festivals, as depicted in the 
Assyrian sculptures. The ‘gods of silver and of gold’, moreover, were not of solid metal; but of wood 

- overlaid with the precious ores. See Isa. xl. το f., xli. 6 f., xliv. 12-17, xlvi. 6 f.; Jer. x. 3-5. 

which cause the nations to fear. Lit. ‘showing (or displaying) a fear to the nations’ (δεικνύντας φόβον 
τοῖς ἔθνεσιν = ND ONIA-NN ON, ‘making the nations behold an object of fear’), A ‘fear’ or ‘dread’ 
denotes a deity in Aramaic (NPN, Syr. Jl.$) as well as in Hebrew (81); Isa. viii. 12 f.; Ps. Ixxvi. 12; 
MB, Gen. xxxi. 42. The curious Greek phrase, which is usually explained by reference to Ps. Ix. 5 (‘ Thou 
hast made thy people see hard things’), suggests the Hebrew original given above, with its characteristic 
paronomasia or play upon like-sounding words (mar’ém méra@’), which the translator failed to reproduce in 
Greek. So the LXX everywhere ignores this feature of Hebrew style. 

5. Rather, ‘Beware, then, lest ye also become wholly assimilated to the foreigners, and fear at them | 
(i.e. the idols) seize you, when ye see a crowd before and behind them bowing down to them.’ This again 
suggests a Hebrew original. “9 omSy inNm ooMN ANT D2 295 ons ὯΣ WIN ADT 15 ὈΠ 5). Note — 
especially the ἀφομοιωθέντες ἀφομοιωθῆτε = Y9N 77 (the compound Greek verb seems peculiar to this Epistle 
in LXX: see Tromm), and ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς = Dn ‘on account of them’, as the source of the fear. For the phrase 
‘fear take (or seize) you’, see Ps. xlviii. 7; Exod. xv. 15. ‘ Before and behind them’: i.e. in the procession. 

6. But say ye in your hearts. The Greek has ‘your understanding’ (τῇ διανοίᾳ), as in Gen. xvii. 17 ; 
xxvii. 41. Heb. 092252 ‘in your heart’ (sing.). The Greek of what follows (cot δεῖ προσκυνεῖν, Δέσποτα) 
might represent Heb. "ἽΝ ninnwnd 75. The verse, however, may be an interpolation. It breaks the connexion 
between vv. 5, 7 (see note on 2. 7), and is omitted by LXX“. 

7. For mine angel is with you: recalls Exod. xxiii. 23, xxxii. 34 ; Gen. xxiv. 7, xlviii. 16; Exod. xxiii.20; Ὁ 
Num. xx. 16. 

The next clause should run: ‘And he (emphatic) careth for your lives.’ The original verse may have been 
something of this kind : 


ee EO ee een ee ἐς ον. 


Se wee TORE Clea ere at eee eee eee he 


ye ee me th 0g 


pons y2Nbn 5 
spavexd) wat Nm 


Cf. Gen. xxvi. 24; Isa. xliii. 5; Ps. cxlii. 5; Jer. xxx. 14, 17. (For the plur. τὰς ψυχάς = wD) sing., cf 
Ps. xix. 8, xxxiii. το LXX.) . 

God is represented as speaking directly, as in v. 3. No doubt, the author felt that the whole message was 
a ‘word of God’, like all prophetic utterances. But the present verse may perhaps be a direct quotation from 
some poetical or prophetical piece. It does not seem likely that an author writing in Greek would have chosen 
to use the phrase ἐκζητῶν τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν in this special sense, unless he had had such a word as wot (or wpa, 
Prov. xxix. 10) before him. ‘To seek a man’s soul or life’ generally implies a murderous, not a benevolent 
motive. See Ps. xxxv. 4, xxxviii. 13, &c.; 2 Sam. iv. 8 (all wpa). For wi = ἐκζητῶ, see also Gen. ix. 5. 
Perhaps the author intended this last use: ‘And he requireth ov will require (i.e. avenge) your lives.’ (So 
Syr. ‘The A. of the Lord—* ἼΝΟΙ for ‘sxb2—is with you, and he will avenge your souls.) Further, why 
ἐκζητῶν, and not ἐκζητεῖ (or ἐκζητήσει), if the author was not translating a Heb. participle? 


8-16. Ldols, though made of costly materials and richly adorned, are powerless to help or 10 hurt. 


8. For their tongue is polished by the workman (more /i/.a craftsman. τέκτων τε wan, Isa. xl. 18, 20; a carver 
or graver in wood, metal, or stone). Heb. perhaps: wan 33 ΠΡ wd 35 (sharpened rather than polished) ; a 
paronomasia. Cf. Ps. Ixiv. 4, cxl. 4. κατεξυσμένη here only in LXX (Tromm). If ‘ polished’ were what the 
author intended, this might represent Heb. ΠΡῚ 5 or AVA. It is implied that the images’ mouths were open, 

600 


BES SEE Ὁ PE RENY ‘9214 


9 themselves are overlaid with gold and with silver; yet are they but false, and cannot speak. And 

taking gold, as it were for a virgin that loveth to go gay, they make crowns for the heads of their 
| ro gods: and sometimes also the priests convey from their gods gold and silver, and bestow it upon 
11 themselves ; and will even give thereof to the common harlots: and they deck them as men with 
12 garments, eve the gods of silver, and gods of gold, and of wood. Yet cannot these gods save 
13 themselves from rust and moths, though they be covered with purple raiment. They wipe their 
14 faces because of the dust of the temple, which is thick upon them. And he that cannot put to 


as if to speak (sez?. oracles). The connexion of thought with what precedes may be: ‘Fear them not, for,’ &c, 
The verse is reminiscent of Ps. cxv. 4, 5a. 


and they themselves: i.e. their bodies (Greek αὐτά τε: cf. Ziad i. 4). 
clause may have been: D332) 2ΠῚ3 Aan) oxy. 


yet are they but false. ψευδῆ = “pw, Jer. x. 14, ill. 25, @ deception or fraud, of an idol. Render: ‘ but 
they are a fraud.’ Heb. 3py on); after which the verse concludes with 1395 153)" Nb). 

g. Lit. ‘And as for a virgin fond of adornment, taking gold they make crowns upon the heads of their gods.’ 
φιλόκοσμος only here in LXX, Heb. omnby ὈΝ ΟΡ nowy wy anroinpd sy avan adinad sewn. Ce. 
Jer. 11. 32, ἵν: 30; Zech. vi. 11. 

ro. Lit. ‘But there are also times when the priests, filching from their gods gold and silver, spend it on 
themselves’, Heb. perhaps ‘121 ὩΣ ΠΣΠ 12927 DYN AN; ὑφαιρεῖσθαι = 393, Job xxi. 18. καταναλίσκω εἴς τι, 


‘to spend upon a thing,’ is a classical phrase. The verb renders Heb. Sox “to eat, consume,’ Jer. iii. 24 et al. 
Possibly εἰς ἑαυτοὺς (= pnb) is due to the translator’s having misread ond ‘ bread’ as on. The Heb. will then 
have been: ond 52x) or vdaxy ond) ‘and eat bread’ (= feast: Gen, xliii. 25; Ps. xiv. 4; Jer. xli. x; 
Luke xiv. 15). Otherwise, cf. 2 Kings xii, 12 and suppose an original like wey» owas) ‘and would spend 
it on themselves’: so the Syriac (} p51). 

11. Render: ‘while they will give part of them (i.e. the gold and silver ornaments) even to the harlots on 
the roof’; i.e. apparently, the roof of the temple, where perhaps they slept for coolness, as on an ordinary 


house-roof (cf. Joshua ii, 6). These would be hierodules or temple-harlots such as we know to have been 


connected with some of the Babylonian temples, e.g. that of Ishtar at Erech (πόρναι ΞΞ ΠῚ Ρ; cf. 
Gen, xxxviii. 21 f.; Deut. xxiii. 17). στέγος, roof (Syr. om.), was also used for a brothel in late Greek ; and the 
variant τέγος (A Q) is Aquila’s equivalent of 73? in Num. xxv. 8 ‘a vaulted tent’, rendered by the Vulg. 


_ lupanar, and so used in Neo-Hebrew. Cf. Lat. fornex, ‘vaulted cellar; brothel.’ Was this the author’s 

meaning here, and did he write ΠΩΡΠ Sy mod ox oan nn (‘and they would give part of them even to the 
whores by the arched bower’)? In view of the Babylonian custom, the former interpretation seems preferable. 
Indeed, it seems possible, and even probable, that the original reference was to the supposed brides of Bel, who 
slept in the shrine on the top-stage of his great pyramidal temple (see Hdt. i. 181). 

and they deck them as men with garments, &c.= yyy ant ἹΠῸΝ ney Apa nds ΠΝ wad ΟἼΝΘ omy sy 
(cf. Ezek. xvi. 11; 2 Kings x. 22). This sentence resumes the thread of the narrative from v. 9, vv. 10, 11 a 
_ constituting a parenthesis. 

12. Lit. ‘But these are not saved from rust and fret, arrayed in purple apparel’ = ὈΞΝΟῚ axdna mye oN 
jos 2 nwiabn ; cf. Num. x. 9; Ezek. xvi. 18, xxiv. 6; Esther viii. 15; Mal. iii. r1; Job xiii, 28; 
1 Kings xxii. 10, for the vocabulary. The second clause probably belongs to this rather than to the following 
-verse (Vulg., Arab.) ; since, if ‘rust’ refers to the tarnishing of metal, ‘fret’ (βρώματα) seems to indicate the 
ravages of moths or grubs in clothing. The genitive absolute is, therefore, incorrectly used by the translator. 
But, further, βρώματα in the LXX generally means food (Heb. S38 or bon). 


Heb. ΟΝ or ob. The whole 


Tromm. gives twenty-one 
‘instances of βρώματα = 3 Ν᾽ (e.g. Gen. xli. 35 f.) and ten of βρώματα = Say (Gen. vi. 21). It is evident that 


| ‘from rust and food’ cannot be right. We probably have here another instance of error in translation from the 
| Hebrew original. If Sox) stood in the unpointed text, the translator may be supposed to have pointed 
j 2283 (= καὶ Bp.) instead of Sonn ‘and from a devourer’ (i.e. moth or grub ; Mal. iii. 11 ; cf. Job xiii. 28 ; 
ἢ Aros iv. 9). LXX makes the same blunder in Isa. lv. το, giving εἰς βρῶσιν for bond (‘to the eater’). In 


| . . F a, 

| Matt. vi. 19 also σὴς καὶ βρῶσις May represent bait YY “moth and devourer’ (Isa. li. 8. Cf. also Assyr. 
fe ‘eater, ‘grub,’ ‘ worm,’ &c.). 

| 


13. They wipe their faces. ἐκμάσσονται is strange, if this be the meaning. We should have expected 
ἐκμάσσουσιν. The middle voice denotes ‘to wipe away one’s own tears’, Anth. Palat. 5. 43. If the Heb. was 
JDMID in» ‘they wipe their faces’, the translator might have pointed the verb as a passive, ante), understanding 
‘they are wiped as to their faces’ = ‘they have their faces wiped’; though the sense might rather be simply 
‘their faces are wiped’. (For the verb see Prov. xxx. 20; Isa. xxv. 8.) [ ἘΠῚ 
the temple is τῆς οἰκίας = m3 ‘the house’. Cf. 1 Kings vi. But ma in the sense of temple or God's 
house (Assyr. d7/ 111) is usually οἶκος in LXX, while οἰκία is an ordinary dwelling-house. Did the translator use 
|the latter word purposely, to express contempt for the heathen temple ? 


14. Lit. ‘And a sceptre holdeth he, as a man judge of a place, who will not destroy him who offendeth 
601 Rr 
1105 


EPISTLE OF JEREMY τ τὸ 


death one that offendeth against him holdeth a sceptre, as though he were judge of a country. 

15 He hath also a dagger in his right hand, and an axe: but cannot deliver himself from war and 
16, 17 robbers. Whereby they are known not to be gods: therefore fear them not. For like as a vessel 
that a man useth is nothing worth when it is broken; even so it is with their gods: when they © 

18 be set up in the temples their eyes be full of dust through the feet of them that come in. And 

as the courts are made sure on every side upon him that offendeth the king, as being committed 

to suffer death; eve so the priests make fast their temples with doors, with locks, and bars, lest 

19 they be carried off by robbers. They light them candles, yea, more than for themselves, whereof 


against him’ = $1 sin AX sa Nd ἼΦΝ AID Daw WIND JOIN HAL (cf. Amos i. 5; Exod. ii. 14; Gen. xx. 9). 
ἀνελεῖ may also stand for 3) wll smite (Gen. iv. 14); a suitable word in connexion with paw (Isa. xi. 4). 
The Babylonian gods are represented on the sculptures and seal-engravings as holding sceptres, swords, axes, 
and other emblems of authority. Some of the Hittite deities at Boghaz Keui carry sceptres; and an axe 
is the common Egyptian symbol for a god. j 
15. Lit. ‘But he holdeth a dagger in (A Q) the (A) right hand and an axe’ = Heb... . ἢ) Δ) 12°23 35n Jon. 
LXX has ἐγχειρίδιον for Heb. 29m ‘sword’ in Ezek. xxi. 3, 4, 5 and elsewhere. Syr. adds: ‘in his left,’ which 
may very well be right. Restore therefore : sows wa. 15>. Lit. ‘but himself from war and brigands he will 
not deliver’. The collocation ‘zwar and brigands’ is improbable ; and it seems natural to suppose a confusion 
of πόλεμος and πολέμιος, Such as we observe in Esther ix. 16, where we find ἀπὸ τῶν πολέμων (but B πολεμίων) 
for oN». Restoring πολεμίων (cf. A πολέμων), here, we conjecture the following original text: 1D] MN) _ 
Sy ΝΟ one on, and himself from enemies and spoilers he cannot deliver (cf. Isa. xliv. 20; Obad. 5). 
16. they are known. Gk. γνώριμοί εἰσιν, which, according to the ordinary use of the LXX, should mean 
‘they are kinsfolk’ (Ruth ii. 1) or ‘friends’ (2 Sam. iii. 8). The translator probably had the Heb. oy» 
in his MS., and possibly confused the participle with the substantive. The verse, which is rhetorically repeated 
in almost the same words at vv. 23, 29, 65, 69, may be reconstructed in Hebrew somewhat thus: πον τὸν 
om ἸΝΟΤ ΟΝ 5τὸν (ΘΠ) ταῦ on. Cf. Isa. xxxi. 3, lvii. 6; Jer. x. 5, v. 7. 
17-23. The senseless zdols are patient of all indignities. é 
17. A reminiscence of Jer. xxii. 28, Hos. viii. 8, as regards the language of the first half of the verse. But — 
σκεῦος ἀνθρώπου is suspicious, as it hardly means ‘a vessel shat a man useth’; and if it did, the description — 


would be quite superfluous. It looks as if wan earthenware (Jer. xxxii. 14: YAN >) had been misread D7" by 
confusion of letters (w or & is sometimes mistaken for YY or 12), or perhaps rather wax. Cf. also the Syr., which 
gives ‘a potter’s vessel’. Lit. the Greek says: ‘ For just as a vessel of aman, if broken, becometh useless, such 
are their gods.’ The Heb. may have been: ὉΠΠΟΝ ὙΠΟ 73 12 yan PS yp wan ὍΣ. 93 ‘For like an earthen 
vessel broken, useless, so are their gods.’ A broken vessel is a proverb of worthlessness, Jer. xxii. 28. (The full — 
stop is rightly placed here; what follows is a new thought.) The next statement may be rendered: ‘ When 
they have been established in their houses, their eyes are (become) full of dust from the feet,’ &c. But it seems 
probable that, in the Hebrew, the clause 0°N23 O°2¥' ‘set up in the houses’ (= temples), or whatever the — 
phrase was which the Greek represents by καθιδρυμένων (? DYDD] OD) αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις, was connected — 
with the preceding words. The sense will then have been: ‘So are their gods, set up in their temples.’ Then : 
followed in the Hebrew, as a new sentence: ;O°N37 soar say ind pany ‘their eyes are filled with dust’, &c. 
LXX4 gives κήποις for οἴκοις ; an interesting variant, which recalls Isa. Ixv. 3. Cf. also v. 21 and the note there. 
18. the courts are made sure on every side. Gk. περιπεφραγμέναι εἰσὶν ai αὐλαί, ‘the courts (of the — 
palace) are fenced in all round’; cf. Job i. 10 (VW = περιφράσσω; Hos. ii. 6 (8) = φράσσω, ‘hedge in’). — 
αὐλή generally = “yn ‘court’; but ‘the courts are fortified’ does not give a good sense, and αὐλή sometimes — 
represents Heb. ayy ‘gate’ (Ps. cxxii. 2; Esther ii. 19). Perhaps the Heb. was ὉΠ yD) ‘the gates are 
shut’. αὐλαί can hardly be the courts of a prison, as in Jer. xxxii. 2, xxxiii. 1 (Gifford); for that would 
require the addition of τῆς φυλακῆς. 
as being committed to suffer death. Lit. ‘as having been led off for death’ (execution). This is not 
very intelligible; and A prefixes the conjunction 7 07, which improves the sense, and may be right. ἀπηγμένος 
in LXX renders Heb. “Ds ‘ prisoner’ (Gen. xxxix. 22; cf. xl. 3 VON = ἀπῆκτο, xiii. 16 MONT = ἀπάχθητε; 
Isa. xiv. 17 τοὺς ἐν ἀπαγωγῇ = ODN). Either this (nid ΟΝ) might have been the phrase here, or we may 
suppose an original 72% N52 ‘one led to death’ (Isa. liii. 7; Jer. xi. 19). The rest of the verse is easy. 
The whole may have run in the Hebrew pretty much as follows: oxywn mp2 75nd son wx ΝΣ WS 
sw ow ὍΣ 5 oma odpsna mndsa oA yin’ ὉΠ, ΠΝ 7D (e210 nyo? wx) mob TDN WI 
‘And just as around an offender against a king the gates are shut, or around one bound for execution 
(or a man led to execution) ; so do the priests strengthen their (the idols’) houses with doors, and locks, and” 
bars, lest by the hand of spoilers they should be despoiled’. (Syr. ‘And like a man who is condemned by the ~ 
king, their arms are stretched out—lke the condemned (pl.) to death. Their houses their priest 
strerigthen,’ &c. This points to a different Greek exemplar.) 
19. They light them candles. Rather: ‘Lamps they burn’; Gk. λύχνους καίουσιν, which probably 
represents Heb. 135y" ΤῚΣ ‘lamps they arrange’ ; see Lev. xxiv. 4. t 
602 


eter eerie 


La Ah Ae ΡΟ ΤΥ oy ey 


Sn al ee eee ot ee eet et as ee 


"στο... τος. -- τ το 


ΕΒ ΘΙ ΒΥ ΟἿ JEREMY 20225 


20 they cannot see one. They are as one of the beams of the temple; and men say their hearts 
21 are eaten out, when things creeping out of the earth devour both them and their raiment: they 
22 feel it not when their faces are blacked through the smoke that cometh out of the temple: upon 

23 their bodies and heads alight bats, swallows, and birds ; and in like manner the cats also. Whereby 
| 24 ye may know that they are no gods: therefore fear them not. Notwithstanding the gold wherewith 
they are beset to make them beautiful, except one wipe off the rust, they will not shine: for not even 

| 25 when they were molten did they feel it. Things wherein there is no breath are bought at any cost. 


yea, more than for themselves. A’s reading πλείονας αὐτοῖς = ond om < many for them’, is preferable. 


The rest of the verse might have been: jam mmyvoa md vay xd ἼΩΝ ‘of which they cannot see 
? 
even one’. 


20. They are as one of the beams of the temple; and men say their hearts are eaten out, &c. 
Evidently there is something wrong here. The connexion of thought, if any exist, between the first and second 


members of the verse is hopelessly obscure. The Greek does not help us. ‘ He is, indeed, as a beam of those 
out of the house; but their hearts they say are licked up’: surely a false contrast. It is likely that the words 
τὰς δὲ καρδίας αὐτῶν φασίν conceal the common Hebrew phrase ‘to say in one’s heart’ = to think, and that 


the sense of the original was: ‘And he (i.e. the idol) is like a beam of the temple, yet they think that he eats.’ 
See Bel 6 ff. for eating as a proof of being a ‘living god’. ἐκλείχειν = ppd ‘to lap’ or ‘lick up’, 
1 Kings xxii. 38, and the syn. nb, ibid. xviii. 38; Num. xxii. 4 (of eating). The Hebrew may have been: 
“πὸ voor? paday man MVPs WM And he ἐς like a beam of the house (or read: MID ANPI = ὥσπερ δοκὸς τῶν 
ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας); ‘And they say in their heart, ‘‘ He licketh up!”’ (The translator pointed 75%, as he renders 
by a passive infin.) The verse continues, if we translate literally: ‘Of the reptiles from the earth eating up 
both themselves and their dress they are not aware.’ This may have sprung from Heb. omw ὈΞῚΝ aADINA wD 
sp ΝΟῚ ὈΠΥ 3), ‘The creeping things of the ground (Gen. i. 25) eat them and their robes (1 Kings xxii. 30), 


and they know not. (Syr. ‘They are like beams, &c.; and their heart ts fooltsh and goeth astray ; and they 
are destroyed by the reptiles of the earth, and are eaten—they and their garments.’) 


21. Lit. ‘(They are) blackened as to their face from the smoke out of the house’. The Hebrew may have 
been: ΤΠ jwyo ons yvn ‘ Their faces are black from the smoke of the house’. Cf. Lam. iv. 8. In that 
case, μεμελάνωται (Q*) τὰ πρόσωπα (QMS) would represent the Hebrew more correctly than the reading of B, 
But A’s τοῦ ἐκ τῆς γῆς καιομένου is more likely to be original than B’s τοῦ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας (dittogr. from v. 20). 
It points, moreover, to the Heb. m2qNA7W2 AdyA (jwy3) ‘(through the smoke) which goeth up from the ground ’ 
(cf. v.54 note). The Greek translator seems to have vocalized nbyn as nbya ΞΞ καίειν, fo light a lamp 
(Ex. xxvii. 20; Lev. xxiv. 2). 

22. swallows, and birds (Gk. “he dzrds) is a curious collocation. We should expect the name of some 
| other species to be added to that of the swallow. The Syriac, accordingly, has ravens, which may be right, as the 

dominant idea would seem to be that of unclean birds (Lev. xi. 14, 15, 19). But ‘bats and swallows and [all] 
the birds’ is also possible ; especially if ‘the cats’ be correct in the next clause. The mention of the (domestic ?) 
cat is unique in LXX. The word (οἱ atAovpor) might conceivably represent Ow (= Aram. jw, Arab. 
pol) or p*\nn (see Talmud Bab. Hor. 13a). The Targum renders DN by this last word in Isa. xii. 22, 
Xxxiv. 14. Was the word here ΠΝ ‘kites’ or ‘hawks’, which the translator misread ON and rendered ‘ cats’? 
| Then the Heb. of the verse may have been ΠΥ ΝΠ ON DIAM ODOM oODdyyn im owxr-dyy onary. 
| (The Syriac has: ‘And on their heads sit bats and swallows and ravens together, and also weasels.’ For 
ravens, Cf. v. 54.) 

23. γνώσεσθε = Win = ‘ye may know’, sand won-dy jo-by AMA Syewd 5 win Adyn. 

24. Lit. ‘For the gold which they wear for beauty,—unless one have wiped off the rust, they will not make 70 
| shine; for not even when they were being cast, were they aware (of it)’. There is no obvious relation between 
| the two statements of this verse, the connecting yap notwithstanding. But it is at least evident (face R.V.) that 
) στίλβω is used transitively in the former of them, as in Diosc. i. 111 and Aristaen. i. 25. The Heb. might be 
YN’ (Job xli. 24) or 1m (Ps. xviii. 29). In the second, ‘they were molten’ or rather cas? (ἐχωνεύοντο = psn) 
can hardly be right; for the verse has in view, as the first member shows, idols overlaid or plated with the 
)precious metal, not images of solid gold. The sense required, and indicated, by the context is: ‘for they do 
fnot know when (or that) they are dirty (or tarnished).’ Possibly the translator mispointed won ‘were brought 
|forth, produced’, the real word being dn were defiled (cf. Ezek. xxviii. 7 ‘defile thy brightness’: Isa. xxx. 22). 
18 περίκεινται, ‘which they have round them, which they wear’; cf. Acts xxvili. 20; also τὰ περικείμενα χρυσία, 


plates of gold dad on an ivory statue, Thue. ii. 13. Heb, 00 xd ON (mnNen? Ἰ5Π2) nya’) BY We INIT NN 13 
295m (an adden) 55. wa xd 5 (Ps. xviii, 29 wee) NY ND ΠΝΌΠΠ ΠΝ vrs. 
25. at any cost. Gk. ἐκ πάσης τιμῆς = VND ba»; a misreading of “Ὁ Spa. The Heb. may have been: 


ΒῺΞ AN PSN wes on mrmp> wn daa: cf. Jer. χ. 14; 2 Chr. i. 16. 
n whom is no breath.’ 


Better: ‘At all cost they are acquired, 


603 


Rr 2 


EPISTLE OF JEREMY 26-32 


26 Having no feet, they are borne upon shoulders, whereby they declare unto men that they be 
27 nothing worth. They also that serve them are ashamed: for if they fall to the ground at 
any time, they cannot rise up again of themselves: neither, if one set them aright, can they 
move of themselves: neither, if they be set awry, can they make themselves straight: but the 
28 offerings are set before ‘them, as if they were dead men. And the things that are sacrificed 
unto them, their priests sell and spend; and in like manner their wives also lay up part thereof 
29 in salt; but unto the poor and to the impotent will they give nothing thereof. The menstruous 
woman and the woman in childbed touch their sacrifices: knowing therefore by these things that 
30 they are no gods, fear them not. For how can they be called gods? because women set meat 
31 before the gods of silver, gold, and wood. And in their temples the priests sit on seats, having 
32 their clothes rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads. They roar 


26. Rather emg footless ... exposing their own shame to mankind. Cf. Isa. xlvi. 7, xlix. 22, for the first 
reproach ; for the second, Jer. xiii. 26, Nah. iii. 5. Indecent figures of gods were perhaps commoner in Egypt 
than in Babylonia, where they usually appear draped. See the procession in my Light from the East, p. 173. 
But nude and phallic figures occur on the seals. Heb. :ondp oINA-ns DN J ose ana-by oda psa. 

27. Lit. And even they who attend on them are ashamed = On13y"O) Way. The participle θεραπεύων = TAY 
in Isa. liv. 17 also (LXX θεράπων = T2Y saepe). Perhaps the translator pointed O73) (Zech. ii. 13). The 
next sentence is lit. ‘On account of the rising by help of them, lest (= if?) ever he have fallen upon the ground’, 
Instead of ‘by help of them’ (δι᾿ αὐτῶν), i.e. of the attendants, LXX* gives ‘by themselves’ (6: ἑαυτῶν), 
i.e. unassisted. δι ἑαυτοῦ would have been better after πέσῃ, sing. Further, the negative must be supplied: 
‘On account of their not rising by themselves, if ever he have fallen,’ &c. Heb. perhaps: OS DWA ip by 
Ty bp) ‘because of his rising by their hand if he have fallen to earth’. Cf. 1 Sam. v. 3, xxviii. 20. The 
Chinese say ‘A fallen Buddha rise!’ (Pi Fou-tu ki), of a hopeless case (Giles, Dict. 3600). The verse 
continues: ‘nor, if one have set him upright, will (= ‘can’—a Hebraism) he move of himself, nor if he be bowed, 
will he stand erect; but as before corpses the gifts are set before them.’ The Heb. might have been: 
ond ow ond onps 3 tyr Nd yoy oxy 725 Φ xd wopoa na wx ON «And if a man set him up 
in his place, he will not move alone ; and if he bow, he will not stand up; but as (before) the dead bread is set 
before them’. Cf. Isa. xlvi. 1, 7 ; and for the offerings to the dead, Ps. cvi. 28, Ecclus. xxx. 18 f., Tobit iv. 17. 
τὰ δῶρα = ond, Lev. xxi. 6, 8; and παρατιθέναι = DW, Gen. xliii. 32 ἃ]. The change from plur. to sing. 
exemplified in this verse is a common characteristic of Hebrew style (see Driver, Samue/, p. |xix). 

28. Lit. ‘But their sacrifices their priests sell and use up; but in like manner the women (A their wives) 
also, salting part of them, neither to a beggar nor to a pauper give any share’. In Hebrew: 195° ὩΠῚ ΠΣ 
rmavdoxn ΝΟ yas) ὋΝ on (Lev. ii, 13) mindy (A = omws) ow ὯΔ yor (Isa. iii, 14) TDI ONIAD (cf. 
perédoxa: Job xxxi. 17). Instead of yay ‘and greedily consume’, perhaps 32) ‘and use up’ (cf. Deut. 
xxxli. 23; Gen. xxi. 15); and instead of mindy ‘salting’, perhaps mw2n ‘spicing’ or ‘pickling’ (ch 
Gen. |. 2, 3, 26). (The Syriac ‘their priests ea ¢hem and their wives gorge themselves with them’ may indicate 
a more original text : voy edunt pr. 12° consumunt; nom vorant pr. ΤΊΤΟΥ condiunt.) 

29. See Lev. xii. 4, 7, xx. 18. ἀποκαθημένη ‘(a woman) sing apart during menstruation’ = 717; λεχώς 
(for which Q’s λεχώ is more correct), ‘a woman in childbed, or ‘one who has just given birth’ = nby. 
Heb. therefore: :myna ΓΟ ΠῚ myn omnara, an argument which would appeal to none but orthodox Jews. 
(For the construction γνόντες οὖν κτλ., cf. Isa. xxvi. 11: γνόντες δὲ αἰσχυνθήσονται = WA WM. Here perhaps : 
4 ὈΝῚ ὈΝΤΝΟ 5. aden wo; ch Q’s γνῶτε.) (γνόντες is rare in LXX. It occurs otherwise only a few times 
in the idiom γνόντες γνώσεσθε = WAN yO), Jer. xxvi. 15 et sim.) 

30. Another objection from a purely Jewish point of view. There were no priestesses or female attendants 
of Jahweh. πόθεν yap is perhaps equivalent to 7x 35, ‘For how?’ B κληθείησαν and A κληθήσονται might 
either of them represent a Heb. impf. See v. 27 for παρατιθέασιν θεοῖς, ‘they set (food) before gods.’ The 
Heb. verse might be: 791 2m ADI ΠΌΝΟ mow ows 5] ODN NTP Pe 5. 

31. sit on seats. So Syr.; but it is very doubtful whether διφρεύω, ‘drive a chariot’ (Eurip. Androm. 108), 
can bear this meaning, although δίφρος may be a chair or throne (ND3; Deut. xvii. 18; 1 Sam. i. 9). Ὁ cuts 
the knot by substituting καθίζουσιν, ‘they sit” The sense is perhaps not unsuitable, if the word could bear it; 
but the whole context shows that the author is thinking of the mourning for dead gods, which was a well-known 
feature of Babylonian religion. We may, therefore, suppose that the original text had 153) ¢hey zweep, which the 
Greek translator misread 1239) ¢hey ride (see the Introduction, ὃ 3). For the other phrases of the verse, 
cf. Lev. x. 5, 1 Sam. iv. 12, 2 Sam. xv. 32, Jer. xli. 5, Lev. xiii. 45; whence we may infer an original text: 
SYM] DWNT FPN WNT Mw ONdAD ‘yp 133) ODA ONIN, ᾿Ακάλυπτοι (here only) should probably be 
ἀκατακάλυπτοι, as ΟἾΔΕ -- yp ‘unbound’ (by unwinding the turban); a thing forbidden to priests, 
Lev. xxi. Io. ᾿ 

32. Lit. ‘But they roar, shouting before their gods, as persons αἱ a dead man’s wake’. Τὸ περίδειπνον, 
‘a funeral-feast,’ perhaps renders O11 (Jer. xvi. 5; cf. Amos vi. 7) = targumic Nm, NNW ‘the funeral- 

604 


EPISTLE OF JEREMY 33-41 


33 and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast when one is dead. The priests also take off 
} 34 garments from them, and clothe their wives and children withal. Whether it be evil that one 

doeth unto them, or good, they are not able to recompense it: they can neither set up a king 
35 nor put him down. In like manner, they can neither give riches nor money: though a man make 
36 a vow unto them, and keep it not, they will never exact it. They can save no man from death, 
37 neither deliver the weak from the mighty. They cannot restore a blind man to his sight, nor 
138 deliver any that is in distress. They can show no mercy to the widow, nor do good to the 
39 fatherless. They are like the stones that be Aew out of the mountain, chese gods of wood, and 
| that are overlaid with gold and with silver: they that minister unto them shall be confounded. 
49 How should a man then think or say that they are gods, when even the Chaldeans themselves 
41 dishonour them? Who if they shall see one dumb that cannot speak, they bring him, and intreat 


feast’, eaten soon after the burial of the corpse. Cf. Jer. xvi. 7: ‘And they shall not break bread unto the 
mourner, to comfort him for the dead’ (so Giesebrecht). The Heb. of the verse may have been: ‘385 ypyn) 
tnd nna owisa oAnds (Ps. xxxvili. g ΣΝ Ὁ). These rites of mourning for the gods recall the ‘women 
weeping for Tammuz’ of Ezek. viii. 14 and the Babylonian festivals of mourning for the same deity 
(Dumuzi). 

33. Lit. ‘From their dress taking away (a part), the priests will clothe their wives and children’. 
ὁ 05D) Ow) NS ywradmy D305 Wp? OI 32. 

34-39. Unlike Jahweh, they do nothing. Carlyle’s cry to Froude, ‘He (God) never does anything!’ may 
be remembered. The prophets of Israel thought otherwise. They thought He did everything. 

34. Lit. ‘Neither if they have suffered evil by any one, nor if good, will they be able to repay’. Cf. 
Deut. xxxii. 35, Jer. xvi. 18, Prov. xxv. 22, and many other places. 


In Heb. 


i Heb. perhaps: ΞΡ 219 ON) Y? ON 
pwd bay xb wx nen «Tf evil or good they have received from a man, they cannot repay’. See Jer. xlii. 6; 


ob ii. ro. 
: put him down: lit. ‘remove him’. The Heb. of the second sentence might have been: 759 nypmd xb 
yond ΝΟΥ yday. With this and the next two verses cf. r Sam. ii. 6-8. 

35. money; Gk. χαλκός = copper, a copper coin, and then collectively, money. The original phrase may 
have been D°DD2) Wy ‘wealth and riches’, which is rendered πλοῦτον καὶ χρήματα, ‘wealth and money,’ 
2 Chron. i. 12. Probably, however, χαλκός = nv), as usual, and this Heb. term is a disguise or corruption 
of some word meaning poverty, e.g. wn (cf. Prov. xxx. 8), This gives a better parallel to what precedes 
(ὡσαύτως). Heb. nnd ybay xd wae τῶν j2. The next sentence is based on Deut. xxili. 22, and must have 
Tun pretty much as follows: : #7) xd oder xd) 92 nnd wx a ow. 

36. Heb. spydmy xb pin qa Soy | aby xo ΟΝ mon. 
F 33 3°; cf. Joel iv. το. 

37. Lit. ‘A blind man into seeing (= visus) they will not bring round’ (περιστήσωσιν, B. A’s παρα- 
|} στήσωσι = set bestde or near is less suitable). The Greek is rather peculiar and suggests translation. Perhaps 
| εἰς ὅρασιν should have been εἰς ὁρῶντα ; and 12% may have been misread 2} }) (= στήσωσιν). Hence we get: 
yaw xd AyD Wy DIN «A blind man into one seeing they restore not’ (cf. Lev. xiii. 16, Isa. xxix. 17). There 
follows: yyy x5 95 sya ΕῚΝ «A man in straits (Isa. xxv. 4) they will not deliver’. 
38. Cf. Isa. ix. 16, Ex. i. 20, for the language. The verse falls back easily into Hebrew: | 2n™ xd mobs 
por xd om. 

39. these gods of wood. ‘The italicized words probably represent the Heb. correctly. Cf. Isa. xxi. 9, where 
| LXX renders mds by τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῆς, and Isa. xxxi. 7, where yanr ΟΟΝῚ wos ΟΝ is rendered τὰ 
| χειροποίητα αὐτῶν τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χειροποίητα τὰ χρυσᾶ. The Heb. of the clause may have been: 
}apan cnbsy ann ὙΠΟΝῚ pym cnbs ort aan and ‘To the stones of the mountain are like the gods of wood 


and the gods of gold and silver’. The second clause is simply ;.w2» on2y) ‘and their servants shall be 
jashamed’. See note on v. 27a. The priests are intended. 


40. Lit. ‘How then is it to be thought or proclaimed that they are gods?’ Cf. the classical use of νομίζω, 
| *¢0 believe on or acknowledge as a god’; e.g. in the indictment of Socrates: ots ἡ πόλις νομίζει θεοὺς ov νομίζων, 

not believing in the gods in which the state believes.’ Heb. perhaps: ΣΌΠΟΝ OF 1D NIP) ΠῚ PON? AD) 
|‘ And how should we believe and how proclaim that they are gods?’ 

41. they bring him, and intreat him to call upon Bel. Or, ‘having brought Bel, they expect him to 
speak.’ But the man would be taken before the god. And ἀξιῶ in LXX is ‘to beg, pray, request’ (Dan. i. 8, 
ii, τό, vi. 11; Esther iv. 8, viii. 3). Φωνῆσαι = ‘to speak’, as in Ps. οχν. 7 (03092 137 x5). The Heb. 
Jof the verse might have been Samy wyam a> Say xd ἼΦΝ aby ἸΝῚ oN 3 DMN DPD DMwWIA AT AN 
\eyay sin 5. ΝΟ man awe wpa‘ And also they, the Chaldeans, dishonour them’ (Deut. xxvii. 16); ‘for if 
they have seen a dumb man who cannot talk, they will bring him in (to the temple) and beg of Bel that he 
may speak, thinking that he (Bel) is aware.’ (Syr. ed bring him Jdefore the gate’: perhaps xban gale was 
05 


Ἥττων = 55, Job xx. το. Perhaps rather wbm 


42 


43 themselves, and forsake them: for they have no understanding. The women also with cords 


44 
45 


EPISTLE OF JEREMY 42-45 


him to call upon Bel, as though he were able to understand. Yet they cannot perceive this 


about them sit in the ways, burning bran for incense: but if any of them, drawn by some that 
passeth by, lie with him, she reproacheth her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, 
nor her cord broken. Whatsoever is done among them is false: how should a man then think 
or say that they are gods? They are fashioned by carpenters and goldsmiths: they can be nothing 


somehow confused with 53 Ss unio Bel. Cf. Jer. 1. 26 where Syr. renders mDIND by her gales, reading or 
guessing man.) 
42. Yet; rather, “πα. The idolaters themselves cannot see all this (A: τοῦτο νοήσαντες), and abandon 
them (the idols); for they are devoid of sense (Jer. x. 8). Hebrew: ‘3 ans ayy (nxt) pand bay ΜΟῚ 
:ond pe nyr. 
43. This verse describes a well-known custom of Babylonian religion, which, according to Herodotus 
(i. 199), was observed in honour of the goddess Mylitta (MvAurra). ‘ Mylitta,’ he says, ‘is the name the 
Assyrians give to Aphrodite.’ Aphrodite is, of course, Ishtar, the goddess of love and procreation; and — 
‘Mylitta’ is simply a contracted or corrupted form of the epithet mw’al/zd/u, ‘she who causes to bring forth’ 
(i.e. Eileithyia or Lucina), or ‘she who brings forth’ (intensive) all living, the Great Mother, as the Deep 
(Tiamat) is called mu-al-li-da-at gim-ri-shu-un, ‘the Mother of them all, in Creation-Tad.i. See also Ishtar’s 
lament over mankind when drowned by the Deluge (Flood Legend, WZ, xi. 119 ff.), where she seems to 
claim them as her offspring. Heb. (oon MY) WIR NYPD AAwWN O9772 (Jo. i. 8) odan nin wn 
xb) mo pa navna ΝῸ 19 sO ΠΙΠΊΨΎΤΙΝ (ch Gen. xix. 35) wy ΠΞΞΦῚ TAY VN Wa ye jAD ΠΠΝ ἽΦΝΘῚ 
+ APA mban «And the women, girt with ropes, sit in the ways offering groats (or chaff); and whenever one — 
of them is dragged off by a passer-by, she reproaches her companion, because she has not been valued even 
as herself, and her rope has not been broken’. ‘Bran’ (τὰ πίτυρα) perhaps means crushed or pounded grain, 
since the ancients did not separate the skin from grain, as is done in modern milling. 
The account of Herodotus is as follows: ‘But quite the most disgraceful of the customs which the _ 
Babylonians have is the following. Every native woman is.bound to sit in the temple of Aphrodite and, once — 
in her life, have carnal intercourse with a foreigner. Many, moreover, not condescending to mix with the 
others, as being proud of riches, drive in a closed carriage-and-pair and stop at the temple, with a great 
following of attendants. But the majority proceed in this way. In Aphrodite’s precinct sit, with a fillet of 
cord round their heads, many women (for some are coming, others going); while rope-drawn passages 
keep every direction of ways through the women, by which the foreigners pass through and make their choice. _ 
And when a woman seats herself there, she does not go home before one of the foreigners has thrown money _ 
into her lap and dealt with her outside the temple. But when he throws it, he has to say this much: “I invoke 7” 
over thee the goddess Mylitta!” (The Assyrians call Aphrodite ‘‘ Mylitta”.) ‘The money may be ever so little 
in amount, for she may not refuse it, for it is not lawful for her (to do so); for this money becomes sacred: 
but she follows the first that throws, rejecting no man. But after the intercourse, she makes expiatory — 
offerings to the goddess, and goes home. And after this, thou wilt not give her so much when thou receivest 
her in marriage. - 
‘All, then, who are possessed of beauty and stature soon go home; but all of them who are plain wait 

a long time, unable to fulfil the law. Some even wait three or four years’ time. A similar custom prevails in 
some places in Cyprus.’ 3 
Our verse seems to describe something similar but not identical. There is no mention here of the 
Sanctuary (ἱερόν) of Aphrodite. The women ‘sit in the ways’ or streets, instead of repairing thither: cf. — 
Gen. xxxviii. 14 ff., Prov. vii. 8, 12. Herodotus does not mention the offering of ‘bran’; and it is not clear 
whether the ‘cords’ (σχοινία) of our verse are to be identified with his ‘fillet of cord’ (orepavov θώμιγγος) — 
or his ‘rope-drawn passages’ (cyoworevées διέξοδοι), or with neither. The expression ἐφελκυσθεῖσα, ‘ dragged 
a him,’ seems to imply a cord round the woman’s waist, a sort of Venus’s girdle, which is then symbolically _ 
roken. 
44. Whatsoever is done among them is false. This agrees with A’s reading παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς, and seems to refer 

to the Chaldeans or their priests. Q’s ἐν αὐτοῖς = D3, which would more naturally mean ‘upon them’, i.e. 
the idols (cf. Num. xxxiii. 4, Dan. ix. 12), in the sense of punishment. Heb, perhaps: “pv ond mwyi 73 
‘All the things that are done unto (or for) them are a fraud’; or "PY ond yyy TW b3 ‘Everything which” 
is wont to be done for them is a fraud’ (so Syr.). πάντα τὰ γενόμενα = NYY TWN ὅθ, 1 Kings xxii. 54.) 
Perhaps, therefore, xin (sw) ~pYy ond wy awe 55 = <All that they do in their honour is a fraud (folly)’s 
(Both ψευδῆ adj. and ψεύδη subst. appear for apy in LXX.) 
For the rest of the verse see v. 40. The ὡς (= ὥστε: so AQ) seems superfluous as well as difficult. 

Ὡς θεοὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπάρχοιεν would be more intelligible. Cf. Soph. Oed. Tyr. 780: καλεῖ με πλαστὸς os 
εἴην πατρί. 4 
45-52. Idols are merely works of art (‘the work of men’s hands’, Ps. cxv. 4). 
45. Heb. perhaps: 77 Fy) wan 51) AWYD ‘handiwork of carpenter and smelter are they’: cf. Jer. x. 9) 
606 


EPISTLE OF JEREMY 46-54 
1 46 else than the workmen will have them to be. And they themselves that fashioned them can never 
} 47 continue long; how then should the things that are fashioned by them? For they have left lies 
| 48 and reproaches to them that come after. For when there cometh any war or plague upon them, 
49 the priests consult with themselves, where there may be hidden with them. How then cannot 
men understand that they be no gods, which can neither save themselves from war, nor from 
50 plague? For seeing they be but of wood, and overlaid with gold and with silver, it shall be 
51 known hereafter that they are false: and it shall be manifest to all nations and kings that they 
52 are no gods, but the works of men’s hands, and that there is no work of God in them. Who 
63 then may not know that they are no gods? For neither can they set up a king in a land, nor 
[54 give rain unto men. Neither can they judge their own cause, nor redress a wrong, being unable: 


Ps. cxv. 4. Since Avy fecr/ is often rendered by γίνομαι in LXX, e.g. Gen. xlii. 25, 2 Kings xxiii. 23, 


Jer. viii. 8, we may suppose the original of the second clause of the verse to have been something of this kind: 
:meyd own wan xo ἼΩΝ ans avynd wy xb «They are not made into another thing which the craftsmen 
did not want to make’. This implies γένωνται (A Q) for γένηται (B). 


| I Literally rendered, B’s text says: 
‘no other thing will result than what the craftsmen wish them to become,’ 


In 2 Kings ii. 10, οὐ μὴ γένηται = 
nn xb; and so here the Heb. may have been 3) \YSn AWND AW 53 mar xd ‘there will not come into 
being aught different from that which’, &c. (cf. Esther i. 8, iii. 7 for maw with j= ‘different from’). 

46. B wrongly omits εἶναι θεοί from the second clause, where A Q [Syr.] preserve those words. Heb. 
pynbs ya DMD ὌΨΙ AD. OM oN ND OMe OM (cf Gen. xxvi. 8, Deut. iv. 26) ‘And they, their 
makers, cannot prolong days; And how shall works of their hands become gods?’ Gods are πολυχρόνιοι and, 
indeed, eternal. 

47. Lit. ‘for they left lies and a reproach to those who are born after’ (i.e. to posterity). The connexion 
of thought would seem to be: for the idolaters bequeath, not gods, but a damnosa haereditas of disappointment 
or deception (ψεύδη = pw, Jer. x. 14) and reproach (ὄνειδος = 7DN) to after generations. Posterity is not 
likely to regard as gods things which had failed to help in the hour of national danger and disaster, and whose 
impotence was a subject of mockery to the conquerors (cf. 2 Kings xviii. 33 ff.), and of shame and mortification 
to their worshippers (Isa. xlii. 17, Jer. xlviii. 13). 
sense, see Job xviii. 20, Eccles. i. 11, iv. 16. 

48. when ... or plague. Rather, ‘Whenever . . . and evils’ (κακά =Ayn, as in Mic. iii. 11: οὐ μὴ 


ἐπελθῇ ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς κακά). Heb. of verse: mo (inyr SN ws or) IM DADA Wy AYN ΠΌΠΟΙ. omdy saa 5 
:Ooy wwann’ (AN). B: ἐπ᾽ αὐτά = upon the idols; A: ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς = upon the idolaters. The Heb. omby 
| might mean either; but A is probably right. Βουλεύονται πρὸς ἑαυτούς. Cf. 2 Kings vi. 8 for the construction 
(bx yy). 


49. Lit. ‘How then is it not possible to perceive’, ἄς. = Heb. 1n nyt }N ΠῚ; see for this construction 
Ezra ix. 15, Eccles. iii. 14. Instead of ‘themselves’ (ἑαυτούς) A gives ‘them’ (αὐτούς). ‘ Plague’ should be 
Σ Sevils’ (κακά), as in v. 48. The Heb. of the rest of the verse may have been: yyw xd ἼΩΝ on ody xb oa 

(Isa. xlvi. 7 ΠΝ) ΠΡ ΟῚ noNdny (A Q: oMN) OwDI nN. 

50. Heb. possibly: DB 7Y DT WI (om. Q) 3 (cf. τ. 6, and Deut. xxviii. 42 
) xxvi. 32, also Exod. xx. 23) : ΠῺΠ “py 3 13 INN ya HDI ANT ‘For inasmuch as 

overlaid with gold and silver, it will become known hereafter that they are a fraud’. 

51. and that there is no work of God in them = καὶ οὐδὲν θεοῦ ἔργον ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐστίν ; a somewhat strange 
statement, and suggestive of mistranslation. If the Hebrew were D2 Ty DDN pa (‘ And there is no god 
working in or through them’), we have here a parallel to the error of LXX in Job iv. 17 (ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ = 
wwyd) and Joel ii, rx (NIT AWY = ἔργα λόγων αὐτοῦ). Cf. also Prov. xx. 12 (κυρίου ἔργα = myy Ayn). 

52. Bhas: rim οὖν γνωστέον ἐστὶν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν θεοί; ‘By what then must it be known that they are not 
| gods?’ an inept question, surely, after all that has been already said. A’s reading is preferable: Τίνι οὖν 

γνωστὸν οὐκ ἔσται κτλ. = ‘To whom then shall it not be known’, &c. rods DN 1D NIN ya xb 19) (cf. 
Exod. xxxiii. 16). 

53. The verse falls back into Hebrew quite naturally. dy (1 Kings xiv. 14) 12)" xb yN(7) tbo 5 
$3an) WIND ΘΟ ΤΙΝ ‘For a king of a (the) country they cannot set up, and the rain of the ground they cannot 
| give ’, Apparently the Greek translator misread DINT(= ἀνθρώποις) for MINT: see Deut. xxviii. 

xi. 14; 1 Kings xvii. 14. 

54. The position of ἑαυτῶν (A Q αὐτῶν) is remarkable. It, looks as if the word were an attempt to render 
\ Heb. 73 or 07; an emphatic sAey. Heb. npn 137 xb pr: cf. Jer. v. 28. The next clause, οὐδὲ μὴ 
| ῥύσωνται. ἀδίκημα (* nor redress a wrong’), appears to be a reminiscence of Isa. i. 17, where LXX®* has ῥύσασθε 
᾿᾿ἀδικούμενον = pron wwe. Here also A has ἀδικούμενον for B’s ἀδίκημα. We may therefore suppose an 
original text yon MwN' ΝΟῪ ‘nor can they correct an oppressor’, or ‘right one that is wronged’. (Cf. also 
12 Sam. xxii. 49: ἀδίκημα = DD.) ‘Being unable’ (ἀδύνατοι ὄντες) probably belongs to the next clause ; where 
A Qme read ai instead of γάρ (no doubt correctly), This gives the sense: ‘being powerless as the crows 


607 


Heb. :onnxd naam apy ΣῚΡ 3. For pane in this 


ξυλινά = 75 Exod. 
they are wood and 


T2924, 


EPISTEE (OF JEREMY Ὁ 


55 for they are as crows between heaven and earth. For even when fire falleth upon the house of — 
gods of wood, or overlaid with gold or with silver, their priests will flee away, and escape, but 
56 they themselves shall be burnt asunder like beams. Moreover they cannot withstand any king 
57 or enemies: how should a man then allow or think that they be gods? Neither are those gods 
of wood, and overlaid with silver or with gold, able to escape either from thieves or robbers. 
58 Whose gold, and silver, and garments wherewith they are clothed, they that are strong will take 
59 from them, and go away withal: neither shall they be able to help themselves. Therefore it 
is better to be a king that showeth his manhood, or else a vessel in a house profitable for that 
whereof the owner shall have need, than such false gods; or even a door in a house, to keep 
the things safe that be therein, than such false gods; or a pillar of wood in a palace, than such 
60 false gods. For sun, and moon, and stars, being bright and sent to do their offices, are obedient. 


between the heaven and the earth.’ The point of the comparison, however, is still obscure, for ‘ crows’ (or 
ravens: see Jer. iii, 2 T3122 ‘TWD = ὠσεὶ κορώνη ἐρημουμένη, LXX reading or misreading “23 WYP) do not 
give the impression of powerlessness, especially when flying in mid-air. Moreover, a verb seems wanting, 
as crows are not always in the air. Now in Job v. 16, xxxi. 16, ἀδύνατος represents Heb. by, weak, helpless. 
It seems possible, therefore, that the Hebrew text here had TD (for they hang suspended: cf. Job xxviii. 4), 
which the Greek translator ignorantly rendered ἀδύνατοι ὄντες. The reference would be to images hanging on 
a wall (cf. v. 21 note): Heb. ΝΠ pai own 3 Dy δ 5. We may further suggest that o’y3 (‘like the 
clouds’) has been mistaken for oy27y3 (‘like the ravens’), The Syriac has: ‘And not like the ravens between — 
heaven and earth do they fly in the atr’ (ANNI 1775). : 


55. Hebrew possibly: maps on) wd yi oA. AOD aN py mde maa (wx dws on) we dyn 5 DI 
pa ws ἼΠΞ (cf. Gen. xv. το: διεῖλεν αὐτὰ μέσα). 

56. Heb. may have been: ὈΠῸΝ > (cf. v. 40) ponds nnpd mn (Deut. xxviii. 7) wap xd ove dyn qb Sy 
:non. (For mp ‘to receive a lesson’, cf. Jer. ii. 30.) i 
57- Διαθῶσιν (B) is evidently wrong. The syllable cw has been accidentally omitted. Q presents the right _ 
reading διασωθῶσιν [so Syr.]: cf. τ. 55. The Heb. was probably something like the following: xd) pvaa xb 
23m 4D3) yy sabw wb oi» ‘Neither from thieves nor from robbers’ (Obad. 5) ‘can gods of wood and 


silver and gold escape ’. 
58. Lit. ‘From whom the strong will (= may) strip off the gold and silver; and the raiment that lies about 
them they will (may) go off with.’ Heb. np» omy Ws O13 NS) OA NS) D|DD AN Dw Ww} ὩΣ) Π AWN 
ryadm (cf. Gen. xxxvii. 23, Ezek. xvi. 39, Isa. xlix. 25, for the language). In the third member of the verse, 
A’s οἱ δέ, but they, seems better than B’s οὔτε = Nd) ‘and not’. Heb. ywr xd owad pm (Joshua x. 6), ‘and 
they (the idols) will not save themselves.’ 
59. What writer, thinking in Greek, would have expressed himself in this fashion? Lit. the words run more _ 
like this: ‘So that it is better to be a king exhibiting his own courage, or a vessel in a house useful for what the 
possessor shall use it for, than the false gods.’ The fitness of the first comparison is far from being self-— 
evident. It goes without saying, that a king giving proof of life and vigour in the face of attack is superior 
to a ‘god’ who can do nothing to defend his own person. But why a‘king’ and not rather a ‘man’, i.e. 
any one whatever? Possibly because god and king are synonymous terms in Oriental use (cf. 1 Sam. xii, 12; 
Ps. v. 2, xx. 9, xxiv. 7, Ixviii. 24; Isa. vi. 5, viii. 21, xli. 21); and a ‘king’ who fights for crown and 
kingdom (he was perhaps thinking of the struggles of some contemporary sovereign) is certainly ‘ better’ than 
a roi fainéant. Heb. : (apy ads) snap wns Avy seNd Syn maa "55) naa ΠΝ aN ἼΟ (nnd) aro 12 by. 
It seems questionable whether the Hebrew had ‘It is better to be a king’, as the Greek has it (cf. Prov. xxi. 9), 
or ‘Better is a king’, &c. (cf. Prov. xix. 1, Eccles. iv. 13), of which A Q’s κρείσσων (B κρεῖσσον) looks like 
a reminiscence. The nominatives in what follows (ἢ καὶ θύρα ἐν οἰκίᾳ... καὶ ξύλινος στύλος) May point in 
the latter direction, They at least show that the author of the Greek forgot the construction with which 
he started, and support the view that he was translating from a language destitute of Case-inflexions, viz. 
Hebrew. The LXX rendering of the Canonical Books often exhibits the same error. [1 leave this note as 
originally written, in order to show how little can be made of the text as it stands; but see Introd. § 3 (6) for 
a conjectural emendation of the first clause of the verse.]| The Heb. of the rest of the verse might be: 
rapy snds dana yy sya (apy nde) 12 ἼΦΝ ΠΝ now maa ΠΟῚ pn (τὰ βασίλεια = dann, Nahum ii. 6). 
The triple ἢ οἱ ψευδεῖς θεοί is hardly original. The first two occurrences look like artless insertions intended ~ 
to make the meaning clearer. (Cf. Wisd. v. 9-13.) I have therefore enclosed them in brackets. The Syriac 
omits all, perhaps correctly. : ' 
60. Unlike the things just mentioned, and those enumerated in vv. 60-63, the false gods are useful for no 
purpose whatever. 
DON O35)3) ΠῚ wow 5 
PD yOW) pan ly DML” 
608 


BESTE OR IE REMY 61-68 


| 61 Likewise also the lightning when it glittereth is fair to see; and after the same manner the wind 
} 62also bloweth in every country. And when God commandeth the clouds to go over the whole 
63 world, they do as they are bidden. And the fire sent from above to consume mountains and woods 

doeth as it is commanded: but these are to be likened unto them neither in show nor power. 
| 64 Wherefore a man should neither think nor say that they are gods, seeing they are able neither 
65 to judge causes, nor to do good unto men. Knowing therefore that they are no gods, fear them 
| 67 not. For they can neither curse nor bless kings: neither can they show signs in the heavens 


᾿ 68 among the nations, nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon. The beasts are better than 


‘For sun and moon and stars do shine ; 

They are sent on a business and obey.’ 

For χρείας = jf}, see Eccles. iti, 1 Symm. and ib. 17 Aq. For the sense of pan, cf. Isa. liii. ro, viii. 13. 

Ἑήκοος = pow, Prov. xxv. 12. It is evident that the Greek closely follows, while partially misunderstanding, 
the Hebrew. 


61. Likewise also the lightning when it glittereth is fair to see. The attribution of beauty to lightning 


is quite contrary to Biblical conceptions, which rather associate awe and terror with this phenomenon: 
Ex. xix. 16; Ps. xviii. 14, Ixxvii. 18; Rev. iv. 5. Evorros might be ‘well-seen’ = conspicuous. But it is 
probable that we have here another instance of error in translation; the author of the Greek version having 


connected N1)3 Zerrzble with ANA seen. The Heb. may have been: δ) INIA P72 AN ‘And also lightning 
when it appeareth is awful’; or N71) ὙΝΠΣ ΡΖ oO 131, ‘And so also lightning when it shineth is terrible’. 
In either case there is a paronomasia on the two like-sounding words, such as is characteristic of Hebrew style. 
(In Zeph. ii. rr NW) is rendered by LXX ἐπιφανήσεται, and in 2 Sam. vii. 23 MINWI = ἐπιφάνειαν, while N73 
is rendered by ἐπιφανής six or seven times. In these cases there is a similar confusion of the above Heb. roots.) 
The rest of the verse might be: ΩΦ) ys Soa mn oa j2) ‘And so also wind bloweth in every land’. 
For τὸ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ... see Phil. ii. 18 (Gifford). 

62. Lit. ‘And to clouds whenever it is commanded by God to go over all the inhabited (world), they 
accomplish what was commanded’. The Hebrew may have been simply: >> San by asyd obs omya pay 
(59 wy) My nN (wy). Isa. xiii. τα, xiv. 17 ban = ἡ οἰκουμένη ὅλη ; but ib. Xiv. 26 ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην = 
yn 92 oy. The translator possibly connected the 2. of omyya with pbx, supposing the verb to be passive. 
Cf., however, Isa. v. 6: AWN DAA by = καὶ ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐντελοῦμαι. See Ezek. xxxix. 14 for ἐπιπορεύεσθαι = 

says. The paronomasia with ὩΣ was probably intentional. 

63. the fire: i.e. lightning, which is ‘the Fire of God’. Instead of ‘to consume’ (ἐξαναλῶσαι, ‘ to spend’ 
or ‘destroy utterly’), Q gives ἐξερημῶσαι, ‘to desolate utterly’. The latter might be an attempt to render 
Heb. ayannd or ownd more exactly (= to /ay waste), but the Heb. may have been simply sy2d fo consume 
(cf. Syr.). Q’s addition καὶ βουνούς, and hills (so also Syr.), may be original: cf. Isa. lv. 12. Δρυμούς may 
represent a sing. y’, as in Isa. x. 18, though plur. oy? (Ezra ii. 25) or My? is perhaps more probable. The 
Heb. of the verse might be: om, [3 ΠΟ Π ΠΥΡῚ (Man) on ayad ΡΟ (Amos i. 7, το, ἅς.) mmdv wNM 
2530) ΠΣ om dy wt xd (cf. Ezek. xxxi. 18, Dan. i. 13, 15 ANT = ἰδέαι). (Syr. ‘They are not like ove 

_ of these things’; cf. A Q: ἑνὶ αὐτῶν or τούτων.) 
64. Heb. :oax5 aerndy wav prawd ay xd 5. onbds on ΟΝ ΝΟῚ ΠΝ ΝΟ yo by. The last word was 


| probably intended to be vocalized DIN) = τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. For 5 a7, see Joshua xxiv. 20. (Syr. adds: nor 
do evil after do good.) 


65. See vv. 23, 20, supra. 

66. curse ... kings. See Eccles. x. 20. Cf. also Num. xxii. 6. 
‘For kings they will (= can) not curse nor bless.’ ek 

67. in the heavens among the nations. It is probable that this is an instance of a ‘conflate reading ’, 
ΩΨ = pnw (out of which it might easily have originated). The Heb. of the first clause may well have 
‘been: on x5 ows myn) ‘and signs in the heavens they cannot set’. Cf. Joel iii. 3 (Heb.), Neh. ix. το. 
\(Syr. corrects: ‘and signs in heaven / the nations they show not.’ Cf, Matt. xvi. 1.) The fluctuation of the 


Greek codd. between ὡς σελήνη (B) and ὡς ἣ σελήνη (AQ; recte) again suggests a Heb. original ; for the 
unpointed n> might, of course, be read either way (72 or 17°3). The Heb. of the latter half of the verse 


may have been: ΠΣ yx NOV wows Nd. 

68. The beasts are better than they τε ὉΠ N30 ANA. For ΠῚΠΠ, see Gen. vil. 21, viii. 1. (Perhaps 
mwa nn, Jer. xii. 9. Syr. deasts of the wilderness.) There seems to be something wrong about ithe 
reason. Literally the Greek says: ‘which are able by escaping into a covert to profit themselves. Abra or 
Ἰξαυτὰ ὠφελῆσαι is a strange expression for ὠφεληθῆναι. Now, the verb ὠφελεῖν in LXX usually renders Heb. 
|oyin «to profit’, as in Isa. xxx. 5; and it is likely that the translator mistook nbynd ‘to hide’ for ‘to. profit 
\hem’. It is merely a question of vowel-points (δυὸ instead of pbynd Niph. Inf.). Obviously, the motive for 


Heb. : 15:2) ΝΟῚ sS$py wb rds 5 


} fleeing into a covert’ would be to Arde, rather than to ‘help’ or ‘profit’ oneself. 


609 


EPISTLE (OF ERENMico—72 


69 they: for they can get under a covert, and help themselves. In no wise then is it manifest unto — 


“vous that they are gods: therefore fear them not. For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers 
that keepeth nothing, so are their gods of wood, and overlaid with gold and with silver. Likewise 
71 also their gods of wood, and overlaid with gold and with silver, are like to a white thorn in 
an orchard, that every bird sitteth upon; as also to a dead body, that is cast forth into the dark. 
72 And ye shall know them to be no gods by the bright purple that rotteth upon them: and they 


69. Heb. perhaps: “δ Dm 5 35 ya AMI IIT PS ‘There is nothing whereby it is known to us that they 
are gods’. Cf. Gen. xv. 8. 

70. a scarecrow. Strictly speaking, προβασκάνιον is an amulet or safeguard against witchcraft, such as, 
according to Plutarch, workmen hung up before their shops. Cf. βάσκανος = ἣν p71, Prov. xxiii. 6. Since 
βασκαίνω is to ‘slander, disparage, envy, grudge ’, is it not just possible that the translator misunderstood Isaiah’s 
andy (Isa. i. 8), connecting it with nd ‘to murmur’ (perhaps rather ‘be evil, Aostile’; cf. Assyr. lawdnu, 


lamdnu, limnu, be evil, evil, hostile) rather than with nd ‘to lodge?” ‘The Syriac actually renders supnt πόντῳ, 
as in Isa. 1. 8. But the context rather suggests a post or pillar (perhaps a terminal figure, like Priapus), set up 
to scare birds and other pilferers, cf. Hor. Sa. I. viii. 1-7); and the original phrase may have been modelled 
on Jeremiah’s mwpr(a) ὝΠ5 ‘like a post (scarecrow) in a garden of gourds’ (Jer. x. 5), which is said of idols 
as being speechless blocks. Heb. of verse: $403) 2ΠῚ py omnby #2737 ΔΙ) PX AwPpa Wn ANS 5 
‘For as a post in a cucumber-plot protecteth nothing, so their gods (of) wood and gold and silver’ (protect 
nothing). ‘Their ‘terrors are empty terrors, like those of the palm-trunk, rough-hewn into human shape, and 
set up among the melons to frighten the birds away’ (see my exposition of Jer. x. in Prophecies of Jer., 
pp. 227-9, Expositor’s Bible). 

71. white thorn, the Greek ῥάμνος, a kind of prickly shrub, also called παλίουρος ; Rhamnus paliurus, 
of which Theophrastus mentions two kinds, a white and a black, as we have our ‘ whitethorn’ and ‘ blackthorn’ 
in the hedgerows. ῬῬάμνος is the equivalent of 7ON ‘bramble’, ‘buckthorn’, in Judges ix. 14, 15, Ps. lviii. ro, 
where it is mentioned as the inferior of all the trees (Judges l.c.), and as used for fuel (Ps. |.c.). Here, the 
idols are as contemptible as this common hedge-growth, upon which any bird might settle and foul it (cf. v. 22). 
Tristram enumerates sixteen species of Rhamneae in Palestine (Zc. Bib. s.v. “Thorns’). It is not evident 
why the Rhamnus should be ‘7x a garden” (τῇ ἐν κήπῳ ῥάμνῳ), as it was not a garden plant. Probably 
a hedge of thorns round the garden (not ‘orchard’) is intended. Or the idea may be that of a wild growth in 


a neglected garden. 
a dead body ...cast forth into the dark is a comparison by which the writer intends to signify the extreme 


of contempt.’ Cf. Amos viii. 3; Jer. xiv. 16, xxil. 19; Isa. xxxiv. 3; Baruch ii. 25; 1 Macc. xi. 4. Fora 


corpse to be left unburied was the height of indignity. ‘Into the dark’ may be a vivid touch, suggesting 
in one word (qwna) an entire picture. We see the helpless body, perhaps of an infant, thrown out furtively 
under cover of night into the darkness of the deserted street, to become a prey to pariah dogs. (For the 
construction ἐρριμμένῳ ἐν σκότει, instead of εἰς σκότος, cf. 2 Kings ix. 25, 26, xiii. 21.) But it seems more likely 
that Jwna is a corruption or alteration of na ‘into the street’ (Jer. xiv. 16). The original text of the verse 


may have been something like the following: bea (7285) nod on ydy avy aay 53 ἼΦΝ ja tend a ᾿Ξ 
:[DD) ann py] omnbds wt yina. (The concluding words may be due to inadvertent repetition from the 


preceding verse.) Or perhaps ,,., nodD On... omnds ide) OND 0. 

72. Lit. ‘And from the purple and the marble that rotteth upon them it shall (= may ; Hebraism) be known 
that they are not gods’. The Greek word μάρμαρος means any stone or rock which sparkles (μαρμαίρει) in the 
light ; and then specially marble (= Lat. marmor). The margin and R. V. are both wrong in supposing that 


the term is here used as an epithet of πορφύρα, with the sense of ‘ brightness’ or ‘ bright’, which the word never — 


bears. As I pointed out long ago in the Varzorum Apocrypha, the Greek translator has here confused the 


Hebrew WY ‘linen’ (Exod. xxv. 4; = Greek βύσσος) with its homophone YY ‘marble’ (Cant. ν. 153 


wy siDY = στύλοι μαρμάρινοι). Byssus is coupled with purple in Exod. xxvi. 1, and elsewhere ; see especially 
Prov. xxxi. 22 (ἐκ δὲ βύσσου καὶ πορφύρας ἐν αὐτῇ ἐνδύματα). The robes of the idols might ‘rot’ upon them, 
but ‘marble’ hardly. The Syriac at least shows a sense of the fitness of things, with its ‘purple and s7/k stuffs’. 
Heb. ands ove 5 yay omy apn wen ΠΛ ΝΠ wor. For ap = σήπομαι, cf. Job xix. 20, where LXX has 


ἐσάπησαν --- APII (obviously reading ’ap4). The variations ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς (B), ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν (A), ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς (Q), might 


all be attempts to represent Heb. omby ‘upon them’. ‘ And they themselves’ (αὐτά te); in contrast with their 
apparel. Heb. perhaps simply om) ‘and they’; or D5 ‘and their body’; or pon (Aramaism). Cf. v. 8. 
shall be consumed; rather devoured (βρωθήσονται = yay or Saye; cf. Isa. li. 8). The idea might be 
devoured by fire; but then WN2 seems necessary, as in Ezek. xxiii. 25, Neh. ii. 3 al. The word may have been 
passed over accidentally ; but it seems more likely that the Greek translator misread ya» shall perish 
(Isa. i. 28) as wax» “shall be eaten up’. This gives us as Heb. for the rest of the verse: "ΠῚ yp» ans DAY 
ΣΥΝΕ mpan. [v. 20 may possibly give the clue to the sense: ‘Things creeping out of the earth devour both 
them and their raiment.’ But I prefer the preceding suggestion.| After plur. βρωθήσονται, with subject αὐτά, 
610 


PR Ok a eakE NY 73 


_ 73 themselves afterward shall be consumed, and shall be a reproach in the country. Better therefore 
is the just man that hath none idols: for he shall be far from reproach. 


the following clause καὶ ἔσται ὄνειδος Ought to mean ‘And it shall be a reproach’ = ADIN AN; but Q’s 
ἔσονται is preferable. 

73. An apparently lame conclusion. Idols will evidently become a reproach to their worshippers ; therefore 
one who has nothing to do with idols will be far from reproach ; a on segutfur, unless idolatry be the sole 
ground of reproach. Further, there is no obvious reference for the comparative κρείσσων. Better than whom? 
A vague ἢ αὐτοί, than they, meaning ‘the Chaldeans’ (v. 40), may have fallen out; cf. οἱ θεοὶ αὐτῶν, ‘their gods,’ 
in vv. 70 sq. Or the omitted phrase may have been ἢ of θεραπεύοντες αὐτά, ‘than they that serve them,’ v. 27. 
See the repeated ἢ of ψευδεῖς θεοί, v. 58 (Eng. 59). The Hebrew of the verse may thus have been: [5 5y 
sA_IND Pinna ΝῚΠ 5 (BAMAypD) ANAND 1 pS DANY py wN TID ‘Therefore better is a righteous man 
who hath no idols than they (than their worshippers); for he (A: αὐτός) will be far from reproach’. The 
phrase ἄνθρωπος δίκαιος = ‘a non-idolater’, in the sense of the writer; cf. the use of ἄνομοι, ἀσεβεῖς, υἱοὶ 
παράνομοι, ἁμαρτωλοί, for the heathen and renegade Jews in 1 Macc. fassem. And it would perhaps give 
a more coherent sense if the statement of the verse were: ‘Better is a “righteous” man (= a non-idolater) 
than one that hath idols ; for (unlike the latter) he will be far from reproach’ (which the latter must share with 


his discredited gods) = Heb. “1 od»5x 15 swxn pay ws aw. The translator may have confused 1S with 
8 y 


snd (x5), not, and omitted to notice the particle of comparison. (Possibly his Heb. MS. was worn at the end.) 
The Syriac ends thus: ‘ Well is it, then, for the righteous man who is far from reproach, and zs looking 


for the Lord God!’ (that is, the Parousia). ‘Finished is the Epistle of Jeremiah the Prophet. His Prayers be 
with us!’ 


611 


THE PRAYER OF ΝΙΝ 555 


INTRODUCTION 


δι. DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK. 


fos ots eh gr ον iis pain eg χες ἐν ee 


‘THE Prayer of Manasses, King of Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon, is the title 
of a short penitential Psalm. It is written in Greek, and contains thirty-seven στίχοι. In Fritzsche’s 
Libri Apocryphi Vet. Test. Graece it is divided into fifteen verses; and this division has been very 
generally adopted. : 

The Psalm consists of (2) an invocation of the Deity (vv. 1-7), (4) a confession of sin (vv. 8-10), 
(c) an entreaty for forgiveness (vv. 11-15). 


ὃ ΠΟ ORIGING 


Its literary origin is obscure. There seems, however, to be little reason to doubt that the author 
was a Jew, i.e. not a Christian. While, in the case of so short a fragment, it is difficult to decide 
with absolute certainty, it seems most probable that the Prayer was originally written in Greek; and 
that the existing Greek text is not, as has sometimes been maintained, a translation from the Hebrew 
or Aramaic.! If this view be correct, ‘ The Prayer of Manasses’ should be classed with such writings 
as ‘The Song of the Three Children’, and be regarded as, in all probability, the composition of — 
a Hellenistic Jew, who in the interests of his people’s faith wrote the penitential Prayer to suit the 
special circumstances under which the prayer, ascribed to Manasseh, King of Judah, in 2 Chron, 
XXxXlil. 18, 19, was supposed to have been uttered. 

It will be convenient to quote the whole passage in which this mention of the king’s prayer 
occurs, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11-13, 18, 19: 


(11) ‘Wherefore the Lorp brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took 
Manasseh in chains (Or, zztk hooks), and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. (12) And when 
he was in distress, he besought the Lorp his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 
(13) And he prayed unto him; and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him : 
again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lorp he was God. .. . (18) Now the 
rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the — 
name of the Lorn, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the acts of the kings of Israel. (19) His 
prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places wherein he built 
high places, and set up the Asherim and the graven images, before he humbled himself: behold, they are 
written in the history of Hozai (Or, the seers).’ 


According to this account, a Prayer of Manasseh? was reputed, in the Chronicler’s time, (a) to 
have been preserved among ‘the acts of the kings of Israel’, and (4) to be contained in the records — 
of Hozai (or, the seers). Whether the Chronicler himself was acquainted with any such Hebrew — 
prayer, or whether he is simply repeating a popular tradition, we have no means of determining. No — 
such writing was ever contained in the Hebrew Scriptures; nor, if it ever existed, has it survived in 
any Hebrew or Aramaic form. 

It is easy to understand that the Chronicler’s story of Manasseh’s repentance and prayer and 
deliverance from captivity must have produced upon the minds of devout Jews a profound impression. — 
The record of his idolatry and of his persecution of the servants of Jehovah had stamped his name 
with infamy in the annals of Judah. But side by side with his wickedness were commemorated the — 
unusual length of the king’s reign and the quiet peacefulness of his end. The Chronicler’s story of 
the repentance and conversion of Manasseh provided the explanation of a seemingly unintelligible — 
anomaly. Henceforth his name was associated by Jewish tradition not only with the grossest acts 
of idolatry ever perpetrated by a king of Judah, but also with the most famous instance of Divine 
forgiveness towards a repentant sinner. What more remarkable example could be found of the long- 
suffering compassion of the Almighty and of His readiness to hear and to answer the supplication of 
a contrite penitent? 

Nothing would be more natural than for a devout Jew to endeavour to frame in fitting terms the 
kind of penitential prayer, which, according to the tradition, Manasseh had poured forth when he was 
in captivity in Babylon. The sentiments embodied in such a form of petition might conceivably be 


τ See note on § 7.—GEN. Ep. 
* The oldest non-canonical reference to this prayer is to be found in 2 Baruch Ixiv. 8. 
612 


a a 
Ξ = 


i 


| 


αἰχμάλωτος ἀπήχθη καὶ εἰς τὸ χαλκοῦν ἄγαλμα καθείρχθη k 
Ἰδιερράγη . . . δεδεμένῳ δὲ ὄντι ἐν φυλακῇ, ἐν πέδαις χαλκαῖς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι ἐδίδοσαν αὐτῷ ἐκ πιτύρων ἄρτον βραχὺν καὶ ὕδωρ 


INTRODUCTION 


appropriate to those of his countrymen who had fallen into idolatry, and who might yet be reclaimed 
from the error of their way. 


According to this hypothesis, the Psalm was composed for a practical devotional purpose. 


§ 3. ITs LITERARY HISTORY. 


‘The Prayer of Manasses’ makes its first appearance in extant literature, so far as is known at 
present, in the so-called Didascalia. This was an early Christian writing, composed probably in 
the second or third century, and incorporated into the Afostolical Constitutions, a work of the 
fourth or fifth century, of which the first six books consist of the Didascalia. 

The author of the Didascalia was probably a member of the Christian Church in Syria, and 
wrote in Greek. Ina long extract, apparently derived from some other writing, he records at length 
the narrative of Manasseh’s idolatry and punishment, of his repentance and prayer, of his miraculous 
deliverance from captivity and restoration to Jerusalem. The object which the author of the 
Didascalia has in view is to illustrate God’s mercy towards a repentant sinner. After briefly men- 
tioning the classical instances of David’s repentance at the rebuke of Nathan, of Jonah’s repentance 
and the answer to his prayer uttered in the whale’s belly, of Hezekiah’s supplication and the pardon 
of his sin of pride, he continues, ‘ But hearken, ye bishops, to an excellent and apposite example; 
for thus is it written in the Fourth Book of the Kingdoms (i.e. 2 Kings) and in the Second Book of 
Chronicles. Then follow extracts from the LXX of 2 Kings xxi. 1-18 and 2 Chron. xxxiii. 1 ff., 

which are welded together and expanded by four Additions, to which there is nothing corresponding 
in the Hebrew text. The order in which these extracts follow one another is as follows: 

(1) 2 Kings xxi. 1-4. (7) Addition B. λέγων, followed by ‘ The Prayer 

(2) 2 Chron. xxxiii. 5-8. of Manasses’. 

(3) 2 Kings xxi. 9-16. (8) Addition C. 

(4) 2 Chron. xxxili. 11. (9) 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13°. 

(5) Addition A. (10) Addition D. 

(6) 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12-13% (προσηύξατο). (11) 2 Chron. xxxiii. 15, 16. 

The Additions are as follows: 


(A) An insertion between 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 and 12: καὶ ἣν δεδεμένος καὶ κατασεσιδηρωμένος 


ὅλος ἐν οἴκῳ φυλακῆς, καὶ ἐδίδοτο αὐτῷ ἐκ πιτύρων ἄρτος ἐν σταθμῷ βραχύς, καὶ ὕδωρ σὺν ὄξει ὀλίγον ἐν μέ 

s ἐν οἴκῳ φυλακῆς, καὶ αὐτῷ ἐ ρων ἄρτος μῷ βραχύς, καὶ ὕδωρ σὺν ὄξει ὀλίγον ἐν μέτρῳ, 
σ lod ye \ , Ν , , 

ὥστε ζῇν αὐτόν, kal ἣν συνεχόμενος Kal ὀδυνώμενος σφόδρα. 


(Β) After 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13 καὶ προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον (LXX αὐτόν) is added λέγων" κύριε 
παντοκράτωρ... εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ᾿Αμήν. 


(C) Instead of 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13 καὶ ἐπήκουσεν αὐτοῦ" καὶ ἐπήκουσεν τῆς βοῆς αὐτοῦ, is substituted 
kal ἐπήκουσε τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ κύριος, καὶ ὠκτείρησεν αὐτόν" Kal ἐγένετο περὶ αὐτὸν φλὸξ Tupds, καὶ ἐτάκησαν 


N r 2 a 
| παντὰ τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν oldnpa’ καὶ ἰάσατο κύριος Μανασσῆν ἐκ τῆς θλίψεως αὐτοῦ. 


(D) Instead of 2 Chron. xxxiii. 14 is substituted καὶ ἐλάτρευσε μόνῳ κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ 
αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῆ αὐτοῦ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ" καὶ ἐλογίσθη δίκαιος. 


ᾧ 4. ITS PRESERVATION. 


The preservation of this short disconnected Psalm may thus, with good reason, be ascribed to 
| the accident of its occurrence in the Didascalia and the Afostolical Constitutions. There is no 

evidence to show that it was ever included in the Septuagint, the Judaeo-Greek Canon of Holy 
| Scripture. But, very possibly, in consequence of the popularity of the Apostolical Constitutions, ‘The 
Prayer of Manasses’ became well known in the Eastern Church; and it was a natural step to take, 


to detach the Prayer from its context and to insert it among the Canticles (δαί, Cantica) used and 


sung for liturgical purposes, and to be found appended to the Psalter ‘in certain uncial MSS. and 
) a large proportion of the cursives’ (Swete, Jztrod. to the O. T. in Greek, p. 253). 

In the Codex Alexandrinus (A) there are fourteen Canticles appended to the Psalter in the 
‘following order: (1) Exod. xv. 1-19 (#37) Μωυσέως ἐν τῇ Edd): (2) Deut. xxxii. 1-43 (φδὴ Μωυσέως 
ἐν τῷ Δευτερονομίῳ): (3) 1 Sam. ii. I-10 (προσευχὴ “Avvas μητρὸς Σαμουήλ): (4) Isa. xxvi. g-20 
(προσευχὴ “E¢exiov): (5) Jonah ii. 3-10 (προσευχὴ ᾿Ιωνᾶ): (6) Hab. iii. 1-19 (προσευχὴ ᾿Αμβακούμγ: 
(7) Isa. xxxviii. 10-23 (προσευχὴ “E¢exiov): (8) ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ (προσευχὴ Μανασσή): 

1 On the Jewish Midrashic legend respecting Manasseh’s deliverance see Ball’s ‘Introduction to the Prayer of 


Manasseh’ in Speaker’s Comm. on Apoc. ii. 362 ff. Compare 2 Baruch Ixiv. ὃ, part of the section (liii-Ixxiv) assigned 
by Dr. Charles to 50-70 A.D. Cf. Anastas. 2 Ps.6 Canis. thes. Monum. iil, p. 112 φασὶν οἱ ἀρχαῖοι τῶν ἱστοριογράφων, 


ὅτι ἀπενεχθεὶς M. κατεκλείσθη eis ζῴδιον χαλκοῦν ἀπὸ βασιλέως Περσῶν καὶ ἔσω ὧν ἐν τοιούτῳ ζῳδίῳ προσηύξατο pera 

δακρύων. Toh. Damasc. Paral/. 2.15, Opp. ii, p. 463 ἱστορεῖται παρὰ ᾿Αφρικάνῳ, ὅτι ἐν τῷ λέγειν δὴν τὸν Μ, τὰ δεσμὰ 
i za 5 ae BG ὃ Cos ; ῥ ΩΡ: ἼΔΕ τ ; 

διερράγη σιδηρᾶ ὄντα καὶ ἔφυγεν. Suidas s.v. Μανασσῆς : ὑπὸ Μεροδὰχ βασιλέως ᾿Ασσυρίων δέσμιος εἰς Νινευὴ τὴν πόλιν 


ἐδεήθη τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄγαλμα θείᾳ δυνάμει 


᾿ - ἐς ; pat IMS τ ; 
ὀλίγον σὺν ὄξει μετρητῷ πρὸς τὸ ζῆν αὐτὸν καὶ μόνον, καὶ τότε προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον" κύριε παντόκρατορ. 


613 


THE PRAYER OF MANASSES 


(9) Dan. iii. 23 (προσευχὴ Aapiov) : (10) ὕμνος τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν : (11) Magnificat (προσευχὴ Μαρίας 
τῆς θεοτόκου): (12) Nunc Dimittis (προσευχὴ Συμεών): (13) Benedictus (προσευχὴ Ζαχαρίου) : (14) 
The Morning Hymn (ὕμνος ἑωθινός). Similarly, in the Codex Turicensis (T), the liturgical Canticles 
are appended to the Psalter; and ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ appears ninth in the list. But the 
evidence of Codex Alexandrinus would alone suffice to show that in the Eastern Church the Prayer 
was in use for liturgical psalmody in the fifth century A.D. 


δ. ΠΕ Titres 


To the Psalm is prefixed the title ‘The Prayer οἵ Manasses’ (προσευχὴ Μανασσή) in Codex 
Alexandrinus (A); ‘The Prayer of Manasses the son of Hezekiah’ (προσευχὴ Μανασσὴ τοῦ υἱοῦ 
‘E¢exiov) in Codex Turicensis (T); and in the editions of the Vulgate ‘The Prayer of Manasses, : 
King of Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon’ (Ογαΐζίο Manassae regis Iuda cum σαῤίηδ. 
teneretur in Babylone). : 

There is no sufficient reason to call in question the correctness of the title. (1) The title is derived 
from the narrative in the Dzdascalia in which the Prayer has been incorporated. (2) There is no 
evidence to show that the Prayer had existed before its inclusion in this Manasseh tradition. (3) 
Though it is noteworthy that the Prayer contains no mention of any proper name of personage or — 
place, by which the legitimacy of the title might be confirmed, there are nevertheless to be found in 
it allusions which are most naturally interpreted on the assumption that the Prayer is put into the 
mouth of Manasseh, King of Judah. Thus, (a) the speaker describes himself as ‘weighed down with 
chains’, κατακαμπτόμενος πολλῷ σιδηρῷ (ver. 10): (ὁ) he dwells with emphasis upon his many sins in 
past time, ἥμαρτον ὑπὲρ ἀριθμὸν ψάμμου θαλάσσης .. . ἀπὸ πλήθους τῶν ἀδικιῶν μου (ver. 9): (c) he 
makes particular mention of the forms of idolatrous sin whereby he had provoked the wrath of God, 
στήσας βδελύγματα καὶ πληθύνας προσοχθίσματα (ver. 10). 

The objection must be admitted for what it is worth that there is no reference to the Temple 
of Jerusalem or to the religious worship of Israel. But this omission is intelligible, if we are correct 
in assuming that the composer is concerned with the tradition of Manasseh’s repentance in its 
religious rather than in its historical bearings. 


$6. DATE OF COMPOSITION. 


It seems probable that the Dzdascalia (lib. ii. 21), in which the Prayer was preserved, was com- 
posed in the first half-of the third century A.D. (F. X. Funk, Dze Afpostol. K onstitutionen, 1891, p. 50), 
and in Syria (ébzd., p. 54). If we may assume that the author of the Dzdascalia borrowed from some 
Jewish, or Hellenistic, source the whole passage relating to Manasseh, then the Prayer, and the 
writing in which it stood, must have been well known in the beginning of the third century A.D. 
Its composition must be assigned to an earlier date than this. 

The inclusion of the Prayer among the liturgical Canticles in the Codex Alexandrinus implies 
a high degree of estimation; and if those Canticles were copied from a yet earlier MS., we might be 
justified in inferring that its adoption for liturgical use had its origin not later than in the fourth cen- 
tury, and that a considerable interval of time must have elapsed between its becoming known in the 
Eastern Church and its being transcribed for liturgical use in MSS. of Scripture. Perhaps, however,we 
cannot say more than that (1) ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ probably found its way into liturgical use 
after becoming known to the Church through the Didascalia: (2) that the citation, in the Ddascalia, 
of the long extract in which the Prayer occurs, points to an earlier date for the period of its — 
composition: (3) that the position of the Prayer, in a setting of passages cited from the Greek 
versions of Kings and Chronicles, suggests that the Prayer itself is of considerably later date than — 
the translations which were used as a framework into which the penitential Psalm was inserted. 


re 


§ 7. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 


‘The Prayer of Manasses’ is too brief to admit of any degree of certainty in the reply to the 
question whether we have to do with a Greek original, or with a Greek translation from a Hebrew — 
or Aramaic original.! If it be a translation, it deserves to rank high. But the general impression _ 


ee 


1 [There is, I think, one real piece of evidence on behalf of a Semitic original. This is to be found in ver. 7: 
σύ, κύριε, κατὰ TO πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου ἐπηγγείλω μετανοίας ἄφεσιν τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσιν σοι 
καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου ὥρισας μετάνοιαν ἁμαρτωλοῖς εἰς σωτηρίαν. 

Here μετανοίας ἄφεσιν is clearly anomalous and unintelligible. Furthermore, if we compare the two στίχοι, we 
discover that it is just this phrase that destroys the otherwise exact parallelism of the στίχοι. Originally the first line 
contained five elements parallel to the five elements still preserved in the second. Three of these still exist: κατὰ το 
πλῆθος τ. χρηστύτητός σου || τ. πλήθει τ. οἰκτιρμῶν σου, ἐπηγείλω || ὥρισας, τ. ἡμαρτηκόσιν σοι || ἁμαρτωλοῖς. Over against 


614 


παι... πω. 


INTRODUCTION 


produced by the flexible style and ample vocabulary favours the view that Greek is the language 
in which it was composed: and it receives further support from the consideration that the manner 
in which it is inserted in the Dédascalia extract among quotations from the Greek renderings 
of Kings and Chronicles, combined with Greek ‘ Haggadic’ Additions, would suggest an originally 
Greek compilation. 

The language may be described as a good specimen of the κοινὴ διάλεκτος, and contains phrases 
which show the usual Semitic colouring, e.g. ἀπὸ προσώπου (ver. 3), ἐνώπιόν σου (ver. 10), εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα 
(ver. 13). The occurrence of such adjectives as ἀμέτρητος, ἀνεξιχνίαστος, ἀνυπόστατος, ἄστεκτος (vv. 6, 7), 
of such substantives as ἀγαθωσύνη (ver. 14), ἐπαγγελία (ver. 6), ψάμμος (ver. 8), and of such verbs as 
ἀνανεύειν (ver. 10), ἀτενίζειν (ver. 9), κατακάμπτειν (ver. 9), would suggest a freedom from the usual 
restrictions of translation. 

The employment of phrases based on, or derived from, the LXX seems to indicate an acquain- 
tance with the Greek version rather than the work of an independent translator; e.g. 6 ποιήσας τὸν 
οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν σὺν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ αὐτῶν (ver. 1), cf. Gen. i. 1, ii, 1 : μετανοῶν ἐπὶ κακίαις ἀνθρώπων 
(ver. 7), cf. Joel ii. 13: μὴ συναπολέσῃς με ταῖς ἀνομίαις pov (ver. 13), cf. Gen. xix. 15: εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα 
μηνίσας (ver. 13), cf. Ps. cil. (cili.) 9 : ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτοις τῆς γῆς (ver. 13), cf. Ps. cxxxvili. (Cxxxix.) 15: 
πᾶσα ἣ δύναμις τῶν οὐρανῶν (ver. 15), cf. Ps. xxxii. (xxxiii.) 6. 

Strange constructions such as ὡρίσας μετάνοιαν... εἰς σωτηρίαν (ver. 7); ἥμαρτον ὑπὲρ ἀριθμὸν 
ψάμμου θαλάσσης (ver. 9) ; εἰς τὸ ἀνανεῦσαί με ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν (ver. 10) ; κλίνω γόνυ καρδίας μου (νετ. 11); 
διὰ παντὸς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ζωῆς μου (ver. 15) seem to indicate the freedom of one who wrote in 
Greek. 

It has been strongly urged by Sir Henry Howorth that the current LX X version of 2 Chronicles 
should be identified with the work of Theodotion; and that as we have ‘a free rendering of parts of 
Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah grouped round a fable (1 Esdras), and by the same hand a paraphrase 
of parts of Daniel, also with legendary additions’ (Thackeray, Grammar of O.T. in Greek, p. 15), 
so we should be prepared to recognize in the Manasseh narrative, Prayer, and Additions, preserved 
in the Didascalia a reproduction of the original LXX version, for which the more literal version 
of Theodotion was afterwards substituted. 

This view has been supported in Old Test. and Semitic Studies in Memory of W.R. Harper: 


Apparatus for the Textual Criticism of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, by C. C. Torrey (Chicago, 
1908). 


§ 8. THE THEOLOGY OF ‘THE PRAYER OF MANASSES’. 


The two main religious ideas which pervade the Prayer are (1) the infinite compassion of the 

| Almighty, and (2) the efficacy of true repentance. 

The opening Invocation portrays in striking terms the Omnipotence of the Deity, and this 

} leads up to the consideration of the yet nobler attributes of His mercy and goodness (vv. 6-7). An 

| effective prelude is thus furnished to the sinner’s confession of his iniquities, the climax of which had 
been reached by his having set up idolatrous abominations. The glory of God and the abasement of 

| the sinner having thus been set over against one another in sharpest contrast, the way is prepared for 
the ardent supplication for forgiveness which occupies the remainder of the Prayer. 

The reader should take notice of the emphasis laid upon the Israelite patriarchs and their true 
spiritual lineage. The God of ‘our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ (ver. 1) is ‘the God of the 
righteous seed’ (ver. 1) and ‘of the righteous’ (ver. 8). The Patriarchs had not sinned against God 
\(ver. 8). Those only were the righteous seed who had not yielded to idolatry. The range of view 


jof the Psalmist is limited: it has regard to the sin of idolatry and to the pardon of the repentant 


μετάνοιαν ... εἰς σωτηρίαν in the second line we have the corrupt phrase μετανοίας ἄφεσιν in the first, which on the 


janalogy of the former phrase should obviously be ἄφεσιν... εἰς μετάνοιαν. If we ask how this corruption arose I reply that 
“itis possible to explain it as due to a transposition of nawind (= εἰς μετάνοιαν) from the end of the line to the place 
}mmediately after amp (= ἄφεσιν). In this new position the translation rendered nawn? AMD by μετανοίας 
φεσιν--α rendering that is quite possible though wrong in this context. On the order of the Greek cf. ver. 11 τῆς 
jrapd σου χρηστότητος. Thus we should read: 
‘Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness hast promised forgiveness to them that have sinned against 
thee that they may repent ; 
And in the multitude of thy mercies hast appointed repentance unto sinners that they may be saved.’ 
If the above evidence is valid, then we can also recover the right rendering of ver. 4 ὃν πάντα φρίσσει καὶ τρέμει 
πὸ προσώπου δυνάμεώς σου. Here the two verbs should be taken together. Then ὃν... 
pure Hebraism = an ΒΟ ++ awe. Hence render— 


‘Before whose power all things shudder and tremble.’—GEN. ED.] 
615 


. ἀπὸ προσώπου δυνάμεώς σου is 


THE PRAYER ‘OF MANASSES 


idolater. But a warning seems to be conveyed against the notion that Divine acceptance was 
ensured by Jewish lineage. The same note is struck, though it may not ring so clear, as in Luke 
iii. 8: ‘Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, 
We have Abraham to our father.’ Cf. John viii. 39; Rom. ix. 6, 7. 
Other points, characteristic of Jewish religious thought and deserving of attention, are the 
following : 
(a) supernatural efficacy ascribed to the sacred Name (ver. 3) ; 
(2) the statement that ‘ repentance’ is appointed by God for certain persons, and not for others 
ver. 8); 
a the representation of the under-world (S/eo/, or Hades) as a region containing various grades 
of remoteness from the light of heaven (ver. 11) ; 
(d) the description of the angels as the ‘host of heaven’ (7 δύναμις τῶν οὐρανῶν, ver. 15). 


pet 


$9. VERSIONS. 


(a) ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ was never included in the LXX version of the Old Testament 
Scriptures. Its position among ‘the Canticles’ appended to the Psalter, in certain MSS., is due to 
liturgical reasons. 

The Greek text was first printed by R. Stephanus in his edition of the Vulgate. ‘The Prayer’ 
follows 2 Chron.; and a short Preface contains this sentence : ‘Graecam hanc Manassae regis Iuda 
orationem, nunquam antehac excusam, peperit tibi, candide lector, bibliotheca Victoriana.’ 

It does not appear in the majority of the printed editions of the LXX. In the Complutensian 
Polyglott (1514-17) it is printed in small type, in Latin, at the end of 2 Chron. It was not con- 
tained in the Sixtine edition (1586-7) of the LXX; nor does it appear in the editions of Holmes 
and Parsons, or of Tischendorf. 

In Walton's Polyglott (although not mentioned in the index of contents) it is found in vol. iv (the — 
Apocrypha) placed before 3 Esdras, and is printed both in Greek and in Latin. The note is prefixed: 
‘ Orationem Manassae regis Iudae Graece non extare affirmatur in praefatione Bibl. Vulg. Lat. Edit. 
Antwerp. 1645. Quam tamen Graece iuxta exemplar Bibliothecae Victorianae in Bibliis latinis 
Roberti Stephani, Edit. 1540, fol. 159 excusam atque insuper in MS. A post Psalmos inter Cantica 
exaratam invenimus: ipsamque hic subiunximus.’ The variants of Cod. A are recorded. 

On the other hand, it is found in three reprints of the Sixtine edition, that of Frick (1697), 
that of Reineccius (1730), and that of Kirchner (1750). It was also included in Grabe’s edition of 
the LXX, following Codex Alexandrinus. But there was no foundation for the note: ‘ Προσευχὴ 
Μανασσή, 2 Paral. cap. xxxiii iuxta quaedam exemplaria’ (1817, ἵν. 165). This statement has led | 
to a very general misapprehension. No ancient Greek MSS. of 2 Chron, xxxili exist containing — 
‘Oratio Manassis’.+ ἢ 

(6) The Latin. As it was not extant in the Hebrew or the Greek Bible, it was not included in _ 
the work of Jerome. In all probability he was not aware of its existence. Otherwise, he would — 
scarcely have failed to make some allusion to it in the passage referring to the repentance of 
Manasseh: ‘ Legimus Manassem post multa scelera et post captivitatem in Babylone egisse poeni- 
tentiam et ad meliora conversum Domini misericordiam consecutum. Unde et fidei suae, per quam i 
crediderat Deo, filium vocavit ἐπώνυμον, id est Ammon’ (/z Sophoniam Liber 7, ed. Migne, P.L., — 
vi, ὁ 675, p. 1340). 

At what date the Latin version, which is a good specimen of translation, was made is not 
known. It is probably much later than Jerome’s version. The Prayer, however, is very commonly 
found in mediaeval MSS. of the Vulgate, immediately after 2 Chronicles, and often with the title 
‘Oratio Manassae’. ie, 

In his Septwagintastudien, iii, p.20, Nestle states that he had been assured both by Ph. Thielmann 
in Landau and by S. Berger in Paris that, so far as they knew, there was no MS. of the Vulgate © 
containing ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ of an earlier date than the middle or first third of the thirteenth _ 
century. A list of fifteen Latin MSS. in the British Museum containing ‘ The Prayer of Manasses’ at 
the end of Chron. has been most kindly furnished me by Mr. J. P. Gilson of the MS. Department; 
all belong to the thirteenth century. It would be extremely interesting to know whether there 
exists any copy of the Vulgate containing 2 Chron. followed by ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ which 
is of an earlier date. It is also an at present unsolved problem to determine the influence which fro 
the beginning of the thirteenth century led to the common inclusion of the Prayer in the Latin 
Scriptures. 

An eleventh-century MS. of the Mozarabic Psalter gives a text which differs considerably from 


==: ΕΣ ewe oe, Se th δὲς 
; : = me = — -- 4 ἐλ 
PSE τρις λέει ας EE METS Oe OL SE Le Come BTN eT Se να, κμόλλκει,ε ee DoT eet ee eee 


* See the valuable discussion in Nestle’s Septuagintastudien, iii, pp. 6-22. Stuttgart, 1899. 


616 


INTRODUCTION 


that in the thirteenth-century Latin Bibles, and with the title ‘Oratio Manasse Regis De Libro 
Paralipomenon’. See below, Note B. 

The three Latin MSS. (Colbert 273, Colbert 933, Remig. 4) which Sabatier collated with the 
Clementine Vulgate for his 5761. Sacr. Lat. Vers. Ant. (iii. 1038 sq.) belong to the same period, and 
have no special claim to distinction (see Fritzsche, Lzbri Apoc. Vet. Test. Praefat., p. 15). 

It was printed in the Latin Bible of Stephanus (1540) together with the Greek text, and it appeared 
also in Joh. Brentius’ edition of the Vulgate (Leipzig, 1544), in two columns, one in Greek, the other 
in Latin, side by side. 

The edition of the Vulgate issued by Sixtus V (1590) did not contain the Prayer.!. But in the 
revised edition of Clement VIII (1592) it was inserted, together with 3 and 4 Esdras, as an appendix 
after the New Testament. The Praecfatio ad Lectorem written by Cardinal Bellarmine contains the 
following statement: ‘ Porro in hac editione nihil non canonicum, nihil adscititium, nihil extraneum, 
apponere visum est ; atque ea causa fuit, cur libri ΠῚ et iv Esdrae inscripti, quos inter canonicos libros 
sacra Tridentina Synodus non annumeravit, ipsa etiam Manassae regis Oratio, quae neque hebraice 
neque graece quidem exstat, neque in manuscriptis antiquioribus invenitur, neque pars est ullius 
canonici libri,extra canonicae Scripturae seriem posita sint.’ This statement, as Sir Henry Howorth 
has pointed out (Soc. Bzbl. Arch., vol. xxxi, pt. 3, p. 90), ‘was probably unwittingly taken over from 
the Dominican Pagnini’s revised version of the Vulgate which was published in 1527, before Stephen 
had published his Bible. In Pagnini’s edition the Prayer is put at the end of 2 Chronicles, and is 
headed: “Oratio Manasse regis Iuda quae neque in Hebraeo neq. in Graeco habetur.”’ 

In modern Greek Bibles ‘The Prayer of Manasseh’ has a place immediately after the Books 
of Chronicles (e.g. St. Petersburg, 1876). 


§ το. SYRIAC VERSION. 


An account of the Syriac Version of the Prayer appeared in Hermathena xxxvi, 1910, from the 
competent pen of Professor George Wilkins, of Trinity College, Dublin. In his article he published 
a collation of a Paris MS. (Ave. fonds 2, Biblioth. Nat., Syr. 7) which is probably a transcript of the 
Syriac MS. (Vaz. viii) written by Sergius Risius, Maronite Archbp. of Damascus, circ. 1610, 

The Syriac Version of the Dzdascalia is preserved, according to Professor Wilkins, in the 
following four MSS.: 

(1) Cod. Syr. 62 (= Saint Germain 38), Paris, ninth century, = P. 

(2) Harris Codex (Mrs. Gibson’s Horae Semiticae), eleventh century, = H. 

(3) University Library, Cambridge, thirteenth century, = C. 

(4) Cod. Borgia, Museo Borgia, Rome. 


$11. OTHER VERSIONS. 


Armenian MSS. of the O. T. Scriptures contain the Prayer among the Canticles appended to the 
Psalter. 


It is also stated to occur in the old Slavonic Version (cf. article by Sir Henry Howorth, Soc. 
Bibl. Arch., March, 1909, p. 90). 
It is found appended to the Psalter in the Ethiopic Version of the Psalms (ed. Ludolf, 
Frankfort, 1701). 
And the Ethiopic Version of the Afostolical Constitutions (ed. Thomas Pell Platt, London, 
1834) contains the Prayer. 
$12. TEXT. 


The principal authorities for the text are (a) the two Greek uncial MSS. Alexandrinus 
and Turicensis; (4) the Latin and Syriac Versions ; (c) the Afostolical Constitutions and Didascalia. 

The text of cursive MSS., containing the Canticles appended to the Psalter, has yet to be 
critically investigated. 

The MSS. of the Afostolical Constitutions are given by Pitra in his Juris Ecclestastict Historia 
Jet Monumenta, tom. 1, p. 163 (Romae, 1864). Pitra himself seems to have relied especially upon 
M) Vatic. τ᾽ (= Vatic. 839, f. 1-175, saec. x, membr.), and ‘Vatic. 2’ (= Vatic. 1506, f. 1 ad. 77, 

a. 1024 membr.). 
The important edition by P. de Lagarde, Lipsiae, 1862, contains an apparatus criticus, 
The old edition of Cotelerius (1672) is well worth consulting. 


τ The Bull of Sixtus V (Aeternus ille), by which it was prefaced, had simply this allusion: ‘ Orationem Manassae, 
quae neque in Hebraeo, neque in Graeco textu est, neque in antiquioribus manuscriptis Latinis exemplaribus reperitur ; 
sed in impressis tantum post librum secundum Paralipomenon affixa est, tanquam insutam, adiectam et in textu 
3acrorum librorum locum non habentem repudiavimus.’ 


1106 617 ss 


THE PRAYER OF MANASSES 


The principal problems presented by the text of ‘The Prayer of Manasses’ are to be found in: 

(1) ver. 7; the additional clauses found in the Latin and in the Afoszol. Const. at the close of 
the verse ; . } : 

(2) ver. 9; additional clause in the Syriac Version and in the Mozarabic Psalter ; 

(3) ver. 10; various readings arising from the obscurity of the verb ἀνανεῦσαι; 

(4) ver. 10; the gloss added in Cod. T (μὴ ποιήσας τὸ θέλημά σου καὶ φυλάξας τὰ προστάγματά σου) 
and the Latin. 

$13. ENGLISH VERSIONS. 


‘The Prayer of Manasses’ was not included in Coverdale’s Bible, 1535. But it appears in 
Cranmer’s Bible (Grafton), 1539 (being given a place in the Apocrypha after ‘ Bel and the Dragon’ 
and before 1 Maccabees), and in the subsequent editions (1541, 1549, 1562, 1566). 

It receives the same position in the Bishops’ Bible, 1st ed., 1568. It does not appear in the — 
Genevan version. In the ‘ Authorized’ (1611) and ‘ Revised’ versions it stands between ‘ Bel and the _ 
Dragon’ and 1 Maccabees. 

In the Douai Bible of 1609 the Prayer precedes 2 Esdras and follows 2 Maccabees. It is 
headed by the note: ‘The Prayer of Manasses, with the second and third Bookes of Esdras, extant 
in most Latin and Vulgare Bibles, are here placed after al the Canonical Bookes of the Old 
Testament, because they are not received into the Canon of Divine Scriptures by the Catholique 
Church.’ 

In Luther’s Bible it stands at the end of the Apocrypha, after the Additions to Daniel. 


SUMMARY OF THE PRAYER. 


(1) The Invocation: (a) O God of Israel (ver. 1), Lord and Creator of the Universe (vz. 2, 3), Ὁ 
infinite in power (ver. 4) and in anger against the sinner (ver. 5); (ὦ) infinite also in mercy (ver. 6), — 
Thou hast proclaimed forgiveness for repentance, and appointed me the sinner unto repentance 
(vv. 7, 8). 

(2) The Confession: my sins are innumerable; I am unworthy to look upwards: I am justly — 
punished, loaded with chains, in misery (vv. 9-11). 4 

(3) The Entreaty: 1 beseech Thee (ver. 11) ; I acknowledge all (ver. 12); grant pardon; con-— 
sume me not; nor let Thine anger burn for ever (ver. 13). 

(4) The Ascription: Thou, the God of them that repent, wilt graciously save me (ver. 14); and 
I will praise Thee for ever. 

(5) Doxology: Angels hymn Thy praises; Thine is the glory for ever (ver. 15). 


Al, Note on the Latin MSS. containing the Prayer of Manasses. 


In the British Museum, the following MSS., all of the thirteenth century, contain the Prayer of Manasses _ 
at the end of 2 Chron. : 
(1) Add. 31,831 (f. 271 B): early thirteenth century. 


(2) Eg. 2867. 
[3 Lansd. 453: first half of thirteenth century. Does not contain Prayer, but has marginal note on 
f. 127 B: ‘M[inJus Oracio Manassé regis qué sic incipit “ Domine deus . . .”’| 


(4) Stowe 1. 


(5) Harl. 1748 (f. 130). 
(6) Royal τ A. viii (f. 155). 


(7) Avex: 

(8) ,, 1 A. xix. (f. 106 B, insertion by a different hand). 
ἰὴ: του (τοῦ! Βὴ) 
(10) Burn 3 (f 390 B). 
(an) (2:2 Βὴ: 
(12) Ar. 303 (f. 166). 

(13) Add. 28,626 (f. 210). 

(14) 4, 35,085 (f. 228 B): A.D. 1233-53. 

(τ) ὦ 3704076 


Β. Mozarabic Psalter: Eleventh (?)-Century MS. of Prayer of Manasses. 


In the ‘Mozarabic Psalter (MS. British Museum, Add. 30,851) edited by J. P. Gilson, M.A., of the 
Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum’, vol. xxx of the Henry Bradshaw Society (London, 1906), 
Canticum xxii contains Oratio Manasse Regis De Libro Paralipomenon 7-15 ; and the text differs sufficiently 


1 For this list I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Gilson. 


618 


INTRODUCTION 


widely from that which is found in the Latin Bibles to justify its transcription here (‘the character of the 
handwriting’, says Mr. Gilson in the Prefatory Note (p. viii), ‘points to the eleventh century as the date at 
which the MS. was written’). 
XXII [Canticum] Oratio Manasse Regis De Libro Paralipomenon. 
_ Antiphona. *Peccabi domine peccaui et iniquitatem meam ego agnosco.* 
Deus altissimus magnanimis . miserator et multe misericordie . patiens super mala hominum. 
Tu ergo domine secundum multitudinem bonitatis tue promisisti indulgentiam et remissionem delin- 
quentibus tibi . et habundantia misericordie tue statuisti penitentiam peccatoribus ad salutem. 

Tu ergo domine deus iustorum . non posuisti penitentiam iustis tuis Abraham Ysaac et Iacob . qui non 
peccauerunt tibi . sed posuisti penitentiam mihi peccatori. 
Quoniam super numerum arene maris habundauerunt iniquitates mee . et non est declinatio delictorum 
meorum. 
Et nunc iuste contineor . (et)? digne comprimor percurbat(u)s (in)? multis vinculis ferreis . ad non 
erigendum caput. 
Quoniam non sum dignus aspicere et videre altitudinem celi . pre iniustitiis meis. 
Quoniam irritabi furorem tuum . et feci malum coram te. 
Statuens abominationes . et multiplicans odiositates. 
Et nunc flecto genua cordis mei . precans a te bonitatem. 
Peccaui domine peccaui . et iniquitatem meam ego agnosco. 
Ne perdas me cum iniquitatibus meis . neque in finem iratus contineas mala mea neque condemnaueris 
‘me cum (h)is* qui sunt in inferiora terre. 
Tu es enim deus penitentium . ut in me hostendas bonitatem tuam. 
Indignum me saluabis secundum multitudinem misericordie tue. et glorificabo nomen tuum in omni 
uita mea. 
Quoniam te laudat omnis uirtus celorum . et tibi est gloria in secula seculorum. 


1 et] interlined. * percurbatus] z on erasure ; zz interlined. * his] # interlined. 


619 ; Ss 2 


σι 


THE PRAYER OB MANASsES 


O Lord Almighty, *which art in heaven”, 
Thou God of our fathers, 
Of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, 
And of their righteous seed ; 
Thou who hast made the heaven and the earth, 
With all the array thereof: 
Who hast bound the sea by the word of thy command : 
Who hast shut up the Deep, and sealed it 
With thy terrible and glorious Name ; 
Whom all things do dread ; yea, they tremble before thy power : 
For the majesty of thy glory cannot be borne, 
And the anger of thy threatening against sinners is unendurable: 


A = Codex Alexandrinus. T= Codex Turicensis. Const. Apost. = Constitutiones Apostolorum, lib. ii, cap. xxii 
(apud Cotelerium Patves Afostolict, tom, 1, p. 171; et apud Pitram Juris Eccles. Graecorum Historia et Monumenta, 
tom. i. 162). Syr. = Syriac Version. Lat. = Latin Version, in Vulgate. | Moz. = Mozarabic Psalter: Canticum 
xxii. See Note B, above. 

TITLE. Cod. A H προσευχὴ Μανασση: + του wov E¢excou T: Latin Ovatio Manassae regis Iuda cum captus 
teneretur in Babylone I. exovpare om. T, Const. Apost., Syr., Lat. 2. ο κλεισας : και κλεισας T σφραγισαμενος: 
+ αὐτην T, Const. Apost., Lat. 4. φριττει : φρισσει T, Const. Apost. 5. τε και. Some edd. de καὶ : vero et Lat. 


1. κύριε παντοκράτωρ. On the opening words of this invocation, compare I Chron, xvii. 24 κύριε παντοκράτωρ θεὸς 
᾿Ισραὴλ κτλ. (= 2 Sam. vil. 27). 

The reading ἐπουράνιε, omitted in Codex Turicensis, is possibly a gloss on παντοκράτωρ. In the Ὕμνος ἑωθινός (the 
fourteenth of the ’Q.dat in Codex Alexandrinus) we find an elaborate ascription, κύριε βασιλεῦ ἐπουράνιε θεὲ πατὴρ ἐπουράνιε. 

ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων. Cf. 1 Chron. xxix. 18 κύριε ὁ θεὸς AB. kK. Io. x. "lo. τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν. 

τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν τοῦ δικαίου. The writer implies the distinction between the true seed of the Patriarchs (‘the 
righteous’, cf. τ΄. 8) and the nominal, which is found in Tobit xili. 9, 13: ‘O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will scourge 
thee for the works of thy sons, and will again have mercy ov the sons of the righteous. “ Rejoice and be exceeding 
glad for the sons of the righteous. Ne are reminded of St. Paul: ‘ For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel ; 
neither, because they are Abraham’s seed, are they all children’ (Rom. ix. 6). [ 

2. ὁ ποιήσας κτλ. This verse is based upon the LXX of Gen. i. 1 ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν 6 θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, and 
Gen. ii. I καὶ συνετελέσθησαν ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ καὶ πᾶς ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν. Cotelerius, commenting on these words, cites 
‘ Theophanes Cerameus Homilia’ 56 κόσμος καὶ ἡ τοῦ κάλλους ἁρμονία καὶ διακόσμησις κατὰ τὸ ὑμνούμενον ἐν ὠδῇ Μανασσή. 
Ὃ ποιήσας τ. οὐρανὺν κ. τ. γῆν σὺν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ αὐτῶν (Patres Apostolic, vol. ii, p. 150). 4 

σὺν παντὶ τῷ κύσμῳ αὐτῶν. Latin ‘cum omni ornatu eorum’. The word κόσμος is here evidently introduced from 

the LXX of Gen. ii. 1, and may be regarded as an indication that the Prayer was written in Greek. The precise 
meaning of κόσμος is not certain. The fact, that in Gen. ii. 1 κόσμος = NI¥ ‘host’, causes Ryssel to consider that the — 
reference is to ‘ the host of heaven’, i.e. ‘the stars’, as e.g. in Deut. iv. 19, xvii. 3 ; Isa. xl. 26; Ps. xxxiii. 6. But in — 
the first three passages the words ‘of heaven’ are added; in Isa. xl. 26 ‘the host’ of the stars is clearly meant. 
Here the word κόσμος is followed by αὐτῶν, by which, strictly speaking, is denoted τὴν γῆν, as well as τὸν οὐρανόν. 
On the other hand, the literal renderings ‘ ornament’ (R.V.) or ‘ order’ (R.V. marg.) are too limited ; and the second 
alternative, ‘array,’ seems best to combine the ideas of splendour and orderliness. 

3. ὁ πεδήσας kth. There is a reference here to the passages in the O. T. describing the power of the Almighty in 
restraining the sea within its bounds, and in imprisoning the waters of the Abyss. See especially Job xxxviii. 8, 10. 11: 
‘Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth... when I... prescribed for it my decree, and set bars and — 
doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.’ Ps. civ. 9: ‘Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass 
over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.’ ἡ 

ὁ κλείσας τὴν ἄβυσσον. ἄβυσσος is the rendering of DNA in Gen. i. 2, vii. 11, viii. 2. Here it evidently denotes the 
subterranean watery depths upon which the ancient Israelites believed the earth to be upheld. Cf. Apoc. ix. 1 κλεὶς 
τοῦ φρέατος τῆς ἀβύσσου, and xx. 3 καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν eis τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ ἔκλεισεν καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ, where we 
may observe the association with κλείειν and σφραγίζειν. 1 

σφραγισάμενος. Cf. Job ix. 7, ‘which commandeth the sun ... and sealeth up the stars.’ The seal denoted 
possession, security, and inviolability. 
ἐνδόξῳ. Cf. Tob, viii. 5 τὸ ὄνομά σου τὸ ἅγιον καὶ ἔνδοξον. The rabbinic belief in the magical efficacy residing in 
the sacred Name is here referred to. Solomon was reputed to have wrought miracles by a seal engraved with the 
Tetragrammaton. Cf. Sirach xlvii. 18 and Gittiz 68 a. The Name was often mentioned as the embodiment of power 
and attributes. Cf. Baruch iii. 5. 2 

4. ὃν πάντα φρίττει. For dpirrew with acc. cf. Judith xvi. 10 ἔφριξαν Πέρσαι τὴν τόλμαν αὐτῆς. 

ἀπὸ προσώπου «th. Latin has ‘a vultu virtutis tuae’. It admits of doubt whether this phrase simply amplifies the 


object of the verb expressed in ὅν = 53! ‘in the presence of’; or whether it introduces a fresh thought, ‘ because 

of’, ‘ by reason of’ (= °32!2). Τὴ the former case it would grammatically be closely conjoined with φρίττει and τρέμειν 

in the latter case it would introduce with τρέμει an explanatory clause. See, however, note on p. 615. 
620 


THE PRAYER OF MANASSES 6-7 


Infinite and unsearchable is thy merciful promise ; 
For thou art the Lord Most High, of great compassion, 
long-suffering and abundant in mercy, and repentest thee 
for the evils of men. 
*Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness hast promised repentance and forgiveness to 
them that have sinned against thee ; and in the multitude of thy mercies hast appointed 
repentance unto sinners, that they may be saved.* 


7. ot. av: av yap Τ : guoniam tu Lat. om. ὑψιστος Const. Apost., Syr. om. «ac' Const. Apost. om. car? T, Moz. 
Insert *ov kupie .. . cornptav* Const. Apost., Syr., Lat., Moz.: om. AT 8. ἐμοι : pr. ex T, Const. Apost. ; Lat. propter me 


5. dorexros. The Latin renders by ‘importabilis’. The adjective does not occur in the LXX. Hesych. ἄστεκτος, 
ἀφόρητος, ἀβάστακτος. Cf. Aesch. Fragment 220. 
ἡ μεγαλοπρεπία τῆς δόξης gov, The phrase is evidently derived from Ps. cxliv. (cxlv.) 5 τὴν μεγαλοπρεπίαν τῆς δόξης 
τῆς ἁγιωσύνης gov, and 12 καὶ τὴν δόξαν τῆς μεγαλοπρεπίας τῆς βασιλείας σου. 
ἀνυπόστατος. Latin ‘insustentabilis’. An adjective of rare occurrence in the LXX: cf. Ps. cxxiii. (cxxiv.); 
2 Macc. i. 13, vill. 5. Cf. Symmachus in Job iv. 11, ix. 19; Ps. Ixxxv. (Ixxxvi.) 14; Prov. xvi. 27. 
6. ἀμέτρητον. Another uncommon adjective in the LXX. Cf. Isa. xxii. 18 ; Baruch ili. 25 ; 3 Macc. iv. 17. 
τε kat. The reading of some editions, δὲ καί, and the Latin, seems to deserve support on internal grounds. 
(1) At this point the main subject which occupies the thought of the Prayer, i.e. the mercy of God, is first reached. 
The power (v. 4), the majesty and the wrath (v. 5), have been described ; but here, in v. 6, another note of infinite 
graciousness is to be recorded. (2) The variation of thought between the two adjectives, ἀμέτρητος and ἀνεξιχνίαστος, 
is not sufficient to make the re prefixed to the καί strongly preferable. 
ἀνεξιχνίαστον. Latin ‘investigabilis’. In LXX Job v. 9, ix. το. Comp. Rom. xi. 33; Eph. iii. 8. 
τὸ ἔλεος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας σου, ‘the mercy of thy promise’, or ‘thy merciful promise’, referring to the promise of 
forgiveness to them that repent implied in vv. 8, 11, 13, which forms the nucleus of the prayer. 
ἐπαγγελίας. ἐπαγγελία, in the sense of ‘promise’ or ‘declaration’, is a common word in the N.T., e.g. Luke 
xxiv. 49; Acts i. 4, il. 33-9; Rom. iv. 13-14, and often in Ep.to Heb. But it occurs rarely in LXX, e. g. 1 Esdrasi.7; 
Esther iv. 7; Ps. lv. (Ivi.) 8; Amos ix. 6; 1 Macc. x. 15; 4 Macc. xii. 9. 
7. ὅτι σύ (or, σὺ γάρ). The present verse develops the claim to the Divine mercy. It appeals to the language which 
would be familiarly known from passages in the O. T. 
ὕψιστος. The omission of this adjective by Const. Apost. and Syr. has been explained on the ground that it is 
out of place at the head of a list of epithets of a moral character and bearing upon the mercy and forbearance of the 
Almighty: ‘At in Editionibus, in Horologio, et in quinque MSS. Regiis, σὺ yap εἶ κύριος ὕψιστος ᾿ (Cotelerius). The 
passage in Ps. xcvii. 9, ‘ For thou, Lord, art most high above all the earth,’ has led to the insertion in Latin texts 
- of ‘super omnem terram’. 
εὔσπλαγχνος. Not found in LXX ; Eph. iv. 32 (Robinson, ad /oc.); 1 Pet. ili. 8. 
εὔσπλαγχνος κτλ. In this rehearsal of the merciful attributes of Jehovah we have the key to the whole Prayer of 
Ἰ Repentance. The language reminds us of Exod. xxxiv. 6; Ps. cxxxvi. 15; Joel ii. 12, 13; Jonahiv. 2. Of these 
| passages, the words of the prophet Joel are probably uppermost in the author’s mind, For (1) it is a classical appeal 
for repentance, and hence would be appropriate to the subject of the Prayer; and (2) the expression μετανοῶν ἐπὶ κακίαις 
| is derived from the LXX of Joel ii. 12,13. The passage runs as follows: ‘ Yet even now, saith the Lord, turn ye unto 
} me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning ; and rend your heart, and not your 
| garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous 
in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil’ (LXX μετανοῶν ἐπὶ κακίαις). 
ἐπὶ κακίαις ἀνθρώπων. Latin ‘et poenitens super malitias hominum’. The word κακίαις seems to be borrowed 


) from the LXX of Joel. The prophet’s own phrase ‘ of the evil’ (ΠΡ ΛΠ by) had reference to ‘the evils’ of calamity 
which befell the people as the punishment for their sins. But the LXX rendered by κακίαι, which ordinarily denotes 
‘wickedness’ (Lat. ‘ malitia’), the source of sorrows; and not by τὰ κακά = ‘evils’, or sala, as the consequence 
᾿ οὗ sin. The common meaning of κακίαι may be illustrated from Gen. vi. 5 (LXX) ἐπληθύνθησαν ai κακίαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, 
in which context it ‘repented’ the Lord that He had made man, because the wickedness of men was increased. 
But κακίαι may have reference to the punishment arising from the sin: 1 Chron. xxi. 15 εἰδεν κύριος καὶ μετεμελήθη ἐπὶ 
τῇ κακίᾳ ; Jonah iii. 10 μετενόησεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τῇ κακίᾳ (cf. iv. 2); Matt. vi. 34 ἀρκετὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς. Probably an 
intentional contrast is here drawn between the μετάνοια ascribed to the Almighty (cf. Gen. νὶ. 6 ; 1 Sam. xv. 11; 2 Sam. 
xxiv. 16), in His pity relenting towards suffering, which is sin’s penalty ; and the μετάνοια of the sinner for his own sin 
)which calls down Divine judgement. The addition to the text contained in Const. Apost. and in the Latin, though 
| }omitted in Codd. A and T, is an important expansion of the main theme of repentance. It particularizes the promise 
(ἐπαγγελία, v. 6) as one that proclaimed ‘forgiveness of repentance’, i.e. forgiveness of sin, to the repentant 
jisinner ; it decrees for sinners the duty of repentance, with a view to their being saved. If only a gloss, it constitutes 
[ἃ very substantial addition to the Prayer. But it is, more probably, part of the original document. (1) It was very 
(possibly accidentally omitted, because these two στίχοι both commence with the same words (ὅτι σύ) as the preceding 
στίχος. (2) Arguing from the contents of the passage, it is more reasonable to suppose that such remarkable phrases 
las ἐπηγγείλω μετανοίας ἄφεσιν and ὡρίσας μετάνοιαν... εἰς σωτηρίαν should have been included in the original Psalm, 
‘j}than that they should have been inserted as a gloss. (3) Against their being a gloss, it is to be observed that the 
| next verse, σὺ οὖν... οὐκ ἔθου μετάνοιαν ktX., Seems to imply some such sentence, and would not follow so naturally 
\ipon μετανοῶν ἐπὶ κακίαις ἀνθρώπων. : ᾿ : ΠΩΣ d 
μετανοίας ἄφεσιν. Latin ‘ poenitentiam et remissionem’, The Mozarabic Psalter, ‘indulgentiam et remissionem, 
|tvoids the difficulty by a paraphrase. The introduction of μετάνοια with ἐπηγγείλω seems at first sight incongruous. 
\[he ‘ promise’ of ἄφεσις is conditional upon μετάνοια. The object of the Prayer is to unite the two ideas of the 
}inner’s repentance and the Divine pardon as closely as possible. For general sense compare Luke v. 32. For 
}. restoration of the text on the basis of a Semitic original see note on pp. 614, 615. μετάνοια in the LXX, Prov. xiv. 
621 


THE:PRAYER OF MANASSES#s 10 


Thou, therefore, O Lord, that art the God of the righteous, hast not appointed repentance unto 
the righteous, unto Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, which have not sinned against thee: 
But thou hast appointed repentance unto me that am a sinner ; 
For the sins I have sinned ave more in number than the sands of the sea. 
For my transgressions were multiplied, O Lord: 
My transgressions were multiplied, 
And I am not worthy to behold and see the height of heaven by reason of the multitude of mine 
iniquities. 
*And now, O Lord, I am justly punished and deservedly afflicted ; 
For lo! I am in captivity,* 
Bowed down with many an iron chain, 
So that I cannot lift up mine head by reason of my sins, 
g. ort om. T, Const. Apost. poul: + κε ἐπληθυναν T ; Lat. domine multiplicatae sunt kupte ἐπληθυναν at 
avopia μου Const. Apost. οὐκ ert Const. Apost. *And now ... captivity* insert Syr., *And now... _ 
afflicted* insert Moz., omit Codd., Const. Apost., Lat. 10. σιδηρου Const. Apost.; σιδηρω T ; Lat. ferreo 
avavevoac: pr. μὴ, om. pe T ; Lat. ut 20 Possim ὑπερ ἀμαρτιὼν τὴν κεφαλὴν T, Syr., Lat. μοι ἀνεσις : aveors μοι T 


15; Sirach xliv. τό; Wisd. xi. 23, xii. 10, 19. For ἄφεσις cf. Isa. Ixi. 1 κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν (1107). For for- 
giveness through repentance see Hos. ii. 1-4, vi. 1 ff., xiv; Isa. i. 16 ff. ; Ezek. xviii. 21 ff. 

τῷ πλήθει τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου. Cf. κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου, Ps. |. (li.) 1, Ixviii. (Ixix.) 19. 

ὡρίσας. Lat. ‘decrevisti’. Cf. 3 Macc. vi. 36 κοινὸν ὁρισάμενοι περὶ τούτων θεσμόν. 

εἰς σωτηρίαν (Lat. ‘in salutem ᾽) after μετάνοια has a suggestion of Ν. Τὶ phraseology. Cf. 2 Cor. vii. 10 ἡ γὰρ κατὰ 
θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν (Vulg. ‘poenitentiam...in salutem’) ἀμεταμέλητον ἐργάζεται. But both the idea and — 
phraseology are pre-Christian: cf. T. Gad v. 7 ἡ yap κατὰ θεὸν ἀληθὴς μετάνοια ... ὁδηγεῖ... πρὸς σωτηρίαν. Had the — 
author of the Prayer been a Christian, he could hardly have omitted a reference to ‘salvation through Jesus Christ’. 
There is no higher conception here than that of deliverance from the penalty of Divine wrath. γ 

8. ὁ θεὸς τῶν δικαίων. This is not a Biblical phrase. Compare with it v. 1 ὁ θεὸς... τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν τοῦ δικαίου. 
‘The righteous’ are the elect Israel, as distinguished from the οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί, of ἀσεβεῖς, οἱ ἄνομοι. Compare the contrast — 
in Luke xv. 7 between the ἁμαρτωλός and the δίκαιοι. q 

τοῖς οὐχ ἡμαρτηκόσι oot. The Patriarchs were invested with sinlessness in the estimation of the reverent few. 
Such treatment of patriarchal virtue was based on such passages as Gen. xvii. 17-19, xxii. 18, and Exod. xxxii. 13. 
ἐπ᾿ ἐμυὶ τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ. Lat. “ propter me peccatorem’. Cf. Luke xviii. 13 ὁ θεός, ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ. The 
article gives distinctiveness to the self-condemnation. [ 

9. ὅτι. The confession of his exceeding sinfulness occupies the following four verses, and, as the expression of 
repentance, forms the basis of entreaty for pardon. 

ὑπὲρ ἀριθμὸν ψάμμου θαλάσσης. The construction is obvious, though grammatically harsh: ‘to sin more than the 
number of the sand of the sea’ is equivalent to saying that it was easier to count the sands of the sea than the number — 
of his offences. a 

ψάμμος in the LXX is found only in Wisd. vii. 9 ὁ πᾶς χρυσὸς ἐν ὄψει αὐτῆς ψάμμος. The more common word is 
ἄμμος, as in Gen. xxxil. 12, xli. 49; Joshua xi. 4; Isa. x. 22; Hos. i. τὸ (ii. 1). 

ἐπλήθυναν κτλ. Cf, Isa. lix. 12: ‘For our trangressions are multiplied before thee.’ 

πληθύνω. Used intransitively. 

οὐκ ἄξιος. Cf. Luke xv. 19, 21, which may be the origin here of the variant reading οὐκέτι. 

ἀτενίσαι, ‘to look at with intent gaze’. Lat. ‘intueri’. The word is of rare occurrence in the LXX, 1 Esdras 
vi. 28; 3 Macc. ii. 26. But in the N. T. it is not infrequent, e.g. Acts i. 10, iii. 4, 12, vi. 15, vil. 55, &c. Ψ 

τὸ ὕψος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. ‘The height of heaven’ is the Throne of the Most High. Cf. Isa. xxxviii. 14 ἐξέλειπον yap 
pot οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ βλέπειν εἰς τὸ ὕψος τ. οὐρανοῦ πρὸς τὸν κύριον. For the thought see Ps. cxxiii. 1: ‘ Unto thee do 1 lift 
up mine eyes, O thou that sittest in the heavens.’ ὃ 

9, 10. Between v. 9 and v. 10 the Syriac version inserts the verse: ‘And now, O Lord, I am justly punished 
and deservedly afflicted; for lo! I am in captivity.’ The Mozarabic Psalter reads: ‘Et nunc juste contineor, 
et digne comprimor.’ In favour of some such insertion there are certainly the following considerations: (1) Ψ. 10 
Opens with μὴ κατακαμπτόμενος, which stands in no suitable relation either to v. 9, οὐκ εἰμὶ ἄξιος, or to the following 
clause, διότι παρώργισα ; (2) the clause beginning with μὴ κατακαμπτόμενος has no main verb, and is grammatically 
disconnected ; (3) if there is any consistency in the arrangement of the στίχοι, it is noticeable that, whereas in 7. 9 
we find a group of three στίχοι, (1) διότι ἥμαρτον Krd.. (2) ὅτι ἐπλήθυναν κτὰ., (3) καὶ οὐκ εἰμί xrd., and in 
v.10 ¢de a group of three στίχοι, (1) διότι παρώργισα κτὰ., (2) καὶ τὸ πονηρὸν κτὰλ., (3) στήσας βδελύγμ. κτλ.; and 
in ὦ. 11 a group of three στίχοι, (1) καὶ νῦν κλίνω κτὰ., (2) ἡμάρτηκα κτλ., (3) καὶ τὰς ἀνομίας κτὰ., this 
grouping breaks down in v. 10 ὦ ὦ, κατακαμπτόμενος κτὰ. and εἰς τὸ ἀνανεῦσαι κτλ. The reading of the Syriac 
and Mozarabic would thus supply grammatical coherency and rhythmical balance. Hence it is quite conceivable 
that they may have preserved the true text. Its opening words, καὶ νῦν, being identical with the opening of v. 11, 
may have led to the accidental omission. If genuine, it conveys a further reference to the position of the speaker as a 
captive in prison. There is, of course, another alternative, which is only conjectural, and yet is not altogether impossible, 
that the line κατακαμπτόμενος.. . . σιδηρῷ has been inserted to identify the utterer of the Prayer with Manasses; and thai 
the following line, εἰς τὸ... ἄνεσις, is a further expansion of the gloss. On the other hand, if κατακαμπτόμενος kth. 
original, the probability seems to be strong that some clause, like that of the Syriac version, has fallen out of the 
Greek text. 

10. κατακαμπτόμενος. If not conjoined to some clause such as that which the Syriac version supplies, the present 
clause follows very awkwardly upon what has gone before ; and grammatically the sentence is extraordinarily dis- 
jointed and prolonged. In consequence, the Latin and the English version begin here a new sentence. 

622 


THE PRAYER OF MANASSES τὸ τ 


Neither have I any respite: 

Because I provoked thy wrath, and did that which was evil in thy sight. 

*T did not do thy will, neither kept I thy commandments : * 

I set up abominations, and multiplied detestable things. 

ir And now I bow the knee of mine heart, beseeching thee of thy gracious goodness. 
“12 I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, 

And I acknowledge mine iniquities. 

13 But, I humbly beseech thee, 

Forgive me, O Lord, forgive me, 


εἰς TO... ἄνεσις om. Const. Apost. ἔμη ποιησας τὸ θελημα σου καὶ φυλαξας ra προσταγματα σου insert T and Lat. but not 
Moz. aTnoas... προσοχθισματα om. T II, καρδιας : + μου T, Const. Apost. Lat. 12. eyo ywooxw 
Codd. A T, Const. Apost., ed. Fritzsche: avaywaoxo Vulgo; Lat., Moz. agnosco 13. atrovupat...aves por: om. Moz.: 


katakapnt. Lat. ‘incurvatus sum’. This verb is rare in the LXX, Ps. xxxvii. 6, lvi. (Ivii.) 6; cf. Symmachus 
Ps. xli. (xlii.) 6, xliii. (xliv.) 26. 

πολλῷ δεσμῷ σιδηρῷ. Latin ‘ multo vinculo ferreo’. Cf. 2 Chron, xxxiii. 11: ‘ The captains of the king of Assyria 
... took Manasseh in chains [Or, wth hooks], and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.’ There is no 
sufficient reason to explain, as Zéckler and Ball, this sentence metaphorically of sin and its chains, like Ps. cvii. 10, 
‘being bound in affliction and iron.’ The whole context of this verse is occupied, not with the iniquities that produced 
the punishment, but with the penalty, of a quite real and overwhelming kind, which had befallen the speaker. Again, 
the metaphorical use of iron chains applied to sin is not a common one ; and there is nothing in the character of the 
Prayer which would favour the theory of a metaphorical use of these simple words. 

The precise meaning of πολλῷ is doubtful ; it may either be rendered as if it were the same as πολλοῖς δεσμοῖς, or 
the singular number may denote ‘a weighty chain’. For the use of πολύς with a singular substantive—most of the 
examples usually given are with an abstract noun—cf. v. 14 κατὰ τὸ πολὺ ἔλεός σου. 
εἰς τὸ ἀνανεῦσαί pe κτλ. This is the most difficult expression in the whole Prayer, and the difficulty has given 
rise to the variety in the readings. , 

ἀνανεύειν in the LXX is employed to translate [N'2 and Ni) (Hiph.) in the sense of ‘ to refuse’: cf. Exod. xxii.17 ; 
Num. xxx.6; Neh.ix.17. Here, however, it is used in a sense that represents the physical motion of the verb (νεύειν) 
and the preposition (ἀνά), and means ‘to incline upward’, as Ps. xl. 12, ‘so that I am not able to look up.’ We have, 
_ therefore, three alternative renderings: (1) Fritzsche, ‘so that I shake (my head) over my sins’ (cf. Polyb. xviii. 13. 3 

ἀνανενευκώς = ‘with the head up’; Dionys. Areop.; Basil, Ps. vii, p. 140; Chrys. De Zelo et Piet. (ap. Suicer.). 
(2) εἰς τό with inf., equivalent to τοῦ with inf. (= Hebr. ἢ with inf.) = ‘more bowed down .. . than to lift up »y head, 
because of my sins’, in the sense of ‘ bowed down... so that I cannot lift up my head, or look upwards’. This gives 
a good sense, but grammatically it is a harsh construction. (3) εἰς τὸ μὴ ἀνανεῦσαι τὴν κεφαλήν, as Cod. T, ‘so that 
Icannot lift up my head.’ This text is evidently emendational. The insertion of the μή gives the same sense as 
No. 2. So Latin, ‘ut non possim attollere caput meum.’ The omission of the whole line, εἰς τὸ... ἄνεσις, in Const. 
Apost. may have been due to the obscurity of the meaning ; but see note on vv. 9, lo above. __ j 

ἄνεσις. Latin ‘respiratio’, in the sense of ‘release’, or ‘cessation’, or ‘relief’. Cf. LXX in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 15 ; 
1 Esdras iv. 62; 2 Esdras iv. 22. In the N.T. it occurs of St. Paul in prison, Acts xxiv. 23. Cf. 2 Cor. vii. 5. 

παρώργισα. The verb παροργίζω, ‘to anger’, is of frequent occurrence in LXX with a personal object; e.g. 
Judges ii. 12 παρώργισαν τὸν κύριον. But there is no instance in the LXX of the phrase here used, παροργίζειν τὸν θυμόν τινος. 

The line μὴ ποιήσας... τὰ προστάγματί cov added by Codex Turicensis, and in the Latin version, ‘non feci 
voluntatem tuam et mandata tua non custodivi,’ seems certainly to be a gloss, expanding the words τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιόν 
σου ἐποίησα. It adds nothing to the sense of the verse, it overloads the arrangement of the lines, it places μὴ ποιήσας 
immediately after ἐποίησα, and interposes a general negative between the assertion of wicked action (τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιόν 
σου ἐποίησα) and the statement of its most conspicuous instance of enormity. The line should not, therefore, be 
included in the text. ᾿ ‘ 

στήσας βδελύγματα xr. Latin, ‘statui abominationes et multiplicavi offensiones.’ Mozarabic, ‘ Statuens abomi- 
Nationes et multiplicans odiositates.’ βδέλυγμα is the usual rendering in the LXX for NIpIn ‘abomination 5 (Ge 
2 Kings xxi. 2: ‘And he (Manasseh) did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the 
heathen.’ προσοχθίσματα is the word used for ‘ the abomination’ (jPV) of the Zidonians and of Moab in 2 Kings xxiii. 
13 τῇ ᾿Αστάρτῃ προσοχθίσματι Σιδωνίων καὶ τῷ Χαμὼς προσοχθίσματι Μωὰβ καὶ τῷ Μολχὸλ βδελύγματι υἱῶν ᾿Αμμών. On 
the outrages committed by Manasseh upon the worship of Jehovah and upon the Temple at Jerusalem see 2 Chron. 
Xxxill. I-9. : Ἶ 

II. καὶ νῦν κτλ. The confession is complete; the entreaty for compassion now begins. ; ; 

κλίνω γόνυ καρδίας. In the LXX κάμπτω is the regular verb to be used with τὰ γόνατα. With κλίνω we find another 
construction in 2 Esdras ix. 5 κλίνω ἐπὶ τὰ γόνατά pov. The heart of the suppliant is here represented as a person 
kneeling. For this personification of the heart cf. Rom. ii. 29, ‘circumcision is that of the heart.’ The teaching of 
the prophet Joel is perhaps still influencing the writer : ‘Rend your heart, and not your garments’ (Joel ii. 13). 

δεόμενος τῆς παρὰ σοῦ χρηστότητος, i.e. begging for the kindness which continually proceeds from thee. It is more 
than τῆς χρηστότητός σου, while the Latin ‘ precans a te bonitatem ’ fails to reproduce the Greek idiom. ; 

12. ἡμάρτηκα. The perf. tense gives the sense of the continued result of the sin, ‘I have sinned, and am in a state 
of sin” This is a different shade of thought from that of the aorist ἥμαρτον (τ΄. 9). For this acknowledgement of sin 
compare the cases of Balaam, Num. xxii. 34; Saul, I Sam. xv. 24, xxvi. 21; David, 2 Sam. xil. 13. : 

ἐγώ. Emphatic: ‘I—the guilty one—am alone cognizant of my guilt, and therefore alone can perceive and 
acknowledge my transgression.’ ; P : aa he 

γινώσκω. Latin ‘agnosco’. Cf. Ps. 1. (li.) 5 ‘iniquitatem meam ego cognosco ΄. In this passage some editions 
have ἀναγινώσκω. Cf. Ps. xix. 12 : ‘Who can discern his errors?’ 

13. αἰτοῦμαι. The reading ἀλλ᾽, which is found in Cod. T and Const. Apost., expresses the fresh departure made at 
this point in the Prayer: ‘Nevertheless, in spite of my sinfulness, I beseech,’ &c. Latin, ‘ quare peto rogans te. 


623 


14 


15 


“THE PRAYER OF MANASSES τ ας 


And destroy me not with mine iniquities. 

Neither, in thy continual anger against me, 
Lay up evil in store for me: 

Nor pass thou sentence against me, 
When I am in the lowest parts of the earth. 

For thou, O Lord, art the God of them that repent ; 
And in me thou wilt show forth *all* thy goodness : 

For thou wilt save me, unworthy that I am, 
According to thy great mercy. 

And I will praise thee for ever all the days of my life: 
For all the host of heaven doth sing thy praise, 

And thine is the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 


atrovpat: pr. αλλ T, Const. Apost.; Lat. gware μη: pr. και T, Const. Apost.; Lat. ef ze οτι σὺ ev κυριε o Geos 
AT: ott συ Geos Geos Const. Apost. 14. ev enor AT ; em εμοι Const. Apost. Oecéns A T ; δειξεις Const. Apost. ; 
Lat. ostendes, ed. Fritzsche τὴν αγαθωσυνὴην: pr. πασαν T; Lat. ommnem, ed. Fritzsche 15. εν Tas ἡμεραις 
AT: εν πασαις tats ἡμεραις Const. Apost.: Vulgo wacas tas npepas 


ἄνες μοι. The repetition of the prayer for forgiveness corresponds with the repetition of ἡμάρτηκα in the previous 
verse. For ἄνες cf. Ps. xxxviii. (xxxix.) 13 ἄνες μοι iva ἀναψύξω = ‘ O spare me, that I may recover my strength’. 

μὴ συναπολέσῃς μετ. ἀνομ. μι The phrase is evidently based upon the LXX of Gen. xix. 15 iva μὴ συναπόλῃ ταῖς 
ἀνομίαις τῆς πόλεως. Cf. Wisd.x. 3. Used of persons, the same verb is found with pera and the gen., Ps. xxv. (xxvi.) 9 
μὴ συναπολέσῃς μετὰ ἀσεβῶν THY ψυχήν μου 3 XXVil. (XXviii,) 3 μετὰ ἐργαζομένων ἀδικίαν μὴ συναπολέσῃς με. ; 

εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνίσας. Latin ‘in aeternum iratus’. Another phrase borrowed from the LXX: Ps. cii. (ciii.) 9 
οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνιεῖ ; Jer. 11]. 12 οὐ μηνίω ὑμῖν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 

τηρήσῃς τὰ κακά μοι. Latin ‘reserves mala mihi’. The meaning is: ‘do not, by long-continued anger, retain, or 
lay up in store against me, the evils which I have deserved.’ 

τὰ κακά : not the sins I have committed; but the evils I have brought upon myself as the punishment of sin. 

καταδικάσῃς, ‘pass sentence of condemnation upon.’ The verb renders the Hiph. of YW in Ps. xxxvi. (xxxvii.) 33- 
The punishment of physical suffering, disease, want, injury, exile, was deemed to be inflicted for offences against the 
law of God. 

The Mozarabic Psalter renders ‘ neque in finem iratus contineas mala mea neque condemnaueris me cum his qui 
sunt in inferiora terre’. 7 

ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτοις τῆς γῆς. This phrase renders /IS“NNHA in the LXX of Ps. cxxxviii. (cxxxix.) 15, where — 
Codd. A B read ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτοις τῆς γῆς. In that passage, as in Isa. xliv. 23, the lowest region in the under-world of 
the departed is denoted by this term. It does not indicate the place of torment ; but rather the most remote and 
inaccessible locality in the unknown region of departed spirits. Here, as in Ps. cxxxviil. (cxxxix.) 15, the meaning is: 
“When I am most remote, and abide in the lowest parts of the earth, condemn me not.’ ‘ Do not prolong, or delay, the 
punishment of my sins, so that they may be visited upon me, however inaccessible in the lower world.’ The other 
rendering, ‘nor condemn me to (i. 6. for punishment in) the lowest parts of the earth’, follows the Latin, ‘neque damnes 
me in infima terrae loca.’ ‘ The lowest regions’ were not a locality of torment, like the mediaeval hell, but the most 
inaccessible place in the shadowy under-world. 

14. ὁ θεὸς τῶν μετανουύντων. Another Divine title, which does not elsewhere occur in Holy Scripture. 

δείξεις or δείξης. The former reading gives the simplest meaning, and is supported by the Latin ‘ ostendes’ and 
Const. Apost. δείξῃς, which is read by Codd. A and T, is grammatically harsh. The subjunctive must be dependent — 
on the μηδέ in v. 13 ; but the prohibition closes with v. 13, and if in v. 14 the positive side of the injunction is to be 
continued in the subjunctive, the construction is almost intolerable, especially with the clause ὅτι ov... μετανοούντων 
interposed. 

τὴν ἀγαθωσύνην. Cf. LXX in Judges ix. 16; 2 Chron. xxiv. 16. The insertion of πᾶσαν (Cod. Τὴ) is a very natural 
amplification : Latin ‘omnem bonitatem tuam’. 

ἀνάξιον. A rare adjective in the LXX. See Esther viii. 13 ; Sirach xxv. 8; Jer. xv. 9. 

σώσεις. The deliverance here contemplated is from the manifold punishment he had deserved. 

κατὰ τὸ πολὺ ἔλεός σου. Cf. v. 7. 

15. διὰ παντὸς κτλ. Latin ‘semper omnibus diebus vitae meae’. Mozarabic Psalter, ‘in omni vita mea.’ The 
mene usta phrase in the LXX would be πάσας ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς pov. Cf. Ps. xxii. (xxiii.) 6, xxvi. (xxvii.) 4, Cxxvil. 
CXXVIll.) 5. 

_ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις τῶν οὐρανῶν. Lat. ‘omnis virtus caelorum’. The meaning is ‘all the heavenly host of angelic 
beings’; and the phrase is probably derived from Ps. xxxii. (xxxiii.) 6 πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν. Cf. Dan. viii. 10, See 
2 Chron. xviii. 18, ‘all the host of heaven standing™6n his rigk® hand and on his left’; and Luke ii. 13, ‘a multitude of © 
the heavenly host praising God.’ 

καὶ σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. “A short concluding doxology reminding us of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. vi. 13). 
For instances of Jewish doxologies cf. 1 Chron, xxix. 11; 1 Esdras iv. 59. 

Ἀμήν. For the liturgical use of Amen see 1 Chron. xvi. 36 = Ps. cvi. 48, Judith xiii. 20 (γένοιτο), Tobit viii. 8 ; 
and compare, in N. T. illustration of this usage, 1 Cor. xiv. 16 and Rev. v. 14. 


624 


THE PRAYER OF AZARIAH AND THE SONG 
©The THREE CHIEDREN 


INTRODUCTION 


δι. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK. 


THE subject of this introduction is not really a ‘book’; and it is sometimes known as the 
‘First Addition’ to the canonical Book of Daniel. It is an illustrative interpolation inserted in that 
book after iii. 23 ; and is found there, forming an integral part of the book,! in Theodotion, the LXX, 
Vulgate, and some other versions dependent on the LXX. ΤῈ is absent from the Aramaic text. 

It consists of four parts : 

(a) Verses 1,2. An introductory verse or verses connecting it with the narrative. This intro- 
| duction occurs in two different forms in the LXX and in Theodotion.? 

(ὦ) Verses 3-22. A ‘Prayer’ ascribed to Azariah, one of the ‘Three Children’ who were 
| thrown into the fiery furnace. 

This ‘ Prayer’ begins with praise to God (3) and an acknowledgement of His justice (4), especially 
| in the judgement executed upon Israel (5-10). There follows a prayer for deliverance, for His 
| Name's sake (11) ; because of His promise to the Patriarchs (12, 13); because of their great sufferings 
} and true repentance (14-19). The Prayer concludes with an appeal for deliverance, for the punish- 
ΟΕ ment of the enemies of Israel, and for the world-wide manifestation of the glory of God (20-22). 

(c) Verses 23-27. A narrative as to the further heating of the furnace, the burning up of the 
Chaldeans round about, and the descent of the Angel of the Lord into the furnace to protect the 
ἘΠ ‘Three Children’. 

(4) Verses 28-68. The Song of the Three Children with an introductory verse. 

The Song is an ascription of praise to God, in which all His creatures, animate and inanimate, 
are called upon to glorify Him. 

Verses 35-65 have the same refrain, ‘Sing His praise and highly exalt Him for ever,’ slightly 
|varied in verse 52. These verses form the Benedicite.* 


$2. TITLE OF THE BOOK. 
Just as this ‘ Addition’ is not really a book, so originally, being merely a section of the Greek 
\Daniel, it had no separate title. Thus Swete* says, ‘In the Greek MSS. no break or separate title 
\divides these Greek additions from the rest of the text.’° But the Alex. MS. gives the Prayer and the 
\Song under the titles ‘ Prayer of Azarias’ and ‘Hymn of our Father’ as two of the fourteen hymns 
which it inserts as an appendix to the Psalter. Other MSS. head the Song ‘Hymn of the Three 
Children’. The Vulgate inserts after Dan. iii. 23 the note Quae sequuntur in hebraeis voluminibus 
ton repert. Then follows our ‘Addition’ and then another note, Hzcusque in Hebraco non habetur ; 
ὦ quae posuimus de Theodotionis editione translata sunt. 
Lagarde in his edition of the Syriac version of the Apocrypha gives the heading ‘ Prayer of 
Hananiah and his companions’ from one MS., and from Walton (literally) ‘ Prayer of the House of 
‘Hananiah’; the meaning of the latter phrase being the same as the former.® 
| In the A.V. and R.V. the whole ‘ Addition’ is placed under the title ‘The Song of the Three 
doly Children’, adding the note, ‘ Which followeth in the third Chapter of DANIEL after this place, — 
Well down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.—Verse 23. That which followeth is not 
ΠΣ the Hebrew, to wit, And they walked—unto these words, Then Nebuchadnezzar—verse 24. 
Π Inthe Prayer Book verses 35-65 form one of the canticles of the Morning Service, the opening 
rords of the Latin version, Benedicite, Omnia Opera, being used as a title. 


ἢ 


“ 


| 


1 But cf. below, § 2. 2 Cf. below and notes on verses 1 f. 5 Cf. below, ὃ 7. 

4 Introduction to the O.T. in Greek, p. 260. : 

5 Tischendorf in his edition of the Vatican LXX inserted titles in brackets, hence the statement sometimes made 
at these titles are given in the Vatican MS. 

® pp. xxi, 126. 


THE PRAYER OF AZARIAH, ETC. 


§ 3. THE MSS. 


The LXX version of Daniel was almost universally displaced at an early date by that οἱ 
Theodotion, made in the first half of the second century A.D. The English versions are made from 
Theodotion. 

The MSS. may be classified thus : 


(2) MSS. of Theodotion’s Version.’ 


A. Codex Alexandrinus contains the whole ‘ Addition’ as part of Danzel and also the Prayer 
and Song as two of the Canticles. 

B. Codex Vaticanus. 

V. Codex Venetus. 

Q. Codex Marchalianus, a complete copy of the Prophets preserved in the Vatican Library, 
written in Egypt not later than the sixth century. The margins supply copious extracts from the — 
various Greek versions.” 

Τ. Codex Cryptoferratensis, in the Basilian Monastery of Grotta Ferrata, a volume consisting — 
partly of palimpsest leaves of an uncial MS. of the Prophets of the eighth or ninth είτε. This 
is available for Dan. i. 1-11 a, iii. 1-5 a, 37 b- 524, Vii. I-viil. 19 a, ix. 15 ὦ, 26a, xii. 4 6-13.° 

R. Psalterium Graeco-Latinum Veronense, ‘a bilingual Psalter of Western origin and attributed 
to the sixth century . .. the property of the Chapter of Verona, includes the Song as one of eight 
canticles supplementary to the Psalter.* 

T. Psalterium Purpureum Turicense, a Western uncial, ascribed by Tischendorf to the seventh 
century, containing the Psalter, followed by canticles, including the Prayer and the Song. Verses | 
14-19 are wanting. It is in the municipal library of Zurich.® 

Swete, pp. 165 ff., further enumerates a large number of cursive MSS. of, or including, Daniel. 


(ὁ) MS. of the LX X. 


This version is only extant in the cursive MS. 87, the Codex Chisianus, in the library of the 
Chigi family at Rome. It contains Jer., Baruch, Lam., Ep. of Jeremiah, the LXX Daniel, 
Hippolytus on Daniel, Theodotion’s Daniel, Ezek., and Isaiah. It is usually assigned to the ninth. 
century.® ‘ 


§ 4. THE ANCIENT VERSIONS." 


(a) The Old Latin of Daniel is extant in various fragments and patristic quotations. These 
show that the version included our ‘Addition’. F. C. Burkitt’s investigations seem to point to the 
conclusion that before the time of Jerome there were current Latin versions of both the LXX Daniel 
and Theodotion’s Danzel.8 

(6) The Vulgate of Daniel is made from Theodotion, and includes the additions. 

(c) The Peshitta Syriac. Swete® states that ‘ From the first the Peshitta seems to have included 
the non-canonical books of the Alexandrian Bible except 1 Esdras and Tobit’. A. A. Bevan 


i a a a οὰς μσως, τπ τ οἕὦροὦἕὁυοὁἐιηι, κτὺν ππμσκσα 


Hebrew and Syriac ΒΙΡ]65." The version is made from Theodotion, but differs considerably from 
both Theod. and LXX, probably through corruption and free handling. 
(2) The Syro- hexaplari ic Verswn isa literal version of the LXX column of Origen’s Hexapla, 
and supplements the testimony of Codex Chisianus as to the text of the LXX. 
(6) A Syriac version of Daniel and other books of Jacob of Edessa, A. D. 704-5, exists in MSS. at 
London an Paris, but only specimens have been printed." 
(f) Egyptian Versions. (i) The Bohairic Coptic, based on Theodotion, but influenced by the 
LXX." (ii) The Sahidic. j 
(9) The Ethiopic Version, based on Theodotion. 
(2) The Arabic Version, based on Theodotion. 
(ἢ The Armenian Version, from the text of Theodotion." 


1 For details of MSS. merely named, see Swete, 7)12. ¢o the O. T. in Greek. 

2 Swete, pp. 144f. 5 Swete, p. 146. + Swete, 0.7. 22 Greek, II. ix. 

5 Swete, O. 7. in Greek, 11. xi. 6 Swete, O. Z. in Greek, 111, xii. 

” For further details as to these versions, see Swete, Jt. to the O. T. in Greek. 

8 The Old Latin and the Itala, p. 28. De} UA. 10 The Book of Daniel, x. 

τι Swete, p. 116. 12 Bevan, p. 3. 18 F.C. Conybeare, Hastings’s DB 1. 155: 
626 


INTRODUCTION 


ᾧ 5. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 

This problem might seem to belong to the realm of pure scholarship ; but it is involved in the 
controversy between the Protestant Churches and Rome as to the canonicity of the Apocrypha. 
| Protestant divines have been inclined to regard original composition in Hebrew as one mark of 

canonicity, though they have never formulated any rigid doctrine to that effect. Dr. Barry, for 
instance, wrote of ‘the true Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament’! He probably only meant the 
canon current amongst Palestinian Jews, but the use of the term ‘ Hebrew’ lays emphasis on the fact 
that the books of the Palestinian canon are extant in Hebrew or Aramaic; while the Apocrypha, 
when he wrote, were not extant in Hebrew. 

Thus, according to Rothstein,* most Protestant scholars since Eichhorn, including Fritzsche, 
Schiirer, KGnig, Cornill, and Strack, have decided for Greek as the original language ; while Catholic 
scholars have held that the ‘ Addition’ was written in Hebrew. But some Protestant scholars have 
also taken this view, e.g. Delitzsch, Zockler,: Bissell,? Ball, Vatke, and Reuss. Further, Rothstein 
himself is inclined to accept a Hebrew original. 

Bissell’s statement * that ‘the majority of critics of all schools have always held to the opinion 
that this composition was originally written in the Hebrew or Aramaic language’ is too sweeping ; 
but perhaps on the whole the balance of authority inclines that way. The theory of a Hebrew 
original is also favoured by J. T. Marshall:° ‘The evidence for a Hebrew original is not irresistible, 
but probable’; Kamphausen® states that it cannot be conclusively proved that the ‘ Additions’ 
were written in Greek; J. E. H. Thomson’ argues for a Hebrew or Aramaic original; Swete® 
writes, ‘The addition to Dan. ili. 23 is clearly midrashic, and probably had a Semitic original.’ 

The present writer is clear that there was a Hebrew original probably for the bulk of our ‘ Addi- 
tion’, and certainly for the Prayer of Azariah. It must not, of course, be overlooked that various 
considerations, partly drawn from the study of the newly-discovered papyri, reduce the force of 
much evidence which would prima facie point to a Hebrew original. Idioms and words supposed 
to be Hebraisms or Aramaisms seem to belong to ordinary Hellenistic Greek, unless, indeed, the 
Jewish population of some districts gave a Semitic flavour to the local dialect. Moreover, it is 
always possible that if a Jewish author were more familiar with Aramaic and Hebrew than with 
Greek, or were soaked in the language of the LX. X and had read nothing else in Greek, he might 
write original Greek as if he were translating from Hebrew. These considerations, accordingly, have 
been borne in mind, and due weight has been given to them; they lessen, but do not destroy, 
the force of the general arguments advanced, and there are specific items of evidence which are not 
affected by them. The conflicting views of various scholars show that there is not obviously an 

overwhelmingly strong case for either view. 

Allowing for a very little editing or corruption of the text, there is not much that could not 
have been written in Hellenistic Greek, and nothing which could not have been translated from 
Hebrew. The present writer admits that, as he is mainly interested in the Old Testament, he may 
| have some slight bias in favour of a Hebrew original, but he believes that he has made due allow- 

ance for his personal equation. In studying the ‘ Addition’ for the purposes of this work, he has 
| felt that for the most part the Greek goes into Hebrew of its own accord, and many passages are 
| most easily understood as unidiomatic renderings of a Hebrew original. The vocabulary is almost 
entirely confined to that of the LXX. 
] Moreover, some little weight may be given to the argument that a pre-Christian Jew would 
compose prayers and hymns in Hebrew rather than in Greek, Hebrew being the language of 
devotion. Thus Reuss maintains? that a Jew in prayer could only think in Hebrew. But if our 
| ‘Addition’ was originally composed to supplement a Greek Davzel, it would naturally be written 
in Greek. We do not think it was so composed, partly because of other evidence of a Hebrew 
| original, but were such evidence entirely lacking, the use of Greek might thus be explained by the 
}purpose for which the passages were written.” 
It must, however, be admitted that, with a very few exceptions to be mentioned later, the 
\idifferent texts and versions do not present the kind of variations which would arise from the 
jindependent use of a Hebrew or Aramaic text. Theodotion and the LXX are so similar that they 
jare clearly texts of the same Greek original. It is true that the Peshitta Syriac has some striking 
differences from both of them, so that Thomson maintains” that ‘ The Syriac could not have been 


1 Teacher's Prayer Book, p. 280 g. 4p. 178. 

8 So Rothstein, but apparently Bissell does not expressly adopt this view. 4 p. 443. 
5 Hastings’s DB, iv. 7564. 6 Encycl. Bibl. iv. 1014. 

τ Daniel, Pulpit Comm., pp. 113-17. 8 p. 261. 

* Apud Rothstein, p. 174; somewhat similarly Thomson, p. 114. 

10 Cf. further below, p. 629. ΤΡ Deals 


27 


THE PRAYER OF AZARIAM, Ee 


made from the Greek, nor the Greek from the Syriac; they must have had a common source’, 
probably Hebrew. We think, however, that the history of the Peshitta version of our ‘ Addition’ 
makes this unlikely.! A Syriac translator some centuries after Christ would hardly have known or 
used a copy of the Hebrew criginal. The variations of the Peshitta are probably due to a tendency 
to paraphrase. 

When we turn to detail, it is desirable to examine separately (a) the Prayer, (6) the Song, 
(c) the narrative verses. 

Let us take first the Prayer of Azariah. 

Verse 4. ‘All thy judgements truth’, ἀλήθεια; the use of the substantive is a familiar 
Hebrew idiom. Similarly ‘ judgements of truth’—so literally, in verse 5. 

Verse 6. ‘We have dealt lawlessly in departing from thee, ἠνομήσαμεν ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ σοῦ. 
i.e. ‘We have lawlessly departed from thee’, a familiar Hebrew use of the dependent infinitive. 

Verse 9. The peculiar word ἀποστατῶν, R.V. ‘forsaken of God’, is most easily understood as 
a rendering of the Hebr. 0°97 ‘rebels’, as in LXX, cf. notes. 

Verse 14. ‘ Low in all the world,’ where perhaps we might have expected ‘lowest’ or ‘lower than 
all’, is often explained as due to the confusion of two similar Hebrew letters, see note. 

Verse τό. ‘Humble spirit,’ lit. ‘spirit of lowliness’, a familiar Hebrew idiom. ἥ 

Verse 17. ‘ Wholly go after thee, lit. ‘complete’ or ‘ be complete after thee’, ἐκτελέσαι ὄπισθέν σου, 
a literal rendering of the Hebr. phrase 7108 dD, cf. πὲ xp and similar phrases, found in Joshua 
xiv. §f., 14, &c., in the sense of ‘follow with perfect obedience and fidelity’. This instance is con- 
clusive as LXX does not render this phrase by ἐκτελέσαι, so that the Greek cannot be got from 


the LXX of the passages in the canonical O.T. Aquila in Deut. i. 36 renders ΝΟ by πληρῶσαι; 
otherwise Aquila, Symm., and Theod. are not extant for the passages where this phrase occurs. 
The LXX of this verse has a double rendering for the phrase, in one of which τελειῶσαι, ‘ complete’, 
is an alternative rendering of the original Hebr., and the other ἐξιλάσαι, ‘make thou atonement’, isa 
guess by way of correction; LXX has many such guesses. We have not seen this explanation 
of ἐκτελέσαι κτλ. elsewhere. Cf. note. 

Verse 21. ‘ Let them be brought to shame and deprived of all their dominion.’ R.V. ‘ Let them 
be ashamed of all their power and might’,? καταισχυνθείησαν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς δυναστείας, cf. Ps. cxviil. 
(LXX Hebr. cxix.) 116, μὴ καταισχύνῃς με ἀπὸ τῆς προσδοκίας μου, ‘Make me not ashamed of my 
hope,’ “120, Similarly Sirach xxi. 22 (which is known to be a translation from Hebrew) 
ἰασχυνθήσεται ἀπὸ προσώπου, R.V. ‘will be ashamed of entering’, lit. ‘from (the) face’, probably 
‘from ’, i.e. ‘so as to keep away from the presence of the master of the house.’ The phrase in our 


passage may be a mere Hellenism, but makes much better sense if taken as a case of the pregnant 
use of the Hebr. 3. Cf. note. 


Numerous minor Hebraisms might be cited. It is true that the majority of these apparent 
Hebraisms, taken individually or to the number of three or four, might be explained away as due to 
the influence of the LXX or otherwise. But some of them, notably ἐκτελέσαι in verse 17, cannot be 
thus disposed of; and this fact, together with the concurrence of so many in a few verses, shows that 
the original language was Hebrew. Aramaic, indeed, would be possible,t but much less probable. 

The scheme of the Song of the Three Children is so simple, that for the most part it might 
equally well have been written originally in Greek or translated from Hebrew. The predilection for 
compounds with ὑπερ- is a matter of taste that may be due to a translator, just as much as to the 
original author.’ But we find Hebraisms in the few places where there is an opportunity for them 
to occur. The genitive of the substantive is used for an adjective in verse 30, ‘the name of Thy 
glory’ for * Thy glorious name’, and in verse 31, ‘the temple of Thy holy glory ’ for ‘Thy holy and 
glorious temple’, In such a case the balance of probability seems in favour of a Hebrew original. 

The Narrative Verses include a good deal of curious Greek, e.g. καίοντες τὴν κάμινον νάφθαν for - 
‘heating the furnace with naphtha’, which might represent a too literal rendering of a Hebrew or 
Aramaic original. Here, too, the vocabulary and idiom are largely that of the LXX. On the other 
hand, there are several touches that do not look like translations from a Semitic original, e. g. τοῖς περὶ 
τὸν ᾿Αζαρίαν, but this and others might quite conceivably be somewhat free renderings from Hebrew 
or Aramaic. On the whole, too, verses 23-27, which connect the Prayer and the Song, seem some- 


: Cf. above, p. 626, ἡ 4 (c). ‘ ? Theodotion ; the LXN corrects to ἀληθιναί, 
* “Power and,’ an addition found in some authorities. 


é The Targum of Num. xiv. 24 translates xo lit. by mein. 
Ὁ Cf. notes on verses 29, 30. 


628 


INTRODUCTION 


what rhetorical, and are not so simple and straightforward as the Greek of the narratives which 
precede and follow the ‘Addition’. Moreover, Theodotion and the LXX differ considerably. It is 
possible that we have to do with a Greek expansion of an Aramaic original.! 


In any case the section or sections originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic were to a certain 
extent edited after they were translated into Greek. 


$6. COMPOSITION OF THE BOOK, DATE, ETC. 


The ‘ Addition’ was not part of the original Book of Daniel. As we shall show later, the Prayer of 
Azariah could not have been composed with reference to the rest of the book. It seems, however 
just possible that the ‘ Addition’ as a whole was part of the book before it was translated into Greek, 
but that it was somewhat amplified in the course of translation or afterwards. For the most part the 
Greek of the ‘ Addition’ is very similar to that of the canonical part of the book, and indeed to the 
LXX of the canonical books generally.?_ We will return to this subject after discussing the separate 
sections. 

The ‘ Addition’ as a whole probably belongs to the first century B.c. It is later than the 
canonical Daniel, i.e. later than 168 B.c.; the LXX is apparently by the same hand as that of the 
canonical Daniel, which was probably in existence at the beginning of the Christian Era or somewhat 
later. 

The Prayer of Azariah was not originally composed in reference to the incident of the Three 
Children. If it had been, it would have been put into the mouth of Hananiah (Shadrach), who 
always stands first of the Three. Thus the Peshitta heads the ‘Addition’, ‘Prayer of Hananiah 
and his companions.’ There is nothing whatever in the Prayer to connect it with the incident to 
which it is attached. Moreover a Jew, writing a Prayer for the beginning of the Exile, would hardly 
have forgotten Jeremiah and Ezekiel, to say nothing of Daniel himself, and spoken of the people as 
having been without a prophet. On the other hand verse 15, which states that there was neither 
priest, prophet, nor leader, neither sacrifices nor place for public worship, points to the dark days at 
the beginning of the Maccabean struggle. Probably, therefore, it was composed by, or in the 
name of, some unknown Azariah, about 168-170 B.c.* 

The Song of the Three Children is expressly connected with the incident by verse 66; but 
probably this was not part of the original Song. The jubilant tone of this poem is in marked 
contrast to the despondency of the Prayer. The ‘holy and glorious Temple’ and its services seem to 
be flourishing. Apart from verse 66, it might belong to any prosperous period after the reforms of 
Ezra and Nehemiah, probably some time after the success of the Maccabean revolt. There is 
nothing to indicate that it was composed with reference to the incident of the Three Children. 

The Narrative Verses were obviously put into their present form in order to connect the Prayer 
and the Song with the rest of the book; but they may be based on a section of the original Daniel, 
no longer included in the canonical book. In the latter the sequence between verses 23 and 24 
seems imperfect. In 23 we read that the Three Children ‘fell down bound into the midst of the 
burning fiery furnace’. We are not told how they fared, but verse 24 goes on at once ‘Then 
Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied’, nothing so far having happened to astonish him. 
Apparently originally something like the apocryphal narrative verses I, 2, 23-27 stood between the 
canonical verses 23 and 24, and may have provided the basis for the apocryphal narrative verses. 

These facts seem to point to some such conclusions as the following: Two independent Hebrew 
poems, the Prayer and the Song, were inserted, either at the same time or at different times, in the 
Hebrew-Aramaic Daniel;® the narrative section originally connecting the canonical verses 23, 2 
was modified in order to connect the poems with the rest of the book. There were then in circulation 
copies of two editions of Daniel, one with the ‘Addition’, the other without ; the former, longer, 
edition was the more popular and the more widely circulated. But later on it was held that the 
shorter form was the more authoritative ; and in copies of the longer form our verses 1-68 ° were 
marked as an addition. From a copy or copies so marked, fresh copies were made which omitted 
our ‘Addition’, without restoring the section which originally stood in the canonical chap. iii, 
between verses 23 and 24. 

The various authors and editors were clearly Jews ; nothing whatever is known of them, beyond 
what may be gathered from the ‘ Addition ’ itself. 


See further § 6, on the composition of our ‘Addition’. 
See notes, passim. 5’ So Thomson, Dazze/, p. 115. * Verses 30f., cf. notes. 
We are not concerned here with the history of the Book of Daniel apart from our ‘ Addition’. 
LXX Dan. iii. 24-90. 
629 


THE PRAYER OF AZARTAL see: 


§ 7. INFLUENCE OF THE BOOK ON LATER LITERATURE, CANONICITY, ETC. 


As the ‘ Addition’ was current in early times as part of the longer Daniel, it is difficult to know 
how far it was accepted as canonical. When Daniel is mentioned in a list of canonical works, there 
is usually nothing to show whether or no it includes our ‘ Addition’. Its absence from the Massoretic 
edition of the Old Testament probably shows that the ‘ Addition’ was not included in Daniel as it 
was received into the Palestinian Canon. 

On the other hand, it was generally accepted in the early and mediaeval Christian: Church, 
being included in the LXX, Latin, Syriac,! Egyptian, Arabic, Ethiopian, and other versions. 
The ‘ Additions’ to Daniel are freely used by the Greek and Latin Fathers : ὁ a Father who accepted 
Susanna and Bel and the Dragon would a fortiord accept the Prayer and the Song. 

At the Reformation our ‘ Addition’ shared the fate of the rest of the Apocrypha. The Roman 
Church kept it as an integral part of Daniel and of the Old Testament ; the Reformed Churches took 
it out of Daniel and made it a separate Apocryphon. 

Philo apparently makes no use of Daniel, and Josephus in his version of the incident of the 
Three Children and the Fiery Furnace, Az. x. 10. 5, entirely ignores this ‘ Addition’. 

Most of the parallels between the New Testament and the ‘ Addition’ are also parallels with 
the canonical Old Testament ; and the two or three that remain may be mere coincidences. We 
may, however, note one. In verse 64 we have ‘ spirits and souls of the righteous ’,? with which we 
may compare Heb. xii. 23, ‘the spirits of just men, * and Apoc. vi. 9, ‘I saw... the souls ὅ of them 
that had been slain for the word of God.’ But here there need be no literary connexion ; moreover, 
in Wisdom of Solomon iii. 1, we have ‘ The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God’. Thus 
there is no sufficient evidence that the writers of the New Testament made use of this ‘ Addition ’.® 

Verses 35-66 form the Lenedicite which stands in the Morning Service of the Prayer Book as 
an alternative to the Ze Deum. The S.P.C.K. Prayer-Book with Commentary states, ‘The rubric 
of 1549 directing its use during Lent was done away with in 1552, and there is now no special 
direction when it should be used. But it is still deemed more suitable for that season than the 
exultant strain of the Ze Deum, and to those days when the Lessons relate to the wonders of 
creation.’7 


§ 8. THEOLOGY. 


These few verses, about one long Biblical chapter, are mostly secondary and imitative, largely 
a cento of phrases from the Old Testament. They illustrate, however, some of the features of 
Jewish theology about the beginning of the Christian Era. Thus the unique deity of one God is set 
forth in verse 22 and at length in the appeal of the Song to all things animate and inanimate to 
praise God. Yet this one God is still specially the Champion of Israel against their enemies, 
verse 21. It is possible that the ‘worshippers’ of verses 10,68 are proselytes, or, at any rate, 
include Gentiles. 

In verses 5, 6, 14 the misfortunes of Israel are explained by their sins, whereas in Psalm xliv, 
commonly regarded as Maccabean, the Jews protest that they are innocent martyrs, persecuted for 
loyalty to their God. But the sins confessed here are probably those of the nation in the past. 
Azariah says for himself and those for whom he speaks, ‘But in a contrite heart and a humble 
spirit let us be accepted .. . now we follow thee with all our heart, we fear thee and seek thy face,’ 
verses 16-18. 

Further, in verses 16, 17 we have the idea that penitence is an acceptable sacrifice, cf. Psalm 1i.8 


ᾧ 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


See the list of works dealing with the Apocrypha as a whole,® and in addition the following :— 
(a) CHIEF EDITIONS OF THE TEXT (AND OF THE ANCIENT VERSIONS). 
_ (i) LXX of Daniel, 5. de Magistris (?), Rome, 1772: ‘Daniel secundum LXX. et tetraplus Origenis nunc 
primum editus e singulari Chisiano codice.’ Reprinted .. . at Milan, 1788 (Bugati) ; and at Leipzig, 1845 (Hahn). 
The LXX text is also given in the editions of Holmes and Parsons, Tischendorf, and Swete.!” These authorities also 


give the text of Theodotion ; Theodotion was also used for Daniel in the Complutensian, Aldine, Sistine, and Grabian 
editions of the LXX, and in the minor editions based upon them? 


* But perhaps not in the original Peshitta, cf. 4c. * Smith’s DB, i. 258. 

* Πνεύματα καὶ ψυχαὶ δικαίων. 4 Πνεύμασι δικαίων. ° Τὰς ψυχάς. 

* Cf. W. Dittmar, Vetus Testamentum in Novo, p. 351. 7 p. 43. 

* Cf. Maldwyn Hughes, Zhe Ethics of Jewish Afpocryphal Literature, p. 69. 

® See Introd. to Vol. I. 10 Swete, p. 193. 1 Swete, pp. 171 ff. 
6390 


INTRODUCTION 


(ii) Peshitta Syriac. Lébrz Veteris Testamenti Apocryphi, Syriae, Lagarde, London, 1861. 
(iii) Syro-hexaplaric Version. The Daniel of this version was published by Bugati in 1788. 
(iv) Egyptian, Coptic, or Pohairic Version, Tattam, Prophetae Majores, Oxford, 1852. 


(6) CHIEF CRITICAL INQUIRIES. 


BEVAN, A. A. Daniel, 1892, Section on ‘LXX’, pp. 43 ff. 

BiLupavu. 2916 alexandrin. Uebersetzung des δ. Dan., &c., 189741 

BRULL. ‘Das Gebet der drei Manner im Feuerefen, Jahrbuch fiir jiid. Gesch. τε. Litt., viii, 1887, pp. 22 ff.3 
BurRKITI, F.C. Zhe Old Latin and the Itala, Camb., 1896, Section on ‘ LXX Text of Dan.’, pp. 18 ff. 
Dictionary of the Bible (Hastings), 1902. J. T. MARSHALL, ‘ Three Children, Song of the’, iv. 754. 


DRIVER, S.R. Daniel (Camb. Bible), pp. xviii ff., and Section on ‘ Versions and Comm.’, pp. xcviil ff. 
Encyclopaedia Biblica, 1899, A. KAMPHAUSEN, ‘ Daniel, Book of’, i. 1013. 
_ PRE*, 1896, E. SCHURER, ‘Apokr. des A.T.,’ i, pp. 638 ff. 


_ THOMSON, J. E. H., in Pulpit Commentary on Daniel, 1897, Excursus on ‘Song of the Three Holy Children’, p. 112. 


1 Encycl. Bibl. i. 101s. SRRES 639: 


----- ΡΥ ΤΡ δ 
-- .-- ——— =e : 


j 


a IR I a TD 


es — 


631 


— 


THE PRAYER OF AZARIAH AND THE SONG OBE: 
THREE CHE DREN 


The Prayer of Azariah, 1-22. 


1,2 AND they walked in the midst of the fire, singing the praise of God, and blessing the Lord. Then 
Azarias stood up with his companions and prayed on this manner; and opening his mouth in the 

3 midst of the fire said, Blessed art thou, O Lord, thou God of our fathers, and worthy to be praised : 

4 and thy name is glorified for evermore: for thou art just in all the things that thou hast done, and 

5 all thy works are true, and thy ways right, [and all thy judgements truth]. In all the things that 
thou hast brought upon us, and upon the holy city of our fathers, evew Jerusalem, thou hast executed 
true judgements: for according to truth and justice hast thou brought all these things upon us 

6 because of our sins. For we have sinned and committed iniquity in departing from thee, and we 

7 have sinned grievously in all things, and have neither hearkened unto thy commandments nor kept 


Our version follows the text of Theodotion; variations found in the LXX are given in the notes. 

1. In the Greek MSS. this verse follows iii. 23 of our Daniel. - 

they, the ‘Three Children’. In the account of this incident in the canonical Daniel they are referred to by their 
Aramaic names, ‘ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’; but in this ‘Addition’ they are called Ananias, Misael, and 
Azarias, the Hellenized forms of their Hebrew names, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 

God... the Lord. In the Pentateuch the divine names often alternate through the combination of clauses 
from documents using ‘God’ and ‘ Yahweh’ respectively. This alternation seems to be sometimes imitated, as a point 
of style, by later writers ; cf. Jonah iii. 10, iv. 2. 

the Lord, κύριος, representing the Hebrew divine name, Vuhweh. 

2. stood up with his companions, συνστάς, R.V. ‘stood’. The verb is used in 1 Kings xvii. 26 LXX to translate 
spy ‘stand’. In Dan. ili. 23 the three ‘fell down bound’. 

1, 2. Instead of these two verses, LXX has the following: ‘Thus then prayed Hananias and Azarias and Misael, 
and sang praise to the Lord, when the king commanded them to be thrown into the furnace. And Azarias stood and — 
prayed thus and opened his mouth and gave thanks to the Lord, [together with his companions in the midst of the fire, 
the furnace being brought to an exceeding great heat by the Chaldeans].’ Rothstein regards the words in brackets as 
a later addition. On the words ‘brought... to a heat’, i.e. ὑποκαιομένης, cf. Jer. i. 13, where ὑποκαιόμενον renders M53, 
R.V. ‘seething (cauldron) ’. 

There is no apparent reason why the following ‘ Prayer’ should be put into the mouth of Azariah. Where the 
three names are given in the canonical Daniel, his name, whether as Azariah or Abednego, stands last, and in verse 66 
of our ‘Addition’ it stands second. As the ‘Prayer’ itself does not connect in any way with the incident in Daniel, 
and the name is a common one, the Azariah of the ‘ Prayer’ may originally have had nothing to do with the Azariah 
of Daniel. 

3. Cf. 1 Chron. xxix. 10, 20 (Yahweh, the God of their fathers) ; 2 Chron. vi. 3, 4. 

and worthy to be praised, aiverés. LXX has αἰνετόν connecting with the following, ‘and thy name is worthy to 
be praised,’ &c. 

4. thou art just, &c. Neh. ix. 33 R.V., ‘thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly’; 
2 Esdras, καὶ σὺ δίκαιος ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐνχομένοις ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ὅτι ἀλήθειαν ἐποίησας. 

thy works, ἄς. Cf. Deut. xxxii. 4. 

true, ἀληθινά. This Greek word is frequently used in the LXX for the genitive of the Hebr. ’éeth, ‘truth’, such 
genitives in the Hebrew often doing the work of an adjective. The idea in the Hebrew is rather ‘ faithful’ than ‘true’; 
faithful, as corresponding to the nature, promises, and commands of God. 

right, εὐθεῖαι. Often in LXX for Hebr. yashar, ‘straightforward’; so Hos. xiv. τὸ LXX. 

[and allthy judgements truth]. Apparently a variant arising by dittography from the clause ‘and judgements of 
truth’, which immediately follows in the Greek; so Rothstein. The words for ‘judgements’ are different, κρίσεις and 
κρίματα respectively. 

truth. LXX and Syr. marg. have ‘true’, ἀληθιναί; Syr. text agrees with Theodotion. 

5. the holy city, &c. Cf. Isa. Ixiv. 1of., also lii. 1, Neh. xi. 1, and Deut. ix. 24. 

brought .. . upon, ἐπήγαγες as in the earlier part of the verse; LXX has ‘wrought’, ἐποίησας. 

6, 7- ΘΕ Isa. lix: 12. Ezra 15 0) 7.13; Neh: 1. 7- 

6. sinned (first occurrence). LXX adds ‘in all things’. 

in departing from thee. A more idiomatic rendering of the first part of this verse would be, ‘ We have sinfully 
and lawlessly departed from thee.’ 

sinned ... sinned grievously, jpdpropev . . . ἐξημάρτομεν. The ἐξ of the latter may be used of erring from 
the mark, emphasizing the nature of sin as a divergence from a standard, an aberration. ’Efapyaprdvo is occasionally 
used in LXX in the sense of ‘sin’, but more often in that of ‘cause to sin’; it does not occurin N.T. In view of the 
similarity of the first and last clauses of this verse, Rothstein regards ‘sinned and’ as a later addition; but ἡμάρτομεν 
and ἐξημάρτομεν probably represent two different Hebrew words. 

thy commandments. The LXX reads ‘the commandments of thy Law’. 


632 


ΝΥ. 


DAE PRAVER OF AZ ARIAT 85 τὸ 


8 them, nor done as thou hast commanded us, that it might go well with us. So all that thou hast 
g brought upon us and everything that thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgement. And 

thou didst deliver us into the hands of lawless enemies, and most hateful forsakers of God, and to 
το ἃ king unjust and the most wicked in all the world. And now we cannot open our mouth; shame 
τι and reproach have befallen thy servants, and them that worship thee. Deliver us not up utterly, for 
12 thy name’s sake, neither disannul thou thy covenant ; and cause not thy mercy to depart from us, 
for the sake of Abraham that is beloved of thee, and for the sake of Isaac thy servant, and Israel 
13 thy holy one; to whom thou didst promise that thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of 
14 heaven, and as the sand that is upon the seashore. For we, O Master, have been made less than all 
15 the nations, and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins. Neither is there at 
this time prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place 
16 to offer before thee and to find mercy. But in a contrite heart and a humble spirit let us be 


8. The first two clauses are practically identical, and Rothstein and others may be right in regarding one of them as 
a gloss, probably the former. 
g. lawless, i.e. Gentiles who had not the Jewish law. LXX inserts ‘our’ before this word. 

most hateful forsakers of God, ἐχθίστων ἀποστατῶν. ἐχθίστων might mean ‘most hostile’ or ‘most hateful’ ; 
either would suit the sense, but in the Apocrypha it occurs with the latter meaning, e.g. Wisd. xv. 18. 
ἀποστατῶν and cognate words in the LXX would usually represent the Hebrew root 97419 ‘rebel’; so Num. xiv. 9, 
Joshua xxii. 19. In Acts xxi. 21 Paul is accused of teaching ἀποστασίαν ἀπὸ Μωύσέως, i.e. ‘apostasy’ in the modern 
sense, and ἀποστάτης in ecclesiastical writers has the sense of ‘apostate’. In 1 Macc. ii. 15 we read of agents of Antiochus 
compelling the people to apostatize, καταναγκάζοντες τὴν ἀποστασίαν. Here it may represent the Hebr. p44) ‘rebels’, 
i.e. against God; but it would be understood by the later Greek reader in the sense of ‘apostate’. Probably the 
phrase does not refer to the Gentiles but to apostate Jews., In the time of the revolt of the Maccabees we read of 
“renegade and wicked Jews’, Az. xil. 7.1, who took the side of the oppressor, cf. xii. 5. 4. 
aking, ἄς. In the present setting of the Prayer the king will be Nebuchadnezzar. What we read of him else- 
where does not convey the impression that he was ‘unjust and most wicked in all the world’. In Jer. xxv. 9 Yahweh 
speaks of him as ‘my servant’. But the author of this clause was probably thinking of Antiochus Epiphanes. 

the most wicked in all the world. The Greek is πονηροτάτῳ παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, an unusual construction, 
probably elliptical for ‘more wicked than any of the kings of the whole earth’. 
10. them that worship thee, τοῖς σεβομένοις oe ; the participle also occurs in verse 68. In Acts οἱ σεβομένοι are the 
proselytes, e.g. xvii. 17 τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις καὶ τοῖς σεβομένοις. Possibly the word has the same sense here and verse 68. 
Rothstein thinks the clause an addition; a reference to proselytes might well be added as an afterthought. 
Il. utterly, εἰς τέλος. This phrase and εἰς τὸ τέλος frequently occur in the LXX and represent numerous Hebrew 
originals, most often nyid ‘for ever’, or in the Psalm headings ny2d, apparently understood in the same sense. 
disannul, διασκεδάσῃς, lit. ‘scatter abroad’. This verb, with διαθήκην for object, is the regular LXX rendering of 
n)2 153 ‘annul a covenant’, e.g. Judges ii. 1. 

12. that is beloved of thee. In 2 Chron. xx.7 LXX Abraham is called τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ cov; the Hebrew has 
ads, R.V. ‘thy friend’. In Isa. xli. 8 he is called "3 ΠΝ, R.V. ‘ my friend’, LXX ὃν ἠγάπησα, ‘whom I loved’. The 
root JMN is the regular word for ‘love’. In James ii. 23 Abraham is called ‘the friend (φίλος) of God’, and this is 
his common title amongst Mohammedans. 

thy servant ... thy holy one. These epithets are not applied elsewhere to Isaac or Israel (the patriarch) 
respectively. In Deut. ix. 27 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are called ‘thy servants’, and the va/zon of Israel is 
constantly spoken of as, or exhorted to be, holy, e.g. Deut. vii. 6. 
13. LXX has, ‘As thou didst speak unto them, saying that ¢/oz wouldst greatly multiply (πολυπληθῦναι) their seed as 
the stars of heaven for multitude,’ &c. 

Cf. Gen. xxii. 17 πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὸ σπέρμα σου ws τοὺς ἀστέρας τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τὴν παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς 
θαλάσσης, “ Multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand by the seashore.’ _ 

14. Master, δέσποτα. Very occasionally used by LXX to render’ Adonai,’ Adon,’ Elohim, Yahweh; fairly common 
in the Apocrypha as a divine title, and so used in Luke ii. 29; Acts iv. 24; 2 Pet. 11. 1; Jude 4; Apoc. vi. το. The 
word expresses ‘ the absolute control of a master over a slave’ (R. J. Knowling on Acts iv. 24). 

in all the world. It has been suggested that we should read ‘ (lower) than all the world’, an original Hebrew 
2!) having been misread as $53: [ἢ some forms of the Hebrew script 2 and 3 are very similar. 
15. Cf. Hos. iii. 4; Ps. lxxiv. 8, 9, perhaps Maccabean. 
prophet. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar there were Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. 
burnt offering, ὁλοκαύτωσις, πον. The sacrifice in which the victim was wholly consumed on the altar. 
sacrifice, θυσία. Used in LXX both for M1, the general term for the sacrifice of an animal (so probably here), 
and for 732, sometimes limited to bloodless offerings. 
oblation, προσφορά. Only once in LXX, Ps. xxxix. 7, where it is used for nh ; it is fairly common in the 
Apocrypha. ae oe : 
to offer. The Greek καρπῶσαι is a derivative of καρπός, ‘fruit’; Liddell and Scott explain its use in the sense of 
‘offer’ by suggesting that it meant to ‘bring’ or ‘offer fruit’. In classical Greek it is most often used in the passive 
or middle to mean ‘to derive profit’, ‘to enjoy’. The noun κάρπωμα is the regular LXX for NWN ‘an offering made 
by fire’, which had nothing specially to do with fruit, but was commonly used of animals. The verb occurs in the 
sense of ‘offer’ in Lev. ii. 12, 16; cf. Ps. li. 18 LXX. According to Deissmann, LXX uses καρπόω in the sense of 
burn ’4 
heart, Gk. ψυχῇ, which is occasionally used by the LXX to render the Hebr. ΞΡ ‘heart’. 


1 Bible Studies, pp. 135 ff. 
1105 633 41}: 


25) 


THE PRAYER OF AZARIAH 17-29 


17 accepted, like as in the burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, and like as in ten thousands of fat 
lambs; so let our sacrifice be in thy sight this day, and graz¢ that we may wholly go after thee, for 
18 they shall not be ashamed that put their trust in thee. And now we follow thee with all our heart, 
19 we fear thee and seek thy face. Put us not to shame, but deal with us according to thy forbearance, 
20 and according to the multitude of thy mercy. Deliver us also according to thy marvellous works, 
21 and give glory to thy name, O Lord: and let all them that do thy servants hurt be confounded, and 
let them be brought to shame and deprived of all their dominion, and let their strength be broken ; 
22 and let them know that thou art the Lord, God, sole and glorious over the whole world. 
23 And the king’s servants, that put them in, ceased not to make the furnace hot with naphtha, pitch, 
24 tow, and small wood; so that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits. 
26 And it spread, and burned those Chaldeans whom it found about the furnace. But the angel of the 
Lord came down into the furnace together with Azarias and his fellows, and he drove the flame of 
27 the fire out of the furnace; and made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling 
wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them. 
28 Then the three, as out of one mouth, praised, and glorified, and blessed God in the furnace 
saying : 


The Song of the Three Children, 29-68. 


29 Blessed art thou, O Lord, thou God of our fathers, 
And to be praised and highly exalted for ever. 


17. burnt-offerings. LXX and B of Theodotion have the singular. 
grant that we may wholly go after thee. The Greek ἐκτελέσαι ὄπισθέν σου is obscure as Greek. It is a literal 
rendering of the Hebr. 108 xn, R.V. ‘followed fully’, Num. xiv. 24, xxxli. 11 f.; Deut. i. 36; Joshua xiv. 8 f., 14. 
LXX of these passages renders the phrase by ἀκολουθέω and cognate or synonymous words. The LXX reading 
ἐξιλάσαι, ‘make thou atonement’, is a correction to improve the sense. 
At the end of the verse the LXX adds καὶ τελειῶσαι ὄπισθέν σου, a variant of our clause, which was originally placed 
in the margin as a correction of the LXX ἐξιλάσαι ὄπισθέν σου, and then inserted in the text in the wrong place. 

19. deal with us. LXX adds ἔλεος, giving the sense ‘show us mercy’. 

forbearance, ἐπιείκεια. In 2 Cor. x. 1, St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians by the meekness (πραότητος) and for- 
bearance (ἐπιεικείας) of Christ. Dean Bernard on this passage (£2~. Gk. Test.) points out that ἐπιείκεια, ‘gentleness’, 
“sweet reasonableness’, is one of the qualities of the Righteous Man in Wisd. 11. 19; and that in Greek ethics the 
ἐπιεικής is the ‘equitable’ man who does not press for the last farthing of his rights. 

The noun does not occur in the LXX of the canonical books, but in Ps. Ixxxv. 4 LXX (Heb. Ixxxvi. 5) God is 
said to be ‘good and forgiving’ (Hebr, ΠΡΌ, LXX ἐπιεικής) ‘and of great mercy’. 

20, 21. Cf. Ps. xxxiv. 26, xxxxix. 15, LX Xj; xxxv. 25, xl. 14, Hebr. 

21. do... hurt, ἐνδεικνύμενοι, ‘show’, as in LXX of Gen. 1. 15, 17. 

let them be brought to shame and deprived of all their dominion, καταισχυνθείησαν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς δυναστείας. 
Some MSS. insert ‘power and’ before ‘dominion’, R.V. ‘let them be ashamed of all their power and might’. This 
does not make sense, and would not be the natural way of expressing ‘let them be ashamed of the use they have made 
of their dominion’, as it is sometimes explained. The sense ‘ashamed of their dominion or authority’ because it had 
failed them in their hour of need would be more probable. Perhaps, however, the Greek renders a pregnant use of 
the Hebrew 7z7 as suggested by the translation; cf. the next clause. See also p. 628. 

22. the Lord, God, &c., Κύριος Θεὸς μόνος ; LXX has μόνος Κύριος ὁ Θεός, ‘alone the Lord God.’ 

23. to make the furnace hot with naphtha, ἄς. The construction is peculiar, or rather impossible, καίοντες τὴν 
κάμινον νάφθαν. In the LXX text νάφθαν κτλ. is the direct object of ὑπέκαιον, and it is possible that Theodotion’s text 
is an ungrammatical abbreviation. In the rendering of the Aramaic Dan. iii, ἡ καιομένη is used for NMP. ‘fiery’, 
the epithet describing the furnace. After ‘make the furnace hot’, the LXX continues, ‘And when they had cast the 
three all at once into the furnace, and the furnace was thoroughly aglow with seven times its usual heat’ (this ren- 
dering requires rapa rather than xara), ‘and when they had thrown them in, those who had thrown them in were above 
them, but the others kindled under them,’ then follows ‘naphtha’, &c., as in Theodotion. The broken construction 
indicates a gloss or glosses. According to Aram. of Dan. iii. 22 (LXX, iii. 23), the men who threw the Three 
Children into the furnace have already been burnt to death, and therefore could not go on kindling fuel. The LXX 
gloss is an unsuccessful attempt to explain away the difficulty. 

25. spread, διώδευσεν ; LXX διεξώδευσε, ‘escaped’. 

26. the angel. LXX has no article, but probably is intended to be definite. The article is not written before ‘angel’ 
in the Hebrew phrase for ‘the angel of the Lord’. 

drove, ἐξετίναξεν, lit. ‘shook out’, but the verb is the regular LXX rendering of ἽΝ) ‘shake, shake out’. 


27. moist . . . wind, lit. ‘wind of dew’. 
28. ens LXX ἀναλαβόντες, ‘taking up’, i.e. ‘speech’, An English writer might have said, ‘broke forth into 
song,’ &c. 


blessed. LXX adds after this word, ‘and exalted.’ 

29. highly exalted, ὑπερυψούμενος. The verb is used in LXX of canonical books in Ps. xxxvi. 35, xcvi.9; Dan. iv. 34 
(Theod.). Compounds with ὑπερ- in the intensive sense are not common in LXX of canonical books, e.g. ‘ highly-praised’, 
ὑπεραινετός (verse 30), ‘highly sung’, ὑπερυμνητός, ‘highly glorified’, ὑπερένδοξος (verse 31), do not occur in LXX, 
except in this ‘Addition’, At the same time a translator with a turn for hyperbole, having appreciated the effect of 


the ὑπερ- in ὑπερυψούμενος, might readily introduce ὑπερ- to strengthen other epithets. In several places the texts vary 
as to the insertion or omission of ὑπερ-. 


634 


THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN 30-46 


And blessed is thy glorious and holy name, . 
And to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever. 
Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holy glory, 
And to be highly sung and highly glorified for ever. 
Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths and sittest upon the cherubim, 
And to be praised and highly exalted for ever. 
Blessed art thou on the throne of thy kingdom, 
And to be highly sung and highly exalted for ever. 
Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven, 
And to be sung and glorified for ever. 
O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye heavens, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Azs praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O all ye waters that be above the heaven, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O all ye powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing ἀξ praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye sun and moon, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing A7s praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye stars of heaven, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O all ye winds, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye fire and heat, bless ye the Lord, | 
Sing δὴ: praise and highly exalt him for ever. 


31. the temple of thy holy glory. The reference may be to the Temple at Jerusalem; verses 62 f. seem to imply 
that the Temple services were observed at the time this poem was written. On the other hand, verses 14 f. state that 
there were neither Temple nor services. Thus it would seem that the Prayer and the Song belong to different periods. 
In this verse, however, the reference may be to the Heavenly Temple; the following verses refer to God as in heaven, 

32, 33. LXX has these verses in the reverse order. 

32. sittest upon the cherubim. A favourite title of Yahweh, e.g. 2 Sam. vi. 2. The original reference was to the 
Ark, but the Ark disappeared before the Exile and was not replaced, Jer. iii. 16. Unless this is the mere repetition of 
a conventional phrase, the cherubim here, as in Ezek. i, are supernatural beings. 

highly exalted, ὑπερυψωμένος ; LXX ‘glorified’, δεδοξασμένος. 

33. on the throne. LXX ‘on the throne of glory’, i.e. ‘glorious throne’. 

34. of heaven. LXX and Syr. omit. 

35-65. The Prayer Book Benedzcite ; cf. Introd., § 7. 

Ben Cha Β5: ὉΠ 22, 

Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. This refrain, slightly varied in verse 52, is repeated up to and 
including verse 66. Cf. Ps. cxxxvi, where the refrain, ‘For his mercy endureth for ever,’ is repeated in each of the 
twenty-six verses ; cf. cxlviii, cl, and cxxxv. I-3, 19-21. 

36, 37. LXX reverses the order of these two verses. 

36. Cf. Ps. cxlviii. 4. 

B7- Cf. Ps. ΟΣ ΝΠ: 2. 

38. Cf. Gen. i. 7; Ps. cxlviii. 4. 

all ye waters. Some texts have ‘ye waters and all things’. 

39. O all ye powers of the Lord, bless ye the Lord. So LXX of Ps, cili. 21, except that the psalm has ‘his’ for 
“of the Lord’. The Hebr. is Y8I¥, E.V. ‘his hosts’; cf. ‘Yahweh Sebaoth’, ‘Lord of hosts’; in which phrase 
‘hosts’ referred at various times to (a) the actual Israelite armies, () the heavenly bodies, (c) the angels. As the 
present writer is using a conventional phrase, he may have had no definite idea of what he meant by it. The Vatican 
MS. of Theodotion has ‘ Let every power bless the Lord ’. 

40, 41. Cf. Ps. cxlviii. 3. 

40. Syr. marks this verse as spurious, but it is well supported and is required by the context. : i 

42. every. Rothstein proposes to omit with Pesh.; cf. 44 ff, where there is no ‘every’ before the various pairs. 

43, 44. Ps. cxlviii. 8. 

The Alexandrine MS. of Theodotion and LXX insert here the verses numbered 45, 46, in A.V., thus :— 

‘45. O ye winter and summer (LXX, frost and cold), bless ye, &c. 
46. O ye dews and storms of snow, bless ye, &c. 
‘Winter and summer’, in Alex. MS. ‘cold and burning wind’. 
45-51. The order of these verses varies in different authorities. Thus LXX has 45, 46, 49, 50, 47, 48, 51. 
45 is a doublet of 48 or, according to LXX, of 50, of which 46 is also partly a doublet. 


635 ἀν ἢ 


47 


48 


THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN 47-65 


O ye nights and days, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye light and darkness, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye cold and heat, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye frosts and snows, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye lightnings and clouds, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O let the earth bless the Lord, 
Let it sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye mountains and hills, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O all ye things that grow on the earth, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye seas and rivers, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing “is praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye fountains, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O all ye birds of the heaven, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ads praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O [all] ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye sons of men, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O Israel, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing his praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
O ye saints and meek-hearted, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing Ais praise and highly exalt him for ever. 


48. cold and heat, ψῦχος καὶ καῦμα. Alex. MS. of Theod. ‘frost (πάγος) and cold’, apparently a variant of the LXX 
(verse 49, A.V.) © O ye frosts (πάγοι) and cold, bless ye’, &c. ' 


ΕΙΣ Ἡνδε τὺ πάχναι. Vatican MS. ‘frost’. Both πάγος and πάχνη render “WDD ‘hoar-frost’, and πάγος also renders 
alt rost’. y 

53. Cf. Ps. cxlviii. 9. 

56, 55. LXX has these verses in reverse order, i.e. 55, 56, as in A.V. 

55. fountains. LXX ‘showers and fountains’. 

57. whales, κήτη, sea-monsters or huge fishes; κῆτος is used in the LXX for 0°33 ‘sea-monsters’, Gen. i. 21, for 
Jonah’s ‘fish’, 33, and for the mythical sea-monsters, Leviathan, Job iii. 8, and Rahab, Job xxvi. 12. 

all that move, &c. Cf. Lev. xi. 46. 
58, 59. Cf. Ps. cxlvill. 10. 
59. [all]. Alex. MS. omits, cf. on 42. 


beasts and cattle, τὰ θηρία καὶ τὰ κτήνη; LXX imoba καὶ θηρία τῆς γῆς; Χ 1: 24... ds 
ΠΣ ΞΕ ak the TE ρ ny 5 τετράποδα καὶ θηρία τῆς γῆς ; cf. LXX of Gen. 1. 24, quadrupe 


61, 62. Cf. Ps. cxxxv. 19. 

62. O ye priests of the Lord. Vat. MS. of Theod. omits ‘of the Lord’; the margins of LXX and Syr. have ‘ye 
priests, servants of the Lord’. 

63. Ο ye servants of the Lord. Vat. MS. of Theod., LXX, and Syr. omit ‘of the Lord’. These are temple 
ministrants, perhaps Levites; cf. Ps, cxxxiv. 1, Cxxxv. I, 20. 

64. O ye spirits and souls of the righteous. ‘Spirit’, πνεῦμα, represents 117, sometimes the divine element in 
man , ‘soul’, ¥3, often the vital principle. The verse is one of a series appealing to various classes of living men, so 
that it also refers to the living, ‘righteous souls,’ not souls of the departed. 

65. saints and meek-hearted. ‘Saint’, ὅσιος, and ‘meek-hearted’, ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, represent the Hebr. hasid 
and ‘anav or ὑγιῆ, which in post-Exilic times were technical terms for members of the nationalist party which insisted 


636 


iae SONG OF THE THREE, CHILDREN 66-68 


O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord, 
Sing δὲς praise and highly exalt him for ever. 
For he hath rescued us from Hades, and saved us from the power of death, 
And delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace, even out of the midst of the fire 
hath he delivered us. 
O give thanks unto the Lord, 
For he is good; for his mercy exduveth for ever. 
O all ye that worship the Lord, bless the God of gods, 
Sing ἀξ praise, and give thanks unto him; 
For his mercy endureth for ever. ] 


on the strict observance of the Law. “ας and ‘anav or ‘an? occur in the same context of the true believer in 
Ps, xvili. 25, 27; Ixxxvi. 1 f.; cxlix. 1, 2,5,9. In Matt. xi, 29, Christ speaks of Himself as mpavs καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, 
‘meek and lowly of heart.’ 

Verses 66-68 are probably an addition; verse 66 was added to connect the hymn with the ‘ Three Children’, 
Verses 67, 68 were added from the psalm as a closing doxology, the clause ‘ O all ye that worship the Lord’ being 
introduced later, possibly in order to bring in a reference to proselytes; cf. on verse 10. These verses probably 
displaced an original conclusion, less suitable to the present context of the hymn. 

66. Cf. on verse I. 

Hades, adov, the Hebr. S/eo/, the abode of the dead. 

burning fiery furnace, lit. ‘furnace burning of flame’; LXX and some texts of Theod. omit ‘ furnace’, leaving 
‘from the midst of the burning flame’. 

67 exactly = LXX of Ps. cxxxv. 1 (Hebr. cxxxvi. 1). 
good, χρηστός, ‘benevolent and benevolent.’ In Ps. cxxxv. 1 and elsewhere in LXX it is used to render 00, 
‘good’. 
68. ye that worship the Lord, οἱ σεβόμενοι τὸν x. Cf. on verse 10. 
the God of Gods. Cf. Ps. cxxxvi. 2. 
LXX adds at the end, ‘and for ever and ever,’ καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τῶν αἰώνων. 


637 


SUSANNA 


INTRODUCTION 


§ 1. CONTENTS OF THE STORY OF SUSANNA, AND SUMMARY OF RESULTS IN INTRODUCTION, 


Two elders are made judges in a Jewish community. One evening they see a Jewess walking 
in her husband’s garden, and both become enamoured of her. Next morning they detect each other 
near the garden, acknowledge to each other their passion, agree to accost the woman, and are 
repulsed with scorn. To protect themselves they must accuse the woman; they betake themselves 
to the synagogue of the city and issue a summons to Susanna. She appears with her household, 
and is ordered to be unveiled. The elders appear as witnesses before the assembled people. They 
aver that while they were walking in her husband’s garden, they detected the woman in company 
with a youth who escaped. Being arrested she refused to tell who her paramour was. The official 
standing of the elders leads the whole synagogue to believe the evidence and to condemn Susanna. 

On her way to execution, a youth (Daniel) questions the verdict, reopens the trial, and examines 
the two elders separately. The one says the crime took place under a mastick tree ; the other says 
under a holm tree. The contradiction condemns both. +The synagogue applauds the young man 
because he had proved them to be false witnesses. ‘And as the Law prescribes, they did unto 
them as they had wickedly devised against their sister. The elders are gagged, cast into a ravine, 
and destroyed by fire from heaven. 

The inspired sincerity of youth, by means of cross-examination, prevented a judicial murder, 
therefore let youth be honoured. 

The later version of Theodotion locates the scene in Babylon when Daniel was ‘a young lad’. 
The house of Joakim, husband of Susanna, is the resort of the people and place of trial. The scene 
in the garden is more detailed. 

This story of Susanna is a parable intended to illustrate the value and necessity of cross- ἢ 
examination of witnesses. It also seeks to vindicate the execution of false witnesses, although their « 
victim may be delivered before his sentence was carried out. The story is a product of the» 
Pharisaic controversy with the Sadducees in the later years of Alexander Jannaeus, ¢c. 95-80 B.C. The 
original language was the literary Hebrew of that period. A later recension of the Hebrew named 
the Deliverer Daniel, and associated the story with Daniel conceived as an historical person living in 
Babylon in the early years of the Captivity. This subsequent association with Daniel is the main 
cause of the differences between Theodotion’s version and the LXX. The story circulated inde- 
pendently, and was sometimes associated with the name of Habakkuk. The LXX before the 
Christian era placed it in an appendix to Daniel; Theodotion and the Uncials, in the interests of 
chronology, make Susanna the opening chapter of Daniel. The Hebrew MSS. now extant have 
no claim to be considered the original of the Greek versions. 


δ 5. DIED. 


In the earliest MSS. the story has no name, being part οἵ Δανιηλ BA; Δανιηλ κατα τοῦ 
Θεοδοτιωνος Ὁ. In Codex Chisianus, LXX Dan. is entitled Δανιηλ κατα τοὺς Ὁ. This title is 
repeated at the end of Dan. xii; Dan. xiii is headed Σουσαννα. Codex Chisianus gives Theodotion’s 
version under the curious title ro ep aypytvos Δανιηλ, Susanna being c. 13; 6. 14, which follows, has 
the superscription ἐκ προφητείας ᾿Αμβακοὺμ υἱοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκ τῆς Φυλῆς Λευί. The Syriac Hexapla 
makes the latter title include Susanna. A codex from Athos: ὁράσεις (1. ὅρασις ?) ἕνδεκα τοῦ προφήτου 
Δανιήλ deinde sequitur περὶ τοῦ ‘ABBaxodp. His omnibus praemittitur περὶ τῆς Συσάννης Another 
Greek title is Διακρισις Δανιηλ.3 

Syriac Versions gaaay JM&.sab History of Shushan Pesh., Lag. 1; JMwtsag καθὰ Jobo Lag. 2; 
‘the book of the youthful Daniel, the history of Shushan πο, JNeas Harkleensian edition ; 
‘Book of the Women’ (i.e. Susanna, Judith, Ruth, Esther) in Bible of Jacobite Syrians. 


) De Habacuci prophetae vita atgue aetate, ὃ 13, Franz Delitzsch, 1842. 
* Walton, Polyg/oZ, vi, p. 191. 
638 


INTRODUCTION 


The Vulgate places Daniel between Ezekiel and Hosea as ‘ propheteia Danielis’, Susanna being 
Gs ΤΌ: 

The Arabic version has an invocation of the Trinity, and ‘begins to translate the prophecy of 
the prophet Daniel whose prayer be for us! Amen.’ 

In general literature the designation varies, e.g. τὸ δρᾶμα τῆς Σωσαννίδος, Nicolas (of Damascus ?) 
‘ Pistill (epistle) of Swete Susan’, Scots poems of the fourteenth century. 

The position in which Susanna is inserted is variable. It precedes the canonical Daniel in 
BAQ Old Latin and Copto-Memphitic Versions; it is appended after Dan. xii in LXX, Syro- 
tetraplar Version of LX X, Vulgate and Versions based on it. 

These titles reflect variety of opinion as to the origin, authorship, and character of the story. 
There is uncertainty as to whether the book is history, prophecy, apocalypse, apocryphal or 
canonical scripture. 


5) 


§ 3. THE MSS. 


The Codex Chisianus 87, first published at Rome in 1772, is for Susanna, as for Daniel, the sole 
authority for the Greek of the Septuagint. It is a ninth-century cursive, and at the end of Dan. xii 
says it was copied from an exemplar with this subscription : ἔγραφη ἐκ τῶν τετραπλῶν ἐξ ὧν καὶ παρετέθη. 
Its text is,thus only once removed from the recension of the LXX made by Origen c. A.D. 240. 
The Codex Chisianus receives important corroboration from the Syro-Hexaplar Codex, written in 
Alexandria A.D. 616-617 by Mar Paulus of Mesopotamia. The LXX text from Origen’s Hexapla 
is rendered literally into Syriac. The agreement of Chisianus with the Syro-Hexaplar gives 
assurance for the LXX text of Susanna as approved by Origen. The Old Latin versions and 
quotations in the Fathers do not suffice to fix a generally received text at an earlier period. 
Theodotion’s version of Susanna was adopted into the Greek Bible in place of LXX. It has 
thus all the MS. evidence available for the Greek Daniel in the Church Bible, and is found in Codex 
aticanus B, Codex Alexandrinus A, and in Cod. Marchalianus Q, sixth century. The text here 
used is that of Swete, vol. iii. 

Among MSS. two in Hebrew require notice, because the question of a Semitic original is much 
discussed, and because one of these MSS. has been supposed to contain the Semitic original of 
certain apocryphal] books. 

In Bodley’s Library at Oxford is a MS. (Heb. d. 11, Catalogue No. 2797) called Sepher hasz- 
Zikhronoth, compiled by Asher hal-Levi about A.D. 1325, written in German rabbinical character. 
It contains legendary matter illustrating Biblical history from the Creation to the time of the 
Maccabees. The catalogue describes the contents of the part preceding Susanna as a Hebrew 
translation of the Aramaic passages in Daniel by Yerahmeel,.., the Aramaic text of the Song of 
the Three Children, the history of Bel and the Dragon in Syriac in Hebrew characters without a 
Hebrew translation. In fol. 74 ὁ begins the Midrash concerning Ahab and Zedekiah (Jer. xxix. 21). 
Fol. 75a and 7564 contain the Story of Susanna in Hebrew, occupying fifty-three lines. A later 
hand has headed the page: 521 "2 mew nvyn. The story itself begins a new paragraph headed 
mwiw nwyo Ar After Susanna the history of Nebuchadnezzar is resumed. The compiler considered 
the elders identical with the false prophets mentioned by Jeremiah, and located the story in 
Babylon. Has this Hebrew text any claim to be considered the original of the LX X and Theodotion ? 
The Greek versions have some thirty verses nearly identical ; in these passages this MS. omits much, 
adds not a little, and freely paraphrases the rest. Two translators, however arbitrary, could not 
make this text responsible for the agreements or divergences that exist in LXX and Theodotion. 
The language is in parts a fair imitation of Biblical Hebrew: in other parts it is not; e.g. v. 23 0 
fol. 75, 1. 18, “iow meas. pin ὉΝΣ yen Sy soar oaan Syn mem priya. ὍΣ ΠΟΙΒΝῚ Ὁ apy; 
fol. 76, 1. 29, a supplement to θ' v. 59 neNT wn ἸΒΟΠῚ oN ΠῚ ΝΟΥ FN AT ND pa ΝΘ; for 737 we find 
‘77 three times; for ‘thereupon’ 3% with a Perf. three times ; twice there appears 1n37 N33 for ‘the 
garden of his house’. The compiler of the MS. evidently knew Syriac, and may have carelessly 
followed some Syriac version in writing the story for the amusement of his heirs male. His object 
appears in his preface: ‘Blessed be my descendants, and may they be established if they fulfil my 
wishes.’ 

The second Hebrew MS. is also in the Bodleian (Heb. MS. e. 12, Catal. No. 2779). The 
volume, with which the leaf containing Susanna is bound up, contains hymns, astronomical tables, &c., 
disorderly arranged. The copyist of fol. 3 signs himself Mordecai ben Samuel, and finished his work 
A.D.1691. A note on f. 71 implies the date A.D. 1737. 


1 Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. (xvi, 1894, ‘The Unknown Aramaic Original of 
Theodotion’s Additions to the Book of Daniel,’ pp. 280-90, 312-17. 


639 


SUSANNA 


Susanna occupies both sides of one folio, 55, thirty-five lines on the first page, thirty-four on the 
other. The story conforms closely to the Greek of Theodotion, so closely that either the Vulgate 
or Theodotion must have been used by the translator into Hebrew. The additions and omissions 
in Heb. e. 12 are not many and not important. The garden, τ. 3, ‘has all kinds of trees’; the elders 
are called ‘priests’; the maids fetch soap going out ‘by the doors of the house’. The Hebrew is 
more idiomatic than in MS. d. 11. Yet here too we have a version, The writer has not understood 
v. 5, yet has tried to be faithful to the obscurity of the Greek. 892 DMD WwW fOIT INN. IS wyn 
Aoans ἸΞΟῚ oyans DAW WIP) DWNT DM|wWAD S3ap [pyn] pyn no 5. DEW A. Again, in vw. 15 
he has failed to recognize the Greek form of pvov Dinmd and renders: ΠῚΡ DY 932 AMS OMNI TY 
νων mesy pnnd nays nw py ob anya when ova. In τ. 18 he ignores the gender in the verbs ; 
περιπατούντων ἡμῶν = ywabmwa v. 36; the comparative he renders by ἼΠν", ἐνδοξότερον = 1333 ANY Ὁ. 4; 
αἱρετόν po. = 210 ANY. That he used Theodotion and not the Vulgate appears to follow from his 
treatment of v. 22: καὶ ἀνεστέναξεν Σ. καὶ εἶπεν Στενά μοι πάντοθεν = Ὁ an AMIN ΘΝ ΠῚ ΠΟ MINN). 
Here he reproduces the repetition of the sound. He ignores the play on the names of the trees. 

These two Hebrew MSS. are of some interest as showing the Jewish attitude to the story 
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They also illustrate the facility with which every 
phrase of the Greek can be reproduced in Hebrew. 


§ 4. THE ANCIENT VERSIONS. 


Two forms of the Old Latin version of Daniel can be traced. Burkitt? finds that the tract De 
Pascha computus, dated A.D. 243, is the earliest Latin follower of Theodotion’s Greek for Daniel. 
But ‘the earliest Latin version of Daniel as witnessed by Tertullian, S. Victorinus of Pettau, and 
partly by S. Cyprian was made from the LXX’. ‘The text of Daniel used by Tertullian is a form 
of the LXX differing slightly from Origen’s edition, but agreeing most closely with the quotations 
of Justin Martyr’ (ib. p. 23). In Sabatier? the Versio Antiqua preserves about forty-four verses of 
Susanna out of the sixty-five in the Vulgate. In these Theodotion’s version is much more obvious 
than the LXX. The verses at the beginning are given; and Sabatier adds, ‘ Haec Susannae historia, 
si Flaminio Nobilio fides, in omnibus vetustis libris est principium Danielis, . . . in multis inscribitur 
Daniel ut in nostra; in quibusdam Svoavva: in aliquo Διακρισις Δανιηλ. 5 In Cod. Wirceburgensis 
Palim. sixth century, Susanna vv. 2-10 survive.* 

The Vulgate. St. Jerome’s preference for Theodotion’s Susanna led to the disappearance of the 
LXX Susanna. St. Jerome says the churches of his time read Daniel according to Theodotion, the 
LXX Daniel being long ago discarded. ‘ Hoc cur acciderit, nescio’; but after comparing both 
versions with the Semitic original in the rest of Daniel, he agrees that sound judgement has been 
shown in substituting Theodotion. The Vulgate therefore puts Theodotion’s Greek into Latin. 
At the end of Dan. xii, this note precedes Susanna: ‘ Hucusque Danielem in Hebraeo volumine 
legimus. Quae sequuntur usque ad finem libri de Theodotionis editione translata sunt.’ Jerome 
therefore had never seen a Hebrew or an Aramaic Susanna. The Vulgate has an extra verse at the 
end, v. 65 ‘Et rex Astyages appositus est ad patres suos et suscepit Cyrus Perses regnum eius.’ 
This error in chronology belongs to Bel and the Dragon, which follows in c. 14. 

Syriac. The LXX Susanna is faithfully reproduced in Syriac in the Codex Siro-estrangelo 
Bibliothecae Ambrosianae. Bugatus * gives this note after Dan. xii from the Syriac: ‘ Descriptus 
est ab exemplari in quo erat adnotatio haec: descriptus est a Tetraplis cum quibus etiam collatus 
est.’ Swete and others refer to the MS. as ‘Codex Syro-Hexaplaris Ambrosianus’. As Origen 
had no Hebrew for Susanna, he must have had two columns blank in his Hexapla; the names 
Tetrapla and Hexapla here evidently refer to the same text. This version was made at Alexandria 
by Mar Paulus of Mesopotamia, in the years A.D. 616-617. It is an exact translation, and serves 
to fix the LXX text as approved by Origen A.D. 240. 

Walton’s Polyglot gives two Syriac versions, W, the Peshitta, W, the Philoxenian or Harkleensian 
made by Thomas, Bishop of Heraklea about A.D. 616. Both are based on Theodotion, but make 
additions in sympathy with the story. Two other Syriac versions are edited by Lagarde,® from two 
codices in the British Museum. These MSS. belong, one to the ninth, the other to the tenth century. 


1 Burkitt, Zze Old Latin and the Itala, p. 7. 
ἢ Bibliorum Sacrorum Latinae versiones antiguae, 1751. 
= Kennedy, DB (Hastings), art. ‘Old Latin Versions’. 
* “Daniel secundum editionem LXX interpretum ex tetraplis desumptam, ex codice siro-estranghelo Bibliothecae 
Ambrosianae Syriace edidit Caietanus Bugatus Mediolani 1788.’ 
° Apocryphi Syriace, Lagarde, 1861. 
640 


INTRODUCTION 


They resemble Walton’s first Syriac version ‘Apud Waltonem versio duplex ‘est, altera fere cum 
nostris consonans’. In the last twenty verses the variations between these two versions (le lenyrare 
considerable. E 

Coptic Versions. The Copto-Memphitic was based on Theodotion’s version. It may have been 
made by the beginning of the fourth century. ‘Hoc unum statuemus, interpretem nempe copto- 
memphiticum magnam semper fidem Theodotioni habuisse, quam vero textus Theodotionei recen- 
sionem secutus fuerit, certo definiri non posse.’} In this version Susanna is found at the beginning 
of Daniel. 

No fragments of Susanna appear to have survived in the Sahidic version? The ‘ Song’ appears 
inc. 3. 

Arabic. John, Bishop of Seville A.D. 719, made an Arabic version of the Bible from the Latin 
Vulgate as it is supposed." The version in the Polyglots is derived from an old MS. of Greek akin 
to A.t| The version of Susanna in Walton conforms to the Vulgate. The two trees are called 
sandayan 355% and ale summag ; but no attempt is made to reproduce these sounds in the verbs. 


The new elements in the versions have been supposed, especially in the Harkleensian Syriac, to 
be independent gleanings from tradition (Briill, Ball). The fidelity of the translators has been 
impaired by the warmth of their feelings ; e.g. Susanna is only a few days betrothed to Joachim, and 
the rest of her life is passed in widowhood, day and night being devoted to the service of the Lord 
(Syr. Harkl.). Susanna is set free from her chains, ibid. Hebrew ‘ the elders, the accursed rascals’, &c. 


ὃ 5. THE ORIGINAL TEXT. 


‘ Things originally spoken in Hebrew have not the same force in them when they are translated 
into another tongue.’ So testified the younger Ben-Sira, c. 130 B.C., when he ‘ laboured to interpret * 
in Greek the Hebrew composition of his grandfather. The Semite and the Aryan had created their 
language in different worlds. Between them there was no aboriginal kinship such as embraced the 
Greek and the Roman. The verbal paradigm of Arabic cannot be forcibly adjusted to the moods 
and tenses of the Greek verb. A Greek could neither pronounce nor write the sound ‘Shoshanna ’. 
Ben-Sira’s ‘labour’ was in some respects like trying to graft the laurel on the palm. - 

The two tense-forms of Semitic, aided in Hebrew by the potent Vav consecutive, offer perceptible 
resistance to expression in the Greek idiom. One effect is a monotonous repetition of καί introducing 
clauses which can be more subtly linked by Vav in Hebrew. In the LXX of Susanna καί introduces 
clauses, where Hebrew Vav consec. or conj. would conveniently replace it, over fifty times; an equal 
extent of narrative and dialogue in St. John’s Gospel yields such a καί twenty times; St. Luke 
fifteen ; Josephus twelve times. A Greek-speaking Jew, or a Greek influenced by the LXX, when 
composing in his own conversational Greek, thus by this test exhibits a freedom which is con- 
spicuously absent from Susanna.® <A similar test shows that αὐτός for Hebrew pronominal suffix 
occurs much oftener than in the Greek, which an Alexandrian Jew (Philo) writes spontaneously ; cf. 
Susanna v. 30, v. 9 τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν LXX, τὸν ἑαυτῶν νοῦν Theodotion ef passim. Redundant auxiliary 
verbs, 6. g. ἀναστάντες εἶπαν vv. 29, 34, reflect the superfluous %*P*) of Hebrew. καὶ ἐγένετο for "Πν 
vv. 7,15, 19, 28, 64, Theodotion ; the so-called σχῆμα Χαλδαικόν vv. 24, 42, 46, 53, 60, Theodotion ; 
καθὼς ἐχθὲς καὶ τρίτης ἡμέρας Theodotion v. 15, for peow Dion ; σφόδρα = ἽΝ vv. 4, 27, 31; ᾿Ιδού for 
739; εἷς τὸν ἕτερον and ἀλλήλους for InN 5X INN or NN bx ws; infinitive with prep. Anon), ἵνα 
θανατώσουσιν αὐτήν LXX; τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτήν Theodotion v. 28 ; σχίσει σου τὴν ψυχήν LXX v. 55; 
πεπαλαιωμένε ἡμερῶν κακῶν LXX v. 52. Article for vocative οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ Theodotion τ΄. 48, LXX 
omits οἱ The versions have οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῆς v. 3 which Hebrew would express by ON) IN 
(Hebrew MS. e. 12 7 nay), but in v. 30 LXX lets the literal Hebrew appear ἡ γυνὴ σῦν τῳ πατρὶ ἑαυτῆς 
καὶ τῇ μητρί, Theodotion οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῆς. ᾿ 

The names of the trees and the paronomasia σχῖνον... σχίσει v. 54 f, πρῖνον . - . καταπρίσῃ 
v. 58 f. have caused the assumption of a Greek original since Africanus. ‘The history of Susanna 
is even very certainly a Greek original, as Julius Africanus and Porphyry already showed from the 
play on the ννοτ5. 7 Theodotion often resorts to transliteration of Hebrew words: νωκεδείμ. Amos 
i. 1, σαβείρ Dan. xi. 16. He is especially timid about trees: Isa. xli. 19 βραθὺ καὶ θαδαὰρ καὶ θαασούρ, 


1 Daniel, Copto-Memphitice, p. xiv, Bardelli, Pisis, 1849. oe " 

3. Fragmenta Copto-Sahidica, Ciasca ii, Rome, 1889. 5. Scrivener’, xii. 414. 

4 Encycl. Bibl. art. ‘Texts and Versions’, ὃ 64. , , 

5 The English version has skilfully hidden the offensive ‘and’ by ‘albeit, now, then, but, yet, also’. 

® Most of these Hebraisms are corroborated and others are indicated by Scholz, Susanna, p. 148, and Bludau, 
Die Alexandr. Ubersetzung des B. Daniel, p. 183. 

T Schiirer, II. ii. § 33 (Eng.). 

641 


SUSANNA 


the fir, the pine, and the box-tree. Had his Hebrew text regarded the tree-names as suggesting 
the verbs to be used, Theodotion would sore suo have transliterated them. But LXX is here so apt as 
to be irresistible to Theodotion. The LXX translator will guess rather than transliterate Hebrew. 
In Dan. ἵν. νὶ, as a translator he exhibits that effrexata licentia’ for which he was dismissed from 
the Greek Bible, and his version of Daniel and Susanna imprisoned in Cod. Chisianus for 1000 
years. This free and lively translator made the pun which has puzzled translators from Mar Paulus 
to Luther. From internal evidence we conclude that both Greek texts are versions dependent on 
a Hebrew original. 

This conclusion is confirmed by a comparison of the texts of LXX and Theodotion. Half the 
story coincides in both, sometimes verbally identical, sometimes agreeing in sense though differing 
in terms. The variation consists in the use of a synonym, ora different construction, or a different order 
of words, e. g. κάλλιον δέ με LX X 23, αἱρετόν μοί ἐστιν, Theod. = % sip ; ch av. 10, 14, 28535500. ΠΝ ΠΕ 
nature of the resemblances in the two Greek texts shows that neither writes independently. Where 
they disagree, they write constrained Greek, e.g. LXX 29, 32, 55, 62 4, and in parts peculiar to Of 
vv. 15, 24, 39 6, 45. Apart from Semitic idioms in either text, the identity, the nature of the resem- 
blances, and the divergences suggest the dependence of translators. Independent writers could not 
deal with a common Synoptic tradition as these writers do. Theodotion is a critical reviser of the 
LXX, but he too defers to an authority superior to the Greek. 

Had Susanna been written in Greek to scourge certain officials in Alexandria it could scarcely 
have been represented as Babylonian history, where Greek was unknown. Its association with the 
Canon would be unlikely, and, had there been no Hebrew original, it is difficult to see why Sym- 
machus and Theodotion should have taken the trouble to revise a casual tract about an Alexandrian 
fama. Origen and Jerome could find no Hebrew archetype ; but the second century A. Ὁ. produced 
versions enough to secure a place for Susanna in the Tetrapla of Origen c. A.D. 240. It appears 
doubtful whether Aquila included Susanna. Akiba was his tutor, and the Jewish Canon, which was 
definitely settled c. A.D. go, excluded Susanna. The story would not be popular with elders, and 
it was the elders who fixed the Canon, Susanna was useless for the polemical purposes of Judaism ; 
it reflected on the good name of the daughters of Israel and the probity of the judges. It was, 
therefore, an encumbrance to the Canon and excluded. Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome, already 
suggests this explanation before A.D. 230. The lemnisci in Syro-estrangelo Tetrapla are accom- 
panied by the marginal note Σ. ©’, implying that Aquila had no Susanna. But unless there had 
been a Hebrew archetype in the time of Symmachus and Theodotion (A. D. 150-200) there is no 
sufficient reason why Susanna should have been included in Origen’s Tetrapla. 


$6. INTEGRITY OR COMPOSITE NATURE OF THE TEXT. 


The story of Susanna is skilfully compacted. Its characters are few and vividly contrasted ; 
the issues at stake are of universal interest, death or dishonour are the calamities imminent, suspense 
deepens as the story proceeds, there is an impressive reversal (περιπέτεια) of the intended effect into 
its direct opposite, at the end nothing requires to be added except the applause of heaven and earth. 
A feeble woman in the right (cf. Esther, Judith) has triumphed over tyranny in the wrong. The 
genius of the writer is more important than his material, whether that were chiefly legendary, 
traditional, or suggested by contemporary politics. Nobody remembers the raw material, nobody 
forgets the story. 

Though the story is coherent and homogeneous, it appears to have suffered alteration in some 
features. The earlier form of the story seems to have had no connexion with Daniel or Babylon. 
In LXX Daniel is an intruder. He does not appear till v. 45 and is introduced awkwardly in apposi- 
tion to νεώτερος. His name is mentioned only four times—vv. 48, 51 a, 52, 59 ; the original vedrepos 
maintains his anonymous part in vv. 52 a, 55, 60 ; and in the epilogue οἱ νεώτεροι are the heroes, while 
Daniel is forgotten. The contrast is not between youth and age, but between such an one as the 
son of Simon ben Shetach and the pair of Sadducean informers and judges who secured his con- 
demnation by false witness. The son, who chose death in order that his father might be able, even 
on Sadducean principles, to inflict the penalty of death on his false accusers, is the νεώτερος come to — 
judge justly. This requires us to omit the preface which never belonged to LXX, and which is 
superfluous in view of LXX v. 7, to delete ἐκ βαβυλῶνος in the dubious and difficult v. 6, and either to 
read νεώτερος four times for Δανιήλ, or else merely to omit the proper name. 

The transference of this original story to Babylon offends against verisimilitude. Recent captives 


va E abe is ee the universal opinion of these chapters, but I hope in a future work to show that it is wrong.— 
xeneral Editor. 


642 


INTRODUCTION 


were not likely to have synagogues, popular election of judges, the right to carry out a sentence of 
death. Joakim is too comfortable with a pleasure garden and 500 famuli. The disastrous trees 
and the stadion have no place in Babylon. ‘ Other cities’ (v. 6) could be Judaean villages with 
fewer than 120 families; they are a curious addition to ‘Babylon’. Such features are proper to 
Judaea in the time of John Hyrcanus and his successors. 

The career of the individual Daniel also affects the question. The book became known c. 165 B.C. ; 
by its merit and in the temper of the time it became instantly popular, and was translated into Greek 
before 1 Maccabees was written. Meanwhile Daniel himself was a nebulous personality, half- 
angelic, wholly admirable. Theodotion’s version of Daniel in Cod. Chisianus bears the title τὸ ep 
ayputvos Δανιηλ. Exp is explained as ‘angelus, quo nomine Daniel a barbaris etiam dictus est’, and 
stands for ὙΠ ‘the Watcher’. To Theodotion ς. A.D. 150, Daniel is still associated with the ‘ Sleepless 
Angel keeping Watch’. Josephus apologizes to his Roman readers c. A. D. go for summarizing the 
Book of Daniel as history : ‘ I have described these matters as I have found and read them; but if 
any one is inclined to another opinion about them, let him enjoy his different sentiments without any 
blame from me.’? In the time of Alexander Jannaeus Daniel was still a semi-angelic figure, not yet 
regarded as an historical person who lived during the time his book describes. In the fervour of the 
struggle between Pharisee and Sadducee a polemical tract would have been derided which made such 
use of his name as Susanna does. There is evidence that Susanna circulated independently of 
Daniel. Jerome? (Pref. to Commentary on Daniel) cites the opinion of Eusebius and Apollinarius : 
‘Susannae Belisque ac Draconis fabulas non contineri in Hebraico, sed partem esse prophetiae 
Abacuc filii Iesu de tribu Levi’ In Cod. Chisianus Bel (Dan. xiv) still retains the superscription 
ἐκ προφητείας ᾿Αμβακοὺμ. υἱοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Λευί. Suidas * derives ᾿Αμβακούμ from S38 and oy, and 
comparing ταλιθὰ κούμ in the Gospel, gets the sense πατὴρ ἐγέρσεως. The additions to Daniel were 
thus by a section of early tradition connected with the name of Habakkuk. 

The intrusion of Daniel and Babylon into the story explains the chief differences between the 
LXX as conceived above and Theodotion’s version. The preface is new and locates the scene in Baby- 
lon. The epilogue ignores the νεώτερος of LX X and sings the praise of Daniel. Joakim resembles the 
Chief of the Captivity mb: wx: at his house justice is administered, in it the trial is conducted. It 
is easier to identify Joakim with the captive king Jehoiachin; no children are mentioned ; anxiety 
for the continuance of the Davidic lineage may supply a motive for the methods of Ahab and 
Zedekias. Details are added chiefly in the scene in the garden. Doors are shut, the maids are 
dismissed, no other observer is present, the guilty youth escapes though the elders try to prevent 
him. These variations make the evidence of the elders more telling against themselves. The LXX 
hurries over the garden scene ; its interest is in the trial. 

Theodotion as a translator is ‘simplex et gravis’. His habitual deference to the Hebrew text 
would not allow him to invent the additions to LXX of Susanna. A second edition in Hebrew 
adapted to Babylon appears to be the source of his revision and extension of the LXX. When the 
story had achieved its purpose, when the dictum of Simon ben Shetach, ‘ Make full examination of 
the witnesses,’ ὁ became dominant, then it became possible to identify the youthful champion of the 
right with Daniel. Daniel’s name ‘ ΕἸ is my Judge’ commended his claim to be the νεώτερος of the 
first edition. 


§ 7. AUTHORSHIP AND DATE. 


Judaea was vigorous under John Hyrcanus and his sons, 139-79 B.C. Not content with subduing 
the Idumaeans, they also circumcised them: disapproving the Samaritan heresy they demolished 
the Temple on Gerizim. They did hard fighting, sustained serious reverses, yet kept adding to their 
territory. At home in Jerusalem Pharisee fought Sadducee with persistent energy. Points in 
dispute seem trivial: should Pentecost be kept on a Sabbath? should there be a procession at the 
Feast of Tabernacles? should certain vessels of the Temple be ritually cleansed ? (‘better wash the 
Sun too,’ sneered the Sadducee) ; should informers be executed before or after their victim has 
suffered punishment? does the intent to slay in a false witness merit death ? : : 

During the first ten years of his reign, 105-95 B.C., Alexander Jannaeus was too busy with foreign 
war to take an active part in these disputes. At the Feast of Tabernacles, 95 B.C., while acting as 
high-priest, he poured the libation of water, not on the altar as the Pharisees required, but at his 
feet. The indignant worshippers pelted their king and high-priest with the festive fruits they 
carried in their hands. The king called in his Pisidian and Cilician mercenaries, who slew 6,000 
people in the Temple. Six years of civil war followed. After his defeat at Shechem Jannaeus had 


E Ant. x. 10. 7. 2 Migne, xxv, § 620. 
8 De Habacuci prophetae vita atgue aetate, Delitzsch, 1842. 
4 Pirge Aboth \. 10. 


643 


SUSANNA 


800 Pharisees crucified in Jerusalem in one day. To save themselves 8,000 Pharisees fled into exile. 
Weary of strife, the king asked the rival party what terms might satisfy them. ‘The first condition 
is thy death, was the reply. Nearing his end, the king appointed his queen Salome (Alexandra) 
regent and left her this advice, ‘ Fear not the true Pharisees or their honest opponents ; but fear the 
painted ones who look like the Pharisees, whose works are like the work of Zimri, and who seek the 
reward of Phinehas.’ The Pharisees made the day of his death an annual festival. 

The leader of the Pharisees in this period was Simon ben Shetach. While the Sadducees had 
control of the law courts, informers by false witness secured a verdict of death against the son of 
Simon. Before the sentence was carried out, the perjurers confessed; according to Sadducean 
views, ‘life for life’, ‘eye for eye’, the perjurers could not be executed. The son of Simon, however, 
refused to be tried again, preferring to die that his accusers might also suffer that penalty. ‘ Father, 
said he, ‘ if thou desirest that help should come through thee, use me as a threshold.’! Another 
point contended for by Simon ben Shetach was that informers should be carefully cross-examined. 

‘Simon ben Shetach said, “ Make full examination of the witnesses ; but be guarded in thy words, 
perchance from them they may learn to lie.”’* Both these contentions were realized when the Pharisees 
came into power at the death of Jannaeus 79 B.C. The Synhedrion was reorganized. ‘ Witnesses in 
the law courts were no longer to be questioned merely upon the place where, and the time when they 
had seen a crime committed, but they were expected to give the most detailed and minute evidence 
connected with it, so that the judge might be more certain of pronouncing a correct judgement, and 
also more able to entrap the witnesses should they make contradictory statements.’ ὃ 

Satire of the Sadducees, the vindication of the need and value of cross-examining informers, the 
application of the zws ¢alionzs to convicted perjurers are the aim of Susanna. The story appears to 
belong to the period 95-80 B.c. and to have been written by a supporter of Simon ben Shetach. 
In the heat of controversy neither party could well call the young detective Daniel. That identi- 
fication would suggest itself when the tract had achieved its purpose. The language would be 
Hebrew. Though Aramaic was the common language in Jerusalem at this time, writers, especially 
a Pharisee, would share the temporary revival of interest in Hebrew. The Semitic idioms in the 
Greek texts in many cases favour a Hebrew rather than an Aramaic source. 

The LXX version may have been made before the Christian Era, but its Hebrew exemplar had 
already a slender attachment to Daniel. Theodotion, not later than A. D. 180, possibly as early as 
the latest N. T. writers, used a Hebrew text which contained a new preface and epilogue emphasizing 
Babylon and Daniel. This conception led to the identification of the two elders with Ahab 
and Zedekiah and the assimilation of legends about the captive king Jehoiachin. 


§ 8. INFLUENCE OF THE BOOK ON LATER LITERATURE. 


In Jewish circles the story would prepare the general mind to appreciate the announcement of the 
Golden Rule. The domestic scandal would not win credit for Judaism from Gentile readers. 
Josephus does not care to make the story known to the Romans; Akiba about the same time 
secures its exclusion from the Jewish Canon. It is doubtful whether Aquila included Susanna in his 
literal Greek version of the Hebrew Bible. Origen can find among learned Jews only vague stories 
about the elders. Africanus says the story is a fiction of recent date, which had never been in 
Hebrew. Henceforward Judaism knows the story only as gossip about the methods of the false 
prophets Ahab and Zedekiah (Jer. xxix, 20-23). Briill* asserts that Nachmani is the only Jewish 
author of the Middle Ages who mentions Susanna, and his quotation is part of Judith, which he refers 
to the Roll of Shoshan. The Hebrew MSS. of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries show that 
individuals were sufficiently interested to make careful copies; and that Jewish tradition still identified 
the elders with the false prophets in Babylon. 

Influence in Christian Literature. The plea for cross-examination of informers may have coloured a | 
the arguments of Justin in his Afology. The rescripts of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius adopt the 
principle advocated in Susanna. Antoninus says: ‘If any one hereafter shall go on to inform. 
against this sort of men, purely because they are Christians, let the persons accused be discharged, 
although they be found to be Christians, and let the informer himself undergo the punishment.’ 

In the Greek O.T. of Alexandria the story acquired authority by its attachment to the Book of 
Daniel, and thus secured the attention of the Church while it lost the regard of the synagogue. The 
Church hesitated to pronounce it prophecy, or vision, or history. Matt. xxiv. 15 cites Daniel as 


1 Jerus. Sanhed. vi. 3. 2 Pirge Aboth i. το. 

~ Graetz, Hist. of the Jews (Eng.), ii. 50. 

* Brill, Das apokryphische Susanna-Buch, 18 .6. A good summary of Briill’s important essay is given Ὁ 
Ball, Apocrypha, Dr. Wace, ii. 325-30. seas Σ ; ᾿ ΤῊΝ Ἶ 


644 


ie 
= t= 


INTRODUCTION 


a prophet; the parallel passage in Mark xiii. 14 omits ‘the prophet’ in the earliest MSS. 
Theodotion and the Syriac and later versions regard Susanna as history ; Jerome, with some hesita- 
tion, includes it under prophecy. The allegorical interpretation soon became dominant in the 
Church. Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome, A. D. 230, writes: ‘Susanna is a type prefiguring the Church ; 
Joachim her husband prefigures the Christ. The garden is the election of the saints, who like trees 
that bear fruit are planted in the Church. Babylon is the world ; the two elders are typical of the 
two nations who plot against the Church, the one being of the circumcision, the other from the 
Gentiles.’1 The same conception is ably represented in the latest expositor of the Latin Church, 
Dr. Anton Scholz.” 

An incipient phase of this view can be traced in Irenaeus before A.D. 200. In his work contra 
Flacreses, iv. 26,> Irenaeus quotes, as from Daniel, Susanna vv. 20, 56, 52,53. He is explaining how 
prophecy has a new meaning after its fulfilment. Any process is mysterious till it is finished. The 
Jews who deny the Advent fail to understand the prophecies. The true interpretation belongs to 
sincere disciples of Christ. There are impostors among presbyters who do evil secretly, saying, ‘No 
one sees us.. To them apply the words of Daniel the prophet, ‘Seed of Chanaan, not of Judah, &c. 
He enforces this view by reference to Matt. xxiv. 48 f. Irenaeus has no doubt that Daniel is 
a prophet, that Susanna belongs to his book and describes something that really happened, and that 
the Divine purpose in the history of the world is made manifest in the Christian revelation. In the 
light of this new Revelation, casual phrases in the old records acquire a new significance. 

Tertullian, de Corona Militis, iv, discussing women’s dress (1 Cor. xi. 5) argues that the interfer- 
ence with Susanna’s veil does not warrant the inference that the veil was customary or necessary 
for women. He quotes the word στάδιον as in LXX. 

Origen defends the canonicity of Susanna and often refers to the book. Jerome gave it a place 
in the Vulgate. Before the Reformation the story had taken popular and dramatic form. Hilde- 
bert, Archbishop of Tours, ‘ Egregius Versificator, had made it the subject of a Latin poem (ce. 1100). 
From German an Ober-Engadine version had adapted the story for a play ; as the alliterative poems 
had done for the Scots. Luther's Bible gave Susanna currency in the North as far as Iceland. 
The Council of Trent made its place in the Canon more secure. In the nineteenth century the 
Bible Societies, by refusing to circulate the Apocrypha, diminished the fame of Susanna ina section 
of Christendom. The Anglican Church reads from Susanna in November ; the Latin Church makes 
use of it on the vigil of the Fourth Sunday in Lent, also in the ‘Ordo commendationis animae’, 
‘Libera Domine animam servi tui, sicut liberasti Susannam de falso crimine.’ 

The subject has been treated pictorially in the Catacombs and also by modern artists. 


§ 9. THEOLOGY. 

In Daniel, as in post-exilic literature generally, m7 tends to become xomen ineffabile and is 
replaced by ὈΠῸΝ and ‘8. Only in Dan. ix does 77 occur, and there it is used seven times: LXX 
renders Κύριος six times, omits once; Theodotion has Κύριος seven times. In the same chapter 
(Dan. ix) ‘278 for the Divine Name appears eleven times: LXX renders by Κύριος five times, δεσπότης 
four times, omits twice: Theodotion by Κύριος consistently eleven times. Further, in this chapter, 
ods with or without suffixes appears eleven times: LXX renders by Θεύς eight times, Κύριε twice, 
δέσποτα once; whereas Theodotion renders uniformly by Θεός eleven times. Theodotion avoids 
δεσπότης, which by his time would mean the Roman Emperor denuded of divine honours. Thus 
Theodotion is scrupulous and consistent in rendering the Divine Names ; the LXX is irregular and 
careless of Jewish feeling on the subject. The same motive can be traced in Dan. ix. 26, where 
Theodotion avoids the LX X term Χριστός for DV, The Hebrew of Susanna as reflected in Theodotion 
would use ‘218. Οὐρανός for DY vv. 9, 35 is an evasion due to reverence. 

In Susanna, vv. 44,62, LXX refers to an angel, while Theodotion does not. This is likely due to 
inexact translation. In Dan. ii. 11 LXX renders i! DN by ἄγγελος : Dan. iii. 25 Aram.=iii. 92 LXX 
PIN 72) N01 by ὁμοίωμα ἀγγέλου θεοῦ : Dan. iv. το M2 SY Ὁ WP) VY by ἄγγελος ἀπεστάλη ἐν 
ἰσχύι ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ : Dan. x. 21 Daw ΝΞ Μιχαὴλ ὁ ἄγγελος. The term ἄγγελος is thus too elastic in 
LXX to allow any inference as to its difference from Theodotion on the doctrine of angels. 
Theodotion also refers to ἄγγελος vv. 55, 59. A Sadducee would not have written δ ΟΡ, 

The story does not intend to teach anything new in theology. Its theism is incidental and 
generally accepted. The Law of Moses expresses the will of God: His Word condemns injustice. 


1 Greek Text in Pitra, Avzalecta Sacra, ii, p. 256. 7 ᾿ ν ᾿ : 
2 Commentar tiber das Buch “ Esther’ mit seinen ‘Zusitzen’ und tiber ‘ Susanna’, Anton Scholz, Wiirzburg, 1892. 


5 Migne, vii. 1054. 4 Migne, Latin, ii. 


645 


SUSANNA 


Belief in God makes Susanna prefer death to sinning against God; she trusts in God, Who is not of 
one generation only, Who perceives the causes of events, knows her innocence, answers her prayer, 
and inspires her deliverer. On the other hand, an error in theism is the most deadly of errors. 
Unbelief in God, although veiled by hypocrisy, perverts the elders, leaves them a prey to passion, 
allows them deliberately to plan murder, and blinds them to the penalties of their conduct. Injustice 
is the fruit of atheism. That Susanna should represent the Messianic kingdom, Joakim and Helkias 
the God of Israel, the elders the ungodly powers of the world, can hardly be the intention of the 
writer (Scholz). Allegory and apocalypse have come from students of the story, not from its 
author. 


§ 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


See also in Bibliography for the other Additions to Daniel. 
(a) TEXT. 


LXX. Cod. Chisianus, ed. Rome, 1772, Bugati, Cozza. 

Syro-Hexaplar Ambrosianus, Ceriani, 1874. 

Theodotion, as in Swete, O.7. in Greek, vol. ili. 

Versions. Walton, Polygiot, vi. 191 f.; Lagarde, Apocryphi Syriace, 1861. 
Old Latin. Sabatier, II, 1751. 

Copto-Memphitic. Joseph Bardelli, Pisis, 1849. 

Hebrew Versions in MS. Bodleian Hebr. MSS. d. 11 and e. 12. 


(ὁ) CRITICAL INQUIRIES. 


Commentary by Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome, c. A.D. 230. 
Part of the Commentary of St. Hippolytus on Daniel, lately discovered by Dr. Basilios Georgiades. J. H. Kennedy, 
Dublin, 1888. 
Analecta Sacra, ed. Pitra, ii. 253 ff., 1884. 
Origen. Fragments of Commentary based on Theodotion in Jerome. 
Discussion of views of Africanus and Porphyry. 
Jerome. Preface to Commentary on Daniel. 
Vulgate. 
Handbuch zu den Apokryphen des A.T. Fritzsche, Leipzig, 1859. 
Apokryphen des A.T. Strack und Zockler, 1891. 
Apocrypha of the O.T. Bissell, 1880. 
Commentar iiber das Buch Esther mit seinen Zusatzen und tiber Susanna. Anton Scholz, Wiirzburg, 1892. 
Die Alexandrinische Ubersetzung des Buches Daniel. August Bludau, Freiburg i. B., 1897. 
Das apokryphische Susanna-Buch by Dr. N. Briill in Jahrbiicher fiir Jiidische Geschichte und Literatur, 111. Jahrgang, 
Frankfurt am Main, 1877. 
Commentary on the Apocrypha, ed. by Henry Wace, D.D., 1888; Szsanna, by C. J. Ball. 
Die Apokryphen des A.T., ed. by E. Kautzsch, 1890; Susanna, by W. Rothstein. 


GENERAL. 


In Susannam Danielicam. De Celada, 1656, appendix ‘de S. figurata in quo Virginis Deiparae laudes in Susanna 
adumbratae praedicantur’. fol. 672+ pp. Fine-spun exhortation based on fantastic allegory. 

Susanna. Ein oberengadinisches Drama des XVI. Jahrhunderts. Jakob Ulrich, 1888. This is a literal 
translation from German into Ladino, e.g.‘ Unna bella histoargia da quella seinchia et prusa duonna Susanna.’ 
The elders are called Achab and Sedechias; the maids are Spondea and Promptula; there is a Judex Dadan, 
a Notarius, &c. 

ἱστορία εκ του Δανιηλ περι τῆς Σωσαννης. Venice, 1682. A paraphrase of the story in Greek elegiacs extending to 
about 400 lines. Modern Greek constructions are often used. 

Scottish Alliterative Poems in riming stanzas, edited by F. J. Amours. Scottish Text Society, 1896-7. ‘The 
Pistill of Susan, Four Versions from MSS. of Fifteenth Century.’ The Vulgate and Wiclif are here much adorned. 
The garden has palms, poplars, pears, plowine, junipers, and roses: 

‘There were popinjays present (?), nightingales upon nest. 
Blithe birdies of the best, on blossoms to sit.’ 

Susanna, or the Arraignment of the Two Unjust Elders. Robert Aylett, D.C.L., 1622. An edifying exposition in 
English verse for the benefit of ‘our Judges in Westminster Hall’. 

The Apocrypha Controversy. Edinburgh, 1826. Susanna ‘is justly characterized as a fable’. The British and 
Foreign Bible Society was forbidden to expend subscribers’ money in circulating the Apocrypha—‘ these unhallowed 


productions of the wisdom and folly of men that have been so presumptuously associated with the sacred oracles of 
God,’ Resolution, p. 38. 


646 


Susanna according to the Septuagint. 


1 There dwelt a man in Babylon, and his name 
2was Joakim: and he took a wife, whose name 
was Susanna, the daughter of Helkias, a very 
3 fair woman, and one that feared the Lord. Her 
parents also were righteous, and taught their 
4 daughter according to the law of Moses. Now 
Joakim was a great rich man, and had a fair 
garden joining unto his house: and to him 
resorted the Jews; because he was more honour- 
5 able than all others. And the same year there 
were appointed two of the elders of the people to 
be judges, concerning whom the Lord had spoken 
when He said that iniquity went forth from 
Babylon through elder-judges who were thought 
worthy to govern the people. 

6 And cases from other cities also came before 
them for decision. 

Now these men observing a 
woman of beautiful form, the wife of one of their 
own brother-Israelites, who was called Susanna, 


THE HISTORY OF SUSANNA 


Set apart from the beginning of Daniel, because it is not in the Hebrew, as neither the Narration of 
Bel and the Dragon. 


The Revised Version of the Greek of 
Theodotion. 


There dwelt a man in Babylon, and his 1 
name was Joakim: and he took a wife, whose 2 
name was Susanna, the daughter of Helkias, a 
very fair woman, and one that feared the Lord. 
Her parents also were righteous, and taught 3 
their daughter according to the law of Moses. 
Now Joakim was a great rich man, and had ἃ 4 
fair garden joining unto his house: and to him 
resorted the Jews; because he was more honour- 
able than all others. And the same year there 5 
were appointed two of the ancients of the 
people to be judges, such as the Lord spake 
of, that wickedness came from Babylon from 
ancient judges, who were accounted to govern 
the people. 

These kept much at Joakim’s house: 6 
and all that had any suits in law came unto them. 
Now when the people departed away at noon, 7 
Susanna went into her husband’s garden to walk. 
And the two elders beheld her going in every day, 8 


PREFACE. 1-5 a. These verses are marked with /emmzsc¢ in LXX and the margin has A = 9, i.e. Aquila, Symmachus, 
Theodotion. The Syro-Tetrapla has obeli + and margin} ©. These marks apparently signify that Origen’s Tetrapla 
inserted this preface in the LXX, borrowing it from other versions. The Syriac suggests that Aquila did not include 
Susanna. The Jewish Canon had rejected Susanna c. A.D. 90, and Aquila conformed closely to Jewish views. The 
preface comes from a later form of the story, which locates the scene in Babylon, and calls the young detective Daniel. 
The LXX had some other introduction, probably connecting the story with Palestine, in the time of Alexander 
Jannaeus. 

1. Babylon. The preface (vv. 1-5 a) definitely places the scene in Babylon; cf. ὃ 6, Introd. 

Joakim. The proper names Joakim, ‘the Lord will establish,’ Helkias, ‘the Lord is my portion,’ Daniel, ‘ my 

judge is El,’ may have been as significant as Melchizedech Howler and Habakkuk Mucklewrath were to readers of 
Scott. 
2, Susanna, mwiy in -Hebr., is reproduced Σουσαννα, also Σωσαννα Breet, Hos. xiv. 6, ‘Israel shall grow as the 
lily.” The ‘lily’ is used as simile of a bride, Cant. ii. 2; of flower-shaped capitals of pillars, 1 Kings vii. 19; in titles 
of Psalms xlv. 1, Ix. 1, Ixix. 1, Ixxx. 1. Erman derives from Egyptian sdsez ; and the lotus was an emblem from early 
times in Egypt. Lane (Araéic Dict.) derives from Persian. In O.T. Susanna is not found as a proper name of 
a person, but appears in Luke viii. 3. What is called the ‘ poppy-head’ on the coins of John Hyrcanus might come 
under the name ‘Shoshanna’. Like Esther and Judith, Susanna might thus be an emblem of right ultimately 
vanquishing might, cf. Scholz, Comm. 2722 doc. The story has doubtless been the cause of the use of ‘Susan’ as 
a personal name. 


“Ὁ model of a chaste and constant Dame, 
The world all chaste ones hence Susanna name.’—Robert Aylett, 1622. 


The Latin Catalogue of Saints has more than twenty who bear the name ‘Susanna’. 
5. the same year. This phrase applies to a context which is lost. The Syriac-Harkleensian begins: ‘When 

Daniel was twelve years old, there was . . .’ Daniel was 71812 12 when his insight began. 

ancients, R.V. for πρεσβύτεροι ; assembly for ἡ συναγωγή, vv. 41,60. The R.V. hesitates to use the terms ‘elders’ 
and ‘synagogues’ because their existence in Babylon c. 590 B.C. might be felt to be an anachronism. The technical 
use of the terms suits the conditions in Judaea c. 150-50 B.C. i 

such as the Lord spake of, that wickedness. . This rendering is inexact, cf. LXX. ᾿ 

concerning whom. περὶ ὧν ἐλάλησεν ὁ δεσπότης ὅτι ἐξῆλθεν... A Hebrew split-relative with ὅτι for 3 intro- 
ducing oratio recta. Cf. LXX Jer. xxiii. 15 ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν ἐξῆλθεν μολυσμὸς πάσῃ τῇ γῆ. The false prophets 
Ahab and Zedekiah whom Nebuchadrezzar roasted in the fire for sins like those of the elders, Jer. xxix. 21-23, may be 
present in the recollection of the writer, and may be responsible for the insertion of this verse. Jewish tradition 
names the elders Ahab and Zedekiah, and has much to say of their methods. Before the birth of a child they would 
promise the mother that the child would be a boy; to the neighbours they would say ‘ That woman expects a son but 
it will be a daughter’. In either case they got a reputation. 


647 


SUSANNA 7-27 


daughter of Helkias, wife of Joakim, as she walked 
g about in her husband’s garden at eventide, were 
inflamed with love for her; and they perverted 
their mind and turned away their eyes so as 
neither to look toward Heaven nor to be mindful 
of right decisions. 

And though both were smitten by desire of 
her, yet each concealed from the other the evil 
that possessed them in regard to her; neither 
12 was the woman aware of this matter. And as 

soon as it was daylight they came stealthily, 

evading each other, hurrying ¢o see which should 
be first to show himself to her and to speak with 
13 her. And behold! she was taking her walk 
according to her wont and the one elder had 
barely arrived, when lo! the other came up. Then 
the one began tocross-examine his fellow, demand- 
ing, ‘Why art thou gone forth so very early, 
14 leaving me behind?’ With that they made con- 
fession each to the other of his painful state. 


10 


Then said the one to the other, Let us repair 
to her; and having agreed together on a plan, 


they made advance to her and sought to constrain 
her. 


19 


22 But the daughter of Judah answered them, I 
know that if I do this, it is death to me: and if 


I do it not, I shall not escape from your hands. 


23 Yet it is better for me not to do this and to fall 


into your hands rather than to sin before the 
Lord. 


9. Heaven. οὐρανόν for God; cf. Dan, iv. 
οὐρανῶν = Mark, Luke, ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. 


and walking ; and they were inflamed with love 
for her. 

And they perverted their own mind, and 9 
turned away their eyes, that they might not look 
unto heaven, nor remember just judgements. 


And albeit they both were wounded with her 10 
love, yet durst not one show another his grief. 
For they were ashamed to declare their lust, that 11 
they desired to have to do with her. Yet they 12 
watched jealously from day to day to see her. 
And the one said to the other, Let us now go 18 
home : for it is dinner time. 


So when they 14 


were gone out, they parted the one from the 
other, and turning back again they came to the 
same place ; and after that they had asked one 
another the cause, they acknowledged their 
lust: and then appointed they a time both 
together, when they might find her alone. 
it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went 
in as aforetime with two maids only, and she 
was desirous to wash herself in the garden: for 
it was hot. 
the two elders, that had hid themselves, and 
watched her. 
Bring me oil and washing balls, and shut the 
garden doors, that I may wash me. 
did as she bade them, and shut the garden doors, 
and went out themselves at the side doors to 
fetch the things that she had commanded them: 
and they saw not the elders, because they were 
hid. Now when the maids were gone forth, the 19 
two elders rose up, and ran unto her, saying, 
Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man 20 
can see us, and we are in love with thee; there- 
fore consent unto us, and lie with us. If thou 21 
wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a 
young man was with thee: and therefore thou 
didst send away thy maids from thee. 
Susanna sighed, and said, I am straitened on 
every side: for if I do this thing, it is death unto 
me: and if I do it not, I cannot escape your 
hands. It is better for me to fall into your 23 
hands, and not do it, than to sin in the sight of 
the Lord. With that Susanna cried with a loud 24 
voice: and the two elders cried out against her. 
Then ran the one, and opened the garden doors. 25 


So when the servants of the house heard the cry 26 


in the garden, they rushed in at the side door, to 
see what had befallen her. 


17 θ. washing balls, σμήγματα. The same word is used, Esther ii. 3, 9. Hebr. DPA ‘ things for purification’. 


22. Death is the penalty imposed on the unfaithful wife, 
Deut. xxii, 21 ; cf. John viii. 4, τι 


Lev. xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 22 ; for unchastity, death by stoning, 


648 


i 
ΐ 


And they 18 | 


Then 22 


But when the elders 27 
23, ΔΘ ‘the heavens’ for ‘God’. So in Matt. ἡ βασιλεία τῶν 


And 15} 


And there was nobody there save 16 | 


Then she said to her maids, 17 | 


So these transgressors of the law turned away, 
vowing vengeance and planning together how 
they might put her to death. And they came 
into the synagogue of the city in which they 
dwelt, where were assembled in council all the 
Israelites of the place. 

: Then the two elders and judges arose and 
/ said, Send for Susanna, daughter of Helkias, 
‘a the same who is the wife of Joakim. And 
} 30straightway they summoned her. And when 
| the woman appeared with her father and mother, 
her bondmen and her bondwomen to the number 
of five hundred also presented themselves, as well 
81 as the four little children of Susanna. Now the 
woman was very delicate. 

Yet the lawless pair ordered that she should 
be unveiled, that they might sate themselves 
with the beauty of her attraction. 

33  Whereat all her attendants and all who knew 
- 34 her began to weep. Then arose the elders and 
__ judges and laid their hands upon her head. 

But her heart was stayed upon the Lord her 
- God, and looking upward she wept within her- 
35 self, saying, O Lord the eternal God, who 
| knowest all things before they come into being, 
Thou knowest that I have not done what these 
lawless men maliciously allege against me. And 

36 the Lord hearkened to her entreaty. Then the 
F two elders affirmed, We were walking about in 
37 her husband’s garden, and as we came round the 
Stadion, we saw this woman dallying with a 
man; we stood still and observed them consort- 
᾿ 38 ing together, but they were not aware that we 
were standing by. Then when each of us had 
confirmed the other, we said, We must find out 
| 39 Who these persons are. So we came forward 
_ and her we recognized; but the young man 
4o escaped us being concealed by a mask. And 
| having arrested her, we put the question, Who 
4ris the fellow? but she refused to tell us who he 
was. These things we declare as witnesses. 
And thewhole synagogue believed them inasmuch 
as they were elders and judges of the people. 


32 


r 35 


SUSANNA 27-42 


had told their tale, the servants were greatly 
ashamed : for there was never such a report made 
of Susanna. And it came to pass on the morrow, 28 
when the people assembled to her husband 
Joakim, the two elders came full of their wicked 
intent against Susanna to put her to death: and 29 
said before the people, Send for Susanna, the 
daughter of Helkias, Joakim’s wife. So they 30 
sent ; and she came with her father and mother, 
her children, and all her kindred. Now Susanna 31 


was a very delicate woman, and beauteous to 
behold. 


And these wicked men commanded her 32 
to be unveiled (for she was veiled) that they 
might be filled with her beauty. Therefore her 33 
friends and all that saw her wept. Then the two 34 
elders stood up in the midst of the people, and 
laid their hands upon her head. And she weep- 35 
ing looked up toward heaven: for her heart 
trusted in the Lord. 


And the elders said, As 36 
we walked in the garden alone, this woman came 
in with two maids, and shut the garden doors, and 
sent the maids away. Then a young man, who 37 
there was hid, came unto her, and lay with her. 
And we, being in a corner of the garden, saw 38 
this wickedness, and ran unto them. And when 39 
we saw them together, the man we could not 
hold ; for he was stronger than we, and opened 
the doors, and leaped out. But having taken 40 
this zvoman, we asked who the young man was, 
but she would not tell us: these things do we 
testify. Then the assembly believed them, as 
those that were elders of the people and judges: 


41 


so they condemned her to death. Then Susanna 
cried out with a loud voice, and said, O ever- 


42 


32. Regulations for dealing with a wife suspected of adultery are given in Num. v. 11-31. The way in which these 
rules were applied is discussed in detail in Mishna. Sota i. 5 contains the following : ‘Sacerdos arreptis eius vestibus 
- +. quoad sinum mulieris denudaret : crines quoque eius explicabat. R. Iuda (tamen hic limitat) dicens, si sinum 
venustum ipsa haberet, non fuisse eum a Sacerdote revelatum: nec capillos solutos, si essent decori” The elders 
are παράνομοι because they broke this limitation, for the very purpose the rule was intended to prevent. The spectators 
see in the unveiling an indignity and a foregone assumption of guilt. ‘ ἔ P ΕΝ SoLytie , 
that they might sate themselves, &c. The phrase ἵνα ἐμπλησθῶσιν κάλλους ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῆς LXX=0' ὅπως ἐμ. 
τοῦ κάλλους αὐτῆς appears to be due to a mistranslated construct : 
eo ΠΝ ἘΣ 
LXX ΡΒ) NINA 
34. laid their hands upon her head. Cf. Lev. xxiv. 14, ‘ Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp : and 
let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. The elder judges are not 
assessors in this trial, but witnesses. This is the reason for the laying on of hands ; ct. Bab. Kam. god: nwWy3 Ἵν ὮΝ 
ΝΥ ‘a witness cannot be made ἃ judge’.‘ Death by stoning imposed the responsibility on the whole congregation ; 
no one could say whose missile caused death. Here the whole synagogue, guided perhaps by three or twenty-three of 
its leaders (Synhed. 1), is considered responsible for the verdict. ‘ Ἷ ἜΝ 
37. Greek influence in the second century B.C. had induced Jewish youth to practise athletics. 
a race-course. δε 20 is used to indicate something like a στάδιον in Jerusalem. 


649 


bya? 


Some cities had 


Uu 
1105 


44-45 


SUSANNA 42-55 


Andas she was being led away to be destroyed, 
behold! zhere came an angel of the Lord; and 
as it had been commanded him, the angel be- 
stowed a spirit of discernment upon a young man, 
48 this being Daniel. Then separating the crowd 

Daniel stationed himself in the midst of them and 
said, Are ye so foolish, O sons of Israel, that 
without examination and knowledge of the truth 
ye have condemned a daughter of Israel to 
51° die? Now therefore take these men apart from 
each other, that I may cross-examine them. 

51» And when they were separated, Daniel said to 
the synagogue: Now consider not that these men 
are elders nor say, They can never be false; but 
I will examine them with reference to that which 

52 is suggested to me. And he summoned one of 
the two, so they brought forward the elder before 
the young man. Then said Daniel to him: 

Hearken, hearken, thou ancient of evil days! 

now have overtaken thee thy sins which thou 

hast committed in time past. 

Being trusted to hear and to decide capital 
cases, thou hast both condemned the innocent 
and hast acquitted the guilty, although the Lord 
saith: ‘The innocent and the righteous slay thou 
not.’ 
54 


53 


Now therefore under what tree and at what 
sort of place in the garden hast thou seen them 
together? The impious man answered, Under 
55a mastick tree. Then said the youth, Right 
well hast thou borne false witness against thine 
own soul; for the angel of the Lord will cleave 
thy soul this day. 


lasting God, that knowest the secrets, that 
knowest all things before they be: thou knowest 43 
that they have borne false witness against me, 
and, behold, I must die; whereas I never did 
such things as these men have maliciously 
invented against me. 

And the Lord heard her 44 
voice. Therefore when she was led away to be 45 
put to death, God raised up the holy spirit of a 
young youth, whose name was Daniel: and he 46 
cried with a loud voice, I am clear from the blood 
of this woman. Then all the people turned them 47 
toward him, and said, What mean these words 
that thou hast spoken? So he standing in the 48 
midst of them said, Are ye such fools, ye sons of 
Israel, that without examination or knowledge of 
the truth ye have condemned a daughter of Israel? 


Return again to the place of judgement : for these 49 


have borne false witness against her. Wherefore 50 
all the people turned again in haste, and the 
elders said unto him, Come, sit down among us, 
and show it us, seeing God hath given thee the 
honour of an elder. Then said Daniel unto 51 
them, Put them asunder one far from another, 
and I will examine them. So when they were 52 
put asunder one from another, he called one of 
them, and said unto him, O thou that art waxen 
old in wickedness, now are thy sins come home 
to thee which thou hast committed aforetime, in 53 
pronouncing unjust judgement, and condemning 
the innocent, and letting the guilty go free; 
albeit the Lord saith, The innocent and righteous 
shalt thou not slay. Now then, if thou sawest 54 
her, tell me, Under what tree sawest thou them 
companying together? Who answered, Under 

a mastick tree. 
hast thou lied against thine own head ; for even 
now the angel of God hath received the sentence 
of God and shall cut thee in two. 


And Daniel said, Right well 55> 


os 
4 


© 


44-45. Mishna Synhed. vi. 1, 2 prescribes appeals for fresh evidence after the verdict is given, ‘When the person 
to be stoned is led out, a herald must precede proclaiming these words: This person N. M., son of N. M., is on 
the way to be stoned, for the crime (specified), on the testimony of N. M. and N. M.; whosoever can show his inno- 
cence, let him approach and set forth his reasons.’ If none appeared, when they came within ten cubits of the place 
of stoning, the condemned was invited to confess, in deference to Joshua vii. 19. 

51>. with reference to that which is suggested to me, κατὰ τὰ ὑποπίπτοντά μοι. 
of his suspicion. The Philoxenian Syriac says ‘according as God has given to me’. 


before his evidence is proved inconsistent with that of the second elder. 
of the examination. 


Divine inspiration is the source ἢ 
Daniel condemns the first elder 
y ‘a incon 2 5. ν His insight into their past is not the result — 
‘ ( Any indication of the will of the Invisible King was sufficient in the Theocracy to supersede the 
operation of ordinary rules and restrictions ; the theory being that the Divine Sovereign chose His own ministers when 


and how and whence He pleased’ (Ball, 221 Zoc.). The elders of v. 50, Theodotion, are thus not the two who have 
given witness, but their colleagues on the bench. 


53: The innocent and the righteous slay thou not. 
OUK QATFOKTEVELS, 

54-59. Under a mastick tree, ἅς. ὑπὸ σχῖνον... σχίσει and ὑπὸ mpivov . . . katampion, Ψ. 590. Origen says 
(Epistle to Africanus, 48 f.): ‘This passage gave me no rest and I often wondered about it, so I betook me to several 
Hebrews, asking what πρῖνος was called in their language, what was the verb for πρίζειν, also how they rendered σχῖνος 
and σχίζειν’ His inquiry was intended to refute the contention of Africanus that the play on the words proved that = | 
Susanna had been composed in Greek, not in Hebrew. That Hebrew could use paronomasia eveninadeath sentence _ 
appears from Achan’s condemnation by Joshua, vii.25. That the LXX would copy a play upon words appears, e.g-,in | 
Judges x. 4: DY... DY ‘colts... cities’, Gk. πώλους .. . πόλεις. Some of the versions succeed in preserving © 


the Greek play in Syriac. With some liberty in choosing the trees, the play can be furnished by Hebrew, e.g. T38, _ 
which occurs in Cant. vi. 11: ‘= 


Quoted exactly from Exod. xxiii. 7 LXX ἀθῷον καὶ δίκαιον 


{TAD OFT Dyya Wary ” yop tae ty sy wer dy mvp aon ays WA oN NOA NN 
Other ways are given in Ball, Afoer. ii. 324. | 


650 Ἢ 


Then removing the one he gave command to 
bring the other before him, to whom he said: 
Wherefore is the seed that is in thee become 
perverted as ¢hat of Sidon and not as that of 
Judah? beauty has beguiled thee, base passion ! 
57 Even so were ye wont to do with daughters of 
| Israel, who through their fear companied with 
/ you; but a daughter of Judah scorned to endure 
58 your pestilent licence. Now therefore tell me, 
᾿ς Under what tree and in which spot of the 
enclosure didst thou detect them consorting 
| together? Who answered, Under a holm tree. 
| 59 Then said Daniel, Thou sinner! even now the 
angel of the Lord is standing with drawn sword, 
till the people shall make an end of thee, that 
he may cut thee to pieces. 
Then the whole synagogue shouted aloud in 
praise of the young man because from their own 
mouth he had proved them both to be confessedly 
false witnesses. And they dealt with them 
according as the Law prescribes, doing to them 
just as they maliciously intended against their 
sister. 
So when they had gagged them, they led 
them out and hurled them into a chasm; then 
the angel of the Lord cast fire in the midst of 
them. And thus was innocent blood kept safe 
on that day. 
62” For this cause the young men are beloved of 
62° Jacob by reason of their sincerity. And as for 
us, let us watch over young men that they may 
become men of worth, for so young men will be 
God-fearing, and there shall be in them a spirit 
of knowledge and discernment for ever and ever. 


Gemara Makkoth 5 8). 


the Sadducees Zo silence .. .’. 
imposed, no further defence can be offered. 


preferred the younger, Gen. xlviii. 14 (Briill). 


2 Sam. ii. 7, xiii. 28 ; Dan. xi. 33, &c. 
Xill. 28, xvii. 10. 
sons virtuous young men.’ 


(Graetz, History of the Jews, Engl. edition, vol. ii, p. 50). 


Cf. Code of Hammurabi, § 3: ‘If a man in a case pending judgement . . 
spoken, if that case be a capital suit, that man shall be put to death.’ μ 
60. ἐφίμωσαν, ‘muzzle’, ‘put in the pillory’. Cf. Matt. xxii. 34, ‘The Pharisees when they heard that He had put 
Possibly more than a mere verbal coincidence. Strangling or suffocation 15 mentioned 
in the Talmud as the mode of death for false witness (Briill on v. 60-62). Here it denotes symbolically that silence is 


651 


SUSANNA 56-64 


So he put 56 
him aside, and commanded to bring the other, 
and said unto him, O thou seed of Canaan, and 
not of Judah, beauty hath deceived thee, and lust 
hath perverted thine heart. Thus have ye dealt 57 
with the daughters of Israel, and they for fear 
companied with you: but the daughter of Judah 
would not abide your wickedness. 

Now there- 58 
fore tell me, Under what tree didst thou take 
them companying together? Who answered, 
Under a holm tree. Then said Daniel unto him, 
Right well hast thou also lied against thine own 
head: for the angel of God waiteth with the 
sword to cut thee in two, that he may destroy 

ou. 


Ou 
© 


With that all the assembly cried out with 60 
a loud voice, and blessed God, who saveth them 
that hope in him. And they arose against the 61 
two elders, for Daniel had convicted them of 
false witness out of their own mouth: and accord- 62 
ing to the law of Moses they did unto them in 
such sort as they maliciously intended to do to 
their neighbour: and they put them to death, 
and the innocent blood was saved the same day. 


Therefore Helkias and his wife praised God for 63 
their daughter Susanna, with Joakim her husband, 
and all the kindred, because there was no dis- 
honesty found in her. And from that day forth 64 
was Daniel had in great reputation in the sight of 
the people. 


60-62. the Law prescribes. Deut. xix. 16-21 prescribes the treatment of a false witness, v. 19, WWN3 Dy) 
i yd nivyd DM, LXX καὶ ποιήσετε αὐτῷ ὃν τρόπον ἐπονηρεύσατο τῷ πλησίον ποιῆσαι (cf. 6’). On the application of this 
rule the Pharisees and Sadducees differed acutely during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus, 105-79 B.C. If the person 
falsely accused has actually suffered death, only then shall this regulation be carried out, said the Sadducees. The 
Pharisees maintained that if the perjury has been detected before its victim has suffered, then the same penalty must 
be inflicted on the false witnesses. The elders must therefore perish, in accordance with the Pharisaic interpretation 
of Deut. xix. 19 (Hamburger Real-Encycl. fiir Bibel und Talmud, ii. 1050 ; Mishna Makfothi. 6 ; Sifre on Deut. xix. 19; 


. has not justified the word that he has 


62», beloved of Jacob. The patriarch Jacob trusted his younger sons Joseph and Benjamin, and of Joseph’s sons 
For ἁπλότης cf. τ Macc. ii. 60. ; ᾿ 

62°. let us watch over young men, καὶ ἡμεῖς φυλασσώμεθα εἰς υἱοὺς δυνατοὺς νεωτέρους. Meaning must be sought 
from the Semitic original : on > DYI 722 HIN) For εἰς = ? as translated above, v. LXX, 1 Sam. xviii. 17; 
ὙΠ 23 = υἱοὺς δυνατούς, 2 Sam. ii. 7; = υἱοὺς δυνάμεως, I Sam. xiv. 52; 2 Sam. 
The Semitic metaphor ‘son of valour’ forbids Fritzsche’s emendation of εἰς into ws, ‘let us guard as 


If the epilogue enforcing the didactic side of the story is an addition (Briull), it has been added in Hebrew, not in 
Greek. Cf. ‘One of the objects that Simon ben Shetach had greatly at heart was the promotion of better instruction. 
In all large towns high schools for the use of young men from the age of sixteen sprang up at his instance’ (c. 


Ὁ BaGe), 


Uu2 


BEE AND THE DRAGON 


INTRODUCTION 


BEL AND THE DRAGON forms the third of the Apocryphal Additions to Daniel, and was 
written originally almost certainly in Hebrew, though none of the Hebrew original has survived. 
The other two Additions are the Song of the Three Children and Susanna. In the Greek and 
Latin texts the three Additions to Daniel constitute an integral part of the canonical Book of 
Daniel, and were recognized as such, and therefore as themselves canonical, by the Council of 
Trent. The Song of the Three Children is, however, the only one of the three which has a neces- 
sary connexion with the Hebrew canonical Book of Daniel, standing in the Greek and Latin texts 
between Dan. iii. 24 and 25. The other two Additions are appended, and appear to have an 
origin independent of the book to which they are attached and also of each other, though in all 
three, as also in the canonical book, the name and fame of Daniel forms the principal theme. 


δι. NAME AND POSITION IN THE CANON. 


In the Greek Codd. Bel and the Dragon stands at the end of the canonical Book of Daniel, 
bearing therefore no distinct title. In Codd. A and B of ©? it is, however, preceded by the words 
‘Vision (ὅρασις) xii’; i.e. it forms the twelfth and last of the series of visions into which this enlarged 
Book of Daniel is divided. In the LXX it is called ‘ Part of the prophecy of Habakkuk the Son of 
Jesus of the tribe of Levi’: see note on v.1. In the Vulgate Bel and the Dragon forms ch. xiv 
of Daniel. 

In Syr W (see § 3) the Story of Bel is preceded by the heading ‘Bel the idol’, that of the 
Dragon having at its beginning the words, ‘ Then follows the Dragon.’ 

Bel and the Dragon is the title in all the Protestant versions of the Apocrypha, these versions 
keeping the books now known as Apocryphal apart as being, it was thought, deutero- or non- 
canonical. In a Nestorian list of biblical works mentioned by Churton* it is called ‘The 
Lesser Daniel’. 

§ 2. CONTENTS. 


The two stories as told in common by LXX and © may be thus summarized. 

1. The Story of Bel, vv. 1-22. There is in Babylon an image of Bel-(Marduk, Merodach) 
which Daniel refuses to worship, though no form of worship is mentioned besides that of supplying 
the god with food. The king, identified in © with Cyrus, remonstrates with the delinquent Hebrew, 
pointing him to the immense quantity of food consumed daily by Bel as a proof that the god thus 
recognized is a living, true deity. Daniel denies that the food is eaten by the god, and asks per- 
mission to put the matter to a test. This request being granted, he is shown the lectisternia, the 
sacred tables, covered with food which it is alleged the god will consume during the night. It is 
agreed that the doors of Bel’s temple shall be closed and sealed for the night after the departure 
of the priests. But in addition, Daniel takes the precaution of having, without the priests’ knowledge, 
the floor of the temple strewn lightly with ashes. When the morning breaks, the doors are still closed 
and the seals intact, but the food has disappeared, evidence, the king thinks, that it has been con- 
sumed by Bel. Daniel, however, points to the tracks of bare feet on the ash-strewn floor as evidence 
that the priests have entered the temple by secret doors and removed the food. Angered by the 
trick which the priests had played on him, the king has them put to death and the image destroyed. 

On the word ‘ Bel’ see note on v. 3. 

2. The Dragon Story, vv. 23-42. There is in Babylon a great live serpent (dragon) worshipped 


by a large number of the inhabitants, who feed it lavishly. In the present case the god is represented 


by a living creature which can be fed and which needs feeding. Daniel refuses to bow down before 


the serpent, and throws out a challenge to the king, that, if permission is given him, he will destroy ᾿- 
the creature alleged to be ἃ god. Receiving the requested permission, Daniel makes a mixture of | 


1 i.e. Theodotion’s version, see § 3. 
2. The Uncanonical and Apocrythal Scriptures, p. 398 f. 
652 


INTRODUCTION 


which pitch is the principal ingredient, and thrusting it down the serpent’s throat this creature 
bursts asunder and dies. Infuriated at the death of their god, the populace demand the death of 
this god-murderer. The king yields, and has Daniel cast into the den of lions, the usual punishment 
of persons found guilty of capital charges. But though Daniel remained in the company of seven 
lions for seven days, he suffers no injury. On the sixth day Daniel, being naturally hungry, is 
miraculously supplied with food. The prophet Habakkuk has prepared the midday (?) meal for his 
reapers, and is on the way to the field where they are. An angel arrests him, telling him he is to 
carry the meal to Daniel in the lions’ den in Babylon. On his alleging his ignorance of the location 
of the lions’ den, and even of Babylon itself, the angel lays hold of the hair on the crown of his head 
and conveys the prophet to the den, where, seeing Daniel, he hands him the food, and seems as safe 
among the lions as Daniel himself. The angel then restores Habakkuk to his Palestine home. 
Seeing that Daniel was preserved (the Habakkuk incident is an evident interpolation), the king 
magnifies God, sets Daniel at liberty, and substitutes for him in the den Daniel’s accusers, who are 
at once devoured by the lions. 

The meaning of the word ‘dragon’. The Greek word (δράκων) translated ‘dragon’ denotes 
originally a large serpent. Homer uses δράκων and ὄφις interchangeably without the least apparent 
difference. Even the drakén of Greek mythology remains essentially a serpent. In the East 
the serpent came to be commonly used as a symbol of the principle of evil. In the LXX δράκων 
translates most frequently (twelve times) the Hebrew 14 (¢annin), rendered in the A. V. generally 
(eight times) ‘dragon’, sometimes (thrice) ‘serpent.’ In two passages (Amos ix. 3, Job xxvi. 13) the 
usual Hebrew word for serpent (22) is represented in the LXX by δράκων. There is no good reason 
for departing from the simple impression which the narrative gives that in the present tale the dragon 
is a live snake worshipped as a god. Perhaps such worship is to be regarded as a survival of 
totemism. There is abundant evidence of snake worship in various parts of the ancient world, and 
there is good reason for believing that it obtained in Babylon. (1) The god Nina was worshipped in 
the form of a serpent.! (2) On Babylonian seals men are figured worshipping gods apparently 
serpentine in form, their lower parts consisting of serpent coils with worshippers in front. (3) Both 
Berosus and Helladius speak of gods worshipped as serpents in Babylon.* (4) Jensen, quoted by 
Baudissin (PRE *,v, p. 6), says there was a serpent god called in Sumerian Sera#. For traces of 
serpent worship among the Hebrews, see Num. xxi. 8f., 2 Kings xviii. 4. There is no certain proof 
that in ancient Babylon the live serpent as in distinction from the image of a serpent was worshipped, 
but there is no conclusive evidence to the contrary, and the analogy of other countries favours 
a decision in the affirmative. 

Fritzsche * holds that the story was composed in Egypt, where serpent worship is known to have 
existed in early times. but that the author inaccurately transferred it to Babylon. But since Fritzsche’s 
time fresh evidence of such worship in Babylon has presented itself. 

Modern writers generally maintain that the dragon in this story represents a mythical monster 
with a serpent’s head and neck, an eagle’s legs, a lion’s body, and a unicorn’s horn. In this or some 
similar form a very large number of Babylonian inscriptions picture this monster or other monsters 
(we can never be quite sure as to this) as in conflict with Marduk or some other Babylonian deity. 
The monster has been very commonly identified with the mythological dragon, but no decisive proof 
of the identity has been furnished. W. Hayes Ward has made a careful attempt to bring together 
the various forms in which the ‘ dragon-myth’ has been portrayed on Babylonian-Assyrian inscrip- 
tions,> and he assumes throughout that in all it is the Marduk-Tiamat conflict of the Babylonian 
Creation legend that is set forth, but he gives no proof of this, for the name Tiamat is not once con- 
nected with the representation. Indeed it seems now generally understood that Tiamat was a snake 
deity, and that the dragon of the story now under consideration is no other than Tiamat: so Sayce, 
Ball, Gunkel, Marshall, Toy. 

The present writer ventures with Jensen and Baudissin to dispute and even deny this, and for 
the following reasons : 

1. There is no evidence in the Babylonian-Assyrian inscription that Tiamat was conceived as 
aserpent. The serpentine forms pointed out cannot be shown to be intended for Tiamat. 

2. Berosus does not once translate the Babylonian Tiamat by dragon or by any word denoting 
serpent. He uniformly transliterates the word, though not as we should do now, but as 
Thalatth. 

3. The idea embodied in Tiamat differs from that of the dragon or serpent. In Babylonian 
mythology Tiamat stands for the female principle, expressing itself in darkness and disorder, older 


1 See Sayce, Hibbert Lectures, p. 282 f. ? e.g. Rawlinson, /zve Great Monarchies a. 122 f., li. 14. 
8 Exeg. Handbuch zu den Apoc., i, p. 121. 4 See figures in Gressmann, A/tor. Texte und Bilder, \\. 9of. 
5 See American Journal of Semitic Languages, X\v. 94-105. 


653 


BEL AND THE DRAGON 


than the gods themselves, since the birth of the gods took place through their separation from the 
primaeval chaos (= Tiamat). Tiamat is usually identified with the primaeval ocean, wild and 
rebellious, needing to be subdued. We are probably to see a reference to it in the on rendered 
by English versions ‘the deep’: LXX ἄβυσσος : Vulg. Adyssus. Ὁ ἢ 

4. In the present story the dragon is a god alongside of Bel in the preceding story: there is 
not the remotest hint that he is regarded other than as a Babylonian deity worshipped in the form 
of a serpent or dragon. ; 

The present writer would like to add that he does not now, as he once did (see Century Bible, 
Psalms, ii, pp. 50, 63, 112, 141,177), agree with Gunkel and the bulk of recent Bible scholars in seeing 
reflections of the Marduk-Tiamat legend in innumerable passages of the O.T. Later writers have 
too blindly followed Gunkel (see his Schipfung und Chaos). 


ὃ 3. TEXTUAL AUTHORITIES : MANUSCRIPTS AND VERSIONS. 


1. Manuscripts. The Greek text exists in two principal forms throughout the Book of Daniel 
including the Apocryphal Additions. τὴ 

(1) & (i.e. the LXX) has been preserved in but one MS., the Codex Chisianus (from the Chigi 
family which owned it), published in Rome in 1772, in Cozza’s Sacrorum Bibliorum Vetustissima 
Fragmenta Graece et Latine, in Swete’s G (in parallel pages with ©), and in Tischendorfs ἃ. This 
unique MS. is quoted by Field and Swete as Cod. 87, which must be distinguished from that so 
designated by the Oxford editors, Holmes and Parsons. 

(2) Of Theodotion’s text (©) of Bel and the Dragon the following MSS. exist: B, A, Γ (vv. 2-4 
only), A (from v. 21 to v. 41). 

Besides the above majuscules (uncials) there also several valuable minuscules (cursives), as e.g. 
those numbered 34, 49. 

For details and explanations, see Swete’s edition of & and his /xtroduction to the O.T. in 
Greek. 

2. Versions. (1) Greek. It may not be strictly correct to speak of the two best known texts 
(ἃ and ©) as versions since no Hebrew or Aramaic original has come down to us. Yet according 
to the view of a Hebrew lost original advocated by the present writer (see below) these so-called 
versons are correctly thus described. 

A careful comparison of & and © of Bel and the Dragon has led the present writer to these 
conclusions. (a) That & is a translation from a Hebrew original. This is made exceedingly 
probable by the presence of a large number of Hebraisms (see § 4, ORIGINAL LANGUAGE), though 
there is another possible explanation (see below, ᾧ 4, (c) 5). (6) That © contains a much larger number 
of Hebraisms than (ἃ : see on vv. 1 f., 5 f., 16, 18, 27, 28, 39, &c., suggesting what other considerations 
make likely that Theodotion corrected & with the aid of a Hebrew original before him. 

Yet, on the contrary, © corrects at times the Greek of & (see on vv. 26, 40, 42), and it avoids the 
Hebraism Κύριος without the article (= Hebrew 1), preferring Θεός : see v. 5. 

Theodotion’s version of Daniel displaced that of & at a very early time, for though in his 
Hexapla it is the true & that he uses, yet in his own writings Origen almost invariably cites ©. In 
his preface to Daniel Jerome points to the fact that in his own time the Christian Church had rejected 
& in favour of © on account of the defective renderings in the former. Even Irenaeus (οὖ. 202) and 
Porphyry (οὖ. 305) preferred © to & Field was the first to indicate clearly that what has for 
centuries been treated as & of 1 Esdras, &c., including Daniel and its Additions, is really the version 
of Theodotion. 

(2) Syriac. In this language there are two principal versions : 

(a) The Peshitta, best preserved in the Cod. Ambrosianus B 21 (sixth century), reproduced in 
Walton’s Polyglot and critically edited by Lagarde (Leipzic, 1861). In Bel and the Dragon this version 
follows © very closely, though at times (see on vv. 2, 18, 25) it agrees with ὅτ against ©. There are several 
cases where this version and © agree against & (see on v. 21). Ina few cases this version diverges from 


both the Greek texts (see on Ὁ. 27). In the notes Walton’s Polyglot has been used, the version ~ 


consulted being designated Syr W. But Lagarde’s critical edition has always been compared. 

__ (δ) The Hexapla’s Syriac version is that made by Paul of Tella in 617 from Col. VI (&) of 
Origen’s Hexapla. It exists in manuscript form (Cod. Ambrosianus, C. 313). This most valuable 
MS. has been edited, photographed, and published by Ceriani (Milan, 1874). In the notes it is quoted 


as SyrH. As might have been expected from its origin, it is in general agreement with &, rather — 


than with 0, and thus differs from the other Syriac version, which follows © closely. 
(3) Aramaic other than the Syriac. For the Aramaic text of parts of Bel and the Dragon see 
ᾧ 4, ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 
654 


Ἷ Ἧ 
Ἢ 


’ 
- 
| 
[ 
Po 
F 
ὴ 
% 
5 
isi 
i 
7 
᾿ 
3, 


INTRODUCTION 


There are no Targums on Ezra, Nehemiah, or Daniel, a lack easily explained if it could be 
assumed that all these books were written originally in Aramaic as portions of the existing books 
of Ezra and Daniel are. ἢ 

(4) Latin. (4) Fragments of the Old Latin version occur in Sabatier’s work, Aibliorum Sacrorum 
Latinae Versiones Antigquae, 1743, &c., vol. ii. Judging from the specimens therein preserved it may 
be confidently stated that in Daniel and its Additions this version follows © closely. 

(4) Jerome’s version—Vulgate simply reproduces it—is also based on Θ, though in some parts 
(see on v. 42) it is independent of any other version or text known to us. 

(5) Arabic. The Arabic version of Saadias (A.D. 892-942) was made from the Hebrew and 
therefore lacks the Apocrypha. The Arabic version of Bel and the Dragon in Walton’s Polyglot has 


no critical value, being due to a priest living in Egypt in the sixteenth century ; see Walton, Proleg. 
xiv. 17 f., and Cornill on Ezekiel, p. 49. 


4. THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. 


Until comparatively recent years the prevailing view was that Bel and the Dragon was composed 
and first edited in the Greek language: so Eichhorn, Ewald, De Wette, Schrader, Fritzsche, Schiirer, 
and Konig. 

(a) In favour of this conclusion the following reasons have been given : 

1. No traces of any Semitic original with reasonable claims have been discovered. Origen, 
Eusebius, and Jerome distinctly say that no Hebrew (or Aramaic) form of this tract was known in 
their day. 

2. It is denied that the Hebraisms are more numerous than can be accounted for on the assump- 
tion of a Greek original. See below, (0) 3, 4. 

3. In the Greek of Susanna there are certain word-plays inconsistent with a translation: e.g. 
Ὁ. 54 f. ὑπὸ σχίνον ... σχίσει, and 58 f. ὑπὸ mpivoy . . . mpicat. No such word-plays have been 
discovered in Bel and the Dragon, and where in Susanna they do occur they can be easily 
due to a translator. Why cannot a translator adopt alliteration? Moreover, it is noteworthy that 
Bel and the Dragon is more Hebraic than Susanna, though less so than the Song of the Three 
Children. 

(ὁ) On the other hand, the opinion has been growing among recent scholars that the work 
was written originally in Semitic (Hebrew or Aramaic). Drs. Marshall and Gaster contend for an 
Aramaic original. But there is evidence conclusive to the present writer that the author of Bel and 
the Dragon wrote in Hebrew. 

1. It has been pointed out (see ᾧ 3, 2 (1)) that © introduces Hebraisms which are absent from &, 
a change due undoubtedly to the fact that Theodotion had before him a Hebrew text as well as &, 
which latter he corrected by means of the former. 

2. The extraordinary extent to which the syntactical construction called parataxy (co-ordination) 
exists points to a Hebrew, not an Aramaic original. The recurrence of the Greek καί with all the 
shades of meaning borne by the Hebrew waw and the Arabic wavw and fa is characteristic of Hebrew 
very much more than of Aramaic. The latter is much richer than Hebrew in conjunctions and 
adverbs, so that in it hypotaxy (subordination) of sentences exists, very much in the manner of Greek ; 
especially is this last true of Syriac which came under Greek influence. 

3. There are many examples in the LXX and especially in © which imply the Hebrew ‘waw 
consecutive’ construction and cannot be otherwise explained. Thus sentences often begin with καὶ 
ἣν (=) and also with καὶ ἐγένετο, followed in this latter case by a finite verb; see vv. 14 and 18. 
This waz consecutive construction is peculiar to Hebrew at its best, even late Biblical Hebrew 
has almost lost it (cf. Ecclesiastes, &c.). 

4. There are many other Hebraisms: thus v. 14 in © begins with words implying A}. In 
τ. 27 (©) καὶ ἔδωκεν is good Hebrew (159) but bad Greek, cf. & ἐνέβαλεν. The use of θύρας," doors’, in the 
sense of the singular is Hebraic, see note on v. 18. οὐδὲ εἷς (v. 18 ©) isthe Hebrew πὰ PS. The 
constant recurrence of καὶ εἶπεν with the various shades of meaning possessed by V8") is a Hebraism: 
see v. 20, &c.: ἄγγελος κυρίου = NT JNDD, the anarthrous ἄγγελος following the rule for nouns in the 
construct: see on v. 343 ἀναστάς (BP) followed by another verb: see on vv. 37 (&) and 39 (©). 

5. There are sometimes textual mistakes best explained on the assumption of a Hebrew 
original : see for examples the notes on v. 14 (&).' ᾿ 

6. It is in favour of a Hebrew original that these two tales have been actually found in that 
language in a more or less complete form, as in the Midrash Rabda de Radbba. 


1 See Franz Delitzsch, de Habacuce, p. 82; Neubauer, Zodit, viii. 
655 
JI 


BEL AND THE DRAGON 


(c) Dr. M. Gaster discovered an Aramaic form of the Dragon story embedded in the Chronicles of 
Serahmeel, a work of the tenth century, and he maintains that in this fragment we have a portion 
of the original text of Bel and the Dragon,! an opinion with which Dr. Marshall seems to be in 
sympathy. In that case the original text of the three ‘ Additions’ was Aramaic, as these two 
scholars maintain. The present writer does not think that Dr. Gaster has proved his case. 

1. There are constructions in all the ‘ Additions’ which are not Greek and which can be 
explained from Hebrew but not from Aramaic. See above, (6) 2. 

2. Two only of the three ‘ Additions’ occur in the Aramaic version found by Dr. Gaster, and 
only a part (Dragon story) of the third; what has become of the rest ? 

3. This Aramaic form of the Dragon story differs from that in the Greek and Syriac in many 
particulars. In v. 24 the two Greek versions and Syr W have ‘ the king (said) >, which the Aramaic 
text omits. In v. 35, after ‘And Habakkuk said’, the Aramaic document adds ‘to the angel’, 
which &, ©, and Syr are without. 

4. The compiler of the Chronicles of Ferahmeel distinctly says that he had taken the Song of the 
Three Children and the Dragon story from the writings (i.e. the translation) of Theodotion, he 
having himself, it is implied, turned the Greek into Aramaic. Dr. Gaster lays stress on the com- 
piler’s words? that what he gives in Aramaic is that which Theodotion himself found, but the 
reference can be only to &, which Theodotion made the basis of his own translation, and not to 
an Aramaic original, though it must be admitted that the compiler does not express himself 
unambiguously. But when such ambiguity does exist the decision must be according to facts 
otherwise authenticated. 

5. There is of course another explanation of the apparent Semiticisms in Bel and the Dragon. 
It is probable, as Wellhausen holds,® that the language of & represents a Hebrew-Greek jargon 
actually spoken, as is the Yiddish of the present day. In favour of this are, in addition to the 
innumerable Hebraisms, many of them due to translation, the large number of Hebrew words trans- 
literated instead of being translated even in cases where the sense is not obscure: e.g. βεδέκ for 
P73, ‘ breach’, 2 Kings xxii. 5; χεττιείμ (χεττιείν) fora restored DNI=NN3, 2 Kings xxill. 7; ἰαμείν 
for DY, ‘shovels’, 2 Kings xxv. 14. These and other Hebrew words were perhaps taken over 
into the Greek spoken by these Jews, just as Polish-Russian-German Jews to-day talk in a German 
interlarded with Hebrew words. 


δ». AUTHORSHIP, DATE, AND PLACE OF ORIGIN. 


Nothing whatever is known of the author of this work and nothing that is definite of the place 
or date of composition. We have no Hebrew or Aramaic original from the style of which it might 
have been possible to draw conclusions as to date. 

It is quite certain that Bel and the Dragon imply the canonical Boek of Daniel and belong 
therefore to a later date, for they show subsequent developments of Daniel legends. The canonical 
Daniel is dated by modern scholars at about 160B.c. The general character of this tract suggests 
that, like the canonical Daniel, it arose at a period when the Jewish religion was bitterly persecuted. 
Such a period was the reign of Antiochus VII (Sidetes) (139-128 B.c.). This Syrian monarch 
reconquered Palestine and did his utmost to suppress Judaism. At that time Hebrew was, even in 
Palestine, more a literary than a spoken language, and this might explain the fact that the use of the 
waw consecutive—a feature of the classical language—is preserved. It is assumed that the place of 
origin was Palestine, and not, as Bissel and most hold, Babylon. The references to Babylon are the 
same in the canonical Daniel, but they are only a literary device; and this can be said also of the 
mention of clay and bronze (v. 7), which Bissel cites as proof of a Babylonian origin. 

ΤῸ is to be noted that Judaism in the narrow technical sense is entirely absent from these two 
stories—what is taught is the absurdity of idolatry and the duty of worshipping the only true God 
—Yahweh. The Judaism of Babylon was of a definite orthodox kind and could hardly have given 
rise to a tract so vaguely religious as the one under consideration. The universalism of Bel and the 
Dragon stamps it as a product of the Wisdom school of Judaism, though the positive characteristics 
of the literature of that school (Ecclesiastes, &c.) are lacking. 

Assuming a date of about 136 B.C. for the Hebrew text the LXX must be later. It may be 
taken for granted that when r Macc. ii. 59 f. was written (i.e. about 1co B.C.) the three Additions 


* See PSBA, 1894, 280 ff. (Introduction), 312 ff. (text); and 18 ff. (trar i 

Ξ : ps . . (ter a 5 nslation and notes). 

* PSBA, 1895, p. 83. » 3 (text) ; 95, 75 ft. ( r otes) 

* F. Bleek, Einleitung in das Alte Test.®, 535. Deismann, however, says (Bzéle Studies, 68) that in a private 
communication to him Wellhausen abandons the above view. 


656 


, 

oy 
4 
ΕΥ 

fy 
ἢν 


ἃ 


INTRODUCTION 


formed no part of the Book of Daniel and did not perhaps even exist in Greek. Yet these Additions 
exist in all extant MSS. of the Greek and Syriac texts. The character of the Greek in & and other 
considerations suggest that this version was made at Alexandria at a date not much later than 
100 B.C. Yet the evidence for reaching such a conclusion is slight. 

Theodotion is generally believed to have lived and to have completed his translation at Ephesus 
towards the close of the second century of our era. This accords with the fact that Irenaeus, who 
died A.D. 202, used © and preferred it to G. 


ᾧ 6. INTEGRITY. 


With the exception of small parts to be indicated in the notes, and vv. 33-39, these two tales 
seem to have been written by one author, who, however, used pre-existing materials. The incident 
of the miraculous transportation of the prophet Habakkuk from his home in Palestine to the lions’ 
den in Babylon (vv. 33-39) is certainly a later piece having no necessary connexion with the rest of 
the story. 


$7. TEACHING. 


These two stories teach the doctrines of the oneness and absoluteness of Yahweh, called Κύριος 
in G,a translation of the Hebrew word substituted by Jews from about 300 B. Cc. for Yahweh, which 
near that time took on a mystic and esoteric sense. 

Little is told us of Yahweh’s character. He is great, the only true God (v. 11), a living God in 
contrast with Bel (v. 5). Nothing is said of the nature of the demand He makes, ritual or ethical. 

There is no allusion to any distinctively Jewish beliefs or practices. The law is not mentioned 
nor is the existence of a Divine revelation to man implied. This tract is silent as to sacrifice and 
temple, and even as regards priesthood, except that in (ἃ Syr W (not ©) Daniel the prophet is spoken 
of as a priest ; all this strong evidence of the low place assigned by the writer to the external side of 
the Jewish religion. We do, however, read of an angel, but in a part of the Dragon story (vv. 33-39) 
which is certainly introduced by an editor αὖ extra. 


For further Introductory notes, including references to special literature, see ‘Bel and the 
Dragon’ (by the present writer) in Ze International Standard bible Encyclopaedia (Chicago), vol. 1. 


on 
οι 
“I 


I 


2 


3 


BEL AND THE DRAGON 


The translation of © is that of the R. V., that of & is by the present editor. See Introd., § 3, 1, 2 


I. THE STORY OF BEL, vv. 1-22 


ᾧ 87 Θ 
From the prophecy of Habakkuk the son of And king Astyages was gathered to his 1 
Jesus of the tribe of Levi. fathers, and Cyrus the Persian received his king- 
dom. { 
There was a certain man a priest, by name And Daniel lived with the king, and was2 _ 


Daniel, son of Abal, a companion of the King of | honoured above all his friends. Now the Baby- 3 

Babylon. lonians had an idol, called Bel, and there were 
And there was an idol Bel whom the Baby- | spent upon him every day twelve great measures 

lonians worshipped. And they expended on him | of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six firkins of 

daily twelve artabas of fine wheaten flour, and | wine. 

four sheep, and six measures of oil. 


1. Syr H begins the Story of Bel exactly as does &. Βαϊ © and Syr W begin with a chronological notice which in 
the Vulg. closes Susanna. 

Habakkuk. Greek ᾿Αμβακούμ, Syr. H ᾿Αβακούκ. So also in vv. 33 ff. It is certain that Habakkuk the prophet 
is meant (see on v. 33), though the tradition that he was a Levite, based on Hab. iii. 194, is probably inaccurate. 
According to The Lives of the Prophets he was of the tribe of Simeon. See Stonehouse, 7he Book of Habakkuk, 
pp. 61 ff., for this and other traditions regarding Habakkuk. This title in (ἃ and SyrH (not in Syr W) owes its 
existence to the interpolated incident in vv. 33-39. 

Cyrus ... received his kingdom. According to this verse, identical in Syr W, Cyrus succeeded his grand- 
father Astyages immediately upon the death of the latter. But Herodotus (i. 130) says distinctly that Cyrus took the 
kingdom from Astyages by force. Ancient authors disagree on this matter, as also as to whether in fact Cyrus was 
the immediate successor of his grandfather or not. Recent cuneiform inscriptions confirm the testimony of Herodotus 
That the incidents related in Bel and the Dragon could not have occurred during the reign of Cyrus goes without 
saying. 

the Persian. On these words see Century Bible, Lzva, Nehemiah, Esther, pp. 19, 41. 

2. a priest, by name Daniel. That Daniel was a priest is stated in & and in Syr W, one of the rare instances in 
which the Peshitta agrees with @ against ©. Dan. i. 3, 6 proves that Daniel could not have been a priest. That he 
is so described is due to priestly influence, and belongs to the period of priestly domination. 

Abal. “Aad (so Fritzsche, Tisch., and Ball) for ᾿Αβιήλ (God my father) or ᾿Αβιχαίλ (= strong one, lit. father = 


possessor of strength, Num. iii. 35). But probably we should write with Swete and Rothstein ‘A8da\ for Hebr. baa, 


Gen. iv. 2. According to Epiphanius (Adv. Haeres. lv. 3) Σαβαάν (ΝΞ), | YW) was father of the prophet Daniel. 

acompanion. The Greek word συμβιωτῆς denotes strictly one that lives (βιόω) with another. Cf. Vulg. conviva. 
Plutarch ( /zdius Caesar, 211) employs the word for the confidants of the emperors. 

lived with the king. Render, as in && above (the same Greek word being used), ‘ And Daniel was a companion 
of the king” Syr W ‘And Daniel’s glory equalled that of the king, and he dwelt with the king and was more 
praised than any of the king’s friends’. 

King of Babylon. In & and Syr W the particular king of Babylon meant is not named. 


3. Bel. The Hebr. word 93, a short form of bya, occurs in the O.T. in Isa. xlvi, Jer. 1. 2, li. 44, in all which passages 
it stands for Marduk (Merodach), chief of the Babylonian deities. Originally it denoted any one of the Babylonian 
local gods, and in particular the principal one worshipped at Nippur. Cf. the generic use of ?Y3 (Baal). 

worshipped. That the Babylonians worshipped Bel is in (ἃ distinctly stated: in © and Syr W it isimplied. The 
word translated ‘ worship’ (σέβομαι) = ‘ to revere’, especially as God. 

artabas (in Gr and © ἀρτάβαι): R.V. (©) renders ‘great measures’. The artaba (ἀρτάβη) was a Persian 
measure = about half a hectolitre. 

: four. 80 (ἃ ἀπά SyrH. But © Syr H™S Fri τεσσαράκοντα (forty), which gives a better proportion. In Syr W 

‘forty rams’. 

measures. The Greek μετρητής (R.V. ‘firkin’) = about nine gallons. Note the large quantity supposed to be 
consumed by Bel. 

oil. So G: but read (with Θ Syr W Syr H™8) οἴνου (wine). Cf. vv. 11, 14,21 in (ἃ. Note the three kinds of 
sacrifices: meat offering (779212), animal offering (M31), and drink offering (392), which accord with the regulations of 
the Priestly Code. ; i j 

658 


iy 
' 
ἢ : 
¥ 
. ἣ 
Ἧ 


G ὃ7 
4 The king also used to worship him, and the 
king used to go daily to do homage to him ; but 
Daniel used to pray to the Lord. So the king 
said to Daniel, Why bowest thou not down to 
5 Bel? Then Daniel said to the king, None do 
I worship save ¢he Lord, the God who created 
the heaven and the earth, even Him who has 
sovereignty over all flesh. 
6 Then the king said to him, Is this then 
not a god? Dost thou not see how much is 
ἡ spent on him daily? Daniel therefore said to 
him, Let no one by any means mislead thee by 
false reasoning, for this is within of clay and 
without of bronze: and I swear by ¢#e Lord the 
god of gods that this never did eat anything. 
8 So the king became angry and summoned the 
overseers of the temple, and said to them, Show 
me who eats the things prepared for Bel, other- 
wise ye shall die. Or (if ye do show that Bel 
devours them), Daniel, who alleges that these 
things are not eaten by him, (shall die). But they 
said, It is Bel himself who devours these things. 
Then Daniel said to the king, Let it be thus. If 
I shall not show that it is not Bel who devours 
these things, let me suffer death together with 
roall my friends. Now Bel had seventy priests 
besides (their) wives and children. So they con- 
ducted the king into the idol temple. 


verse denote habitual actions. 


300 B.c. © and SyrW have ‘God’. 


to the Hebrew. 
the worship of the peoples they conquered. 
5. idols made with hands. 


all flesh = every human being. See Gen. vi. 12. 


7. Let no one .. . reasoning. 
words in G, ‘Let noone. . 


4. worship. The Greek verb (σέβομαι) means to revere, usually as one does a god. 


BEL AND THE DRAGON 4-10 


Θ 

And the king did honour to it, and went daily 4 
to worship it: but Daniel worshipped his own 
God. And the king said unto him, Why dost 
thou not worship Bel? And he said, Because I 5 
may not do honour to idols made with hands, but 
to the living God, who hath created the heaven 
and the earth, and hath sovereignty over all flesh. 


Then said the king unto him, Thinkest thou 6 
not that Bel is a living God? or seest thou not 
how much he eateth and drinketh every day? 
Then Daniel laughed, and said, O king, be not 7 
deceived : for this is but clay within, and brass 
without, and did never eat or drink anything. 


So the king was wroth, and called for his 8 
priests, and said unto them, If ye tell me not who 
this is that devoureth these expenses, ye shall die. 
But if ye can show me that Bel devoureth them, 9 
then Daniel shall die: for he hath spoken blas- 
phemy against Bel. And Daniel said unto the 
king, Let it be according to thy word. Now the τὸ 
priests of Bel were threescore and ten, beside 
their wives and children. And the king went 
with Daniel into the temple of Bel. 


The imperfect tenses in this 


him. Rather than ‘it’, as the Greek has the masc., though εἴδωλον, for which the pronoun stands, is neuter. 

the Lord. The anarthrous Κύριον translates the word (ΣΝ) read for the tetragrammaton (717) from about 
Here, as in the foregoing Hebraism in & (‘used to go and bow down’), 
Θ corrects in the direction of classical Greek. Theodotion often does this, though in other cases he corrects & according 
It is quite according to the usual policy of the early Persian kings to fall in, at least outwardly, with 
See Century Bible, 
This description of idols is not in &. 
things or idols because they are the work of men’s hands’. 
made idols and the God who is Himself the Zakery of heaven and earth. 


‘zra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ὁ. 40. 
Syr W gives ‘I worship not images or sculptured 
In © and Syr W there is a contrast drawn between man- 


6. The proof that Bel is a true, living god is the immense quantity of food he is able to eat daily! __ 
It is difficult to account for the differences between (ἃ and © in this verse. The 


. reasoning,’ would be in Hebr, U8 77! ὃς mia; the Greek παραλογίζομαι standing in 


(ἃ generally for the Hebr. 115), ‘to deceive’. © has simply μὴ πλανῶ, ‘deceive not thyself’. Probably the two texts 
represent independent attempts to translate the above Hebrew, © as usual avoiding a peculiarly Hebrew construction— 
the absolute infinitive before a finite verb strengthening it. ; ; 
Iswear. Not in ©. Probably in the original Hebrew no such verb was employed, but the conjunction DN, 
which implies a negative oath. This Hebrew construction might easily give rise to the construction in G& and to that 
in ©, though in & DON by ΠῚ (see Dan. xi. 36) is also implied. 
laughed. Sov. 19 (& and ©): (ἃ here omits this verb. : 
brass (6). Render ‘ bronze’. Brass was unknown in the times when this tract was written. 
eat. © has, as Gk, simply ‘eat’; ΘᾺ add ‘or drink’. : 
8. the overseers of the Temple. In © ‘his priests’. Probably & translates the Hebrew freely, © literally. 
these expenses. Better ‘ this outlay’, i.e. the things on which money has been expended. The Hebrew word 
thus rendered is perhaps the late ΠΑΝῚ Π (see Ezra vi. 4, 8). (ἃ seems to translate freely. ; 
9. (if ye . .. them). The words bracketed in the translation are added because implied in the Greek (τ, or at least 
are necessary for the sense. 
Let it be thus, ἄς. ascribes more words to Daniel than 6. 
for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel. © and Syr W give the reason, & does not. 
10, With the seventy priests of Bel cf. the four hundred of Baal in 1 Kings xviii. 22. 
children. Θὲ παιδίων, ‘little children’. λ “ἢ ; 
the idol temple. Greek εἰδώλιον, as in 1 Esdras ii. 9; 1 Macc. 1. 47:1 Cor. viii. το. © has ‘the house’ 
(τὸν οἶκον), i.e. ‘temple’ (see 1 Kings vi. 1; 2 Kings xix. 33) ‘of Bel’. It is probable that © follows the original Hebr. 
(n°37). 


659 


BEL AND THE 


& 87 
Then the food was laid out in the presence of 
the king and of Daniel, and mixed wine was 
12 brought on and set out for Bel. And Daniel 
said, Thou thyself seest that these things are in 
13 their places, O king. Do thou therefore seal the 
bolts of the temple, when it is shut. And the 

utterance pleased the king. 


wit 


Then Daniel ordered those with him to put 
out of the temple all (the rest) and to besprinkle 
the temple with wood ashes, none of them outside 
the same knowing (it). And then he shut the 
temple and gave orders to have it sealed with the 
king’s signet ring and with the signet rings of 
certain priests of high rank: and this was done. 
15 And it came to pass on the morrow that they 

came back to the place, but the priests had, in 

the meantime, entered through secret doors and 

devoured all that had been placed before Bel 
16 and drunk up the wine. Then Daniel said, O 
priests, look at your seals, whether they remain 
(intact); and do thou, O king, mark well whether 
anything has happened of which thou dis- 
approvest. 

And they found (the state of things) as it was 


14 


17 


DRAGON τα τὴ 


Θ 


So Bel’s priests said, Lo, we will get us out: 11 
but thou, O king, set on the meat, and mingle 
the wine and set it forth, and shut the door fast, 
and seal it with thine own signet ; and when thou 12 
comest in the morning, if thou find not that Bel 
hath eaten up all, we will suffer death: or else 
Daniel, that speaketh falsely against us. And 13 
they little regarded it: for under the table they 
had made a privy entrance, whereby they entered 
in continually, and consumed those things. 

And it came to pass, when they were gone 14 
forth, the king set the meat before Bel. Now 
Daniel had commanded his servants to bring 
ashes, and they strewed all the temple w7th them 
in the presence of the king alone : then went they 
out, and shut the door, and sealed it with the 
king’s signet, and so departed. Now in the night 15 
came the priests with their wives and children, as 
they were wont to do, and did eat and drink up 
all. In the morning betime the king arose, and 16 
Daniel with him. 


And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole ? 17 


11-17. These verses differ in (τ and © considerably. How can we account for this if both the Greek versions were 


made from one Hebrew original ? 
11. the food, lit. ‘ things eaten ’. 


mixed wine. What is meant is probably that the wine was mixed with certain aromatic spices which gave it 


a more pungent flavour. See Isa. v. 22; Ps. xvi. 2. 


signet, i.e. δακτυλίῳ, ‘ finger-ring signet’. 
13. bolts. 
they entered in, &c. 


‘and carried away what remained.’ 


This is according to common Oriental custom ; many, however, 
think that the allusion is to the Greek and Roman practice of diluting wine by water. 
64 δακτύλῳ, ‘ finger’. 

The Greek word (κλεῖδας) means primarily ‘keys’; then, as here, ‘bolts’, ‘ locks’. 
Cf. 1 Kings xviii. 25, ‘ put no fire under.’ 
common in heathen temples (Hom. in Petrum et Helicum, Opp. (Ben. ed.), vol. ii, p. 880. 


See Isa. 1. 22. 


Such deceptions were, according to Chrysostom, 
Syr W adds to v. 13 in ©, 


14. besprinkle. (ἃ καταστῆσαι, a Hebraism (DY); Θ᾽ and Syr H™S κατέσησαν, ‘they shook through a sieve’ (Θ᾽ 


κατέσεισαν, ‘ they shook’), implying 353") (= 35°J*)})—this yields no sense. 


Read, with © 34 49 κατέστρωσαν, representing 


the Hebr. 11), which might easily have been misread as either of the above Hebrew words. 
temple. The Greek word vads is used in (ἃ and N.T. for the temple building proper in distinction from the 


temple and its enclosures (ἱερόν). 
wood ashes. 

Tobit vi. 17, viii. 22. 
sealed. (ἃ σφραγισάμενος. 

could easily be read DMM (‘seal’). 


The word σποδός in & denotes specially wood ashes. 


Read κλείσας ; the sealing followed the shutting. 
We have in this confusion, as well as in that in the verbs noticed above, strong 


τέφρα is the word used in ©. See 


The Hebr. verb OND (‘shut’) 


evidence of a Hebrew (not an Aramaic) original. The temple door was sealed, according to ©, with the signet ring 


of the king. 
high rank’ (see Dan. vi. 17). 

set the meat before Bel (0). 
this should be added. 


Syr W adds, ‘ and with Daniel’s signet ring’; (τ adds, ‘and with the signet ring of certain priests of 


Syr W + ‘and filled the vessels with wine according to the custom’; probably 


15. Verse 15 ὁ in & corresponds to v. 15 in ©, 15 a answering to 16 in ©. 


it came to pass. . . that. 
‘On the morrow they came back.’ 
secret doors. 


Note the Hebraism. 
ψευδοθυρίδων, lit. ‘false doors ’. 


the priests (not Daniel) testing the seals. 


In good Greek, as in English, the usual expression would be, 
Θ avoids the Hebraism. 

TS See v. 21. 

16 foll. In © it is the king who takes the initiative—rises early, asks about the seals. 


In G it is Daniel that speaks, 


16. remain. The Greek word (μένουσιν) perhaps to be understood absolutely ‘remain as hey were’, the Hebr. 


for which would probably be 372; but it is most likely that the original Hebr. word was modu (are intact, literally 

“complete ’), misread as above. ΓΘ (σῷοι in v. 17) favours this. Ἦ 

_ 17. This verse in G& has been variously rendered: ‘they found that the seal had lasted’ (lit. ‘was’), and ‘they 

found how the seal vead/y was’. But we should have expected ‘ seals’—the plural—as in τ. 16, and as in 9, v. 17. 

Fritzsche is probably right, therefore, in regarding (ἡ) σφραγίς as an interpolation. In the second part of the verse 
660 


G 87 

(the day before); so they cast away the seals. 
18 But on opening the door they saw that what had 
been set out for Bel had been consumed and that 
the tables were empty. The king accordingly 
rejoiced, and said to Daniel, Great is Bel, and 
19 with him is no deception. And Daniel laughed 
heartily and said to the king, Come, see the 
deception of the priests. Then Daniel said, O 
king, whose footprints are these ? 

zo And the king said, (Those) of men, women, 
21 and children. Then he went to the house in 
which the priests resided, and found Bel’s food 
together with the wine. And Daniel showed 
the king the secret doors through which the 
priests entered for the purpose of consuming 
22 what had been set before Bel. The king there- 
fore led them out of Bel’s temple and delivered 
them up to Daniel ; and what had been provided 
by purchase for him he gave to Daniel, but Bel 
he destroyed. 


& 87 
Now there was a dragon in the same place, 
And the 


cH 23 
24 and the Babylonians worshipped (it). 


we are to read ‘seals’ (plural). 
ὡς ἔμενεν". 


And the king. So 64° SyrW Fritzsche. 


suggests that © corrects & from the Hebrew original. 
door. 


as has © in v. 14. 
tables. So G: © ‘table’. 


out,’ &c. 
with thee is no deceit at all. 
G: ‘there is no deception,.. . 


infinitive. 
see the deception of the priests. 
in him’ (Bel). 
and said. 
whose. 


GES VIVE ἃ; »Θ᾽. 


their wives and children, so that (καί) they showed,’ &c. 
found. SyrH evpor (‘ they found’). 

secret doors. 

hidden’ (κρυπτάς). 


up Bel. 


destroyed, lit. ‘overthrew’ (κατέστρεψεν). 
23. dragon, or ‘serpent’. 
in the same place. 0” om., reading simply, 
τόπω OMB, 
worshipped. See on v. 4. 
it. @ SyrH SyrW; > &. 


THE DRAGON STORY, vv. 


Translate then as above. 


62 om. twos ; render then, ‘ find out these footprints.’ 
20. The ὁρῶ (‘I see’) of © translates probably the Hebr. 73/7. 
21. © and Syr W omit the words in ἐᾷ in the beginning of v. 21, but they are necessary for the sense and should 

probably be restored. Verse 21 in © would in that case read: ‘ Then the king, becoming angry, went to the house 

in which the priests resided, and found Bel’s food together with the wine. 


In (ἃ the doors are lit. ‘ false doors’ (WevdoOvpia) ; see on v. 15. 


22. Bel’s temple. τὸ Βήλιον = ‘ the temple of Bel’ only here; but cf. Πυθεῖον, f 

delivered them (x). (ἃ says the king delivered up the priests to Daniel; © and SyrW say he delivered 
Syr W Arab., translating the Greek ἔκδοτον of © as ‘ gift’, render ‘ gave Bel as a gift to Daniel’. 
that what had been expended on Bel (the residue) was also delivered up to Daniel. 


See Introduction, ὃ 2, 2. © SyrW have ‘great dragon’. 
‘and there was a great dragon.’ 


BEL AND THE DRAGON 17-24 


© 


And he said, Yea, O king, they be whole. And 
as soon as he had opened the door, the king 
looked upon the table, and cried with a loud 
voice, Great art thou, O Bel, and with thee is no 
deceit at all. Then laughed Daniel, and held 
the king that he should not go in, and said, 
Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose 
footsteps are these. 


And the king said, I see the footsteps of men, 
women, and children. And then the king was 
angry, and took the priests with their wives and 
children, who showed him the privy doors, where 
they came in, and consumed such things as were 
upon the table. Therefore the king slew them, 
and delivered Bel into Daniel’s power, who over- 
threw him and his temple. 


23-41. 
Θ 


And in that same place there was a great 
dragon, which they of Babylon worshipped. 


SyrH has ‘that the seal remained’, reading, perhaps, 


But 68 (Swete) om. ὁ βασιλεύς. 

18. Note the double Hebraism with which © begins τ΄. 18, though && has the regular classical construction. 
See Introd. § 3, 2 (1). 

Greek has ‘doors’, plural, a literal rendering of the Hebr. pnds, a two-leaved door. For such a door 
see 27. D. B.iv.7006. Another confirmation of a Hebrew, not an Aramaic, original. Syr W has the singular (¢a7“a), 


This 


After the latter word © needs, and seems to have had, words similar to if not 
identical with those in (ἃ, Probably we should restore according to Syr W, which usually follows © closely: (after 
‘door’) ‘the king looking upon the table and seeing that what had been set for Bel had been consumed, cried 


This last clause of v. 18 in © is a literal translation of a Hebraism absent from 
not one’, NON PN.» - ΠΟ PX. 
19. That Daniel laughed heartily (σφόδρα) is stated in G, not in 0. 
On the other hand, that Daniel held back the king from looking in appears in Θ, not in &. 

Referring probably to the king’s acclamation (v. 18), ‘there is no deception 
His priests deceive if Ze does not, and indeed cannot. 


Cf. Prov. xiv. 3. 
It represents probably the Hebrew absolute 


e2mg, 68, {πὶ SyrW +. 


The sense requires it. 
It is not represented in G. 


He thereupon seized the priests and 


In © the doors are literally 
See the reference in Fritzsche. 
(τ adds 


ev τω Torwm ΘΑ; εν αὐτὼ Tw 


661 


18 


nN 
iS) 


26 


27 


28 


31 


BEL AND ἘΠΕ 


{τ 87 
king said to Daniel, Thou wilt not, wilt thou, say 
of this also that it is bronze? Lo, he liveth, 
eateth, and drinketh: do homage to him. 


But Daniel said, Give me the power and I will 
destroy the dragon without sword or staff. So 
the king conceded this to him, and said, It is 
granted thee. Then Daniel took thirty minas of 
pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together, 
and made a cake (out of them) and threw (it) 
into the dragon’s mouth ; and after it had eaten 
(the cake) it burst asunder. And he showed it 
to the king, saying, Is it not the case that ye 
worship these (fragments) ? 

Then there assembled against the king all the 
inhabitants of the country, and they said, The 
king has become a Jew; Bel he has overthrown 
and slain the dragon. 


And when the king saw that the mob from 
the country was gathered against him he called 
his companions, and said, I give (up) Daniel to 
be destroyed. 

Now there was a den in which seven lions 
were kept to which those who plotted against the 
king used to be delivered up, two bodies of 


24. Daniel. 
6® (Swete) and Vulg. om.) 68 ἃ mg 42, 
brass (©). See v. 7, and render ‘ bronze’. 


do homage. 
It represents 745 in the Aramaic parts of Daniel. 


+ μὴ es... χαλκ. ἐστιν ἰδου.. 


The same verb (προσκυνέω) occurs in v. 4. 


DRAGON 24-32 


Θ 


And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also 
say that this is of brass? lo, he liveth, and eateth 
and drinketh: thou canst not say that he is no 
living God: therefore worship him. Then said 
Daniel, I will worship the Lord my God: for he 
is a living God. 

But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay 
this dragon without sword or staff. The king 
said, I give thee leave. Then Daniel took pitch, 
and fat, and hair, and did seethe them together, 
and made lumps thereof: this he put in the 
dragon’s mouth, so the dragon did eat and burst 
insunder : and Daniel said, Lo, these are the gods 
ye worship. 


When they of Babylon heard that, they took 
great indignation, and conspired against the king, 
saying, The king is become a Jew, and he hath 
pulled down Bel, and slain the dragon, and put 
the priests to the sword. So they came to the 
king, and said, Deliver us Daniel, or else we will 
destroy thee and thine house. Now when the 
king saw that they pressed him sore, being con- 
strained, the king delivered Daniel unto them: 
who cast him into the lions’ den: where he was 
six days. And in the den there were seven lions, 
and they had given them every day two carcases, 


+ jun και τοῦτον ερεις ore χαλκους ἐστιν" ov ζη και εσθιει και πίνει (this is translated in the R.V. (@) above ; 


.. και πεινει Δ. 


It is the one used in & to translate the Hebr. MOAT, 


25. Verse 25 of © has no counterpart in (ἃ. See Deut. vi. 13; Matt. iv. 10; and cf. Dan. vi. 20, 26; 1 Thess. 11. 9. 


26. power (({) ; leave (0). 


Cf. a similar use of the Lat. ferrum. 
27. thirty minas. 
adopted after the exile by the Hebrews. 
1 Mace. xiv. 24. 
together. 


© has μάχαιρα. 


ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό = the Hebr. VAN}. 


J The Greek word (ἐξουσία) denotes delegated authority. 
sword. The word in (ἃ denotes strictly iron; then an iron weapon. (ἃ uses it in Job v. 20 for 29M (sword). 


The weight is not given in ©. The mina (Greek μνᾶ, Hebr. 739) is a Babylonian weight 
The heavy mina weighed 1-636 lb. avoir., the light mina half this. See 


See Exod. xxvi. 9. 


a cake (Gr). μάζα usually = ‘a barley-cake’; cf. dpros,‘a wheaten cake’, © Syr H have the plural. Syr W has 
a transliterated form of the Greek σφαίρας (cf. ‘ sphere’), 1.6. ‘round things’, ‘balls’, ‘ pills’. —The R.V. renders ‘lumps’, 


following the Vulg. massas. 


dragon’s mouth. + ‘and the dragon swallowed them’ (to complete the sense) Syr W. Perhaps it is original 


and should be restored. 
and after .. . asunder. 
these (fragments). 


has wdov. dy. 


+ ‘so that it died’ Syr W. 
: S). In & ταῦτα has a touch of irony, ‘these bits !? 
what things ye worship !’ (lit. ‘See the objects of your worship’, σεβάσματα). 


The words in © should be rendered, ‘see 
See Acts xvii. 23. ΘᾺ, for dere in (τ, 


28 foll. differ much in G and ©. Verse 29 of © is wholly lacking in &. 
28. against the king. & reads ‘against Daniel’ (τὸν Δανιήλ), but the sense requires τὸν βασιλέα as in Θ. 


a Jew. περι tov βασιλεως λεγουσι ws yeyovey Iovdatos Syr H™8. 
translates ©, ‘a Jew has become a king,’ which is against the context. 
The verb used in v. 22, often rendered ‘ destroy’. 


has overthrown. 
“pulled down’). But ΘᾺ reads as Gr (κατέστρεψεν). 
29. Lacking in &. 


Grotius omits the article before βασιλεύς, and 


ΘΒ has a different verb here (κατέσπασεν = 


30. This verse is fuller than the corresponding verse of ©, the latter giving what appears to be a kind of summary. 
Verses 31 foll. in (τ correspond in matter to vv. 32 and 31 in ©. 


31, 32. den. The Greek word λάκκος (cf. the English ‘lake’) =a water-pond, a reservoir, then a pit or dungeon, 


as in Dan. vi. 8, &c., where it translates the Hebr. and Aram. 33. 


Bevan on Dan. vi. 
vivarium into which people looked from above. 


Lions were kept in such places for the chase. See 


Fritzsche holds that the den in Dan, vi. 8, &c., is a mere cistern, whereas here it is a proper 
But in regard to Dan. vi. 8, &c., he is hardly right. 


662 


24 


25 


31 
32 


BEEP AND! 2 HE 


& 87 

persons condemned to death being provided for 
42 them daily (as food). So the crowds cast Daniel 
into that den that he might be devoured and 
find no burial. And Daniel was in the lions 
33 den six days. Now it happened on the sixth 
day that Habakkuk had wheaten loaves crumbled 
in a bowl, cooked, and an earthen jar of mixed 
__wine, and that he was proceeding into the field 
34 to the reapers. Then the angel of the Lord 
spake to Habakkuk, saying, Thus says the Lord 
God to thee: The dinner which thou holdest, 
take it away to Daniel to the lions’ den in 
Babylon. 

But Habakkuk said, O Lord God, I have not 
seen Babylon and the den—I do not know where 
36 (it) is. Then the angel of the Lord laid hold of 
Habakkuk by the hair of his head and set him 
37 over the den in Babylon. And Habakkuk said 
4 to Daniel, Arise, and eat the dinner which the 
38 Lord God has sent thee. Then said Daniel, 
(Yea), for the Lord God who forsakes not those 
τς who love Him has remembered me. 


ee 


eee te 


> 
35 


7 39 So Daniel ate; and the angel of the Lord set 
Habakkuk down (in the place) whence he had 


(two) bodies. 
persons, human beings. 
and Polyb. xii. 16. 5, σῶμα = a slave. 


32. the crowds (&). > ΘΑ Syr W in v. 31. 


calamity, no doubt for superstitious reasons. 
six days. 


the dissimilation of the final ‘k’ to ‘m’. 


Introduction, § 4, (4) 4. 


but it is not necessarily either. 


—_ τ 


a force of His spirit’), Douay version. 
ra Palestine to Babylon, and in another he is brought back. 

37- Habakkuk. Syr W. 
he cried out’. 


who forsakes not. ἐγκαταλείπων & : 
39. Note the Hebraism in ©, ἀναστάς ; so Syr W. 


in his own place (©). For εἰς (68), Θ᾿" reads ἐπί. 


σώματα : not necessarily the bodies of dead persons. 
Here it = criminals condemned to death. 
‘Two carcases ’, R.V. of 8, should be ‘two human bodies’ or ‘two persons’. 
The addition in © and Syr W to vz. 32 ((τ 31), ‘ which then,’ &c., was suggested by Dan. iil. 19. 


that he might be devoured. The reason is given in & only. 
See Century Bible on Psalm Ixxix, 3. 
Daniel was in the den six days (so G, v. 32, ©, v. 31). 
day that Daniel was miraculously fed. ©, τ΄. 40, says he was delivered on the seventh day. 

33-39. The miraculous incident in which the prophet Habakkuk plays so prominent a part has no vital connexion 
with the rest of the narrative, and is certainly a late interpolation. 
of the past, such as Daniel, Habakkuk, were becoming more and more idealized. 

33. @& alone gives the time—the sixth day—and also the earthen jar and the mixed wine (see on v. 11); the place 
in Judaea (R. V. ‘ Jewry’) is given by © and Syr W only. © and Syr W speak of Habakkuk ‘the prophet’; not so (ἃ. 
The Greek form of the name, ᾿Αμβακούμ, is due to the change of the first of two ‘ 
See KGnig, ii. 465 and 473. 

34. the angel, ἄς. The definite article rightly prefixed, though it is absent from the Greek (&& and ©). 


a Hebraism, cf. 17> qn, the article in a construct noun being unnecessary in Hebrew, as in Welsh. See 


᾿Αμβακούμ Gx Θ" (see on vv. I, 33). 


the angel of the Lord. © changes ‘ Lord’ to ‘ God’. 
663 


DRAGON 31-39 


Θ 


and two sheep: which then were not given to 
them, to the intent that they might devour 
Daniel. 

Now there was in Jewry the prophet Habak- 33 
kuk, who had made pottage, and had broken 
bread into a bowl, and was going into the field, 
for to bring it to the reapers. But the angel of 34 
the Lord said unto Habakkuk, Go carry the 
dinner that thou hast into Babylon unto Daniel, 
in the lions’ den. 


And Habakkuk said, Lord, I never saw Baby- 35 
Jon; neither do I know where the den is. Then 36 
the angel of the Lord took him by the crown, 
and lifted him up by the hair of his head, and 
with the blast of his breath set him in Babylon 
over the den. And Habakkuk cried, saying, O 37 
Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which God hath 
sent thee. And Daniel said, Thou hast remem- 38 
bered me, O God: neither hast thou forsaken 
them that love thee. 

So Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of 39 
God set Habakkuk in his own place again imme- 


It = bodies of living or dead persons ; 
In Gen. xxxvi. 6 (€), Tobit x. 10, Rev. xviii. 15, 


The ancients dreaded non-burial as a dire 
According to v. 33 (@&) it was on the sixth 
The legend belongs to an age when the heroes 


’s’ for euphony (‘ mb’ for ‘ bb’) and 


It is really 


The dinner. The Greek ἄριστον denotes more commonly the mid-day (dinner) than the morning meal (breakfast), 
See Susanna, v. 13, where the R. V. renders ἀρίστου ὥρα as ‘dinner time ’. 
35. den. After λάκκον in ©, O° adds τῶν λεόντων : cf. τ΄. 34 (G and ©). 
is. 04; >0® So R.V. SyrW has ‘and the den I do not know’. 

36. The verb ἐπιλαμβάνομαι takes after it two genitives in both versions, an unusual but not unprecedented con- 
struction. According to & the angel laid hold of the hair of the prophet’s head ; © says it was of the crown (κορυφή) 
of his head that the angel laid hold, though he was lifted up by his hair. ᾿ ; 

the angel of the Lord. © omits Κυρίον : the article before ἄγγελος supports this. See on τ, 34. 

with the blast of his breath. Only in ©. Render ‘with the swiftness of wind’, omitting αὐτοῦ (dittograph). 
Syr W and Midrash Bereshith Rabba, ‘by the might of the Holy Spirit’; Jer. Vulg. 7 cmpetu spiritus sui (‘by the 
See Dan. ix. 21; Ezek. viii. 3. 


In one instant Habakkuk is transferred from 


᾿Αμβακούκ ΘΑ. ΘᾺ omits ᾿Αμβακούμ, reading ‘and 


Arise and. ἀναστάς, &c., a Hebraism, though found in Syr W. Cf. Dip followed by another verb = ‘ set about’. 


See Introd. δὲ 4, (ὁ) 4, and cf. Century Bible, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, p. 145. 

38. In & Daniel speaks of God in the 3rd person ; in © he addresses God. 
ἐγκατέλειπες O: ἐγκαταλιπών Syr H. Syr W gives 3rd person as (τ, 
See on v. 37 (Gx). 


Syr W has simply ‘an angel’. 


BEL AND THE DRAGON 39-42 


Oe 87 
taken him on the same day. But the Lord God 
40 remembered Daniel. (Then) the king after these 
things went forth bewailing Daniel; and as he 
stooped to pry into the den he saw him sitting 
41 (there). So the king cried out and said, Great 
is the Lord God, and there is no other (god) 
42 besides Him. And the king led Daniel out of 
the den, and those who would have brought 
about his destruction he cast into the den in the 

presence of Daniel, and they were devoured. 


on the same day (τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ (τὴ ; immediately (παραχρῆμα ©): ‘in that hour’ = ‘immediately’ Syr W. The 
bracketed words in the rendering of && above occur in Syr W, which usually follows &. 
This last clause in & is absent from Θ. 
40. after these things in & corresponds to ‘on the seventh day’ in ©. 
41. In & the king speaks of God in the third person; in © he addresses God. See on v. 38. 


But the Lord God remembered Daniel. 


clause of verse (‘there is no other’). 
the king (6%). © om. ὁ βασιλεύς. 
and there is none other beside thee. 


664 


> και οὐκ ἐστιν πλὴν σου αλλος Θ᾿“. 
words are appended: Δανιηλ kara τοὺς 6: in O° Δανιὴλ : in ΘᾺ τελος Δαν. προφητου. 


Θ 


diately. Upon the seventh day the king came to 4o | 
bewail Daniel: and when he’came to the den, he 1 
looked in, and, behold, Daniel was sitting. Then 41 
cried the king with a loud voice, saying, Great 
art thou, O Lord, thou God of Daniel, and there 
is none other beside thee. And he drew him out, 42 
and cast those that were the cause of his destruc- 
tion into the den: and they were devoured in 
a moment before his face. 


Syr W omits last 


In & (followed by Syr H) these 


i ee ἜΛΑ αδΩν 


PEP Cae ee a ee Pea oe Θ ἜΤΝ ΒΡῸΡ ee 


eee Aw PPI@NS © ESTHER 


INTRODUCTION 


cm a I EA ES AED AT Ti TR Nd 


δι. CHARACTER OF THE ADDITIONS. 


THE Additions to Esther consist of six passages (containing 107 verses not in the Hebrew 
text), inserted in the LXX text by way of amplification of subjects referred to in the canonical 
chapters. 

It cannot be said that these Additions, which are imaginative reconstructions of a forgotten 
past, are of great interest or importance. Perhaps as much as two centuries separate their date 
from that of the canonical portions of Esther, and they emanate from a different centre of Jewish 
life and thought, which possessed no independent sources of historical information. 

Any interest, therefore, that these fragments possess lies not in their power to enlarge our 
knowledge of the story of Esther, but in the reflection they offer of the religious development of the 
circle in which they originated, 

If we are to attach any weight to the postscript found in the LX X (Esther xi. 1)—and Ryssel’s 
reason for rejecting its witness is not sufficient—the translation of canonical Esther dates from not 
later than 114 B.C.; but it seems unlikely that the Additions were incorporated with the translated 
portions until after this postscript was appended. The Additions may not all be the work of one 
author, but they are not translations, and Greek was their original language! It is probable that 
the Additions, with their slightly Egyptian flavour (cf. the use of ἀδελφός in Dg, φίλοι in E 5, the 
application of the word ‘ Macedonian’ to Haman in E 10, and ἐκτιθέναι in E 19), were composed in 
Egypt, where the veneration for the canonical book was naturally not so high as in Palestine, rather 
than in Palestine by Egyptian Jews temporarily residing there.? 

But were the Additions made immediately upon the reception of the translation of Esther in 

Egypt, or only after some time had passed, and interest in the book had been awakened, and 
a desire aroused in the minds of patriotic Jews to hear the story of Esther in greater detail ? 
The latter hypothesis seems the more probable. Not only is time required for the creative 
activity of the imagination to get to work ; but the postscript, which with its explicit reference to the 
translation of Esther must have been appended immediately on the introduction of the translation 
into Egypt, would surely have been worded differently, if the Additions had been already 
incorporated. 

The date of the Additions, therefore, may be placed in the earlier part of the first century, and 

they may be regarded as contemporaneous with the Book of Wisdom. They can be referred to 
Maccabean times (as e.g. by Jacob and V. Ryssel) only by a complete rejection of the witness of 
the postscript. 
Wisdom is the work of an Alexandrian Jew keenly distressed by Egyptian idolatry and by the 
growing laxity and indifference to the national religion on the part of a large number of the Jews 
resident in Egypt. The writer of Wisdom represents that more conservative section of the Egyptian 
Jews in whom the forces of reaction were at work, and who became the more ardently patriotic in 
proportion as they saw the traditions of their religion neglected. 

The Additions to Esther may be accounted for in a similar way. The relations between the 
domiciled Jews of the Diaspora and the natives of the country were at times far from cordial, and 
in periods of trial and oppression, when the Jews were driven in upon themselves, it was natural for 
them to take refuge in the study of their sacred books, and of those especially, such as Esther, which 
told of the subjection of the heathen to the chosen people. It was only natural that elaborations of 
these favourite narratives should spring up, and in course of time take their place as authentic parts 
of the original works. 

The Additions are free from all trace of Alexandrine doctrine, but there is no reason to suppose 


1 Cf. Ryssel, in Kautzsch, i. p. 196; André, Les Apocryphes del’ A. T. pp. 203, 204. Sees 
2 Cf. Jacob, ZATW, x, 1890, pp. 274-90; and Jellinek, Beth-ha-Midrash, v, p. viii. The ‘Additions’ to 
Esther sprang out of the imagination of an Alexandrian Jew, and hence their original language was Greek. 
665 DG Sie 
1105 J 


THE ADDITIONS TO [ESTEE 


that every Jew residing in Egypt surrendered to the influence of the philosophic atmosphere ot 
Alexandria. The practical purpose with which the Additions were composed would cause their 
author to eschew the introduction of all foreign elements. His hearers would be of the simpler type, 
not versed in speculation, but familiar only with the religious ideas of the O. T.; his object would be 
rather to confirm them in the old than to provide a meeting-place for the old with the new. 
Accordingly, the Additions might be expected to be strictly orthodox and conservative in tone ; 


and this is exactly what we find. The spirit of simple prayer breathes in them, and trust in God 
SS Eee 


and remembrance of God’s mercies to Israel are especially emphasized. 

~The object of the author is purely practical, and speculative questions are altogether beyond his 
range. It has been thought that the object of the Additions was ‘to remove the uneasiness arising 
from the secular tone of the original story’. This isa proposition very difficult to accept, suggesting 
as it does a deliberate effort to correct the canonical book, and thereby an implied censure on its 
character. The difference between the tone of the canonical book and the additions can be less 
invidiously accounted for, on the supposition that the latter came into existence to meet an historical 
need, and that floating legendary material was drawn upon for the purpose of consoling and 
strengthening a simple-minded people in adversity. If it is true that the Additions have introduced 
the religious note, it cannot be said that they have a materially higher tone. Hatred of the heathen 
and_thirst for revenge appear_in undiminished vehemence. 

It has been assumed so far that we are justified in speaking of these six passages as additions, 
which first took shape in Greek. It is true that they are not all homogeneous, and that some of 
them are more Hebraic in character than others. But of two (Adds. B and E) it may be said 3 that 
any re-translation of these rhetorical and florid pieces into Hebrew would be impossible, while of 
the rest it is enough to say that the Hebraisms they contain are fully accounted for by the fact that 
the Jew who composed them could not divest himself altogether of the idioms of his people.® 
A somewhat paradoxical contention has been put forward by Langen, Kaulen, and Scholz, who are 
concerned to prove the authenticity of the Additions, the effect of which would be to show that the 
LXX form of Esther is the original, and the Hebrew only an abbreviated edition of the book. 
This hypothesis rests on the existence of various Midrashic compilations,* and especially of an 
Aramaic piece known as ‘ Mordecai’s Dream’, containing the Dream and the Prayer of Mordecai and 
the Prayer of Esther, of which the so-called Additions to Esther are ex hypothest the Greek form. 

But there is much more reason to regard these diffuse Aramaic fragments as being indirectly 
based on the LX X Additions than vice versa ;° and, further, inasmuch as not more than one of these 
pieces can be proved to have existed as early as even the middle of the fourth century, they are 
quite valueless as proofs of a Hebrew original earlier than that known to St. Jerome. 

Almost equally baseless is the argument that the older and fuller Hebrew text was deliberately 
expurgated of the name of God, in order that it might not suffer dishonour when the Esther-roll 
was read during the course of the rather secular festival of Purim. Such editing of the book is far 
more difficult to credit than the hypothesis of subsequent additions. 

One of the surest arguments against the original integrity of the book in its LXX form lies in 
the many discrepancies between the canonical Esther and the so-called Additions.© Some of these 
may be noted here: 

(1) Δ 2. Mordecai is represented as holding a high position at court in the second year of 
Artaxerxes ; but Esther ii. 16 speaks of the seventh year. 

(2) A 13. Mordecai himself informs the king of the conspiracy of the eunuchs ; but Esther ii. 
21-23 says that Esther told the king in Mordecai’s name. 

(3) A 16. Mordecai is rewarded for his services, but Esther vi. 3, 4 shows that Mordecai had 
been forgotten. 

(4) A17. The reason for Haman’s grudge against Mordecai is that Mordecai had caused the 
death of the eunuchs, but in Esther iii. 5 it is that Mordecai will not bow before Haman. 

(5) C 26,27. Esther protests her hatred of the position of queen to an uncircumcised alien. 
But the Hebrew makes no such suggestion. 

(6) Eto. Haman is called a Macedonian, but in Esther iii. 1 his father’s name is Persian. 


1 Streane, Esther, p. xxix. 


* Cf. Fuller, p. 365, note 4. 
ὅ Cf. S. I. Frankel, Hagiographa posteriora ... ὁ textu Graeco in linguam Hebraicam convertit, &c., 1830 ; 
André, op. cit. pp. 203, 204; Jellinek, Beth-ha-Midrash, v, Ῥ. vill. 
οὖ 6.5. a treatise on Esther in the Babylonian Talmud, Megillah τοῦ ff.; in the Pirke Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 491.; in 
Josippon, cent.x; M/cdrash Esther Rabba, cent. xi or xii. For an exhaustive list see Ryssel, p. 195; cf. André, p. 198; 
Fuller, Apocr. of O.T., p. 363. 
° Bissell, p. 202. 
° Cf. André, pp. 202, 203. 


666 


INTRODUCTION 


(7) E22. The Persians as well as the Jews are required to keep the feast of Purim; but in 
Esther ix. 20-28 the Jews alone are charged to observe it. 

The Additions are six in number, distinguished by Dr. Swete in his edition of the O.T. in 
Greek by the letters A to F in accordance with a suggestion made by the late Prof. Hort. As they 
stand in A.V. and R.V., they are practically unintelligible.!| Jerome’s relegation of the Additions 
to an appendix, in which their relation to the canonical chapters was altogether obscured, is 
responsible for this. 

Not finding them in the Hebrew, he desired in his translation to mark the distinction between 
them and the authentic portions ; and this arrangement was carried over into A.V. and R.V2 

Their contents are as follows :— 


___A. Mordecai’s Dream, and the conspiracy of the two eunuchs (a double of Esther ii. 21-23). 
Precedes Esther i. 1. 


B. The king’s Edict commanding the destruction of the Jews. Follows Esther iii. 13, and 
expands iii. 8-13. 

C. Prayer of Mordecai, and Prayer of Esther. Follows Esther iv. 17. 

D. Esther’s appearance before the king. Follows D, and is an amplification of Esther v. 1, 2. 

E. The king’s second Edict in favour of the Jews. Follows Esther viii. 12. 

F. Interpretation of Mordecai’s Dream. Follows Esther x. 3. 


ee 


a BL RAS ARS ARID sae 
Ω = 


ᾧ 2. MANUSCRIPTS. 


The current and unrevised text of the third century is more or less closely represented by the 
uncials : 

B. Vaticanus, cent. iv. 

A. Alexandrinus, cent. v. 

x. Sinaiticus, cent. iv. 

N. Basilio-Vaticanus, cent. vili-ix; and by many cursives, of which the most important are 
(as numbered by Holmes and Parsons, Vet. Test. Graecum cum var. lect., Oxford, 1798-1827)— 

55. Rome (Vat. Reg. Gr. I). 

108. Rome (Vat. Gr. 330), containing two recensions, the first of which, known as 108 a, 
represents the unrevised text. 

249. Rome (Vat. Pius I). 

Other nearly allied cursives are— 

52. Florence (Laur. Acq. 44). 

64. Paris (Nat. Reg. Gr. 2). 

243. Venice (St. Mark’s, cod. 16), with which the Aldine edition is connected. 

248. Rome (Vat. Gr. 346), of which the Polyglot of Alcala (Complutensian, 1514) is a re- 
production. 

The recension made by Origen in the third century is represented by the cursive numbered 93, 
which contains two recensions of Esther, that known as 93 ὦ having the critical signs employed by 
Origen. 

The readings of 93 4 correspond very closely with the corrections inserted in Cod. Sinaiticus by 
the first of three seventh-century hands, known as 8**, who acknowledges his indebtedness to the 
work of Origen. 

The Hesychian, or Egyptian, recension, of the fourth century, is represented by 44, 68, 71, 74, 
76, 106, 107, 120, 236. 

The Lucianic, or Antiochian, recension, of about A.D. 300, is represented by 19, 93a, 108 ὁ. 
P. de Lagarde,* who designates these MSS. respectively by the letters ἦι 7, d,, has reconstructed 
the Lucianic text, and placed it in parallel columns with that of the uncials. There is a very wide 
difference between the two types of text, but the Lucianic (known by Lagarde as a) contains all the 
six longer additions. 

Certain resemblances between the details in Josephus’ account and those in the Lucianic text 
led Langen® to argue that Josephus had in his hands the so-called Lucianic recension, and that 
therefore this text is not a recension of the third or fourth century, but an independent translation 


Cf. Swete, /ztr. to Ὁ T. in Greek, p. 257. 

Cf. Jer., Prol. in Esth. ch. x, ed. Vallarsi, ix, p. 1581. 

Swete, Jutr. to O. T. in Greek, p. 131, and O. 7. iz Greek, ii, p. 780. 
Lib. V. T. Can. Gr. i, 1883. 

Tiib. Theol. Quart. 1860, pp. 244 ff. 


667 ἘΣ 


[Ὁ 


THE ADDITIONS TOLES@ HER 


from the Hebrew. But there are too many correspondences between the two types of text, 
especially in the Additions, for this theory to be possible.? 


§ 3. THE ANCIENT VERSIONS. 


No Syriac version of Esther is known ; the book is altogether absent from the Nestorian MSS? 
Paton® writes that the Coptic versions, which would presumably give a Hesychian type of text, 
have never been published, while the Ethiopic version, fourteen MSS. of which are known to contain 
the Book of Esther, is equally inaccessible. An Armenian version of Esther also exists, but in too 
corrupt a form to be of any service. : 

The only ancient versions extant and available are the Old Latin and the Vulgate. 

(1) The Old Latin belongs to the middle of the second century, and is a useful witness to the 
LXX text as it existed before the time of the three recensions. _ It is the work of one who, though not 
a good Greek scholar, made a faithful effort to translate the Greek original, and where he failed to 
understand the Greek, as in the case of the two edicts, reproduced it word for word in Latin. This 
makes it possible in many cases to reconstruct with comparative certainty the Greek text which lay 
in front of him.t The Old Latin version contained all the six Additions (except A 12-17), together 
with certain others peculiar to it, e.g. after B 7, in C14, a very long addition in C τό, after C 90, in 
D7. On the other hand it omits A 12-17, and (in Cod. Pechianus) C 17-23. 

(2) The Vulgate was undertaken by St. Jerome at the request of Pope Damasus, and was 
produced between A.D. 390 and 405. He devoted himself particularly to the books which belonged 
to the Hebrew Canon, and paid less attention to those which were only known through the LXX. 

In the case of Esther, he gathered all the non-Hebraic additions together, and placed them 
somewhat contemptuously at the end of his translation of the canonical book. In the Prod. zz Esth. 
he writes: ‘Quae habentur in Hebraeo, plena fide expressi. Haec autem quae sequuntur scripta 
repperi in editione vulgata quae Graecorum lingua et litteris continetur, et interim post finem libri 
hoc capitulum ferebatur, quod iuxta consuetudinem nostram obelo, id est veru, praenotavimus.’ 

Jerome’s translation differs very largely from the Old Latin, the former being as free as the 
latter is slavishly literal. Very often he is content to give only the general sense of the Greek, and 
his work is more like an original Latin composition than a translation.° 


$4. DATE OF THE ADDITIONS. 


The Additions belong to that mass of floating legendary material which in the course of years 
gathered around the name of Esther. 

It is impossible to assign a single date to them, as they are written in different styles, and may 
be the work of different authors, some of the additions (e.g. A ( D F) having probably grown up 
gradually and assumed their present shape after an existence of some years in an oral tradition. 

The two edicts (B and E), on the other hand, are of a quite different character from the four 
already mentioned which have strong Hebraic affinities: B and E belong undoubtedly to Egypt, 
and their periodic style shows that they could have originated in no other way than as formal 
written compositions. They show considerable resemblance to 2 Macc., which clearly emanated 
from Egypt (cf. Β 5 πρὸς τὸ μὴ τὴν βασιλείαν εὐσταθίας τυγχάνειν with 2 Macc. xiv. 6 οὐκ ἐῶντες THY 
βασιλείαν εὐσταθείας τυχεῖν) ; but although the place of origin is clear, the date (in so far as internal 
evidence is concerned) is in both cases equally indeterminate. 

No conclusion, again, as to the lateness of A and F is to be drawn from the failure of Josephus to 
employ them. It is quite as likely that they did not suit his purpose as that they were absent from 
the MS. he employed or from all the MSS. of that period. 

The present writer is not satisfied with the arguments of Jacob against the validity of the post- 
script in Esther xi. 1: ‘In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said 
he was a priest and a Levite,and Ptolemaeus his son, brought the Epistle of Phrurai here set forth, 


which they said was true, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemaeus, that was in Jerusalem, had q 


interpreted it. Jacob’s objection is based on the assumed impossibility of a translation with so 
many clearly marked examples of Egyptian vocabulary ° having been made in Palestine ; but he 


1 See Paton, Esther, pp. 37, 38; Fuller, p. 365; André, p. 207. A very full statement concerning the MSS. may 
be found in Paton, Esther, pp. 29-38. 

2 André, Les Apocryphes, p. 207. 

3 Esther, pp. 36, 37. 

* Cf. Jacob, Das Buch Esther, Giessen, 1890, pp. 13-22. 

5 Cf. André, Les Apocryphes, p. 208. 

5 Cf. Jacob, Das Buch Esther, p. 51, (ev) OpovigerOa, ἐκτιθέναι, καταχωρίζειν, ἀρχισωματοφύλακες, διαγράφειν. 

668 


ay et 
sie SW mee am. 


INTRODUCTION 


ignores the assertion of Dositheus and Ptolemy who brought it to Egypt, that it was made by 
Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, whose very name proclaims him to have been connected with Egypt, 
even if a temporary resident at Jerusalem. The postscript may be regarded as reasonably trust- 
worthy, and various inferences may be drawn from it. 

(1) It was appended to the translation of the canonical Esther immediately on its introduction 
into Egypt. 

(2) That date was 114 B.C.! 

(3) The postscript refers so definitely to the translation of Esther, that it cannot be held to 
cover the Additions, which were not translations. 

(4) Some time must have passed between 114 B.C., the date of the introduction of the translation 
into Egypt, and the incorporation therewith of unauthentic matter. Its sacredness would have 
protected it from formal alterations for at least a quarter of a century. 

(5) The most probable date then for the incorporation of the Additions would be from about 
80 b.C. onwards, the terminus ad quem being about A.D. go, the date of their employment by Josephus. 

If the postscript is rejected (as by Jacob followed by Ryssel), the dating of the Additions is 
rendered even more indefinite. Jacob can only name one certainty with regard to date derivable 
from the Greek form of canonical Esther, i.e. that it must have been made at some time long or 
short before the destruction of the Ptolemaic régime in 30 Β. 6.2. He also argues that Esther must 
have been one of the earliest of the Old Testament books to have been translated into Greek after 
Kings, Chronicles, and Job, which Freudenthal has shown were translated about 150 B.C.;° but 
Jacob’s argument is mere hypothesis, however reasonable. Apart from the postscript, we are left 
without any means of dating the Additions more closely than between about 125 B.C. and A.D. go. 


a πὰ aR A πορῆν 


ᾧ 5. AUTHORSHIP. 


The Additions are not a homogeneous whole, and are bound together by no community of 
style. This does not prevent them from being the work of one hand; for an even greater 
dissimilarity exists between the earlier and later chapters of the Book of Wisdom. 

But there is no evidence of any kind to show whether the Additions were all composed at the 
same time, or were all intercalated at the same time. All that can be said is that the Additions 
originated among the Egyptian Hellenistic Jews, and that they are based on familiar legendary 
materials. 

In view of the more Hebraic tone of AC DF and their simple narrative style, as contrasted 
with the Greek tone and self-conscious rhetoric of B and FE, it is not unnatural to view the former as 
the written form of a tradition long known and finally reduced into its present shape by dint of 
frequent repetition, and to regard the latter as having originated with a single individual. It is 
hardly likely that the agent in the two cases was one and the same. 


§ 6. INFLUENCE ON LATER LITERATURE. 


(a) Fewish. The direct influence of the Additions is to be seen in Josephus, Avt. xi. 6. He 
draws upon Adds. BC DE, following them closely and yet employing them with by no means 
a slavish dependence. He introduces a few details not found in the Additions, which were either his 
own invention or copied from embellishments in the MS. he used. He makes no reference to the 
Dream of Mordecai (Add. A) or its interpretation (Add. F); he alters the time of the conspiracy of 
the eunuchs, and relates that the services rendered by Mordecai were forgotten, whereas the 
Additions say that he was rewarded. Josephus gives the reason adduced in Esther iii. 5 for Haman’s 
hatred of Mordecai, and not that given in the Additions. He introduces new features into the 
Prayers of Esther and Mordecai, and into the account of Esther’s appearance before the king. 
Similarly, he deviates from the exact language of the Greek in the Royal Fdicts. 

But the dependence of Josephus on the Additions is in the main beyond doubt. 

The so-called second Targum gives a very free reproduction of the Edict in Addition E. This 
Targum dates from about A. D. 800.* 

The Prayers of Mordecai and Esther were used by Josephus ben-Gorion in his history composed 
about the beginning of the tenth century.’ 

From this work has been borrowed the abbreviated form of the same prayers in WWidvash Esther 


' Jacob, Das Buch Esther, p. 43- 
* Jacob, of. cit. p. 52. 
SNOB Cia ἘΞ 553. 
‘ Targum Sheni on Esther, viii. 13, quoted by Fuller, p. 400. 
5 Ed. Breithaupt, Gotha, 1707, ii, pp. 72-84. 
669 


THE ADDITIONS TO Bs TER 


Rabba (cent. xi, xii), and also the Prayer of Esther in Midrash Lekach Tob (c. 1100). It is also 
the source of the Prayers of Esther and Mordecai which are found in an Aramaic fragment of 
cent. xi or xii This fragment, which was claimed by Langen? as a witness to a Hebrew original 
of the Additions, is now clearly recognized by Bissell * and Fuller (p. 364) as being derived, through 
Josephus ben-G., from the Greek Additions. Fuller quotes the Prayer of Mordecai in this version, 
p- 385, and that of Esther, p. 391. ἢ 

(2) Christian. The Additions are occasionally mentioned in the Fathers, but they can hardly 
be said to have exercised any influence. Clement of Rome (ch. lv) makes a reference to the Prayer 
of Esther, ἠξίωσεν τὸν παντεπόπτην δεσπότην, cp. Add. D 2 ἐπικαλεσαμένη τὸν πάντων ἐπόπτην Θεόν ; 
while Origen writes (ad Africanum 3): ‘From the Book of Esther neither the Prayer of Mordecai 
nor that of Esther is accepted among the Hebrews; and similarly neither the Edict of Haman for 
the destruction of the Jews nor that of Mordecai.’ 

Nevertheless, he held these Additions ‘to be fitted to edify the reader’, and he regarded their 
absence from the Hebrew Canon as no reason for ‘rejecting as spurious the copies in use in the 
Christian Churches’, or for ‘enjoining the Brotherhood to put away the sacred copies in use among 
them’. References to the Additions are found in Clem. Alex. Strom. iv. το; Rufin. Aol. ii. 333 
Aug. (cf. Sab. Bzb/. Sacr. lat. vers. ant.) Contr. Epist. a Pelag., col. 428; 2. de grat. et lib. arb., 
col. 741. 


§ 7. THEOLOGY OF THE ADDITIONS. 


The theology of the Additions is strictly conservative and Palestinian in type. It stands in 
the same category with that of Ecclesiasticus, ch. xxxiii (xxxvi), xlii, xliii, the Prayer of Daniel 
(Dan. ix), and the Prayer of Judith (Judith ix). 

The absence of all trace of Alexandrine doctrine can only be accounted for on the assumption 
that the Additions took their rise in a pious and simple-minded stratum of orthodox Egyptian 
Judaism, or else were based on legendary material belonging to Palestine which had nearly 
crystallized into the shape we know when it was carried in an oral form to Egypt. The truth 
probably lies somewhere between these alternatives. 

The points which find illustration in the Additions are :— 

God as Creator, C 3; as omniscient, C 5, 26, 27, D 2; as supreme, C 2, 4, 23, 30, E 16, 18; as 
the only true God, C 14: as the God of Abraham, C 8, 29, and of Israel, C 14; as having chosen 
Israel, C 9, 16, E 21; as the Redeemer from Egypt, C 9; His disposing Providence, D 8, E 16, 
F 1, 7; His readiness to hear prayer, F 6,9; and to help the needy in trouble, C 14, 24, 30; His 
holiness, C 17; His righteousness, C 18; His jealousy of His honour, C 7, 8, 20, 22, 28, 29; His 
punishment of sin, C 17, 22, E 18; His mercy and pity, C 10. 

There is no mention of the Law or of a future life; the temple and the altar are only mentioned 
metaphorically (D 20). There is one reference to angels (D 13). 


§ δι, BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


(a) The Text. 
(i) Reproductions. 
Vaticanus (B), Κ΄. 7. e. cod. Vat. 1209 . . . phototyp. repraes., 1890. 
pagans Facsimile reproduced under the direction of Sir E. Maunde Thompson, London, 1881-1883. 
3 vols. 
(1) Editions. 
Holmes and Parsons (with variants of 12 uncials and 261 cursives), V. 7. Graecum cum variis lectionibus, Oxford, 
1798-1827. 5 vols. 
O. F. Fritzsche, Libxi Apocr. V. T. Graece, Leipzig, 1871. 
Tischendorf, Κ΄. 7. Graece iuxta LX X interpretes (ed. 7, Nestle), Leipzig, 1887. 
H. B. Swete, 0.7. in Greek according to the Septuagint, Cambridge, 1801. 
J. Ussher, De Graeca LXX interpretum versione syntagma, cum libri Estherae editione Origenica et vetere Graeca 
altera, London, 1655 (from cod. 93). 
O. F. Fritzsche, ΕΣΘΗΡ, Duplicem libri textum ad opt. codd. ed., Zurich, 1848. 
A. Scholz, Commentar tiber das Buch Esther. [Two Greek texts, in parallel columns with text of Josephus. ] 
P. de Lagarde, Zit. V. 7. Can. Pars Prior Graece, Gottingen, 1883. [Two types of text.] 
Ι (6) The Ancient Versions. 
(i) Zhe Old Latin. 
P. Sabatier, Bzbliorum Sacrorum Latinae Versiones antiqguae seu Vetus Itala et caeterae .. . quae cum Vulgata 
1 Ed. de Rossi, Sec. var. lectt. sacri textus et Chald. Estheris additamenta, ΤῸ. 1783, and Jellinek, Beth-ha- 
Midrash, v, 1873, pp. 1-8. ' 
* Deuterokanon. Stiicke im Buche Esther, Freiburg, 1862. 
* Apocr. O. T. 1880, p. 202. 
670 


INTRODUCTION 


Latina et cum textu Graeco comparantur, 3 vols., Paris, 1751. [Based on Cod. Corbeiensis, and giving variants of 
Cod. Oratorius (to end of ch. 2) and Cod. Pechianus.] 


Berger, Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibl, Nat. et autres bibl. xxiv, pt. 2, 1893 (pp. 141-52). 


(ii) Zhe Vulgate. 
Hieronymi opp. ed. Vallarsi, vol. ix. 


(c) Critical Inquiries. 


S. I. Frankel, Hagiographa posteriora . . . ὁ textu Graeco in linguam Hebraicam convertit, &c., Leipzig, 1830. 
Langen, ‘ Die beiden griechischen Texte des Buches Esther’ (Z2bingen Theol. Quart., 1860, pp. 244-72). 
Langen, Die deuterokanon. Sticke im Buche Esther, Freiburg, 1862. 

F. Field, Ovigents Hexaplorum quae supersunt, 1875, vol. i, p. 793 ff. 

W. J. Deane, ‘ The LXX Adds. to the Hebrew text,’ Lxpositor, Sept. 1884. 

Kaulen, Einteztung tn das A. T., Freiburg, 1890. 

Jacob, ‘Das Buch Esther bei den LXX, ZATW, x. 1890, pp. 241-98. [See also Znauguraldissertation von δ. 
Jacob, Giessen, 1890. | 

L. E. T. André, Les Afocryphes de l’A. T., Florence, 1903. 

L. B. Paton, ‘A Text-Critical Apparatus to the Book of Esther,’ in O. 7. and Sem. Studies in Mem. of W. M. 
Harper, vol. ii, pp. 1-52, Chicago, 1908. [See also L.B. Paton, 4 Critical and Exeget. Comm. on the Book of Esther, 
pp. 29-47 (in Intern. Crit. Comm.), Edinburgh, 1908.] 

H. B. Swete, utrod. to O. T. in Greek, pp. 257, 258, Cambridge, 1902. 


(dz) Chief Editions of the Additions. 


Fritzsche, Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch su den Apokryphen des A. T., vol. i, pp. 67-108, Leipzig, 1851. 
Bissell, Zhe Apocr. of the O. T., New York, 1880. 

J. M. Fuller, in Speaker's Commentary, ‘ Apocrypha,’ vol. i, pp. 361-402 (ed. Wace), London, 1888. 

Ball, Zhe Eccles. or Deuterocanon. Books of the O. T., London, 1892. 

Scholz, Commentar tiber das Buch Esther mit seinen Zusttzen, 1892. 

V. Ryssel in Kautzsch’s Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des A. T., vol. i, pp. 193-212, Tiibingen, 1900. 
G. Jahn, Das Buch Esther nach der LXX hergestelit, Leiden, 1901. 

A. W. Streane, Book of Esther, Cambridge, 1907. 


ΒΟῊΝ LT 


THE ADDITIONS VO" Ese 


ADDITION A. 
The Dream of Mordecat. 


1 (xi)(2) In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great king, on the first day of Nisa, Mardocheus 
the son of Jairus, the son of Semeias, the son of Kiseus, of the tribe of Benjamin, saw a dream. 
(3) 3(4) He was a Jew, dwelling in the city of Susa, a great man, serving in the king’s court ; and he was 
of the captivity, which Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon carried from Jerusalem with Jechonias, 
the king of Judaea. f ἤ 
4 (56) And this was his dream ; and behold noise and tumult, thunderings and earthquake, confusion 
upon the earth. ν 
5 (6) And, behold, two great dragons came forth, both of them ready to fight, and their cry was great. 
6(7) And at their cry every nation made itself ready for war, to make war upona nation of righteous men. 
4 (8) And behold a day of darkness and of gloom ; tribulation-and anguish ; affliction and great con- 
fusion upon the earth. 
8 (9) And the whole righteous nation was troubled, fearing the evils that threatened them, and they 
made ready to perish. 


ADDITION A, vv. 1-11. Zhe Dream of Mordecai. Addition A consists of 17 vv., and in the LXX is placed at the 
beginning of the canonical Book. These vv. are numbered in Vulg. xi, 2-xil. 6. By an easily explained process of 
inversion, it follows Add. F in Vulg., which thus places the interpretation of the dream before the dream itself. 

In Vulg. this Add. is separated from Esther xi. 1 by the following note : ‘Hoc quoque principium erat in editione 
Vulgata, quod nec in Hebraeo, nec apud ullum fertur interpretum.’ Josephus shows no acquaintance with any part of 
this Addition. : 


1. In the second year. There is a discrepancy between the dates as given in canon. Esther and in the Additions. 
In Estheri. 3 the king’s feast occurs in the third year of his reign, and in Esther ii. 16, 19 Esther entered the palace 
and Mordecai sat at the gate in the seventh. But here the dream is seen in the second year. Ryssel (Kautzsch, 
p. 193) makes an elaborate attempt to reconcile the discordant dates, but it is better to acknowledge the difficulty than 
to try to explain it away. ὶ 

Artaxerxes. For the identity of this king with Xerxes I (486-465 B.C.) see Paton, Esther, Intr., § 22. In canon. 
Esther LXX renders Ahasuerus by Artaxerxes, but Persian monuments make it plain that Ahasuerus represents 
Khshayarsha, the Persian form of the name Xerxes. Uncial texts of the Adds. give A7¢axerres, though some of the 
later Lucianic recensions correct to Assuerus. 

the great king, the customary title of the Persian king. Cf. Isa. xxxvi. 4,13. So Add. B1, Et, though > 
βασιλέως NA. 

first day of Nisa. Vulg. WVisam, the Heb. form of the Bab. Nésannz, which after the exile replaced the old Isr. 
name Abib. This month corresponds to March-April. Lucianic texts give the name according to Macedonian 
reckoning, ‘Adar-Nisan, which is Dystrus Xanthicus.’ 

Mardocheus, the Gr. form of Mordecai. His genealogy is borrowed from canon. Esther ii. 5. Shimei and Kish 
are doubtless not his grandfather and great-grandfather, but remote ancestors belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. 
For Shimei cf. 2 Sam. xvi. 5 ff., and for Kish, father of Saul, cf. 1 Sam. ix. 1, xiv. 51. See Paton, Zs¢. p. 167. 

of the tribe of Benjamin. Mordecai was thus, as a member of the family of Saul, the hereditary enemy of 
Haman, who was of the house of Agag, whom Saul destroyed (1 Sam. xv). ; 

2. a Jew. Mordecai, though a Benjamite, may be classed as a Jew, because during the exile men of all tribes came 
to be known as Judaeans. After the fall of Israel, Judah had given its name to the nation. 

city of Susa. One of the three capitals of the Persian empire, on the river Choaspes, which separated the city of 
Susa from the fortress of Susa. 

serving, see Esther ii. 19, vi. 10. Vulg. ‘ inter primos aulae regiae ’. 


2 


3. of the captivity, cf. Esther ii. 6; 2 Kings xxiv. 15. He was not himself a captive, but was sprung from an 
exiled family. 


Jechonias (Jehoiachin) was carried away in B.C. 596, and therefore it is a chronological impossibility for Mordecai 
to have been himself one of those deported from Judaea. 
4. his dream. For the interpretation see Add. F. 
noise and tumult. φωναὶ θορύβου A. 
confusion. καὶ τάραχος δὲ ἃ A, 
5. came forth. προσῆλθον A. 
their cry. ἐγένοντο αὐτῶν φωναὶ μεγάλαι A. 
6. made itself ready. For a similar concourse cf. Joel iii. 2, Zech. xiv. 2. 
righteous men. A conventional epithet for the people of God, cf. Wisd. x. 15, ‘A holy people and a blameless 
seed,’ and xvii. 2. The enemies of Israel were similarly ἀσεβεῖς, ἄνομοι. 
7. gloom. Vulg. dzscrzminis. For the idea cf. Joel ii. 2; Matt. xxiv. 29. 
&. that threatened them. Gr. τὰ ἑαυτῶν κακά. 


672 


TEES DIMONS TO ESTHER. A 9-17 


(10) And they cried unto God ; and from their cry, as it were from a small spring, there came up 
a great river, eve much water. 

o{11) A light and the sun rose, and the humble were exalted and consumed the glorious. 

far (12), And Mardocheus, having seen this dream and odserved what God had deremnined to do, awoke 
and kept it in his heart, and sought by all means to understand it until the night. 


ΨΥ ΥΥ 


Mordecai discovers the plot of the two cunuchs. 


χη) And Mardocheus took his rest, as was his custom, in the court with Gabatha and Tharra, the two 

eunuchs of the king who kept the court. 

3 (2) And he heard their communings, and searched out their counsels, and learned that they were 

preparing to lay hands upon Artaxerxes the king ; and he informed the king concerning them. 

'14(3) And the king examined the two eunuchs, and they confessed ¢hezr intention and were led forth and 
executed. 

) And the king wrote these things for a memorial, and Mardocheus wrote concerning these things. 

) bere the king charged Mardocheus to serve in the court, and gave him gifts in respect of these 
things. 

117 (6) And Haman, the son of Hamadathus, a {Bugaeanj, was in honour in the king’s sight, and sought 

to bring evil upon Mardocheus and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king. 


9. cried unto God. The name of God is not present in canon. Esther. The Additions offer a strong contrast in 
this respect, ‘God’ and * Lord’ appearing forty-two times, 
from their cry. Mingled, i-e., with their tears. 
10. light and the sun. For these as pictures of happiness cf. Wisd. v. 6. 
the humble. The Old Lat. has hzemzles, but Lucianic MSS. have oi ποταμοί by a copyist’s error. 
the glorious. The adj. is plural, but Haman is specially thought of. Cf. A 17: ‘Haman... was in honour in 
the king’s sight.’ 
11. having seen. ὁ ἑωρακώς NA. 
had determined. βουλεύεται A. 
kept it. Cf. Luke ii. 19. 
until the night. > Vulg. There is nothing in the Adds. to suggest that the conspiracy of the eunuchs did not 
follow immediately upon the dream of Mordecai. But canon. Esther places the former in the seventh year of the king’s 
reign. The Luc. texts endeavour to harmonize the accounts by reading: ‘And M. being raised from his sleep 
pondered what the dream might be, and his dream was hidden in his heart, and at every opportunity he was searching 
it out, until the day in which M, slept in the king's court.’ 


ADDITION A, vv. 12-17. Mordecai discovers the plot of the twe eunuchs, This piece (cf. Esther ii. 21-23) which 
forms part of Add. A is omitted by Old Lat. Josephus depends on LXX for his account of the plot. 

12. as was his custom. ἡσύχαζεν 8°. Mordecai’s circumstances were still humble. Cf. Esther ii, 19-21. 

Gabatha. The names of the eunuchs are borrowed from Esther 11. 21, vi. 2, though the names are given by 
LXX only in δὲ "8 πρὶ For Gadatha (Bigthan, Bigthana, Heb.) Vulg. has ‘ Bagatha’, and Jos. Βαγάθωος. 

Tharra (Teresh, Hebr.). Θάρα &*, Θάρρας δὲ "ἃ, Θεοδόσιτος Jos., ‘ Thara’ Vulg. 

13. counsels, lit. azxvzeties, concerning the success of the plot. 

informed the king. In Esther ii. 22 he informed Esther. 

concerning them. Szfer co Vulg. 

14. led forth. Complut. has the curious ἀπήγχθησαν (were strangled). * iussit duci ad mortem’ Vulg. 

15. fora memorial. In the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia (Esther x. 2). 

16. charged Mardocheus to serve. In canon. Esther no recompense is made to Mordecai. His deed is 
embalmed and forgotten in the royal chronicles. Cf. Esther ii. 23, vi. 2, 3. In the Adds. his reward is service in the 
king’s court, an advancement from a merely tolerated presence there. ᾿ 

in respect of these things. περὶ τούτων, i.e. not on account of the eunuchs, but in return for services rendered 
(pro delatione, Vulg.). 7 

17. And Haman. It is not easy to see how much is implied by avd. The mention of Haman follows in the Adds. 
immediately on the discovery of the plot, and suggests that the grudge borne by Haman (who was already in high 
favour) against Mordecai was in some way due to the action which M. had taken and which had led to their death. 
Canon. Esther iii. 1, on the other hand, states that ‘after these things’ the king exalted Haman, as though H. received 
credit for the discovery of the plot. Haupt (Pw7zm, p. 37) suggests that instead of telling the queen (Esther 11. 22 
M. had revealed the plot to Haman, who had taken to himself the credit of saving the king. This would explain the 
advancement of Haman, and M_’s refusal to bow before him. But Haupt’s suggestion is too subtle: the reason is 
probably to be found in H.’s jealousy of a successful underling, whose vigilance might one day be directed against 
himself. 

a tBugaeant. Undoubtedly a corrupt reading, though found also in Esther iii. 1 and ix. 10 LXX. 

Whatever the epithet may mean, it is derived from the LXX rendering of Esther lil, 1 (Heb, ΝΠ, Vulg. ‘ qui 
erat de stirpe Agag’), which prompted its gratuitous introduction into ix, 10 LXX. It is obvious that the LXNX 
version of Esther iii. 1 was earlier than the composition of any of the Additions, and therefore that Βουγαῖος did not 
originate with their author. It should be noted that in Esther ix. 24 the Heb. text is as in Esther iii. 1, but is there 
rendered by LXX ὁ Μακεδών (Vulg. ‘stirpis Agag’): this rendering is borrowed by the author of Addition E (v. 10). 

What then does Βουγαῖος mean? Is it a false transliteration for what should have been ‘Ayayatos (cp. Teyaios 
93 2), or has it a meaning of its own? rae ΜᾺ 

These is no reasonable ground for identifying the word with the Homeric dw//y, or braggart (//. xiii. 824), nor can 


673 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESPRERS soa. 


ADDITION B. 


The Letter of Artaxerxes. 


1(xiii)(1) | Now the copy of the letter is as follows. The great king Artaxerxes writeth these things to the 
princes of one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia, and to the subordinate 
governors. ι ἫΝ 

2 (2) Having become lord of many nations and attained dominion over the whole world, not as though 
7 am elated with the presumption of power, but as one who ever rule my life with moderation and 
mildness, I desire to establish the lives of my subjects in a lasting tranquillity, and, making my 
kingdom peaceable and safe for passage to its /wthest bounds, to restore that peace which is desired 
of all men. Bins 

3 (3) But having made inquiry of my advisers how this might be brought to pass, Haman, who excels 
in prudence among us, and is approved for his unswerving goodwill and firm faithfulness and is 

4 (4) exalted to the second place in the kingdom, has shown us that among all the nations in the world 
there is scattered a certain evilly-disposed people, which sets itself in opposition to every nation by 
its laws, and which habitually neglects the ordinances of the kings, so that the consolidation of the 
kingdom honourably intended by us cannot be brought about. — a ὶ 

5 (5) Having understood therefore that this nation stands alone in opposition to all men continually, 


de 
ADA create eh Ὁ δύσπνους ος 


Par ay Sar awh 


SR ac 


eae 


it be regarded as a Grecized form of Bagoas (Judith xii. 11). Its presence here is due to a mistake which first occurred 
in Esther iii. 1, either in the original transliteration from the Hebrew, or in subsequent MS. transcription. What was 
originally a piece of inadvertence was confirmed into an error bya copyist who did not see in the expression a reference 
to the predestined antipathy between Mordecai of the family of Saul, and Haman of the family of Agag (cf. 1 Sam. xv). 
Amalek was Israel’s most ancient enemy. Γωγαῖος of 93 @ and Μακεδών (Esther ix. 24 LXX) bring out the idea better 
than Bovyaios, even if incorrectly. 

For Haman, the son of Hamadathus, see Paton, sz. p. 69. 

because of the two eunuchs. Luc. texts have ὑπὲρ τοῦ λελαληκέναι αὐτὸν τῷ βασιλεῖ περὶ τῶν εὐνούχων διότι 
ἀνῃρέθησαν. 


ADDITION Β. Zhe Letter of Artaxerxes. Addition B (xiii. 1-7) is preceded in Vulg. by Add. A, being separated 
from it by the following note: ‘ Hucusque prooemium. Quae sequuntur, in eo loco posita erant ubi scriptum est in 
uolumine ΑΖ diripuerunt bona, uel substantias eorum, quae in sola Vulgata editione reperimus, Ep7stolae autem 
[UE ὦ ὁ 

The place of Add. B in LXX is between Esther iii. 13 and Esther iii. 14. Josephus (Azz. xi. 6. 6) has made 
copious use of this Add. 

Its Greek provenance is betrayed by its turgid style, which is altogether foreign to other Persian decrees to be 
found in the Bible (Ezra i. 2-4, iv. 18-22, vi. 3-12, vii. 11-26). The same trait appears in Add. F, both these rescripts 
being of Graeco-Egyptian composition. 

1. The great king, cf. A. 1. Cf. the inscription on the rock of Behistun, ‘ the great king, the king of kings.’ 

one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. This number is drawn from Esther i. 1, vill. 9, and may reasonably 
be regarded as symbolic and indicating (12 x 10 + 7) the universal dominion of Xerxes. 

If, on the other hand, it is treated as historical, we are reminded of Dan. vi. 1, which tells how Darius appointed 
satraps Over 120 provinces, and the suggestion is that the kingdom of Xerxes was greater even than that of Darius. 
According to Herodotus (iii. 89) there were only twenty satrapies in the kingdom of Darius, or, according to his own 
inscriptions, twenty-nine ; hence, provinces (Hebr. medinah) would refer to subdivisions of satrapies corresponding to 
racial groupings. Paton, /s¢. p. 124, mentions that in Ezra ii. 1 the ‘ province’ means no more than Judaea, which 
was only a part of the great satrapy of Trans-Euphrates (Syria, Phoenicia, and Cyprus). 

India. Not modern India, but its north-west portion which is watered by the Indus. For the conquest of India 
by Darius see Hdt. iii. 94-106. 

Ethiopia. The modern Nubia. Hdt. iii. 97 relates the subjection of Ethiopia by Cambyses. 

India to Ethiopia is borrowed from Esther i. 1, viii. 9 LXX (cf. Dan. iii. 1 LXX), the former representing Hebr. 
“δια and the latter rightly Azsh. 

2. I desire, lit. 7 deszved, in the epistolary manner. 

and, making . .. furthest bounds. > Vulg. There is a slight anacoluthon here, which is removed if for 
παρεξόμενος we read παρασχεῖν. 

peaceable. For ἥμερον, lit. came, i.e. through building cities and roads, A and many cursives read ἤρεμον. 

3. my advisers. Cf. Esther i. 13-15. 

among us, i.e. at our court. 

unswetving- Reading with Complut. ἀπαραλλάκτῳ for τως BNA. 

second place in the kingdom, i.e. next after the king. Cf. Dan. v. 7. But Haman is not named among the 
counsellors of the king in Esther i.14. There is something to be said for Fritzsche’s βασιλείων δὲ B instead of Swete’s 
βασιλειῶν. The latter is what we should expect, but in Esther i. το LXX Haman is called one of the seven eunuchs 
that ministered to the king. However, ‘ the second place in the palace’ is a comparatively inferior position. 

4. evilly-disposed people. Cf. Jos. Amz. xi. 6. 5; Esther iii. 8. 

in opposition. ἀντίθετον B, ἀντίτυπον NA. 

ordinances. προστάγματα B, διατάγματα B4» (δια- over an erasure) δὲ Α. 

be brought about. κατατίθεσθαι. Fritzsche’s καθίστασθαι is hardly necessary. gL 

5. in opposition. ἐν ἀντιπαραγωγῇ, a military metaphor, lit. es 2% hostile formation against. Cf. 1 Macc. xiii. 20. 


674 


: 
| 
| 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESTHER. B5—C 5 


observing perversely an alien manner of life in respect of its laws and being ill-affected towards our 
ὁ (6) government, working all the damage it can that our kingdom may not attain to security, we have 
decreed accordingly that they that are indicated to you in the letters of Haman, who is set over our 
affairs and zs our second father, be all with wives and children destroyed root and branch by the 
sword of their enemies without pity or mercy, on the tfourteenth} day of the twelfth month Adar in 
ἢ (7) the present year; that they who in days past and even now are malicious may in one day go down 
violently into Hades, and may henceforth leave our state secure and unthreatened. Σ 


ADDITION C. 
The Prayer of Mordecai. 


τ 1) (8). And Mardocheus besought the Lord, calling to remembrance all the works of the Lord, and said, 

2 (9) ‘Lord, Lord, King that rulest over all. for in Thy power is the whole world, and there is none that 

3 (10) gainsayeth Thee when Thou willest to save Israel: for Thou didst make heaven and earth, and 

4 (11) every wondrous thing beneath the heaven ; and Thou art Lord of all, and there is not ove that shall 
( resist Thee, the Lord. 


12) ‘Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest, Lord, that it was not in insolence or in pride or in 
vainglory that I did this, ¢o wz, that I did not bow before proud Haman. 


observing perversely. παραλλάσσον, bya solecistic use. This seems to make ξενίζουσαν superfluous ; accordingly 
Fritzsche suggests παραφυλάσσον, but Jos. supports the text. παράλλαξιν N&* A, 

manner ... laws, i.e. the Mosaic law. νόμων is very loosely joined to διαγωγήν. 

that our kingdom. συντελοῦν κακὰ καὶ πρός. I omit καί which has crept in through dittography. δὲ points in 
this direction. 

6. accordingly. > οὖν Ne. 

set over our affairs. Vulg. renders ‘qui omnibus prouinciis praepositus est, et secundus a rege’. Cf. Dan. 
Wa 7: 

our second father. Vulg. has ‘quem patris loco colimus’. Cf. Add. E11. “Phe expression reflects the king’s 
regard for Haman (cf. Esther vi. 11) rather than Haman’s solicitude for the welfare of the king. Cf. 1 Macc. xi. 32, 
‘ Demetrius the king to Lasthenes his father, greeting.’ 

be ... destroyed. ἀπολέσαι BNA, deleantur Vulg. In some ways ἀπολέσθαι would be smoother, as the subject 
of ἀπολέσαι is not named. 

sword of their enemies. ἐθνῶν μάχαις A can hardly be intentional. 

on the tfourteentht day. This should no doubt be ¢hzrteenth; cf. Esther ili. 13, viil. 12, ix. 1, E 20. The 
error is due to a confusion between the day fixed for the massacre and the day fixed for the commemorative festival ; 
cf. Esther ix. 16-19. No very careful attempt was originally made to remove discrepancies between the canonical 
book and the Additions. 

Adar. Luc. texts have the Macedonian ‘ Dystri’. 

7. our state. πράγματα BN rightly, but A, recalling v. 4, has προστάγματα. After mp. Old Lat. has (cf. E 24) 

‘qui autem celebrauerit gentes Iudaeorum inhabitabilis non solum inter homines sed nec inter aves ; et igni sancto 
comburetur et substantia eius in regnum conferetur. Vale.’ 


ADDITION C. Zhe Prayer of Mordecai, vv. 1-11. Add. C follows Esther iv. 17 in LXX, and imme- 
diately precedes Add. D. In Vulg. it is numbered xiii. 8-xiv. 19. It is separated from xiii. 7, which forms the 
conclusion of Add. B, by the following words: * Hucusque exemplar epistolae. Quae sequuntur, post eum locum 
scripta reperi, ubi legitur: Pergensyue Mardochaeus fecit omnia quae et mandaverat Esther, Nec tamen habentur in 
Hebraico, et apud nullum penitus feruntur interpretum.’ 

Josephus makes free use of Add. C in Azz. x1. 6. 8. 

1. NA read Μαρδοχαῖος ἐδεήθη. 
2. Lord, Lord. κύριε θε κύριε A. 

for in Thy power. This clause introduced by ὅτε establishes the assertion of the Divine Sovereignty. 

the whole world. For τὸ πᾶν, the universe, cf. Sir. xlii. 17, xliii. 27, and Plat. 777. 28 C, Cra¢. 436E. Heaven 
and earth are specified in next v. as the chief constituents of τὸ wav. Cf. Isa. xlv. 18. . ᾿ 

that gainsayeth Thee. For ἀντιδοξεῖν, a late Gr. word, cf. ἀντοφθαλμεῖν, Wisd. xii. 14, ‘ Neither king nor tyrant 
shall be able to gainsay Thee in Thy punishments.’ 

when Thou willest. ἐν τῷ θέλειν, si decreuerts Vulg. 

4. And Thou. > καί A. ᾿ ἣ 
shall resist. Cf. Wisd. xii. 12, ‘Who shall say “ What hast Thou done ?” or who shall resist Thy judgement?’ 
5. thatit was...Haman. > Old Lat. ; 

not in insolence. Mordecai disclaims any personal prejudice against Haman as the reason for his refusal, and 
in v.7 puts forward a reason savouring strongly of the morbid scrupulosity of later Judaism. Any reason which would 
have been valid in the case of Haman, the king’s representative, would have been valid also when M. appeared before 
the king, and yet not only did M. have to bow to the king, when he became vizier, but he must have himself received 
the homage of the people (Esther viii. 15). Ezra and Nehemiah appear to have observed the court regulations without 

rotest. 

Β Various conjectures as to the ground for M.’s refusal are noted by Paton, Zs¢. pp. 196, 197. The reason is not 
given in canon. Esther, and that given here is purely imaginary. 


675 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESTHER ὁ 6-16 


6 (13) ‘For I had been content to kiss the soles of his feet for the salvation of Israel. ; 

7 (14) ‘But I did this that I might not set the glory of a man above the glory of God: and I will bow 
before none save before Thee, my Lord, and I will not do it in pride. 

8 (15) ‘And now, Lord, God and King, the God of Abraham, spare Thy people ; for the eyes of our 
enemies are against us to consume us, and they seek to destroy the heritage that is Thine from 
the beginning. i 

9 (16) ‘Despise not Thy portion which Thou didst redeem unto Thyself out of the land of Egypt. 

10 (17) Hearken to my prayer, and be gracious unto Thine heritage; and turn our mourning into 
feasting, that we may live and sing Thy Name, O Lord; and destroy not the mouth of them that 
praise Thee.’ : 

11 (18) And all Israel cried out with their might, for their death was before their eyes. 


The Prayer of Esther. 


12(xiv)(1) And Esther, the queen, fled zz prayer unto the Lord, being seized with an agony of death. And 
13 (2) taking off her glorious raiment, she put on garments of anguish and mourning ; and instead of the 
choice ointments, she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body τοῦδ much 
14 (3) fasting, and ‘every place of the ornament of her joy she filled with her tangled hair. And she 
besought the Lord God of Israel and said, ‘My Lord, our King, Thou art God alone ; help me who 
15 (4) stand alone, and have no helper save Thee: for my danger is in my hand. 
τό (5) ‘I have heard ever since I was born in the tribe of my family that Thou, Lord, didst take Israel 
out of all the nations, and our fathers from their progenitors, for an everlasting inheritance, and that 
Thou didst for them all that Thou didst promise. 


6. Mordecai acknowledges that his attitude towards Haman has brought this calamity on his people. 
to kiss the soles. Cf. Xen. Cyr. vii. 5. 32, ἃ token of homage apparently reserved for kings. Cf. Isa. xlix. 23, 
‘lick the dust of thy feet.’ Η 
7. the glory οἵ aman. Ryssel quotes Dan. iii. 18; 2 Macc. vii. 2. 
will not do it, i.e. will refuse to give homage to Haman. 
8. Godand. > 06 θεός δ Α Vulg. 
eyes...are against us. ἐπιβλέπουσιν. Cf. Lat. 2-videre. 
heritage. For κληρονομία in the sense of God’s special possession of Israel cf. Ps. xxvill. 9, xciv. 5. 
9. Thy portion. For μερίς cf. Sir. xvii. 18. These words seem to be a reminiscence of Deut. ix. 26 LXX μὴ 
ἐξολεθρεύσῃς .. - τὴν μερίδα σου ἣν ehutpaow .. . ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. 
10. heritage. For κλῆρος cf. Deut. ix. 29; ‘sorti et funiculo tuo’ Vulg. 
mourning into feasting. Cf. Isa. Ixi. 3, and for εὐωχία 3 Macc. vi. 30. f 
destroy not. μὴ ἀφανίσῃς, lit. ‘blot not out’; Vulg. suggests the idea of the cessation of spoken praise and renders 
freely, ‘ne Claudas ora te canentium.’ It is the living who praise God, cf. Isa. xxxvill. 19. For στόμα B, τὸ στ. ΔΑΝ 
has τὸ αἷμα, which is impossible, but N°* corrects to στόμα. . 
11. all Israel. With this v. cf. Esther iv. 16. 
with their might. ἐξ ἰσχύος αὐτῶν. Cf. Dan. iii. 4, iv. 11, ἐν ἰσχύι, and Isa. xlii. 13. Vulg. has ‘pari mente et 
obsecratione ’. 
vu. 12-30. The Prayer of Esther. 
12: ΠΕ ΘΙ ΒΞ: ΟΧΣΞ τὸ 
δῇ agony. For ἐν ἀγῶνι some cursives have ἀγωνίᾳ. Cf. Luke xxii. 44. Esther’s condition was one of great 
perplexity ; she was beset on one side by the stringent rules of the court etiquette, and on the other by her patriotism 
and the outspoken insistency of Mordecai (Esther iv. 13, 14). 
13. taking off. Cf. Jonah iii. 6. 
glorious raiment, including the διάδημα (Esther i. 11, iil. 17). Cf. Ps. xlv. 14; Isa. ili. 18 ff. 
garments of anguish. Cf. Judith viii. 5. Sackcloth is no doubt intended. 
ointments. As symbols of joy. Cf. Ps. xlv. 8, cxxxiii. 2; Isa. Ix1. 3. 
covered her head. κεφαλὴν αὐτῆς NA, Cf. Judith ix, 1. 
humbled her body. σῶμα αὐτῆς δ Α. Cf. ‘ to afflict the soul with fasting’, Lev. xvi. 29; Ps. xxxv. 13. 
every place. It would be most natural to interpret this of her apartments, but as the entire passage refers to 
the disfigurement of Esther’s person, it must mean that her torn hair fell over the sackcloth she was clothed in. 


14. And... Israel. Old Lat. substitutes ‘and she fell upon the earth with her maidens from morning until 
evening’. 
My Lord. κύριε ὁ 65 pou A. Cf. v. 2. 
My Lord...alone. Old Lat. substitutes ‘ Deus Abraham et Deus Isaac et Deus Jacob, benedictus es ’. 


Thou art God alone, following Swete’s punctuation, lit. ‘Thou alone hast being’. Cf. Ps. Ixxxvi. το. R.V. has 
‘Thou only art our King’. But this does not bring out the idea of God’s absolute sovereignty so well. Note the Gr. 
σὺ εἶ μόνος" βοήθησόν μοι τῇ μύνῃ. 

15. ἐν τῇ χειρί μου Α. 
16. Ihave heard. Cf. Deut. xxxii. 7; Ps. xliv. 1. 
didst take Israel. Cf. Deut. iv. 20, 34, xxvi. 5 ; Joshua xxiv. 3. 


progenitors. So R.V. for προγόνων, better than A.V. predecessors. 
inheritance. Deut. xxxii. 9. 


didst promise. A inserts αὐτοῖς. 
_ _ For vv, 16-23 (ὅτι ov... . θλίψεως ἡμῶν) Old Lat. has ‘quoniam Noe in aqua diluvii conservasti. Ego audivi in 
libris paternis meis Domine quoniam tu Abrahae in trecentis et decem octo viris novem reges tradidisti. Ego audivi 


676 


fis ADDONS TO ESTHER. τ - 


[17 (6) ‘And now we have sinned before Thee, and Thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies 
! 18 (7) because we have given glory to their gods. Righteous art Thou, O Lord. 
| 19 (8) ‘And now they have not been satisfied with the bitterness of our captivity, but they have laid 
20(9) their hands (in the hands of their idols), to remove the ordinance of Thy mouth, and to destroy 
Thine inheritance, and to stop the mouth of them that praise Thee, and to quench the glory of Thy 
(10) house, and Thy altar, and to open the mouth of the nations to give praise to vain zdo/s, and that 
a king of flesh should be magnified for ever.’ 
22 (11) ‘Surrender not, O Lord, Thy sceptre unto them that be not gods; and let not them ¢hat are our 
enemies mock at our fall; but turn their counsel against themselves, and make an example of him 
that began Zo do this against us. 
3(12) ‘Remember (us), O Lord; make Thyself known 70 7s in the time of our tribulation, and give me 
courage, O King of the gods and Lord over all dominion. 
4 (13) ‘Put eloquent speech into my mouth before the lion; and turn his heart to hatred of him that 
fighteth against us, that there may be an end of him and of them that are likeminded with him. 


5 (14) ‘But save us by Thy hand, and help me who s¢and alone, and have none save Thee, O Lord. 

in libris paternis meis Domine quoniam tu Ionam de ventre ceti liberasti. Ego audivi in libris paternis meis Domine 
quoniam tu Ananiam Azariam Misahel de camino ignis liberasti. Ego audivi in libris paternis meis Domine quoniam 
tu Daniel de Jacu leonum eruisti. Ego audivi in libris paternis meis Domine quoniam tu Ezechiae regi Iudaeorum 
morte damnato et oranti pro vita misertus es et donasti ei vitae annos quindecim. Ego audivi in libris paternis meis 
Domine quoniam tu Annae petenti in desiderio animae, filii generationem dedisti. Ego audivi in libris paternis meis 
Domine quoniam tu complacentes tibi liberas Domine usque in finem.’ 

17. Andnow. ὅτι Α. 

we have sinned. Cf. Dan. ix. 16. The Prayer of Esther recalls the tone of the Prayer of Daniel. 

delivered us. Cf. Deut. iv. 27. 

18. given glory. Ryssel thinks this refers to a declension into idolatry on the part of Israel while in exile. But 
it cannot be so: the exile is viewed as the punishment of pre-exilic idolatry. Cf. 2 Kings xvii. 10-16, 29-41, xxi. 7, 21. 

Righteous. Cf. Dan. ix. 7. 

19. satisfied. A late use of ἱκανοῦσθαι. 

laid their hands. Vulg., failing to understand the meaning, renders ‘ robur manuum suarum idolorum potentiae 
deputantes’. 

We must either render literally, ‘they have applied their hands,’ &c., or, following the hint supplied by δὲ ἢ τὰς 
χεῖρας τῶν εἰδώλων αὐτῶν, read with NC® ™S: ἔθηκαν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὰς χεῖρας τῶν εἰδώλων, and render as in text. . 
The mistake, as Lagarde saw, was caused by the double χεῖρας. 

For the custom of striking hands as the outward expression of a contract or bargain cf. 2 Kings x. 15; Prov. xi. 
21 LXX; Ezra x. 19; Lam.v.6; 1 Mace. vi. 58; xi. 50, 66. 

20. ordinance. ὁρισμός. Cf. Dan. vi. 7,8, 12,15. If the ὁρισμοί of the Medes and Persians were unchangeable, 
what an impiety to seek to overthrow those of the living God! The destruction of Israel would invalidate the 
determination of God to make Israel His inheritance. 

mouth ... praise. στόματα ὑμνούντων A. For ἐμφράξαι cf. Job v. 16; Ps. Ixill. 11, evil. 42. 

house, i.e. the Temple. Cf. Isa. vi. 1. That the reference must be to the Temple of Jerusalem, still the ideal 
centre of the people’s religion even though destroyed and its worship suspended, is plain from the mention of the 
altar. With the destruction of the people the altar-fire would be finally quenched. Cf. Judith ix. ὃ. 

21. vain idols. μάταια, a conventional word for false gods. Cf. Lev. xvil. 7 LXX. 

should be magnified. The passive θαυμασθῆναι follows very loosely upon the active infinitives which depend on 
ἔθηκαν τὰς χεῖρας. The Persian king is referred to, who will win glory for all time, as a king of flesh who has defeated 
the King of heaven. Vulg. loosely renders ‘ et laudent idolorum fortitudinem ἡ. 

22. Surrender not. For God to permit the destruction of His people is tantamount to an abdication of His throne 
and the power symbolized (in the case of an earthly king) by the sceptre. 

them that be not gods. τοῖς μὴ οὖσι, i.e. those who have no being, in contrast to Jehovah, in whom being resides. 
Cf. v.14 σὺ εἶ μόνος, and Wisd. xili. 10-19, xiv. 13 οὔτε yap ἣν [εἴδωλα] ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς, οὔτε εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἔσται, and 1 Cor. 
vill. 4. 

mock. Either the subject of the verb is changed, and ‘ our enemies’ is now the subj.; or the gods are thought 
of as mocking. Cf. Wisdom’s mocking, Prov. i. 26, and Jehovah’s, Ps. ii. 4. The former seems to suit the context 
better. 

their counsel. αὐτοῦ δὲ ἢ, i.e. Haman. 

make anexample. παραδειγμάτισον. Cf. Num. xxv. 4; Ezek. xxviii. 17 ; Heb. vi. 6. 

him that began. Haman. ‘ qui in nos coepit saevire’ Vulg. 

23. make Thyself known. Cf. Ps. xliv. 23-26. f 

give me courage. In this verse Esther passes from prayer for national deliverance to prayer for personal safety 
(vv. 24-9). In support of her entreaty she urges (vv. 26-28) that for religious reasons, none of which is even hinted 
at in canon. Esther, she hates the position she is forced to occupy, and distinguishes her official duties from her personal 
predilections. Here again, as in v. 7, we find ourselves in the atmosphere of later Judaism. 

King of the gods. Cf. Ps. xcv. 3. 

24. eloquent speech. Cf. Luke xxi. 15. ᾿ : ? 5, 

before the lion. Strength is suggested, cf. Jer. xlix. 19 ; and terribleness, cf. Prov. xix. 12, xx. 2; Sir. xxviii. 23. 
The Aramaic ‘ Mordecai’s Dream’ has, ‘ For Thy maid feareth before him, as the kid before the lion’ (Merx, Chres?. 
Targ. p. 164). aM 

turn his heart. For μετατίθημι in this sense cf. Sir. vi. 9 φίλος μετατιθέμενος εἰς ἔχθραν. 

anend. συντέλεια in this sense is used with ἀπώλεια 1 Mace. iil. 42. 

25. havenone. A assimilates to 7. 14 by adding βόηθον. 


677 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESTHER €26— D3 


26 (15) ‘Knowledge hast Thou of all things, and Thou knowest that I hate the glory of the wicked, and I 
27 (16) detest the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien. Thou knowest my necessity, that I abhor the 
sign of my proud estate, which is upon my head in the days when I show myself openly ; I abhor it 


as a menstruous rag, and I wear it not in the days of my leisure. ' 
28(17) ‘And Thy servant hath not eaten at the table of Haman, and I have not honoured the king’s 


feast, neither have I drunk the wine of the libations. : : 
29 (18) «And Thy servant hath known no joy since the day I was brought here until now, save in Thee, 


30 (19) Lord God of Abraham. O God, whose strength is over all, hear the voice of the hopeless, and save 
us from the hand of them that deal wickedly, and save me out of my fear.’ 


ADDITION D. 


The appearance of Esther before the king. 


τ (xv)(4) And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, she put off her garments of 
2 (5) humiliation, and clothed herself in her glorious apparel. And being majestically adorned, she called 
3(6) upon the all-seeing God and Saviour, and took with her two maids: and upon the one she leaned as 


26. Knowledge hast Thou... and Thou knowest. Cf. St. Peter’s appeal to the universal knowledge of Christ 
ohn xxi. 17. 
: I Bate the glory. It is no personal vanity that keeps Esther where she is; the glory of her high place is 
shame to her. Cf, Esther ii. 8-17. 
of any alien. The prohibition of marriages with those outside the covenant dated from very early times (cf. 
Deut. vii. 3, 4), and came to rest on religious sentiment blended with national prejudice. In Ezra x.2, Neh. xiii. 23 ff., 
we learn something of the abhorrence in which the marriage of Jewish men with heathen women was held. A, 
through a simple oversight, omits from ‘the bed of ’ (v. 26) down to ‘ that I abhor’ (v. 27). 
27. my necessity. She is under compulsion, and as wife of a heathen king she must wear the token of her dignity, 
the royal crown, her badge of shame. 
sign of my proud estate. The crown royal, a kind of peaked turban, which had to be worn when the queen 
appeared in public. Cf. Esther i. 11, ii. 17. For ὀπτασία, appearance, cf. Mal. ili. 2. 
rag. Cf. Isa. Ixiv. 6. 
28. hath not eaten. Cf. Dan. i. 8, 13, 15. 


king’s feast. Cf. Esther i. 5, 11. 18. 
the libations. Cf. Deut. xxxii. 38 LXX. One reason for Esther’s abstention from the royal feasts was their 


heathen character. Cf. Dan. v. 3, 4. Fuller suggests that there is a reference here to the Haoma-drink, which ‘ was 
drunk by the faithful for the benefit of themselves and the gods’. Cf. Sayce, Ancient Empires, p. 269. 
29. since the day I was brought, lit. ‘ since the day of my change’, i.e. since the day of entry into the palace. 
30. the hopeless. For ἀπηλπισμένων cf. Isa. xxix. 19; Judith ix. 11. 
saveus...saveme. Cf. v.23. Old Lat. adds ‘ transfer luctum nostrum in laetitiam, dolores autem nostros 
in hilaritatem : surgentes autem supra partem tuam Deus palam facito, aperi Domine ; cognoscere Domine’. 


ADDITION Ὁ. Esthers interview with the king, vv. 1-16. Add. D consists of sixteen verses, and follows in 
LXX immediately upon Add. C. In Vulg. it is numbered xv. 4-19, and is separated from xiv. 19 by the following 
words, which are not unlike Esther iv. 13 ff. : 

‘ Haec quogue addita repert in editione Vulgata. 

(1) Et mandavit ei (haud dubium quin esset Mardochaeus) ut ingrederetur ad regem, et rogaret pro populo suo 
et pro patria sua. 

(2) Memorare, inquit, dierum humilitatis tuae, quomodo nutrita sis in manu mea, quia Aman, secundus a rege, 
locutus est contra nos in mortem ; 

(3) Et tu invoca Dominum, et loquere regi pro nobis, et libera nos de morte. 

Nec non et ista quae subdita sunt.’ 

Jos. (Anz. xi. 6. 9) draws largely upon Add. D, which endeavours to show in detail what is briefly stated in Esther 
v.1f. The danger of Esther’s enterprise is emphasized by the king’s wrath, which serves also to set off the power of 
God which could turn the king’s heart. 

1. the third day. Cf. Esther iv. 16, v. 1. A. W. Streane quotes the Midrash, ‘Never did the Israelites find 
themselves in trouble longer than three days,’ and refers to Gen. xxii. 4, xlii. 17; Jonah i.17; and Hos. vi. 2. 

when she had ended her prayer. > Vulg. 

garments of humiliation. ἱμάτια θεραπείας, cf. D 13; so A.V. garments of mourning. Esther's θεραπεία (or 
service), Cf. Esther iv. 16, consisted in mortification and prayer. Accordingly, Fritzsche is perhaps right in emending 
vest. ornatus Vulg. to vest. oratus. After these words Old Lat. has ‘et lavavit corpus suum aqua et unxit se unctione’. 

glorious apparel. Cf. Esther v. 1 and Judith x. 3. 

2. majestically adorned. γενηθεῖσα ἐπιφανής. Vulg. “ cum regio fulgeret habitu’; Jos. ‘adorned herself as became 
a queen ’. } 

she called. The religious element is as usual emphasized in non-canonical Esther. 

two maids. So NA, instead of ras δύο B, her two maids. She was waited upon by seven maids (cf. Esther 
il, 9), and of them she took with her only two. 

For ἅβρα (Vulg. famula, but elsewhere delicata, i.e. pretty, delicate) cf. Gen. xxiv. 61; Judith x. 5. 

The ἅβραι were maids of honour for the queen’s personal service. 

3. she leaned. ἐπηρείδετο, cf. Prov. iii. 18. 

678 


Pri ADD THONS TO ESHER, =D 4-14 


(7) 5(8) one that walked delicately, and the other followed Zev, holding up her train. And she herself was 
i radiant in the perfection of her beauty, and her countenance was happy and lovely: but her heart 
6 (9) was stricken with fear. And when she had passed all the doors, she took her stand before the kine - 
now he was sitting upon his royal throne, clad in all his array of majesty, all adorned with gold and 
᾿ precious stones. And he was very terrible. A 
7 (10) And lifting up his face that flamed with glory, he looked wpon her in fierce wrath. And the 
queen fell down and changed colour and swooned, and she bowed herself down upon the head of the 
maid who went before her. 
(11) And God changed the spirit of the king into mildness, and in alarm he sprang up from his throne 
and raised her in his arms until she came to herself again, and comforted her with reassuring words, 
)and said unto her, ‘ What is it, Esther? I am thy brother. Be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, 
) For our commandment is ov/y for our subjects. Draw near,’ ; 
) Then he raised the golden sceptre and laid it on her neck, and embraced her and said, ‘ Speak 
to me.’ 
16) And she said unto him, ‘I saw thee, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was dismayed for 
17) fear of thy glory. For wonderful art thou, lord, and thy countenance is full of grace.’ 


_~oa 
ee el 
oF 


oo 


s ( 
( 


pa is se 


walked delicately. ὡς τρυφερευομένη, Vulg. ‘quasi prae deliciis et nimia teneritudine corpus suum ferre non 
sustinens’. Esther adopted the languishing manner of deportment cultivated by the pampered ladies of the harem. 
The impression of delicateness is heightened by Esther’s having a train-bearer. ὡς rpu¢., lit. ‘like a pampered, 
effeminate woman’. ᾿ 

4. train. ἔνδυσις, a very rare use, and dr. dey. in LXNX. 

5. the perfection. ἀκμῇ BNA, ὡς ἀκμῇ δὲ, ἐν ἀκ. N° Cf. uv. 7, ἐν ἀκμῇ θυμοῦ, 27 fierce wrath, 

happy and lovely, lit. ‘happy like a lovely (face)’. Old Lat. adds ‘oculi autem gratissimi’. 

6. passed all the doors. Cf. Esther v. 1, ‘[she] stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s 
house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house.’ Esther 
had entered into the inner court, in itself an act of presumption. Cf. Esther iv. 11. The throne-room opened upon 
the inner court, and through this door Esther passed into the immediate presence of the king. 

took her stand. κατέστη, but ἔστη Ne A. 

majesty. ἐπιφάνεια ; cf. v. 2 ἐπιφανής. The regular use of emu. in LXN is in connexion with the w7sttations of 
heavenly beings ; cf. 2 Macc. (six times). The sculptures of Persepolis present a striking picture of the splendour of 
a Persian king (cf. Rawlinson, Azczent Mon. iv. 153). The Greeks assessed at 12,000 talents the value of the 
precious stones worn by Xerxes. 

7. flamed with glory. > δόξῃ A, which reads καὶ ἦρεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πεπυρωμένον ἐν ἀκμῇ θυμοῦ, and ‘he lifted 
his face, which flamed in fullness of wrath’. For ἀκμὴ θυμ. cf. v. 5. 

fierce wrath. Esther had violated the rule (see Esther iv. 11) which forbade any one to approach the king 
unsummoned. After ἔβλεψεν Old Lat. has ‘et cogitabat perdere eam rex, et erat ambiguus clamans, et dixit, quis 
ausus est introire in aulam non vocatus ?’ 

felldown. Cf. Esther viii. 3. But this seems to be a fall due to fear, rather than in token of obeisance. Vulg. 
corrutt. 

changed colour. μετεβάλετο δὲ, but μεταβάλλειν has an intr. use. 

swooned. ἐν ἐκλύσει. But LXX more commonly gives a milder meaning to ἔκλυσις, 1.6. weariness, and Vulg. 
does so here, taking ἐν ἐκὰ. with the following clause, ‘ lassum super ancillulam reclinavit caput. 

bowed herself down. ἐπέκυψεν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τῆς ἅβρας τῆς προπορευομένης αὐτῆς A, προσπορ. N, le. ‘who was 
coming towards (the king)’. 

8. changed the spirit. Cf. an intr. use of μεταβ., Hab. i. 11 τότε μεταβαλεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα. Old Lat. has ‘Deus autem 
iram convertit in miserationem et furorem ipsius in tranquillitatem’. For μετεβ. N* has μετέλαβεν, and conversely for 
ἀνέλαβεν below A has ἀνέβαλεν. 

inalarm. ἀγωνιάσας, Vulg. ‘ festinus ac metuens’. 

from his throne. > αὐτοῦ A. 

with reassuring words, lit. with peaceable words. For the expr. λύγοι εἰρηνικοί cf. Deut. 11. 26; Mic. vil. 3; and 
1 Macc. (seven times) ; also Sir. iv. ὃ ἀποκρίθητι αὐτῷ εἰρηνικὰ ἐν πραύτητι. 

9. What is it, Esther? Old Lat. adds ‘soror mea Hester es et consors regni’. 

thy brother. An expression of intimacy, intended to show that the king regarded Esther as really entitled to 
special consideration. Cf. Song of Solomon viii. 1. For the Egyptian use of ἀδελφός as ‘ husband’ cf, Witkowski, 
Epist. Priv. Graec. xxvi, p. 37, where we find a wife so addressing her husband. For the converse use of ἀδελφή cf. 
Pap. Oxyr. iv, No. 744, and Tobit vii. 15, viii. 4, 7. 

Io. our commandment. Lit. ovr comm. is common, i.e. it governs the king’s subjects generally, but not so 
favoured a one as Esther. Cf. Vulg. ‘non enim pro te, sed pro omnibus haec lex constituta est’. The words, preceded 
by ‘ Thou shalt not die’, are a reminiscence of Esther iv. 11. Paton, however (p. 220), quotes Herodotus to the etfect 
that people might send in a message to the king, and request an audience. 

11. Draw near. Vulg. ‘ Accede igitur et tange sceptrum ’. 

12. embraced her. τὴν Ἐσθήρ A. The pronoun is better as in BN. 

13. as an angel of God, i.e. radiant and terrible. The expression does not accord well with the scrupulosity shown 
by Esther in Add. C; it comes strangely from a Jew to a heathen. Perhaps this is why it does not appear either in 
Josephus, or the Midrash, or Ben-Gorion. Cf. 1 Sam. xxix. 9 (cod. Al.) ; 2 Sam. Χινε 17, 20: ΧΙΧ: 2η- 

for fear of. > φόβου A, but Vulg. has ‘ prae timore gloriae’. 

14. full of grace. χαρίτων μεστόν. Cf. Ps. xlv. 2 ὡραῖος κάλλει παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐξεχύθη ἡ χάρις ἐν 

χείλεσίν σου. 


679 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESTHER.” D15—E5 


15 (18) But while she was speaking, she fell swooning. 
16 (19) And the king was troubled, and all his servants sought to comfort her. 


ADDITION E. 
The Decree of Artaxerxes concerning the Fews. 


τ (xvi) Of which letter that which follows is a copy. εν ΐ 

The great king Artaxerxes to the rulers of countries in one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies 
from India to Ethiopia, and to those who are well affected to our government, greeting. 

2 Many, the more often they are honoured by the all too great goodwill of their benefactors, have 
3 become the more proud; and not only do they seek to injure our subjects, but, being unable to 
ἡ endure abundance, they take in hand to devise schemes against their own benefactors. And not 
only do they take thankfulness away from men, but also, being lifted up with the ostentatiousness 

of the foolish, they suppose that they shall escape the evil-hating justice of the all-surveying God. 
5 Yea, and oftentimes many of those who have been placed in she highest positions of authority 
have been moved by the specious words of ¢hose their friends who have been entrusted with the 
administration of the government to become partakers of innocent blood, and have become involved 


15. Swooning. ἀπὸ ἐκλύσεως Β + αὐτῆς SA, lit. because of her fainting. She fella second time. Cf. v. 7. 
16. servants. θεραπεία, curta Old Lat. Cf. Gen. xlv. 16 Φαραὼ καὶ ἡ θεραπεία αὐτοῦ. 


Appition E. Zhe decree of Artaxerxes concerning the Jews, xvi. {-24. Add. E consists of twenty-four 
verses, and is placed in LXX between Esther viil. 12 and viii. 13. In Vulg. it is numbered XVi. 1-24, and is separated 
from Add. D by the words ‘ Exemplar epistolae regis Artaxerxis, quam pro Iudaeis ad totas regni sui provincias misit ; 
quod et ipsum _in Hebraico volumine non habetur’. It presents an imaginary reconstruction of the edict mentioned 
in Esther viii, 13; which, while cancelling the earlier rescript (Add. B), instructs all the king’s subjects in the most 
precise way to render all the aid in their power to the Jews on the thirteenth day of Adar. For the style of this Add. 
see note on Add. B. Josephus, Az. xi. 6. 12 reproduces this letter very fully. ᾿ 

1. Of which letter, lit. of which things, i.e. the letter, that which follows ts a copy. av > X*. 

to the rulers .. . Ethiopia. The recipients are described in almost identical terms with those in Add. B. 
Here σατραπείαις (σατράπαις N*, σατραπίαις N°“) precedes χωρῶν. On satrapies see B 1. ἰδίων χωρῶν ᾿ξ ἢ, 

to those πο... government. τοῖς τὰ ἡμέτερα φρονοῦσι takes the place of τοπάῤχαις ὑποτεταγμένοις in B 1. 
Nea mg A have wrongly καὶ σατράπαις τοῖς τὰ... Two classes of officials are thus referred to, (4) the governors in 
127 satrapies, (4) the other officials, less prominent than satraps. Vulg. supports this view with ‘ac principibus qui 
nostrae iussioni oboediunt’, and this is better than to refer the clause (with Fritzsche) to subjects generally, who are 
mentioned unambiguously in τ΄. 3. Jos. seems to favour ‘subjects’. 

2. Many. A veiled reference to Haman. Cf. Esther iii. 1. 

their benefactors. Cf. Luke xxii.25. Their benefactors are the kings who have elevated them to their high 
position. A. W. Streane recalls how Ptolemy III (247-242 B.c.) obtained the actual title of εὐεργέτης (benefactor) 
through his restoration of the images of Egyptian gods, carried off by Cambyses to Persia. 

the more proud. μεῖζον ἐφρόνησαν. The general is interpreted by the particular in vz. 12-14. 

3. abundance, i.e. the excess of the honour bestowed on them in particular. Ryssel recalls the old proverb τίκτει 

τοι κύρος ὕβριν. Satiety is shown in thanklessness, v. 4. 

against their own benefactors. It has been suggested that Haman was not altogether free from participation 
in the plot of the two eunuchs, discovered by Mordecai (Add. A), and that Haman’s hatred of Mordecai was due to 
his having been thwarted by him. Cf.A17. Haman’s part in the plot may be referred to here. See also Esther 
vii. 8. 

4. thankfulness. καὶ κατὰ τὴν evy. NA wrongly, by dittography. ; 

lifted up... foolish. ‘Avidorum praesumptionibus inflammati’ Old Lat. This is a nearer translation of 
τοῖς τῶν ἀπειραγάθων κόμποις ἐπαρθέντες than in Vulg. ‘humanitatis in se iura violare’. ἀπειραγάθων has given much 
concern to copyists (ὑπεραγάθων 52, ἀπειρωπάθων 93 a) and to commentators, but it is a late ecclesiastical word, and (like 
ἀπειρόκαλος) is not to be translated literally, but with the general sense of foolish. ‘ Men ignorant of benefits’ is very 
clumsy. Zhe foolish are either the parasites who fawn upon the zouveau riche, or the too highly honoured man 
himself. 

suppose. For ὑπολαμβ. 8*°? A have διαλαμβ. 

evil-hating. An attribute properly belonging to God, but here by a rhetorical licence applied to His justice. 
With μισοπόνηρος cf. μισοπονηρία, 2 Macc. iii. 1, and μισοπονηρεῖν, 2 Macc. iv. 49, vill. 4. 

5. those placed . . . positions, i.e. kings, such as Xerxes himself, who have been misled by their underlings. 

specious words. παραμυθία in the Greek is the subject of the verb, but the sentence runs more smoothly if it is 
turned as in text. 

friends . . . entrusted. Ryssel suggests with much probability that φίλων should be rendered as in text, and 
not as often ‘entrusted with the management of the affairs of their friends’, since a king would be slow to speak of 
kings as the ‘ friends’ of their subordinates. Ryssel speaks of φίλοι as the universal title of honour borne in Egypt by 
the highest officers of the king (cf. 1 Macc. ii. 18 and Jacob in ZA7W x. 283), and translates Statthalter. Fritzsche 
emends φίλων to φιλοφρόνως or φιλοτίμως, but this is unnecessary. 

_ partakers. For μετόχους B 93 4 have μεταιτίους, which seems better in sense, and explains the corruptions perevous 
N* and μεταγνοῦσα A. 

innocent blood. For αἵματα ἀθῷα cf. Jer. xix. 4. Cf. Jer. ii. 34 αἵματα ψυχῶν ἀθῴων. 
[9] 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESTHER.” E 6=15 


6 in irretrievable disasters, tiese men beguiling the innocent goodwill of their lords with the false 
trickery of their evil disposition. 

7 And the things impiously accomplished through the pestilent behaviour of men who ¢hus exercise 
their power unworthily may be seen not so much by an examination of the more ancient records 

8 which have been handed down as by observation of the things near at hand; and care must be 
taken for the future, in order that we may render the kingdom tranquil and peaceable for all men, 

9 not by relying upon tinformations}, but by ever passing judgement with clemency and attentiveness 
upon the matters that are brought to our notice. 

ro For Haman, the son of Hamadathus, a Macedonian (an alien in very truth from the Persian blood 

11 and one who is fallen far from our favour), having been a guest among us, so far enjoyed the good- 
will which we display towards every nation, that he was called our father, and continued to receive 
the honour of all as the second person after the royal throne. 

13 But he, not bearing his proud position, took counsel to deprive us of our kingdom, and 20 deprive 
of life not only Mardocheus who is at once our saviour and perpetual benefactor, but also Esther the 
blameless partner of our kingdom, together with their entire nation, by manifold chicanery and 

14 deceits asking for them zo be delivered up to destruction. For through these wiles he thought to 
catch us isolated and to transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians. 

15 But we find that the Jews whom this trebly-dyed villain had delivered to destruction are no evil- 


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a! 
ἕ 


6. with the false trickery. τῷ τῆς κακοηθείας τρόπῳ N° ‘while they after the fashion of their maliciousness (i.e. 
as malice is wont to do) by lying craft overreached.’ 

7. The text of this verse is slightly corrupt, though the sense is plain. ὡς BA > N*, παραδεδώκαμεν NO, wapeddxapev BA, 
ὅσα BA, ὅσον &, ὑμᾶς BN A, ὑμῖν N*, ἐκζητοῦντας BNA, ἐκζήτουν S*. Accepting Fritzsche’s ὧν παρέδωκαν (‘ which they, 
i.e. our predecessors, handed down’), I read as follows: σκοπεῖν δὲ ἔξεστιν, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐκ τῶν παλαιοτέρων ὧν παρέδωκαν 
ἱστοριῶν ὅσον τὰ παρὰ πόδας ὑμῖν ἐκζητοῦντας, τὰ ἀνοσίως συντετελεσμένα. 

exercise ... unworthily. The text here is corrupt. ἀνάξια δυναστευύντων B, ἀξιας δυναστευω | το N*, ἄξια 
δυναστευοντῶ N°, αξιοδυναστευοντων A. Fritzsche’s ἀναξίᾳ, . . . λοιμότητι is not very satisfying, besides which τῶν is 
in the wrong place. I suggest either to read with Cod. 248 τῶν ἀναξίως δυναστευόντων, or to follow the hint given by A 
and accept the rather long compound τῇ τῶν ἀναξιοδυναστευόντων λοιμότητι. It is just possible that ἀνάξια as in B might 
be right, the use being adverbial as in ἀνάξια πράττειν ; but a suggestion made by Ryssel, ἀναξίᾳ (dat. of subst. formed 
from ἀνάσσειν), cannot be entertained. 

which ... handed down. ὡς παρεδώκαμεν would mean ‘as we handed down’, but it would not fit with 
τῶν man. iot., which refer to chronicles of an earlier age. A. W. Streane refers to the inscription on the rock of 
Behistun, which, recording events in the reign of Xerxes’ predecessor, Darius Hystaspes (522-485 B.C.), tells of the 
rebellions of Smerdis and Gomatas. Fuller’s ‘as we have made clear’ might be a translation of παραδεδείχαμεν, but 
not of παραδεδώκαμεν. 

the things near at hand. τὰ παρὰ πόδας ὑμῖν. Cf. the prov. τὰ πρὸς ποσὶν σκόπει. 

8. care must be taken. Before προσέχειν supply ἔξεστιν from v. 7. 

in order that we. Unless εἰς rd . . . παρεξόμεθα is a colloquialism, which is not to be expected in this passage, 
we must emend εἰς τὸ to ὅπως, or else, following Codd. 52, 64, 243, 248, read Sore, and emend παρεξ. to παρέχειν or 
παρέξειν. 

Be era ation Fritzsche, following Ne A, inserts οὐ, and for μεταβολαῖς BNA suggests διαβολαῖς, which is 
found in Luc. texts, and is perhaps supported by varzetatibus in Old Lat. and sé diversa zubeamus Vulg., both of 
which may point to an earlier corruption διαφοραῖς. οὐ χρώμενοι ταῖς διαβολαῖς, as translated in text, is supported by 
Jos. Anz. xi. 6. 12, ‘it is not fit to attend any longer to calumnies.’ . ᾿ 

With this change of text, there is no longer the question of the formal revocation of the earlier edict (Add. B), a 
step which would seem to be opposed to the Persian rule stated in Dan. vi. 8, 12. Cases are indeed cited where 
Persian kings have repealed their edicts, but the strongest argument for a change of text seems to lie in the evident 
antithesis between the first and second clauses of v. 9. 

10. ws yap ‘Audy BNA. I suggest ὁ yap. ; 

a Macedonian. Vulg. ‘et animo et gente Macedo’. Cf. Esther ix. 24 LXX, which renders by Μακεδών the same 
Hebr. expression as in Esther iii. 1 is rendered Bovyaios. The word is no doubt intended to represent Haman as a 
traitor, but it is probably employed as a word held in odium by the Jews, who associated it with Antiochus Epiphanes, 
the hated reversionary in Syria of the Macedonian power. ᾿ 

an alien. Both ‘ Agagite’ and ‘ Macedonian’ describe Haman as a foreigner. Cf. also the plot ascribed to 
him in v.14. His malignity is emphasized by ἐπιξενωθείς : he had enjoyed the privileges of hospitality. ; 

11. our father. Cf. Add. B 6 and v.3. For ‘father’ as a complimentary title cp. Witkowski, 2%. Priv., p. 50. 

as the second person. Cf. Esther iii. 1; see also 2 Chron. xxviii. 7, and 1 Esdras iii. 7 δεύτερος καθιεῖται Δαρείου, 
καὶ συγγενὴς A. κληθήσεται. : a eee 5 ἘΝ 

12. deprive ... kingdom. For Haman’s motive, however, cf. A 17 and Esther ill. 5. See also Esther iil. 11. 
It is difficult to see what Haman could hope to gain by the motive attributed to him here and inv. 14. 

13. benefactor. As recorded in the royal chronicles, Esther vi. 1. Paton writes (p. 245) : ‘It was a point of honour 
with the Persian kings to reward promptly and magnificently those who conferred benefits upon them (cf. Her. iii. 138, 
140; v. 11; viii. 85; ix.107). According to Her. viii. 85 the Persians had a special class of men known as Ovosangaz, 
or ‘benefactors of the king”.’ 

14. these wiles. > τούτων A. 

transfer. μετάξαι BN A, μεταλλάξαι 44 74 76 106 120 236. 

15. trebly-dyed. τρισαλιτήριος. Cf. 2 Macc. vill. 34, xv. 3. 

1105 68.1 Yy 


THE ADDITIONS TO ESTHER. E 16—F 1 


16 doers, but govern themselves with the most righteous laws, and are sons of the Most High, Most 
Mighty, Living God, who ordereth the kingdom both for us and for our fathers with the most 


excellent governance. 
17 Ye will do well therefore not to give effect to the letters sent by Haman the son of Hamadathus, 


18 because the man himself who wrought these things has been hanged with all his house at the gate 
of Susa; for God that ruleth over all hath speedily rendered unto him the justice that he merits. 

19 Now therefore display the copy of this letter openly in every place, and suffer the Jews to obey 

20 their own laws, and reinforce them so that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month Adar, on the 
selfsame day, they may defend themselves against those who attacked them in the time of their 

σι affliction: for this day hath the God who ruleth over all made to be unto them a day of gladness 
instead of the day of destruction for the chosen race. 

22 Do yealso therefore, among your commemorative festivals keep z¢ a notable day with all good 

23 cheer, that both now and hereafter it may be a day of salvation to us and to the Persians friendly to 
us, but a memorial of destruction to those who conspire against us. 

24 And every city or country without exception which shall not do according to these commands 
shall fall under our wrath and be destroyed with fire and sword; it shail be rendered not only 
unpassable for men, but also hateful for all time to beasts and birds. 


ADDITION F. 


The interpretation of the Dream of Mordecai. 
1 (x) (4) And Mardocheus said, ‘ These things are from God. 


16. sons of the Most High. Cf. Hos. i. 10 LXX κληθήσονται καὶ αὐτοὶ viol θεοῦ ζῶντος. The Jews are members of 
the people which God has created as His ‘son’. 

who ordereth. ‘Darius Hystaspes, the father of Xerxes, was wont to attribute—judging from the inscription 
over his tomb at Naksh-i-Rastam—all that he had done to the favour of Ormuzd’ (Sfeaker’s Comm. ad loc.). For 
the likeness between Persian and Jewish language on the subject cf. Ezra i. 3, vii.21; Dan. iv. 34 ff., vi. 27; Jer. xxvii. 6. 

18. hanged. ἐσταυρῶσθαι, i.e. 7mpaled. Cf. Esther vii. το. 

with all his house. Haman’s sons were not actually impaled till the fourteenth day of Adar, though they died 
on the thirteenth day. Cf. Esther ix. 12-14. It was indeed a Persian custom to execute the family with the guilty 
one (cf. Dan. vi. 24), especially in the case of a traitor, but here Haman evidently suffered alone. Cf. Esther vii. 10, 
Vili. 7, ix. 10. 

19. display. ἐκθέντες. For ἐκτιθέναι, a specially Greek-Egyptian word, cf. Esther iii. 14, iv. 8, viii. 13, ix. 14. 

openly. With μετὰ παρρησίας cf. Esther viii. 13 ὀφθαλμοφανῶς. 

obey their own laws. For νομίμοις BX A have νύμοις. The same permission was given by Artaxerxes to Ezra 
(Ezra vii. 25 f.). Cf. Jos. Azz. xii. 3. 3. 

20. thirteenth day. So Esther ix. 1, but Add. B 6 has ¢he fourteenth day. 

the selfsame day. The very day appointed for the destruction of the Jews. Cf. Esther iii. 13, vill. 11. 

21. ruleth over all. ὁ ἐπὶ πάντα A. 

chosen race. The Jewish fabricator of the decree betrays himself here by an expression that a Persian king 
would not have used. For ἐκλεκτός applied to Israel cf. Ps. cv. 6; Isa. xliii. 20. 

22. commemorative festivals. Fritzsche, thinking ὑμῶν out of place in a decree addressed to Persians, and 
unsuitable in connexion with ἐπωνύμοις, which when so used could not bear its full meaning, suggests ἐν ταῖς ἐπωνύμοις 
κλήρων ἑορταῖς. We should thus have κλήρων as the translation of OV, translating ‘on the feasts known by the 
name of Lots’. The suggestion is good, but not essential. 
᾿ anotable day. Cf. 2 Macc. xv. 36. Translate, supplying ταύτην, ‘ Keep it (i.e. the 13th day of Adar) a notable 

ay. 

23. it may be. After σωτηρία many Codd. add 7. 

a day of salvation. σωτηρία stands in antithesis to ἀπωλείας, and should therefore have this accent; Fritzsche, 
neglecting this, reads σωτήρια (i.e. ἱερά), but wrongly. The day is to be a ‘ salutary’ day for the Persians, as well as 
a memorial of their king’s deliverance. But they are not called upon to observe the feast in the Jewish way. 

Salvation to us. ὑμῖν N* ὑμῶν A, Fritzsche suggests ὑμῖν here for ἡμῖν, which is in harmony with ὑμεῖς at 
beginning of v. 22. 

24. fire and sword, lit. ‘spear and fire’. 

unpassable .. . hateful. Cf. Jer. xxxii. 43, li. 62; Ezek. xxv. 13, xxxii. 13. 

for alltime. > cis... χρόνον A. 


ADDITION F. The interpretation of the Dream of Mordecai, x. 1-10. Add. F consists of 10 vv., and is 
numbered in Vulg. x. 4-13, and is the only one of the six Adds. which is given there in its right place. But while in 
relation to the canonical portions its position is correct, it stands in an inverted relation to the uncanonical, Jerome 
having gathered out of the text all the Adds. which preceded, and placed them after it in a kind of appendix. Jerome 
prefixed to this Add. the following words which separate it from Esther x. 3: ‘Quae habentur in Hebraeo plena fide 
expressi. Haec autem quae sequuntur, scripta reperi in editione Vulgata quae Graecorum lingua et litteris con- 
tinetur; et interim post finem libri hoc capitulum ferebatur ; quod iuxta consuetudinem nostram obelo, id est veru, 


682 


THESADDITIONS TOLESTAER: Elzrr 


‘For I remember concerning the dream which I saw respecting these things ; and nothing thereot 

is unfulfilled. 

5 (6) ‘The little spring became a river, and there was a light and the sun and much water. 

4(7) ‘The river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen. And the two dragons are I and 

5 (8) Haman. And the nations ave those that were gathered together to destroy the name of the Jews. 

) 6 (9) And my nation, this is Israel, which cried unto God and were saved. And the Lord saved His 

᾿ people, and the Lord delivered us out of all these evils. And the Lord wrought great signs and 

wonders, such as have not been done among the nations. 

0) ‘Therefore the Lord made two lots, one for the people of God and the other for all the other 

1) nations ; and these two lots came at the hour and the moment and the day of judging before God 
(for His people) and for all the nations. 

2) ‘So God remembered His people, and justified His inheritance. 

3) ‘And these days shall be unto them in the month Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the 
same month, with an assembly and joy and gladness before God, from generation to generation for 

ever among His people Israel.’ 


si)(1) In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest and 


praenotavimus.’ In LXX Esther this Add. is the concluding portion of the book. Josephus shows no acquaintance 
with either the Dream of Mordecai or its interpretation. 

1. These things, i.e. the history recorded in the chapters of canonical Esther. 

from God. Cf. Ps. cxviii. 23 (Matt. xxi. 42), of an event determined by God’s providence. 
2. the dream. See Add. A. 
respecting these things. ‘ Haec eadem significantis’, Vulg. The interpretation of the dream in detail occupies 
uv. 3-6. 

3. spring became. The style of this verse is naturally rather abrupt. πηγὴ ἐγένετο N* A seems better than πηγὴ 7 B. 
Vulg. quite unnecessarily translated ‘the little spring became a river, and was turned into light and the sun, and over- 
flowed into many waters’. ‘There is nothing in the Greek of either the dream or its interpretation to suggest this. 
The elevation of Esther answers to ‘the spring [which] becamea river’, while the safety and joy of the Jews upon their 
deliverance are pointed to by ‘ the light and the sun’ (cf. Esther viii. 16). But cf. Luc. MSS., ἥλιος καὶ φῶς ot ἐγένοντο 
τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις ἐπιφάνεια τοῦ θεοῦ. 

4. the ἔννο ἄγσαροῃηβ. > δύο A. See Add. A 6. 

5. the nations. See Add. A6. The suggestion is that the whole world was arrayed against the people of God. 

destroy the name, i.e. the very existence of the Jewish people. 

6. my nation. We should have expected τὸ δὲ ἔθνος τὸ δίκαιον from Add. A 6. 

cried unto God. See A 9. 
signs and wonders. Cf. Ps. cxxxv. 9. 
7. Therefore. ‘This verse is omitted by A. ; 
two lots. Cf. Esther ii. 7, which shows Haman seeking to obtain a lucky issue by lot; cf. 1 Sam. xiv. 41. 
Here God’s making two lots means simply that God took into His own arbitrament the decision between His people 
and their enemies. 

8. This verse is omitted by B*, but is inserted in the lower margin. ; 

came ... before God. Hardly, with Ryssel, that ‘the destinies represented by them were /w/flled’. They 
came before God, and God passed judgement on them. 

moment. καιρόν B, κλῆρον BY NA. : ; 

(for His people) and. Fritzsche’s suggestion is good, and has been incorporated into the text. The question 
is of both lots, but the mention of ‘the people’ in v. 9 may be the cause of its omission in τ΄. 8. ᾿ ᾿ 

9. justified. Servavit, Old Lat.; wsertis est, Vulg. But the meaning is the characteristic meaning of δικαιοῦν, 
cf. Deut. xxv. 1; Sir. xiii. 22 ‘ pronounced their cause righteous ’. aes 

το. fourteenth and fifteenth day. καὶ τῇ πεντ. > N* A* (καὶ τῇ ε΄ kai N°2™S), The actual day of deliverance 
was the 13th day of Adar, but the fact of the observance of the festival on the 14th and 15th days caused Jewish 
writers to seek for an explanation. ; 

_ The explanation as given in Esther ix. 16-19 is as follows: the Jews in the provinces avenged themselves on the 
13th Adar, and rested on the 14th; but the Jews in Shushan required two days for their vengeance, and did not rest 
till the 15th Adar. abe 

The 14th day was the principal day, and is referred to in 2 Macc. xv. 36 as ἡ Μαρδοχαικὴ ἡμέρα. ᾿ ; 

11. Esther and the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach are the only books of the Greek O. T. which offer any information 

as to their authorship and date. j ἢ 
The objection has been raised against the authenticity of this subscription that it represents the author of the 
version as a Palestinian Jew, whereas his speech has an Egyptian colour; but his name ἡ Lysimachus son of Ptole- 
_maeus’ suggests a distinctly Egyptian origin, and it is legitimate to assume that he was an Egyptian Jew who through 
residence at Jerusalem became acquainted with this Hebrew .Wegid/ah, and having acquired a knowledge of Hebrew, 
sought to benefit his Egyptian brethren by providing them with a Greek version. ; 
It is indeed impossible to say whether the subscription was appended by the translator of the canonical Hebrew 
portions, or by the author or incorporator of the Additions ; but there is nothing in the subscription to make us hesitate 
to accept its witness. The Wisdom of the Son of Sirach was translated 132 B.C., and it is probable that Hebrew 
Esther was translated about the same time. A 
It used to be thought that the date indicated by the subscription was 178 B.C., Ptolemy Philometor, who reigned 
at that period, being well disposed towards the Jews. But further investigation has shown that of the four Ptolemies 
who were married to a Cleopatra only one (Ptolemy VIII, Soter ΠῚ, Lathyrus) was married to a Cleopatra in the 


683 


THE ADDITIONS TO-ESTERE ει 


a Levite, and Ptolemaeus his son brought in 29 Egypt the Epistle of Phrurai Zere set faith; Sia 
they said was ¢we, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemaeus, of the dwellers in Jerusalem, had 
interpreted it. j 


fourth year of his reign. The date therefore is plainly 114 B.C. (see Jacob, ‘ Das Buch Esther bei den LXX,’ ἡ ἴῃ ΖΩ͂ a ae 
1890, p. 241 ff.). 2 
? This entire verse is omitted by the Luc. MSS. (except 19) and Old Lat. 

In the fourth year, i.e. 114 B.C. 

Epistle of Phrurai. ®povpai B, Φρούραια N* A, cf. Jos. Av. xi. 6. 13, Φρουρίμ Neva, The ‘Epistle’ does not 
refer merely to the instructions of Esther i ix. 20-28, but to the whole Book of Esther, which is regarded as an Epistle 
from Mordecai to the Jewish people concerning the feast of Purim. 

For the connexion of the feast of Purim (Phrurim) with the Persian Farvardigdn, the Feast of the Dead, Ge 
Paton, 252. pp. 84-87. 

of the dwellers. τῶν ἐν BX, but Fritzsche and Lagarde read τόν. 

After the last word in v. 11 BNA have the subscription "Eo 7p. 


Oxford : Horace Hart M.A. Printer to the University 


κὐλσ ——— ~ at — tl 
Irie Rats ari err ο Mi rPmrerreremer rererreree wore vir ἜΑ ΈΒΨΕ ieee 


= 
te ἧς 
ἔπε οὐ τς 
eee 
- eee 
ae oe 


BINDING SECT. MAY 30 1980 


Charles, Robert Henry 

The Apocrypha and 
Pseudepigrapha of the Old 
Testament 


ae saatecninye 
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ΕΣ 


sine - 
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Full text of "The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English : with introductions and critical and explanatory notes to the several books"

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